Johnson Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 I'd like to join in with an old 1/72 Academy kit. The parts look good on the sprues, not sure how accurate, but the wingplan looks OK for a P-51B. I was always going to make it as Old Crow, but I like the idea of an early canopy P-51B so I'll use the decals for 'Rebel Queen'. My intention is to make it mostly OOB. I have the (again, pretty old) Eduard cockpit update set which I'll use for the seat belts and the Squadron canopy which I probably won't use as the kit's open canopy looks nice. Cheers, 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Welcome aboard, Charlie! There are a couple of Academy Bs underway already, and they look pretty nice "in 3D". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshiretaurus Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Very nice. Have 2 of these on the go at the moment and might be 3rd one to join my build soon too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 Thanks @gingerbob and @Cheshiretaurus. Looking forward to making a proper start tomorrow. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Good afternoon Charlie Welcome aboard ... be careful with the Academy decals they are very often difficult to use .. Have fun Patrice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Thanks for the very warm welcome everyone! I did a bit of dry fitting to see how the cockpit fitted and the parts went together so well I just got carried away; The fuselage to wing join is... perfect. I'm not sure I've ever come across that before. Can I stick it together and keep it as clean? I did consider using the Eduard photoetch control panel, but it clearly won't fit and I'm a bit tired of surgery on kits. I'll stick to OOB for now. And no seatbelts in the Eduard brass set! . It must be really old! I think I have some in the spares box. The cockpit details look OK, but the floor has woodgrain effect that will give the pilot splinters. I believe it was painted non-slip black anyway. But what are two big holes in the cockpit floor? I may have to do some research before I fill them and regret it later. Cheers, 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 If I remember right, the two big holes are to see the fuel gauges for left and right wing tanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 I'd better leave them alone then! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, gingerbob said: If I remember right, the two big holes are to see the fuel gauges for left and right wing tanks. What he said 👍🏻 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Damn, I thought they were sink holes or ejector pin marks on my 1/72 Hasegawa kit and filled them....... Still, they, or the lack of them, won’t be seen once it’s all assembled and the canopy is on. AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 2 hours ago, Andwil said: Damn, I thought they were sink holes or ejector pin marks on my 1/72 Hasegawa kit and filled them....... Put decal dials in this place if you still reach it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 20 hours ago, gingerbob said: If I remember right, the two big holes are to see the fuel gauges for left and right wing tanks. You do, the gauges are embedded in the top of the wing tanks, which was fine on the Allison engined Mustangs as the top of the wing was the cockpit floor, but when the Merlin was fitted to production Mustangs the wing was lowered 3" and a false wooden cockpit floor was fitted, complete with holes to see how much petrol you had. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 (edited) Hi Folks, Been very slow on this build, too much reality in the way. But finally got some work done on the cockpit; The image shows up the weathering around the radio which I may have to tone down a tad. And seeing as I'll be painting Rebel Queen in olive drab and neutral grey, I've dug out a Hasegawa P-51B that has been in the box of shame for many years that I will try to complete at the same time. I'll mark this one up as Clarence Anderson's 'Old Crow' seeing as I have the decals. But the it won't count for the gallery as it's way over 25% complete. I hope that it's OK to include the rest of the build here Patrice @TEMPESTMK5, let me know if you'd rather I didn't (it won't feature strongly). Edited January 11, 2020 by Johnson Grammer! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 That's some nice work on the cockpit, even zoomed in it looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) @Johnson may I recommend you have a squizzey at this before doing the thing with Academy decals. Sorry if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs but they do have a certain reputation, though by using that method, the only ones I've had a hassle with have been some stencils I didn't gloss coat under. Steve. Edited January 12, 2020 by stevehnz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 57 minutes ago, stevehnz said: @Johnson may I recommend you have a squizzey at this before doing the thing with Academy decals. Sorry if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs but they do have a certain reputation, though by using that method, the only ones I've had a hassle with have been some stencils I didn't gloss coat under. Steve. Squizzy at what Steve? Did you mean to add a link? AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 10 minutes ago, Andwil said: Did you mean to add a link? Yup. Done now, thanks. Steve. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 2 hours ago, stevehnz said: I recommend you have a squizzey at this before doing the thing with Academy decals. Sorry if I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs but they do have a certain reputation, though by using that method, the only ones I've had a hassle with have been some stencils I didn't gloss coat under. Thanks Steve. I've read about Klear many times but never tried it, nor Future - are they the same? I think the times I googled Klear or Future, I didn't get much result here in the UK. But I see that @bentwaters81tfw suggests a Lakeland product; On 6/30/2018 at 8:45 PM, bentwaters81tfw said: Get some Lakeland Quickshine instead. As good as Klear. I will try your technique as I don't always get satisfactory results even with Microset and Microsol, some decals don't react to them at all, even thin ones. I'm thinking of a recent build using Techmod decals, the thinnest I've ever used but still silvered and no affect with Microsol at all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 6 hours ago, Cookenbacher said: That's some nice work on the cockpit, even zoomed in it looks great. Thanks Cookie! I think it will look OK with the canopy on. Old Reheat Models seatbelts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 Wings and tailplanes added. Fit excellent. The older Hasegawa (not an official entry for this GB) is in the right/background. Interesting to compare the wing leading edge extensions of the two kits. I'm not a mustang expert but my understanding is that Bs and Cs weren't as raked as the later Ds. The Academy P-51B is less raked and conforms almost exactly to the plans in the back of the Osprey Aces book - Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force, and the Hasegawa is even more raked forward than the plan of the D's wing. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 7 hours ago, Johnson said: . I've read about Klear many times but never tried it, nor Future - are they the same? Yes, there are other alternatives that do the same job too, such as the Lakeland one you mention. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 As to which acrylic floor shine product to use, I don't think it matters. Various countries with various manufacturers have some product that is basically the same as Future/Pledge/Klear. Just go to the local store that sells floor care products and look for an acrylic floor shine. Be advised! The ones for real hardwood floors should probably be avoided as this is a different product. Chris 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 Paint! About time too. White Xtracolor for the 15" ETO stripes on Rebel Queen and the 18" Invasion stripes on Old Crow. I've been meaning to model Old Crow for years, the paint job is a bit more complicated than I'd intended, but see how it goes. My internet research tells me that the 15" ETO stripes start 40" from the fuselage center line on the wings, and 27" from the outer edge of the horizontal tailplane. I mention this in case someone knows better! Thanks for looking. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Coming along nicely. The Academy 'B' looks like a good little kit. Nice cockpit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Nice looking pair of Bs. AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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