Monogram 1/48 P-51D (Revell boxing) ++FINISHED++

[Quailane]

This is my first post on this forum. I've been eyeing this group build for a while now, and I guess it is now or never.

 

I'll be building this Monogram tooling of the P-51D. It was re-released under the Revell brand name.

 

 

 

Revell had their own unique tooling of the same aircraft, but it is a lot rarer to find. I'm not sure why, but I hope to build both side-by-side at some point in the not too distant future. I do own one copy of each tooling, so let's look at them side-by-side:

 

 

They are obviously quite different. I've heard from people that the Revell tooling is "better," but I won't know until I build them both at the same time. I won't be doing that now, though. The Monogram tooling reminds me very closely of their 1/48 B-29 I built a few years ago, including using the same soft dark plastic. The kit is simple and should go together quickly. The canopy will remain closed and I will paint it with Tamiya lacquer spray. Only have a few weeks to get it done. I think most of the time will be spent with decals for "Big Beautiful Doll." That's all for now. I'll start the kit within the next 24 hours and let you know how it goes.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Quailane

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome to the build, Ive built about 10 Monogram mustangs to only one Revell. They're a bit rare but nothing too hard to find. I think I prefer the Monogram as Im so familiar with its foibles I know what to expect. 

[Quailane]

 

The annoying part of the cockpit assembly is that the seat doesn't really sit anywhere in particular on the cockpit floor. The best I could do was looking at pictures of other models to judge where best to attack the seat. Besides what is in the picture, I prepared a lot of smaller pieces for a spray of primer. If I don't get a chance to spray primer over the cockpit and other bits tomorrow, I'll do it on Saturday morning. I was expecting to have to use more filler on ejector marks, but there aren't many. I test fit some larger parts and it looks like the model will come together very quickly. The only other classic Monogram fighter I completed was a P-39, and I was impressed by how well that put together. I'm on the fence about using the included the pilot. He actually looks quite nice for being a product of 1977. Looks better than I remember the discarded crew of the Monogram B-29 I made, and the P-61 my brother made. I just don't know if I want to spend the extra time painting him or possibly use him for another project.

 

8 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Welcome to the build, Ive built about 10 Monogram mustangs to only one Revell. They're a bit rare but nothing too hard to find. I think I prefer the Monogram as Im so familiar with its foibles I know what to expect. 

Thanks. The Monogram seems as good as I could have expected. I've never completed a P-51 before from any manufacturer or in any scale and I'm excited to move through this project at a pace I'm usually unfamiliar with.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Quailane

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

3 hours ago, Quailane said:

Thanks. The Monogram seems as good as I could have expected. I've never completed a P-51 before from any manufacturer or in any scale and I'm excited to move through this project at a pace I'm usually unfamiliar with.

The biggest things with the Monogram are the lower cowling and port wing gun bay fit. If you're leaving them off then no issues. However if you want to add them you may need to shim them with plastic strip. That will help get a good smooth fit on the outer skin. 

[Quailane]

On 10/21/2022 at 2:12 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

The biggest things with the Monogram are the lower cowling and port wing gun bay fit. If you're leaving them off then no issues. However if you want to add them you may need to shim them with plastic strip. That will help get a good smooth fit on the outer skin. 

I plan on having the wing gun bay open. The lower cowl I'm not sure about yet. It would be hidden under the decal, so that would help hide it, but also painting that interior area shouldn't be difficult. We'll see.

 

Here was yesterday:

 

Here is now:

 

I really messed up by spraying the cockpit floor with Mr. Hobby black 1500 grit finishing surfacer. It was too smooth for the aqueous acrylics I use to adhere to the surface. In the future I will only spray things black that will either be sprayed over, painted over with a metal color, or will remain black.

[Toryu]

On 22/10/2022 at 09:03, Quailane said:

The lower cowl I'm not sure about yet. It would be hidden under the deca

 

I built several of them (see here), and customarily removed the faked lower engine interior completely. Then the cowling will fit smoothly.

 

Cheers, Michael

 

[Quailane]

 

Here we are as of right now on the wings and fuselage. I've worked some more on the other bits such as the prop and landing gear. I've run into a problem with the fitment of the canopy if I want it in the closed position. I really do want it closed, so I'll try to figure that out.

