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P-51 Mustang STGB IV Chat


TEMPESTMK5

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Well I'm glad to see such a superb collection of Ponies built and being built here as mine has turned into a disaster after loosing the HB kit to

the falling compressor I broke the canopy on the Airfix kit (by merely picking it up!) lost the canopy frame for the Revell kit and binned the Mistercraft

kit which was not the little gem I thought it was going to be,other than that all's fine.I did buy a replacement HB kit as I saved the cockpit but I'm in two mind's

whether to tempt fate with building it now.

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Blimey, what a run of disasters! I was wondering where your builds were.

 

Of course you should build one Steve, maybe two with your rate of build! :D

 

I'm desperately trying to finish my 2 P-51Bs so I can start an Airfix 'D' that's sitting in the stash (and ignoring the decorating that I should be doing <_<)

 

Cheers,

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3 hours ago, gingerbob said:

ww, c'mon Steve, what could possibly go wrong? 

That's what I keep asking myself GB!

 

57 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Blimey, what a run of disasters! I was wondering where your builds were.

 

Of course you should build one Steve, maybe two with your rate of build! :D

 

I'm desperately trying to finish my 2 P-51Bs so I can start an Airfix 'D' that's sitting in the stash (and ignoring the decorating that I should be doing <_<)

 

Cheers,

Well there is plenty of time Charlie,the boxing I have covers two Korean war birds one being a SAAF machine which I don't think we've seen here

yet and photo's I've seen show the cockpit interiors green so no re-paint needed saving more time.

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I'm getting to the stage of my build when I'm looking at canopies and trying to decide which one to fit, I find P-51D canopies almost as big a minefield as F-86 wings. I used to think that the 'Inglewood" canopies were fitted to aircraft built in California and 'Dallas' canopies to those built in Texas, but this was not always the case, and anyway there were at least three versions of each. My F-51 build has a serial ending in 'NT' indicating that it was built in Texas, but in the best 'photo I have the canopy looks more like one of the Inglewood types, as it does not have the 'hump' at the rear, which I believe was a feature of the Dallas types. Does anyone have any information which ties production batches to canopy types please?

 

John     

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I think this will be difficult to assess as canopies were interchanged between aircraft once in operation. Until end of WWII production was relatively straightforward - D's hat early canopies and K's had the 'Dallas' type with a hump, although there are D-20-NA's upwards with the humped one. Maybe they took what was available at any given time.

The surest way is still by having a photo.

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Now that I've done it, I am starting to second guess myself.  Working on the A-36..........with the filled wings, how much chipping would you've actually seen?  Probably some on the fuselage side of the wing root as it didn't have anything over it.......and along the flaps.   But what around the gun bays or farther up the wing roots on the wing side?  Wondering if I've done to much. :wall:

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  • 2 weeks later...

HELP!!!!   What would you do?  I done screwed up both the A-36 and Blue Nosed P-51B.  This big dummy got the stars and bars in the opposite places.   Larger ones on the fuselage but not quite done yet on the wings.

 

On the A-36 I have the small ones on the wings and no stars n bars on the fuselage.  Had some weird reaction to the solvaset.  So the fuselage stars n bars have been pulled off, sanded and repainted.  Didn't have some fancy weathering/preshading anyway so it was an easy fix.  Would have to pull the wing ones off, but then again paint touch up is easy.

 

On the P-51B.  I don't have the wing stars n bars on.  The Fuselage decals are basically done.   Explains why I thought it was so crowded.  To me this is model is the bigger issue as it's NMF and the white is already done for the Dday stripes......but mainly trying to fix the NMF.  Decals never come off easily.

 

Trying to decide.  I lose the whole first week of March with a vacation.

 

What would you all do?:doh::wall::shrug::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:

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HELP!!!!   What would you do?  I done screwed up both the A-36 and Blue Nosed P-51B.  This big dummy got the stars and bars in the opposite places.   Larger ones on the fuselage but not quite done yet on the wings.

 

On the A-36 I have the small ones on the wings and no stars n bars on the fuselage.  Had some weird reaction to the solvaset.  So the fuselage stars n bars have been pulled off, sanded and repainted.  Didn't have some fancy weathering/preshading anyway so it was an easy fix.  Would have to pull the wing ones off, but then again paint touch up is easy.

 

On the P-51B.  I don't have the wing stars n bars on.  The Fuselage decals are basically done.   Explains why I thought it was so crowded.  To me this is model is the bigger issue as it's NMF and the white is already done for the Dday stripes......but mainly trying to fix the NMF.  Decals never come off easily.

 

Trying to decide.  I lose the whole first week of March with a vacation.

 

What would you all do?:doh::wall::shrug::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:

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Decals not clear-coated yet? Dump the whole thing in the water and let it soak for half a day. With a little nudging the decals should come off. Repeat the procedure if they lift only at the edges initially.

Of course you need to clear-coat all other decals first.

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Toryu’s suggestion is good. But decals react differently, some float off really easily, some stick like hell. Before dumping the whole thing in the water, try some warm water on them first, maybe with a drop of detergent to aid the wetting, dabbing it on with a brush for half an hour, and nudging with the brush. Might work. Best of luck!

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Checking carefully @TEMPESTMK5, no-one has inflicted the old tool Airfix P51-D 'Fool's Paradise IV' on this GB as yet, not even @TonyW! No blue in sight on this one so I may steer clear of trouble? Shall I get cracking on a 'nostalgia build? (The last time I built this kit, I painted it with old spare silver paint I found in the cupboard under the stairs at home, and it never dried....

