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1/72 Tamiya F-51D Costa Rican Air Force


Modelraynz

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Hi Folks,

 

after a 'bleh' year for building - i thought id try and end the year with a Costa Rican F-51D - these were ex Texas ANG aircraft shipped at haste to costa rica)

 

for the interesting backstory and a ton of LIFE photos I recommend the following link:

https://jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/ex-texas-ang-f-51-mustangs-sent-to-costa-rican-civil-war-19th-january-1955/

 

 

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Im using the Airfix kit and Blue Rider decals.

 

so far ive go the basics of the cockpit base color down (a dark green) dry brushed with Testors interior green ( the colors dont show up well on my cell cam) :

 

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from the photos i was unsure if the ANG planes should of have all black cockpit, or the interior green - I went with interior green just for a bit more

visual variety 🙂

 

Edited by Modelraynz
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21 hours ago, Modelraynz said:

Blue Rider decals.

An excellent choice all round. I have multiple Bolivian (Chaco) and Nicaraguan Blue Rider sets ready for more builds. Good luck! You will see that I have a liking for the Latin machines ;)

 

Martin

Edited by RidgeRunner
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Cheers guys!

 

from digging through  pics, i decided to modify the kit more inline as a post-war mustang - so put the work so far on the Airfix kit away, and got out a Tamiya kit to modify to post 1950 standard B)

 

first up - the instrument panel issnt the best fit, so need some careful filing to fit the instrument panel combing:

 

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annoyingly there's a ejector mark  just before the radiator that needs filling and sanding:

 

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Created some Seat belts from thin foil:

 

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Edited by Modelraynz
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On 30/12/2019 at 20:27, RidgeRunner said:

Ah ha! You're underway, Ray :). I thought the Airfix kit was 'plug and play'. I guess not.

 

Martin

I've found the Airfix very nice...though one of them i have the fuselage is quite warped and needing clamping?!?

 

On 31/12/2019 at 01:44, gingerbob said:

If you're definitely switching to Tamiya, please edit your topic title to suit.  (That can be done by editing the first post.)  Or build them both!

Done!... it might  become build no.2 ;)

Edited by Modelraynz
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4 hours ago, Modelraynz said:

Ive found the airfoc very nice...though one of them i have the fuselauge is quite waped and needing clamping?!?

Ah, thats a bugger! I'm sure you'll beat her in to submission, though. :)

 

Martin

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so now ive got the cockpit pretty much done! 😄

 

Using Tamiya rubber black as a base coat, i dry-brushed Humbrol Matt 32... allowed to cure for a few days, then used XF-19 for the controls, and artists acrylic red  - for tiny things such as buttons I cant speak highly enough for artists paint, its thicker so u can 'dot' on with a tooth pic without it running out of control!

 

I then did a wash with thinned Tamiya smoke - a tip for retarding drying time is to spray the surface with isopropyl alcohol ( i use an old lens cleaner bottle) before putting the wash down.  Then just some decals to round it off.

 

blacks a real pain to photograph , but you get the general idea from the pics 😄

 

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Edited by Modelraynz
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