Monogram 1/72 Twin Mustang F-82

[Scargsy]

So hopefully this is allowed (seems the twin-Mustangs are allowed judging by the comments in the chat thread)...

It's going to be an 'out of the box' build, with the exception of some extra decals and I'm going to build the night-fighter version with the huge radar pod because I have a thing for odd looking birds (!?!)

The history of the aircraft is very much a tale of 'necessity is the mother of invention', needing a long range escort fighter to keep up with the bombers the idea of strapping two Mustangs together seemed like solution (plus having two pilots allowed them to take shifts at the controls), though it was never completed in time for active service during WWII.

The radar equipped version needed the radome pod to extend beyond the propellers to stop interference, hence the extra goofy looks.

The F-82 was also the last piston driven fighter ordered into production by the USAF.

 

Back to the kit...

As can be seen it's of an old vintage, complete with raised panel lines,

not too many pieces,

some interesting moulded in part numbers and what looks to be some silk screening on the main wing section.

There's some nice detail on the guns, which can be seen if you model the access panel open, though rather a lot of flash in places - like round the pilot and co-pilot!

All the parts are supplied in a single poly bag, though the clear parts are in a separate internal bag.

The supplied decals seem OK (for the age of the kit) but I really didn't fancy the large tail decals (too much chance of me mucking up) so bought some after-market ones (though they also have a similar option).

The instructions are in typical style: 2 A3 sheets, printed in black and white, folding together, though very large scale, easy to follow instructions. 

 

 

 

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good morning Scargsy

 Welcome aboard with this very interesting subject I will follow your build as I have one of this kit in my stash ..

Have fun with your build ..

All the best

Patrice

[Dansk]

What a great intro you made to the aircraft, build and the kit.

This should be a great build 👍💪

[Scargsy]

As an old kit it's fairly low part count and low detail cockpit, I started by building the interiors for the pilot and radar operator,

painting the interiors, building the wing section and radar housing. The radar hosing needed a fair amount of sanding and filling.

The gun access panel can be modeled open but I just glued it down.

The fitting points for the cockpit I couldn't quite workout where to fit the parts - though in the end I think I placed them OK, though I think they're supposed to be forward of my placement in the below placement to allow a space between the seat back and the top surface.

With the fuselage parts glued together, I attached them to the wing span and inserted the rear wing at the same time so it could all set flush. There was some small gaps as shown below and the fuselage halves had some serious misalignment along the joins.

There are slots behind the seat backs as can be seen, it appears the instructions tell you to build the canopies so they can slide back and forth though I didn't like the idea of it being somewhat misaligned, so actually glued mine shut.

There was also some misalignment for the nose parts, the instructions tell you again not to glue the props so they can spin but I decided to go with a fixed build.

I added the extra fuel tanks, bomb pylons and radar housing - note that the wing section had all the fitting points open, so you would need to fill the points if you weren't fitting the parts. I then added a fair amount of filler and started sanding back - note the raised panel lines make this a bit of a pain as you're not sure if you're sanding off surface detail.

I painted the whole model with Vallejo primer - I find it actually goes down quite well as a paint coat, not as good a primer as lacquer but given the lack of toxicity a good alternative. I tried using the black gloss primer on the lower side and normal black primer on the upper. Once dried I gave the whole the underside a coat of standard black to give it the same treatment as the top but then decided I preferred the gloss and did a third coat all over in gloss. Interestingly this didn't gloss as much on the top as it did on the underside once dried, I presume the non-gloss primer straight on plastic must have added a micro-texture somehow?

Annoyingly all that black gloss does show up my bad filling/sanding on the joins, I think I tend to sand it down too far (to the point you can see the join line) - obviously the filler must be softer and I end up adding back the ridge. You can see that I didn't bother masking up the wheel wells, I'll have to paint them again!

 

[Scargsy]

So the aftermarket decals on, though I used the kit supplied decals for the propellers, although only after I'd fitted them did I realise they should have probably been mirrored on one prop as it spins in the opposite direction! I also manage to fit one inverted and drop one into the air-intake never to be seen again, ooops! I also had an issue that one of the props got bent and bending it back snapped it off but some super-glue helped fit it back. Also the undercarriage doors were quite tricky to get attached, even with superglue!

 

The aftermarket Print Scale decals went on nicely though a few heart-stopping moments getting the larger thin decals aligned and smoothed out without them tucking underneath themselves, etc. I'd previously attached the bomb pylon under the wing before the decals but luckily I cut the "U" from the "USAF" and managed to get the two halves fitting quite nicely either side.

I chose the 3rd option on the after market decals "Night Takeoff" 46-477/FQ-477 No.318 F(AW)S, USAF, McChord AFB, 1949.

I've given it two coats of Tamiya clear but the difference between the clear decal parts (e.g. between the USAF letters) and rest of the wings is still quite visible, I might attempt to put a coat of clear lacquer over the top (fingers crossed it doesn't melt the decals) and/or attempt some weathering but I've got a stack of other kits waiting for me to start them for the other GBs now running!

 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by Scargsy

[Andwil]

That’s great!  Certainly has some “presence”.

 

AW

[Cookenbacher]

Great to see a Twin Mustang in the Group Build, and finely done one to boot.

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good morning Scargsy

Very good job , don't forget to post photos in the Gallery when you decide it is finished ..

 

All the best

Patrice

[Thom216]

Nicely done Twin 'stang! Gives me some incentive to do more than just look at mine sitting forlornly on the bench...