discussion Tamiya 1/32 P-51 D (but as a Mustang IV)

[stona]

It's been a while since I did one too. This kit was lurking in the Fuhrerin's shoe emporium until I recently rediscovered it. It is many years old, probably dates from Xmas following the release in 2012 (?). I just checked the price today and couldn't find it anywhere under 100+ quid, which is a substantial sum of anybody's hard earned cash. Having said that, I think you get your money's worth, even if some of the features are completely redundant and a bit toy like (who is going to swop between U/C down and U/C up for example?)

Next up (for the BoB GB) is a Revell Spitfire II, same scale. It's not a bad kit, but costs just 25 quid. I would say that you still get your money's worth, but of course it's nothing like the Tamiya offerings.

As the old saying goes, 'you pays your money and you takes your choice'.

Cheers

William Avery Rockefeller (I wish!)

 

[stona]

Close of play and I've completed all the gubbins for the oil cooler and radiator, they are all action if you want to open and close the outlet flaps (which is fun...once!)

I also completed what needed to be done at the nose to fit the cowlings. This, unexpectedly, included building the air intake duct, but it all went together very nicely.



Next up, even more spindles and photo etch for the control surface hinges :flushed:

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

I've now started on the wheel well(s).
Once again everything fits together nicely and there is plenty of room for some improvements for those of an obsessive disposition. Me? I'll just build them as they come from the kit.
There is some debate about the colour, but I have it from a couple of reputable sources that ALL P-51s sent to the UK had silver wheel wells, so I have ignored the instructions call for interior green. I have left the back of the well in ZC yellow, since this was made up of the wing main spar and was finished that way on all P-51s. You really don't want your main spar suffering corrosion!



I've also spent a while filling all the beautifully molded panel lines and rivets on the relevant areas of the wings. Large areas of the P-51 wing were filled and finished in an aluminium dope in an effort to maintain the famous laminar flow as far back on the wing as possible. None of todays warbirds bother with this, and I expect those are the aircraft from which Tamiya took their information.



I'm looking forward to picking the filler out of one or two places it shouldn't be with the tip of the scriber!

Cheers

Steve

 

[yak face]

Wing details on Mustangs is something that bugs me Steve. Manufacturers all have the panel lines engraved and a lot of modellers paint different panels in different shades and lather it in panel wash and it’s not strictly right . Yes ,as you say lot of restored warbirds dont bother filling the panel gaps and polish them to high hell, maybe all the kit makers just go to these for reference .

 

[stona]

Yes ,as you say lot of restored warbirds dont bother filling the panel gaps and polish them to high hell, maybe all the kit makers just go to these for reference .

It's the warbirds and other museum examples that they measure and note when they make the drawings for their molds.

The best representation of the P-51 wing finish I've seen is the one attached. Not all that lighter area was finished exactly the same, but it was all filled and painted in one way or another.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Here's an example of something beautifully engineered by Tamiya, but which will be utterly redundant for most model builders.

This is the tail wheel assembly.



You can see that it is in a sort of tub. This can be dropped into the fuselage where it is held in place with a locating pin and magnets. You then position the lower fuselage skin over it (here without the gear doors).



Why?

Because the kit includes an alternate version with which you can pose the model in flight, undercarriage retracted. If you want you can whip out the wheel down 'tub' and replace it with the wheel up version.

It's brilliantly done, but would anybody actually do this?

It might sound like nit picking, but I'm sure features like this, of which there are several, don't make the kit any cheaper!

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

This morning I got to the point where I could fix all the bits and pieces I built over the weekend. That means I've now got a model which looks like an aeroplane, always a satisfying part of any build.
All the control surfaces I built 'properly', with Tamiya's plethora of little shafts, grommets and photo-etch, which means they are all poseable, not that they will get moved much once the model is finished!
This image is as it is, I haven't even looked at tidying or sanding any seams, not that there is much to do, the fit of the kit is staggering, and shows just what can be achieved with injection molded parts. The filler is there to fill panel lines which should not be there on a wartime Mustang.



There's still a long way to go, images like that above can give the impression of a bit of a false dawn, but with more than three weeks to go until the start of the BoB GB I'm hoping to be finished by then. We'll see, I won't be rushing!

Cheers

Steve

 

[adt70hk]

Hi Steve

Just caught up this. It's looking very good indeed!! Should look great once finished!

ATB

Andrew

 

[stona]

I've now got the majority of the construction finished.



Which means I will shortly be thinking about getting some paint on. I've decided to give the MRP lacquers a go, so I started with something easy, the undercarriage doors which are constructed in another of Tamiya's modular and magnet attached units.
It looks like this (partially complete).



