P-51B, D and H, 1/72: the D is done.

[Bedders]

How do the mods feel about me joining with this trio? Last time I posted, well before the GB started, I had begun a P-51H and was quite enjoying it. So I went mad and bought myself a KP P-51B and an Airfix D to learn a bit more about the Mustang family. Here's where things had got to:

 

 

Since then I've made a bit of progress and the group now looks like this: interiors done and bits stuck together. So in terms of construction, beyond the 25% point. Nevertheless, there's still quite a lot to do:

 

 

How do folks feel about me joining in the GB fun? I don't see another H on the stocks, so this might add that extra dimension. I await your judgement...

 

Justin

Edited January 19, 2017 by Bedders

[trickyrich]

Ok trust somebody to make it hard!!! 

 

If we had only been going with the "H" well it would be greater than the 25% rule (guessing the "H" is the RH one in the top picture).

 

But if you combine all three into a single "group" build then it should be ok. Meaning you need to complete all three....judging by the progress I reckon you may have a full squadron by the end of this build!

 

I'll leave the final call to the host, but for me, basically you have to have fun and build all three, they the requirements!! 

 

nice progress so far!

[Bedders]

Thanks for the thumbs-up, as I've been working on the B. I haven't made a Mustang for years, and the last B I did was probably the Monogram kit. The new KP kit looks pretty good overall, though there are still a couple of issues with the shape. One of them is the slight "double bubble" around the spinner and nose intake which looks a bit to pronounced to me. So I squared of the area on both sides and added some filler to try to fill the gap.  

 

 

After a bit of sanding it looks a bit more rounded and closer to the slightly fuller shape I want it to be.

 

 

At the other end, I've tried to correct what I think is a slight forward tilt to the rudder post. It should be vertical but seemed to me to lean forward. So with some judicious sanding I've got it a bit more vertical-looking. I've added the rudder, and filled in the gap between the rudder piece and the square hinge that it should be attached to. I've also added an actuator for the rudder trim tab from plartic card, and a bit of sprue for the rudder-mounted lamp.

 

[Bedders]

I've made a bit of progress on the H-model, whilst wasting time trying to decide what the colour scheme will be. Hence bits of white paint on the top of the fin to help me visualise some options. In the meantime I decided to make my life difficult by replicating the tail warning radar that was fitted to all H-models as far as I know. So I drilled three holes throught the fin and cut some wire to represent the antenna. I surprised myself by getting the holes in more or less the right place but some filler is still going to be needed to tidy it all up. Here's how it looks:

 

 

 

I decided it would be better to put the wires through and tidy up the holes before doing any painting. I want to use Alclad (for the first time) and from what I've read you need a good surface to spray on to. So best to have it all cleaned up before I get to that point.

 

Other than that I have mostly been tryng to decide on colour schemes for the B- and D-models. I'm nowhere near the paint stage but with so many to choose from (even from the 8th Air Force which is my only real criterion) I thought I should give it some consideration reasonably early on. But the only thing I've achieved is to give myself a headache...

 

Justin

 

 

Edited November 6, 2016 by Bedders

[Bedders]

Lots more H folks. Primed, Alcladed and looking nice. Love the purity of the H shape, particularly the straight leading edge.

 

 

 

And must say i like this Alclad stuff.

 

Justin

[Air-to-Air]

That is some smooth looking paint you've got there. Well done.

[Bedders]

Cheers Rob. Must say I'm glad I read up (on BM) on how to use Alclad - you need a very smooth finish on the primer to avoid the Alclad showing up the blemishes. All useful for whan I get round to the D-model.

 

Justin

[Bedders]

And so to the decals. Started with the tail nimbers but as I was applying them they started to break up on the lower edge:

 

 

It was then that I realised that the decals had not been printed fully onto the film:

 

 

I've emailed RS Models asking for a new set but more in hope than anticipation of a response - none has come. So I pressed on. Didn't bother to try the RS walkways and made my own from a spare Spitfire sheet. And reconstructed the tail numbers using upside-down bits of the spare numbers from the RS sheet. Overall it's come out OK. I decided not to use the post-1947 red bar on the stars,  or to apply the yellow paint to fin-top or wingtips. This is because I want the eye to focus on the structural and design differences between the D and H models and not principally the different colour-schemes. 

 

 

[Bedders]

One more photo. Sorry that the light is so bad. It's not much use for modelling, let alone photograpy.

 

 

Also I think I've got the canopy frame masking slightly incorrect so I'll have to redo that (for the third time...).

 

Justin

[stevehnz]

That looks like a really nice clean job. I've got this one tucked away so I'll be looking back on this come the day & looking closely at the decals, sounds like a job for a lick of Microscale decal film, thanks for the heads up on that one.

Steve.

[Bedders]

Thanks Steve. Note to self about MS decal film - didn't know there was such a thing!

 

J

[stevehnz]

It really is the good oil, does just what it says on the bottle, I wouldn't be with it now. Well worth the investment.

Steve.

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good morning Justin

 She looks great

Patrice

[wellzy]

Very nice build with the H ,May have to start mine  

 

Les

[Air-to-Air]

That was a skilful save on the misprinted decals.

[Bedders]

In the spirit of the GB I thought I might show you a bit of how it got to this point. I bought the H back in August and was immediately impressed by what I found in the box: 

 

 

Pretty straightforward in terms of parts-breakdown but nicely moulded, crisp parts with finely-engraved panel lines; and a decal sheet that looked good (though I spotted the issue with the printing accuracy early on and tried one out - it seemed to hold together just about OK so I thought I could probably use them).

