P-51D "Short Fuse"

[Shin]

Hi all, I'm calling this P-51D finished. Originally supposed to be part of the Mustang group build, but I was unable to finish in time. Here's a copy/paste from the WIP on the background of this kit, as well as link to partial in-progress shots if you want to see those:

 

 

Backstory: My local model shop inherited a large stash from someone who had passed away and was having a sidewalk sale on the excess inventory. All items were sold as is, as it seemed that the departed modeler/collector had started some projects and combined some kits into different boxes, which meant there was the potential for incomplete kits. I saw it as an opportunity to get some kits for cheap to experiment with, as I'm still relatively new to the hobby. One that caught my eye was a boxing for a 1/48 Tamiya P-51D (8th AF version) as I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out a natural metal finish aircraft. Upon initial inspection it seemed the major parts were in there, so I added it to my shopping basket.

 

After reaching home and further examining the kit, it appears the modeler had started this kit and had a specific idea of what he wanted to do with it. There were weapons from another kit included, as well as an aftermarket decal sheet for a specific aircraft, the "Short Fuse". In fact, the major parts were already cut from the gates and some parts of a resin cockpit had been put together. I'm going to attempt to finish this aircraft for our fallen comrade, hopefully I do it justice. I'll be using the parts included in the box as intended to be built by him, and hopefully there aren't any missing pieces that I'm overlooking to make a complete aircraft.

 

A quick Google search history of the aircraft - it was flown by Richard E Turner of the 354th Fighter Group, an ace in WWII before serving in the Korean War. Apparently his plane originally had art depicting "Short Fuse Sallee", but after finding out Sallee was with another man, he had the name removed.

 

This was my 2nd 1/48 warbird and first attempt at a natural metal finish, as well as first attempt at more than the lightest weathering on an aircraft. I filled the panel lines/rivets in the wings twice and even after that, there was a slight indentation that could be seen after I put the paint on. We can call it simulating the putty deteriorating on the real aircraft, but it's really just pure laziness of not wanting to fill/sand again. It's painted with almost all Mission Model paints (Dull Aluminum for the body, Aluminum mixed with white and grey for the wings to simulate the silver lacquer). Weathering was done with oils and a little bit of pigments, but I may have gone a little overboard with the paint chipping via sponge. A lot more weathering could have been done, especially on the bottom of the aircraft, but I was ready to put this one behind me. 

 

Always open for critiques and tips, though I'm more focused on improving techniques than historical accuracy. Thanks for looking, and a thank you to the nameless modeler who started the kit and whose vision i tried to follow. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kapam]

That's a beauty!  I think the previous owner (perhaps looking on from above?) would be well pleased with how it turned out.

I think you nailed the battle-weary look of a mid-to-late-war P-51 nicely!

👍

[franky boy]

Great work. You must be really pleased with it. 

 

James

[Uncle Pete]

Knockout!    👍👍  You're new to the hobby?  I've got 3 years on me and nowhere close to where you are.  You're a natural! 👍 👍

[F-32]

That's very nicely done, like it a lot

[Wulfman]

A marvellous Mustang, a great build, love the weathering !
 

Wulfman

[HansReggelsen]

You surely did it justice! 

I really like it! 

 

Cheers 

Hans J

[SAT69]

Beautiful job on a "battle-weary" (thanks kapam, I couldn't think of the right word myself) Mustang. You produce a high quality model, my friend.

[Andy Dyck]

Perfect!  And you puttied the wings and paint it silver!!👍👍👍👍👍 looks really good...!!

very nice photography too! This is art! 
cheers 

Andy 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

 

[Shin]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I am pretty happy with how it turned out. 

 

8 hours ago, Uncle Pete said:

Knockout!    👍👍  You're new to the hobby?  I've got 3 years on me and nowhere close to where you are.  You're a natural! 👍 👍

Thanks @Uncle Pete! Relatively new (compared to a lot of people on this board hah), I'm at about 3 and a half years in after returning to this hobby since building as a kid. There's a lot of resources available to guide the modeler today, including the helpful posts and people on this board. 

 

1 hour ago, Andy Dyck said:

Perfect!  And you puttied the wings and paint it silver!!👍👍👍👍👍 looks really good...!!

very nice photography too! This is art! 
cheers 

Andy 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

 

Thanks @Andy Dyck, I think the photography is a double edge sword - honestly I think the model looks better in the photos than it does in real life, but on the flip side I'm able to see some weathering I tried to be really subtle about show up that I thought I had accidentally removed, not easily seen by the naked eye.

 

But besides that there's also things only I know as the builder, such as not getting the clear parts cleanly off the gate sprue, areas I damaged during final assembly that I didn't bother to repair, or areas not easily seen in the photos hah. 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Shin
fixing typo

[IanC]

Quite sad though...

[RMCS]

Niiiice 

[Calum]

Very nice , like the chipping you've achieved on the wings and spinner

[DennisTheBear]

Richard Turner's book is called (IIRC) 'Mustang Pilot' and is s good read.

 

I have markings for his P-51B and P-51D-5 albeit in 1/72. Hope I can make mine look even half as goof as yours.

 

DennisTheBear