Decals for Stencils used on Bare Aluminum such as P-51 Wheel Bays

[sharkmouth]

I posted this information a few days ago.  I understand that my post may have been permanently deleted.  It was posted here as I was looking for stencils to use in the P-51D Mustang main gear bays.  I followed the original post up once I found the decals, see attached, in case anyone else was looking for them. 

Someone responded with what seemed to state that the stencils were never used on wartime Mustangs.  I was told to refer to "Building the P-51 Mustang" book by Michael O'Leary and 'reformulate' my question.  I replied that I had the book but was building Latin American Mustangs (which may have been rebuilt).  A third person then posted that I was in the wrong forum as it should be Post War (or Cold War), so I apologized after removing my content. 

 

Looking at the aforementioned book, I see the stencils clearly on the bare aluminum of the Mustangs on the production line in several photos.  I would refer the reader to page 103 where the stencils are clearly seen between the puttied rows of rivets on a P-51B and page 105 where they are clearly seen on several panels to include the fuel tank cover panel, main landing gear wheel covers, and other skin panels.  On page 145, bottom left, we can clearly make out the stencils on a P-51D upper wing.  These are the clearest examples of the stencils in use during wartime production.

 

The decals which have these stencils are only available in 1/32nd scale from Fundekals, reference number 32001:

The red stencils are in the rectangle to the left of the upper 'Star and Bar' which is horizontally oriented.

 

I hope this is of use to someone.

 

Regards,

Edited February 5, 2022 by sharkmouth
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[Peter Roberts]

There were some wheel bay stencil decals done a while back in other scales, a custom job. I got a couple of sets. I think it was from someone on Hyperscale, so may be worth a post there if you need other than 1/32 scale.

 

Thanks for the tip re:the Fundekal sheet, good info. Yes, I think at the time there were several photos posted of what I believe to be WW2 era P-51’s with these stencils. Tricky to apply given the framing that goes over the roof of the wheel well… 🙄

 

Edit: alternatively, if you want other scales, you could try photocopying the Fundecals sheet (for your own use only of course) at a reduced scale onto clear decal? Going over aluminium you may be able to get away with enough opacity?

Edited February 5, 2022 by Peter Roberts

[sharkmouth]

Thank you Peter,

 

I do recall someone using decals on a 1/48th scale kit, not sure if it was custom.  I contacted the owners of Fundekals and they informed me that they didn't plan on smaller scales other than 32nd.

 

As for application, simply cut into strips and apply in a line with the second alternating enough to create an overlap of the information printed.  This was done so that smaller panels still had the information of the stencil which included important information like thickness. 

 

Regards,

[Coors54]

I think these stencils are to identify the grade of metal that the raw sheet is, they're still used when you buy Alclad sheets now, usually something like 2021T3. It's usually on one side of the sheet so whether they show depends on which way up the sheet is used.

It's a nice detail but it's not part of the official aircraft stencil markings, which is why it's not always visible.

 

Dave

 

PS the stencil is also easily removed with thinners so it wouldn't last long in high use areas, the wheel bay roof etc isn't touched much so would stay around longer. Same story with engineers blue when the fabricator is marking up sheets for cutting.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Coors54
PS

[sharkmouth]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:59 AM, Coors54 said:

I think these stencils are to identify the grade of metal that the raw sheet is, they're still used when you buy Alclad sheets now, usually something like 2021T3.

Correct.  This was on all the aluminum sheets we used when fabricating panels during restorations.  I recall removing it with a fast-drying solvent (probably alcohol) as it was simply a red stamped, repeating, and staggered text used to identify the brand, alloy, and thickness of the metal.  It is hard to remember all the details as I earned my A&P (Airframe and Powerplant) licenses over forty years ago while at Aviation High School in NYC.  Sadly, there were no jobs upon graduation but my Avionics certificate at least got me a foot up in the electronics field.  I never lost my love of aircraft and had volunteered many times while single.  Wives don't particularly care for one to volunteer restoring warbirds for free and far away!

 

I think the better word would be stamps, instead of stencils.

 

Thanks again Dave!  You had me reminiscing.

 

Regards,

Edited February 7, 2022 by sharkmouth
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