 

The windscreen & canopy was a single piece but there was just enough of a seam line to get a fine blade and then a razor saw into.

 

 

The cockpit was nicely detailed with a moulded instrument panel whose details could be picked out with some fine brush-work. The placement of a few of the cockpit parts was a bit approximate if you followed the instructions, so there was a bit of trial and error involved to get the for-aft placement of the seat correct on the cockpit floor. The gunsight is well-moulded and I chose to leave it off until the end of the build. The radiator was well-moulded with a nicely-shaped duct running out to the rear.

 

 

For a limited run kit I was immediately happy with how it was going together, though there was some need for filler on a number of the joints:

 

 

The only real hassle I had was with the windscreen, which was a bit of a pain to fit onto the nose and which needed a lot of dry fitting, fettling, trying again etc. I got it about right in the end but still not perfect.

 

 

I was really enjoying the build by tis point; I gound it very satisfying to be building a decent kit of this, the fastest Mustang, with the subtly redesigned airframe giving a slightly refreshing feel to a normal P-51 build. I added seatbelts from Tamiya tape, and the point on the right side of the fuselage at which the antenna wire came down from the fin.

 

 

Whilst doing the build (I know you should do your research before you start, but hey ho...) I found some really useful H-model drawings here:

 

http://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=15088.0

 

I decided early on to not to bother with the resin rockets and rails that come with the kit. The quality of the resin mouldings is not great and I reckoned that if I really wanted to have stub mounts for the rockets, I could use those from Airfix's F-51D kit, which look the same but they're located differently on the H. I still haven't quite ruled them out. I also decided not to drop the flaps on this kit: many of the photos I have seen of the H show them with the flaps up, unlike on Bs and Ds. I was also going to leave the inner landing gear doors open, but then I noticed that they were pretty much always closed on parked aircraft, except very occasionally on aircraft where the flaps had indeed been left down. So rather late in the day I decided to close the inner doors and obscure what is a pretty nicely-moulded wheel bay.

 

This just about brings us back to the top of this build story. I drilled out the holes for the tail warning radar antenna and added the antenna before priming. And then it was on with the paint....

 

Justin

 

Edited November 13, 2016 by Bedders

[Bedders]

And here we are with today's update. I'don't want to go bananas on the weathering (I never do if I'm honest, more out of fear of getting it horribly wrong than anything else), but I think there has to be some. So I'm working with oil washes to highlight the control surfaces and a few of the fuselage panel lines. 

 

 

 

I think they lacquered the wings on these, just like the earlier models, and I'll try to show the difference between those and the nmf fuselage with the final varnishes. 

 

 

And just a bit of work around the engine - that panel where the exhausts emerge always seems a slightly different colour to the rest of the metalwork, perhaps due to heat-staining. So I'm trying to reflect that too:

 

 

In the meantime, I've been working on the D-model too. I filled the wing panel-lines where appropriate and gave it a bit of primer, then a sand/polish:

 

 

I also did the tail warning radar trick on this one too:

 

 

The reason for this modification is that I've been looking for a slightly different colour scheme for this: still with an 8th AF/UK connection, but with a twist:

 

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/gallery.php?Group=355&Style=item&origStyle=list&Item=0&Temp=235&searchString=

 

The 355th FG, which were based at Steeple Morden during the war, were earmarked to join the US Occupational Air Force in Germany following VE day, so they collected a new batch of P-51Ds, transferred to the 9th Air Force and moved to southern Germany, where they received those rather fetching fuselage stripes. I found that Eurodecals do a set of these decals, http://www.fantasyprintshop.co.uk/Occupational-USAF-ED-72104_A5F1P.aspx?nh=55213, so I bought some and will use these for this build - providing I don't get distracted by other tasty Mustang colour-schemes....

 

Justin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2016 by Bedders

[Cookenbacher]

Your work is always enjoyable to watch Justin, and this is no exception. I've got the RS 'H' in the stash too, and I'm glad to see that it can be built. Looking forward to seeing all three together.

[Bedders]

Thanks Cookie - the H is on the home stretch now, and I'm looking forward to getting on with the D next, though what happens to the time I try to set aside I don't know.

 

Justin

[Bedders]

Didn't quite finish her this weekend, but did a bit more weathering - just a hint of an exhaust stain, nefor a coat of what I hope will be the final coat of varnish. People might scoff that I'm still a (mostly humbrol) enamels man, but whennit comes to flat varnish I don't really teust anything else. This is 50/50 matt and satin, well thinned. Almost there now.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by Bedders

[Air-to-Air]

That's a very impressive finish on PF-506.

[Col.]

Nice work on these Justin. Although I'd read the H model was a redesign incorperating a lot of the lessons learned on earlier versions I didn't realise just how different they were until looking at your one.

[Bedders]

After two whole weeks separated from my Mustangs, I have today just about finished the weathering on the H model:

 

 

 

 

I'll now need to pack it up for a trip across the North Sea early next week before I can add the undercarriage, aerials etc and call it finished. In the meantime I hope I can get some paint on the D model and maybe the B too.

 

Justin

Edited December 3, 2016 by Bedders

[Bedders]

Hooray - got some paint onto the D. Alclad aluminium, which smells sublime...

 

 

Justin

[Bedders]

Well folks, the H is done. A marathon session last night to fine-tune the undercarriage and do the various antenna, and hey presto!. Overall I'm pleased with it. It's a different kind of Mustang anyway! Some hot-off-the-press pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst it took a long time due to travels and other pressures, I really enjoyed making this one, and learning more about the aircraft. Next task, finish the D...

 

Justin