It's not easy to see the exact colour, it's on what is the outside of the doors, but I have to say that the paint sprayed very easily, coverage is good and it and has left a nice smooth surface. Not having to thin the product is a bonus. What's not to like? Incidentally, despite being lacquer based, I didn't find the paint smelly, certainly not compared to the Alclad II I've also been spraying this morning. So far I'm suitably impressed, I'll see how I get on with the camouflage over the next few days.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

I've got the thing primed (weird reaction between the primer and black paint on the windscreen which was a bit annoying) and have sprayed and masked the yellow leading edge stripes. I couldn't find the specification for the Mustang, so went with that for the Spitfire, that is a 4" wide stripe (3.2 mm to scale).
I've also sprayed the US equivalent of Sky for the fuselage band. It's nothing like Sky, and why the British Purchasing Commission accepted it only they would know. That will be masked to 18" (14.3mm to scale) once the paint has dried.



I shall be giving the MRP paints a proper go on the underside later, or tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes!

 

[stona]

I've sprayed the underside, and it went rather well.

The MRP paint is clearly a very good product. It sprayed nicely as advertised, straight out of the bottle. It's quite thin and I did drop my pressure a bit, down to about 20 psi.

It dries really quickly, so quickly that it was drying on the sides of the airbrush cup before I'd sprayed a cupful, not something I'm used to, but I had no issue with it drying at the tip, blocking the nozzle etc., so I have no problem with this. I was spraying slowly in very light coats, as I've never used this stuff before and flooding the model with a lacquer based paint seemed a particularly bad idea! It means I took longer than usual to use a cup of paint, I'd probably put less in next time.

The dried finish is excellent, I had rubbed down the primer so that the surface had that smooth 'glassy' feel, and the surface feels exactly the same with the MRP paint applied. I would go so far as to say it's one of the best finishes I've seen from any of the many, many paints I've used.

I was surprised how much paint I used to get decent coverage. It would be great for the pre-shaders, and if/when I use it again I will use that technique. I was spraying a light grey but even covering the very light, almost white, fuselage band took several passes, as did the yellow on the leading edges. This isn't a criticism, just an observation. It is very difficult to compare the amount used to my normal, enamel, system, which requires thinning, but it seemed a lot.

Finally, it's just about idiot proof! Anyone with basic competence with an airbrush will have no trouble at all with this stuff.

I'd give the MRP paints 9/10 and would be happy to use them again. I'd also recommend them to anyone looking to try something new. I did not find them smelly, though they are not odourless, the usual precautions and a decent extractor are all that's required.

 

[spanner570]

Looking good Steve.

Since your return to S.M., it's good to read that in your absence you didn't get into the disgusting habit of calling aircraft, 'Planes'

You might recall an exchange of posts a while back, where we both agreed, 'planes' were things you pushed along a piece of wood to create shavings, and were never meant to fly, due, we agreed, to extremely poor aerodynamic qualities.

Reggie Joe Mitchell

 

[BarryW]

Glad that you are enjoying the MRP.

I would suggest spraying with a little less air pressure. The pigment is so fine that most people find the best results are at around 10-12 psi. I certainly do.

You may find that you blow through less paint this way.

Also Steve if you have some MLT, try the mist coat trick, you may find the finish even finer once it has dried. Don’t flood it though!!!

The build is certainly coming along great and you really are doing it justice.

 

[stona]

It's good stuff. Not having to thin is an obvious advantage. I'm happy thinning my paint, but the number of questions we see asking about thinning would tend to show that it is something that is an issue for a lot of people.

I haven't done any masking yet, but the finish looks pretty durable. I usually leave plenty of time between painting and masking anyway, I'm not in a rush!

I'm just using regular cellulose thinners for the clean up. I'm currently using a relatively expensive brand (Rustins) because it was all I could get quickly a few weeks ago. I bet a misting of that would reactivate the paint!

 

[stona]

You might recall an exchange of posts a while back, where we both agreed, 'planes' were things you pushed along a piece of wood to create shavings, and were never meant to fly, due, we agreed, to extremely poor aerodynamic qualities.

Reggie Joe Mitchell

Quite right too.

Beverley Strahan Shenstone MASc, HonFRAes, FAIAA, AFIAS, FCAISI, HonOSTIV

 

[Tim Marlow]

Only if the word “Plane” is being used as a noun lads.......the verb “to plane” means to glide or soar with no movement of wings.......sounds like an aeroplane to me :tongue-out3:
Yours, an educated Salisbury alumni. I therefore know what words mean, but my accent ensures no one can understand what I say.....:thumb2:

 

[spanner570]

...just a bit of tongue in cheek fun, Tim.

In any case we were referring to the object and not it's flying characteristics.

Believe it or not, I have a modicum of education, and also know what words mean.....but I digress.

Lots of love.

Helen Marguerite Home

 

[stona]

A plane


An aeroplane



:tongue-out3: Ronnie Biggs (handy with a plane)

 

[Tim Marlow]

Tongue in cheek from me as well Ron......obviously my humour is on a higher plane.....a Record number 04 smoothing plane to be precise.....

 

[Tim Marlow]

By the way, the Mustang is looking great.....