sean Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 (edited) Cheers fellas, 5 and 6 are on their feet and ready for paint: Ahhhhh...........Sharkmouths, where would we be without them, pain and pleasure in equal measures. The ones from Eagle Strike are really for the Hase and Revell kits, and so need a bit of extra coaxing to fit, plus copious amounts of Micro set, to fit the Academy Mustang,but seem to have settled alright. While the D has already been allocated for an Israeli plane, for the B/C, there is a choice for a Chinese plane in OD and Grey that appeals to me, but I'll have to go through the spares for serial numers,( I have national markings already), as the Academy ones are very thick, We'll see anyway, By the way, what is it with the undercarriage legs on the Airfix D's, I don't remember them being so bendy on the real planes!! Regards Sean Edited August 20, 2014 by sean 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolwe82 Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Cant wait to see them all finished together, ll be pretty cool flight As for the gear legs in Airfix kit - yes, thats the only thing i do not like on the airfix kit.. The kit overall is absolutely and truly amazing and when you take into count its price, its seriously mindblowing how great value this kit has. However, out of the 5 kits i have/had at stash, FOUR of them had the bended (bent? huh, sorry ) legs and also slightly "banana shaped" fuselage + not exactly clean details around cowling. The banana fuselage is no problem with a bit of CA glue and brute force, details around cowling (and on bottom side of right wing) can be re-shaped using basic tools, thats no problem, but the legs... I use hot water to narrow these back to straight lines, but on the Sweet Arlene, after few days, the legs are again slightly off... I guess the kit form might be slightly damaged or they were taking the parts out of the forms too fast, i dont have a clue how does it work. But its the only downside on the kit and even like that, all the details are way better than any other Mustang 1/72 all around. And big plus are the wheel wells 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Cant wait to see them all finished together, ll be pretty cool flight As for the gear legs in Airfix kit - yes, thats the only thing i do not like on the airfix kit.. The kit overall is absolutely and truly amazing and when you take into count its price, its seriously mindblowing how great value this kit has. However, out of the 5 kits i have/had at stash, FOUR of them had the bended (bent? huh, sorry ) legs and also slightly "banana shaped" fuselage + not exactly clean details around cowling. The banana fuselage is no problem with a bit of CA glue and brute force, details around cowling (and on bottom side of right wing) can be re-shaped using basic tools, thats no problem, but the legs... I use hot water to narrow these back to straight lines, but on the Sweet Arlene, after few days, the legs are again slightly off... I guess the kit form might be slightly damaged or they were taking the parts out of the forms too fast, i dont have a clue how does it work. But its the only downside on the kit and even like that, all the details are way better than any other Mustang 1/72 all around. And big plus are the wheel wells I hear you, I've had this issue on three out of the five I've procured. Here is the newest one out of the box: The problem I've had with straightening them is that the pegs for mounting the door are then out of alignment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolwe82 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I do not have problems with the pegs for the doors, because i m usualy adding wire (as the hose leading to the breaks i think) and it is going between the legg and the doors. So i have to cut out the "peg" from the doors, so i m mounting the doors only on the two "pegs" which are on the leg, no third fixed point for it so it is fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 All looking good bit like the line at Ford`s Les 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Wolwe, the legs are far worse on the 2nd kit for some reason, I'll probably have to superglue them to the undercarriage doors to keep them straight-ish. Plus what's the reason for the canopy? I can't get mine to stay together without loads of clearfix, and now it's on the clear bit Anyway, here is the state of play as of now. The Israeli plane is ready for gloss and decals- The 112Sq plane just needs the inside of the canopy openings done with interior green- The SAAF is just waiting for it's napalm tanks, a late addition,- And the Chinese plane has a first coat applied. So, tiddling along nicely. A view of the Mustangs in the "hangar" while paint or varnish dries. a valuable purchase from Tesco. Regards Sean 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolwe82 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Thats very nice flight, good job Sean For the legs, you can try hairdryer going on the heat mod, if warm watter does not help. But be careful. Hope you can sort it anyhow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Good progress again Sean - and I like the Tesco hanger! Great stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastvader Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Going great-guns on these Sean! I had the dodgy undercarriage problem too. And, like Wolwe has mentioned, have thought I've fixed it multiple times only for them to slowly deform again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Cheers fellas. Yes, those legs are a major pain, no matter what I've done to straighten them, they still end up misshapen, super glueing them to the undercarriage doors might be the only way to get them straight, or else make them in-flight. Anyhow....the 112 Sq plane is finished: Photographed against my new background, I got fed up looking at white paper all the time. I must admit, I do like the Academy Mustangs, nice detail, go together very well, and to my eye, look the part. The Airfix -Ds on the other hand, well I'm not such a fan, dodgy undecarriage legs, the way the canopy has to be put together, and the fuel tanks leave me cold as well. Which didn't help with the SAAF Mustang, which has driven me nuts. Just when I thought I had it sorted and was taking photos for the gallery, I noticed something missing: The title has come off somehow, and Lord knows where it is now, I hate this kit!! So this is finished as well, basically because I'm fed up with it. Regarding the other 