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Tamiya P-51 - finished


Dansk

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This is my big Tamiya 1/32 P-51 Mustang. A beautiful kit from tamiya.

It’s been sat on my desk for months and months with just a modicum of progress in all that time. I figure adding it to this GB will encourage me to give it some well needed focus.

This is the stage we are at. 

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The engine, albeit beautifully detailed from tamiya, I’m not spending energy on as it will be hidden away.
The kit allows the cowlings to be removed and reattached with magnets to reveal it but I just want to display it closed. It’s so much prettier without all the internals showing. Besides, detailing the engine bay will definately not help in getting this project rolling.

This evening I joined the two fuselage halves.

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I intend to build her in the BMF and blue-nosed petie 2nd scheme.

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So here goes...

Edited by Dansk
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Beautiful big kit indeed and great choice of a paint scheme!

Have a lot of fun!

 

JR

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Thanks JR

 

A little sunday update here: 

Exhausts are in (unshrouded as the shrouded set looked a little tatty after my construction)

and various engine-ware and fore-fuselage superstructure has been done.

I masked and installed the cockpit glass earlier than the instructions suggest to protect the gunsight and bullet-proof glass which were sure to be knocked off by yours truly otherwise. 

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I thought it was interesting to show tamiyas solution to the elevator to horizontal stabiliser join.


Photoetch fed through tiny wire rods, secured into the elevator (by closing it’s top and bottom) are fed into the horizontal stabiliser.
This allows rotational movement up and down as the etch hinges on the rod.
When the assemblies are joined to the fuselage the connection between each side is made and when one is pushed down the other follows so they are always in the same position.
Hard to describe but its brilliant.
I still have clean up to do on these

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on another note i may change scheme on this to another in the box as the unshrouded exhausts annoy me that they are not correct for the petie 2nd scheme.


 

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  • Dansk changed the title to Tamiya P-51

The mustang got some attention today.
The rear gear leg was weathered and installed.

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The main gear bay was weathered and installed.
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I mucked up when mating the upper and lower wings with a classic finger print in glue.
Just where theres tons of rivet detail. :wall:

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I’ve attempted to rectify the situation with sanding and riveting and sanding further. It’s definately not perfect but I tried my best. Primer will reveal if it’s successful. 

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More awesome tamiya moving surface engineering...

 

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So now we are here.

 

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It’s falling together, no fit issues whatsoever.

If there’s any muck ups it’s gonna be yours truly who’s responsible.

 




 

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43 minutes ago, diases said:

Out of interest,  is it  purely out of box, or have extras been aďed?

Been looking for a 32nd p-51, and really like the detail I've seen so far, good job Sir

Yes its all OOB

in fact theres actually a lot I havent utilized from the box. The gun ports can be open displaying lots of detail and all the cowlings can be removed, the gear is magnetic so it can be changed from recessed to extended with little effort and back again. I think it’s a bit toy-like to do so and am opting to just have mine displayed in one guise.
 

30 minutes ago, sammy da fish said:

Lovely work there, I have the same model needing to be finished off as well. This thread might just get me moving. One observation though the aerials on the fin are for very late schemes I think.

Sammy 

thanks sammy. Its a beautiful kit.
The aerials weren’t an option to leave out I think, unless I misread the instructions (probably the latter).

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This evening I gave the mustang some attention.
The complete radiator scoop is all assembled now, sanded and re-rivited and installed.

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After a coat of primer, then a coat of ak extreme aluminium, then a coat of hairspray, the landing gear door innards got a coat of zinc chromate.

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I think it’s interesting to note that in eduards mustang instructions they label the centre strip part of the large door zinc chromate and the outer bare metal. When in reality its the reverse of that. The centre chanel should be shiny (hence why this is masked here).
The hairspray is so i can chip the ZC away.

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The canopy had a big mould seam running along its top. So this has been sanded and polished away.

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Now the canopy is masked and dry fitting it, together with dry fitting the cowlings, she starts to look like a mustang. Those cowlings are magnetic and can be pulled on and off, as is the top cowl and bottom. I think having that option would always result in a larger panel gap and less tight fit than if its cemented in place. Another reason why I will choose to fix everything in place.

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The main gear legs have been constructed and got coat a coat of xtreme metal also

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The main gear doors and gear have been chipped and given a wash since last update.

 

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Again the bug bear of this kit is the interchangeable parts.

 

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This leading edge section (centre of the shot) (adjacent to the gun barrels leading edge cover) is intended to be taken on and off to interchange the recessed and extended undercarriage. So there would always be an oversized gap there if one was to go by the book.

As I’m fixing the undercarriage in an extended position, i can cement this in place and eliminate the gap with filler. However to fix it in place one has to have the undercarriage legs in place before its sealed. And in order to have the legs in place the doors have to be on the legs, and in order to have the doors in place the wheels need to be installed. So in order to eliminate that gap the entire undercarriage frustratingly has to be fitted and hence masked for painting the wings a real PITA

 

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I utilised the unneeded recessed gear cover as a temporary paint mask for the the gear bay.

 

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Here’s how she looks now, with the rear fuselage spine and engine cowlings now added.

 

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Next up is more filling sanding and priming.

One thing i am worried about with this kit is the super shallow rivets. The detail can so easily be totally lost with a thick coat of paint so i have to be very aware when painting.

Theres no real chance to sand without losing them all and reinstating them due to their shallowness.

 

 

 

Edited by Dansk
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Hi Dansk,

 

1/32 AND Tamiya can only be a gorgeous experience.

So far everything looks stunning!

 

Great show!

 

JR

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Thanks JR

 

my most recent update is masking for spraying a shiny black base.

the idea being that i will spray the whole airfra e in aluminium but where the black shiny base is the aluminium will look shinier and more geuine than that where there grey primer... well, thats the plan anyway whther it works or not is another matter 😄

 

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oh and i’ve made a new decision on the paint scheme and I’ll be going with 414809 jasper joker ii from this set thats now arrived....

 

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Edited by Dansk
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15 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Ooooh A 361st Group yellow jacket mustang. Probably my favorite group :yahoo:

I think they look so great in yellow.

 

well the bottom part has had its selective gloss black base now.

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