 

On 10/27/2022 at 1:21 AM, Toryu said:

 

I built several of them (see here), and customarily removed the faked lower engine interior completely. Then the cowling will fit smoothly.

 

Cheers, Michael

 

 

That's a good idea. I saw a photograph of that area and it looked ok to me, but it would be easier to just keep that panel attached to the fuselage.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Quailane

[Toryu]

5 hours ago, Quailane said:

I've run into a problem with the fitment of the canopy if I want it in the closed position

One more hint if I may - the Squadron aftermarket canopy fits very well, looks nicer and isn‘t too expensive.

 

[Quailane]

Sorry I haven't updated lately. Just a little bit every day. I was just doing some decals now, but no pictures of that yet. Some of these big ones are very difficult. I used Tamiya TS-17 aluminum spray, and it looks better than I thought it would. I sprayed directly over the plastic. It was difficult to try to not spray too much so that the color ran, but enough so that it was covered well. This was easier than Tamiya's metallic polycarbonate spray I have used.

 

[Quailane]

It's hard to tell, but the landing gear door has a strip painted steel that looks pretty nice in real life. The line separating the white and black parts of the spinner was difficult to mask.

 

 

 

The decals are quite crisp and legible:

 

 

The decals react well to Tamiya's Mark Fit. The problem is that the instructions are a little ambiguous on the placement of some of them, so I had to guess a bit. Looking at photos and profiles helped a bit, but I think the sizes of the decals and the panel lines on the aircraft may not be 100% accurate, but close enough for most of them.

 

This plane is starting to leak really good!

 

A huge problem I had was that I lost one of the outer landing gear doors. I ordered some .5 and 1mm styrene sheet that I'll use to try to scratch-build two new ones using the remaining original as a template.

 

I think tomorrow I need to take a break, but I should still be able to finish this weekend.

[Toryu]

Looks fantastic! Col. Landers' P-51D is my favourite 78th FG aircraft.

[Quailane]

Those checker decals are a real pain. I followed the directions to trim and cut them to help with fitting. I even went beyond their recommendations and it still isn't pretty. Oh well. Also I placed the national insignia too far forward on the fuselage, so now the the name "Big Beautiful Doll" won't fit. The decals are usually my favorite part, but it's turning out to be one of the least fun aspects. Should be no problem finishing within the next few days for the deadline!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Sorry to hear this about the decals. I have three sets of A/M collected over the years of this very scheme. I plan on doing “Big Beautiful Doll” someday but when He was C/O of the 361st FG. The 78th Checker’s look great but Im a fan of when the mustang had the yellow nose. 

[Quailane]

Still wet after spraying the matte clear coat. I was concerned about the results on the aluminum finish, but I think it made it look even more realistic. 

 

 

I glued on the external fuel tanks yesterday, and today I realized that they were on the wrong sides. I was able to fit the "Big Beautiful Doll" marking on the side by removing one column of kill markings. I didn't damage the paint too badly in the process.

 

 

Completed. I think these pictures are pretty poor quality. It looks better in real life, I promise!

 

 

On 11/11/2022 at 8:56 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Sorry to hear this about the decals. I have three sets of A/M collected over the years of this very scheme. I plan on doing “Big Beautiful Doll” someday but when He was C/O of the 361st FG. The 78th Checker’s look great but Im a fan of when the mustang had the yellow nose. 

 

It's fine. The clear coat helped smooth out the checker decals and blend the little bit of touching up I did with black and white paint, but the wrinkles still remain. I also love the aircraft as a yellow nose. There is an aftermarket decal set that depicts two depicts multiple "Big Beautiful Doll" schemes, I think a total of 5 of them on two aircraft. I would love to try another.

Edited November 13, 2022 by Quailane

[stevej60]

Anyone trying to tell you old kit's are not worth building needs to see work like this,beautiful build and finish.

[Quailane]

29 minutes ago, stevej60 said:

Anyone trying to tell you old kit's are not worth building needs to see work like this,beautiful build and finish.

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

[JeroenS]

Very nice work, great finish.