2 kits, the Chinese one has got it's 2nd coat on now, and should leave it and the Israeli D ready for gloss and decals, Regards Sean 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolwe82 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 nice work on both of them Sean, realy nice the legs are turning back to original shape slowly for me too, i just had to gently bend them, it almost broke but lucky for me it did not fully. Liquid tamiya glue also can help, as it softens the plastic, but carefuly with it as it can "eat" the details 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Hi Sean. Just been looking at these in the gallery. They look really good. Well done. With regards the name decal, if it were mine, it would probably be stuck to the mug I drink tea from while kit building by now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Some good looking Mustangs there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FalkeEins Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 very nice! ...I still think the Airfix Mustang D shades the Academy B/C as best 1:72nd 'Stang although the Hasegawa B/C goes together nicely enough. I've vowed never to build another Italeri 72nd P-51 ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 Hi Sean. Just been looking at these in the gallery. They look really good. Well done. With regards the name decal, if it were mine, it would probably be stuck to the mug I drink tea from while kit building by now. Cheers Stix, knowing me, mine probably ended up in the tea and I drank it!! very nice! ...I still think the Airfix Mustang D shades the Academy B/C as best 1:72nd 'Stang although the Hasegawa B/C goes together nicely enough. I've vowed never to build another Italeri 72nd P-51 Cheers FalkeEins, totally agree with you on the Italeri P-51, it's a bit too fussy the way it has to be constructed Some good looking Mustangs there. Cheers Cookie, glad you like them, Regards, Sean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 gosh you have been very busy since I last looked in, well done, they look great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Cheers Rich, here's another finished Mustang. Done as a Chinese P-51C, though where or when Academy doesn't say. So, that just leaves one to go, the Airfix P-51D, which is now ready for gloss and decals. Going to Portrush for the airshow, so it wll be sometime next week before it's finished. Now, as I build OOB pretty much all the time,and as this was included ,the Academy Light Utility Vehicle,(or a jeep to the rest of us), which of course comes in the box as well as a P-51. Anyway, the decals for the Mustang, I did set out to use the ones from the box, but the Chinese roundels had a white outline around half the outside, so I used some from a Flying Tigers set, which luckily were the same size. All other decals came from the kit and were smothered on with copious amounts of Glosscote, before being toned down with Mattecote. I'm glad I chose to do the Chinese option as it's not one I had before now, and it's something different to look at amongst the other P-51's, Regards Sean 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Yet more lovely work Sean. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Hi Sean just looked at all your builds and all are very nice builds Les 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted September 20, 2014 Author Share Posted September 20, 2014 Cheers Les, Stix, an update: Unfortunately I've had a bit of a mishap. The wheel fell off, and it wasn't even the wonky one, it was the good one. Nevermind, it'll be fixed easy enough with a touch of super glue. So you'll notice something different to the rest of the builds in this thread....weathering! Basically, it was a case of just putting on the Mattecote, when the wheel fell off as soon as it touched the bench, so I said to myself bugger, (or something similar), and got out the weathering stuff I had bought and never used. Now was as good as time as any to bite the bullet and try them out. I used Humbrol Smoke powder first, applied with a touch of Klear. I wasn't too fussed on how it looked, too thick and too heavy looking, so I went over it with Humbrol Sand wash, a stiff brush to take some off, and I'm fairly pleased how it worked out. For the chips on the props and the cowling, I used Citadel Chainmail (Silver), applied with a brush from the Airfix gift sets that had a single piece of brush hair sticking out. You're thoughts would be welcome on the result, as it's not something I do. That just leaves a top coat of varnish to seal everything in, and that will be another one finished, Regards, Sean ps, sorry for the crappy photos!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolwe82 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Nicely done, you dont see IDF mustangs often 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 That looks excellent Sean!! Shame about the wheel falling off - these things are sent to make kit building more........ [insert own word(s) at this point!] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Cheers Wolwe, Stix., Mustang Mania has come to an end, and here are the final pics: The first,(and quite possibly the last) time I've tried some weathering, apart from the odd exhaust stain. It's something I find very hard to do to a nice shiny paint job, although certain aspects of this were quite pleasing, mainly the chipping on the blades and cowling. I also found that Klear is great for sticking the canopy together and will go back to the other Airfix Mustang and change the clear piece. Overall, I've enjoyed taking part in the GB, as I had done this last year with the Spitfires last year, and found it a great way to get some kits built,(although, I had 3 Spits to start, actually built 5, and still have 4 in the stash, wt... ). There are no more Mustangs in the stash,(so far) So here we are, all the Mustangs together: Thanks to all who followed this wip, brave souls that you are, Regards Sean 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolwe82 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Wow thats great, i did not noticed you did build all of these! I noticed every single of them in the gallery, but somehow did not join them all together ! Thats some nice collection Sean. I like the metal finish you achieved there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Cheers buddy, none left to build though, I think you've bought them all!! Sean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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