 

xjlzxsR.jpg

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Good afternoon Ventora

 Welcome aboard it is always good to see these old kits built

I am looking forward to see the start of your build I hope that the decals are still good but you can use the ones in this decals sheet   https://www.scalemates.com/kits/xtradecal-x72196-70th-anniversary-d-day-part-3--493234

 

All the best

Patrice

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16 minutes ago, TEMPESTMK5 said:

Good afternoon Ventora

 Welcome aboard it is always good to see these old kits built

I am looking forward to see the start of your build I hope that the decals are still good but you can use the ones in this decals sheet   https://www.scalemates.com/kits/xtradecal-x72196-70th-anniversary-d-day-part-3--493234

 

All the best

Patrice

Many thanks, Patrice. Yes, I know that the decals may be the 'weak link' and my plan was to give them a coating of something well in advance. However, your link will be extremely helpful if I get in trouble. Time is short but I may bring in another older Airfix kit as a comparison if I get cracking. All the best. Mike

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1 hour ago, Johnson said:

Hi Mike,

Definitely!

Made a few of them in my time. I wonder what it looks like now? Looking forward to finding out. Good luck (you may need it!)

Cheers,

Thanks, Charlie, and I may add in some 'enhancements' to show this old kit off in a good light.. All the best. Mike.

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Toryu, Johnson, Redstaff.....

 

Thanks for the suggestions!   Would of never thought to tackle it that way.  None of the decals have been sealed yet.  Not sure I can get to it tonight as I have to run a long errand tonight after work, but I will see what I can do and report back.

 

Sad thing is, I sat there pondering which size goes where.  Guess I am a little rusty after quite a few years off building.

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3 hours ago, Ventora3300 said:

Checking carefully @TEMPESTMK5, no-one has inflicted the old tool Airfix P51-D 'Fool's Paradise IV' on this GB as yet, not even @TonyW! No blue in sight on this one so I may steer clear of trouble? Shall I get cracking on a 'nostalgia build? (The last time I built this kit, I painted it with old spare silver paint I found in the cupboard under the stairs at home, and it never dried....

 

 

 I would love to have added one here, but my early Airfix P51's are built up and thus outside the GB. Given a bit of spit and polish, or as in this case, S n' J polishing powder, a Mustang does appear.

 

IMG-6959.jpg

 

 

IMG-7009.jpg

 

 

The bagged kit alongside the build is the first issue dating back to 1958!  The kit follows the plans printed in Aircraft of the Fighting Powers which in turn dates even further back, into the forties. Accuracy came later for Airfix in this case but I remember the kit fondly from my youth.

 

Get stuck in!

 

Tony.
 

Edited by TonyW
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1 hour ago, BlueNosers352nd said:

Sad thing is, I sat there pondering which size goes where

You'll see, water works. I like the idea with the damp kitchen roll. When I wetted my decals to remove them I had to constantly pour water over them. The water trick even works when they have already been sealed. I just cut lightly along the decal (the insignia, not the decal film) boundary with a scalpel, and the water will creep under the decal over time. Don't mind if it breaks apart, just take a new one from the stash.

 

To help you select the right sizes:  Fuselage 34" diameter (= 1.8 mm in 1/48) and wing 39" (= 2.05 mm in 1/48).

 

Cheers, Michael

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3 hours ago, TonyW said:

 I would love to have added one here, but my early Airfix P51's are built up and thus outside the GB. Given a bit of spit and polish, or as in this case, S n' J polishing powder, a Mustang does appear.

 

The bagged kit alongside the build is the first issue dating back to 1958!  The kit follows the plans printed in Aircraft of the Fighting Powers which in turn dates even further back, into the forties. Accuracy came later for Airfix in this case but I remember the kit fondly from my youth.

 

Get stuck in!

 

Tony.
 

Lovely build there, Tony, (as well as the others you are doing in the GB) and I did wonder if the plastic of the old kit - that silvery grey - would stand a polish up with your oft quoted S n'J without losing the raised detail. I don't have any of that but did think of trying Brasso or even 'Barman's Friend'. I'll be getting the build thread going shortly. All the best. Mike.

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6 hours ago, Ventora3300 said:

Many thanks, Patrice. Yes, I know that the decals may be the 'weak link' and my plan was to give them a coating of something well in advance. However, your link will be extremely helpful if I get in trouble. Time is short but I may bring in another older Airfix kit as a comparison if I get cracking. All the best. Mike

Good evening Mike

If you have problems with the Airfix decals  do not hesitate to tell me and I will send you with pleasure the decals of the Xtradecal sheet ..

 

All the best

Patrice

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Folks,

 

I need a bit of help with some of the painting details on Bud Anderson's P-51D 'Old Crow'. These are the only photos I've found in books and the web;

 

Old Crow photo low res 1080 x 606

 

Old Crow photo

 

What I'm trying to work out is whether the plane had the single 15" matt black 'Mustang' i/d stripes around the wings and horizontal tail planes.

 

Most models on the web, and modern P-51Ds painted to look like Old Crow have them - but not all, and its hard to be certain looking at the pics above. Iain Wyllie, the artist who depicted Old Crow on the cover of Osprey's 'Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force' didn't think that they were there;

 

Old Crow Iain Wyllie low res 1080 x 933

 

Some modellers have depicted Old Crow with invasion stripes under the wings and black stripes above and looking at the front of the wing and just by Bud's leg, I can imagine they might be D-Day stripes wrapped around the wing, but this would seem unlikely by that date?

 

I'm inclined to just add 15" matt black stripes on the tops and bottom of the wing and tail planes, but if anyone has any better information, it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

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