Tamiya 1/48 P-51B Build (2 Viewers)

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Hey, All,
Well, I am starting on the painting on the 'stang. My patience is being tried with the red band at the nose of Gentile's plane. Masking a straight line there is testing my patience sorely. But, it must be done. I'll post pics tomorrow.
Dale
 
Hey, All,
Well, got the red sprayed on, masked, and got the belly done. I contemplated doing some panel line highlights first, but decided I will use a wash or pastels after the main colors and decals are on. So, I just shot the belly with gray after masking off the red. Man, Tamiya masking tape saved my bacon on a bitch of masking job over THAT set of compound curves! So, time for bed.
IMG_5886.JPG


Plan for tomorrow to get the canopy masked off, get the far aft glass in, the front windscreen, then mask off the rest of the cockpit and get the OD down. Any hints on weathering at this stage? I am not real confident of my weathering skills with the airbrush. In my past, I used chalk pastels and a gentle application of that for the more subtle weathering. I am curious about how badly USAAF aircraft suffered weathering in the UK. How badly did Gentile's plane get beat up? I think some subtle chipping on the leading edges, wing root, and prop blades are fine. Feedback?

Dale
 
Last edited:
Colour pics of his aircraft - before he smashed it into the hump at Debden - show it to be relatively clean, with some paint chipping around screw heads on the cowlings and wing roots, but not that much. It also appeared to have a sheen to the overall finish, which might have been wax. Of course, the time of year would depend on it's overall appearance, with dirt splashes from the wheels, and the tyres dirty, in poor weather. The Crew Chief ensured the airframe was kept as clean as possible, not any easy job in the British weather (we don't have a climate - only weather!).
 
There's very little weathering I do with the airbrush. Depending on reference photos, I might post shade some panels and exhaust stains if these were heavy.

One trick with masking compound curves is to use a very thin strip of tape for the edge, applying this carefully to the desired shape, and then masking with thicker pieces behind the edging.
 
Hey, Andy,
That is excatly how I masked the red area on the nose. I used Tamiya's narrowest tape and took my sweet time laying it down and dbl checking and dbl checking and dbl checking.

Ok, so, just why the hell did I buy the pin vise and these teeny drill bits? Oh, maybe for........ see what you think

Drilled Exhaust.JPG


I sure hope this can be seen once posted.

Dale
 
Colour pics of his aircraft - before he smashed it into the hump at Debden - show it to be relatively clean, with some paint chipping around screw heads on the cowlings and wing roots, but not that much. It also appeared to have a sheen to the overall finish, which might have been wax. Of course, the time of year would depend on it's overall appearance, with dirt splashes from the wheels, and the tyres dirty, in poor weather. The Crew Chief ensured the airframe was kept as clean as possible, not any easy job in the British weather (we don't have a climate - only weather!).

Hey, Terry,
The research I have done (not that much) led me to believe that any weathering would be need to be of a very light touch. So, I am thinking some light exhaust stains, minor chipping at the root, may a tad on the blades, and light gun stains. Maybe a final, very light dusting of some gray pastel to tone down the colors just a touch. I was thinking about a matte finish versus a flat. I know more than few planes were waxed.

Dale
 
Sounds about right. The pics below show some light weathering which is mainly staining, and muddy footprints and so on. Note the different spinner colours, depending on dates, as well as the changes to the score board scroll,and the non shrouded exhausts.
The last shot shows how it ended up, and it's possibly still at the bottom of a pond, in a farmers field on the edge of what was Debden airfield, now an Army camp which I think is in the process of closing, if not closed already. The wreck was stripped of usable items, and bulldozed into the pond!
 

Attachments

  • Can Jan 085.jpg
    Can Jan 085.jpg
    112.9 KB · Views: 407
  • Can Jan 086.jpg
    Can Jan 086.jpg
    107.9 KB · Views: 376
  • Can Jan 087.jpg
    Can Jan 087.jpg
    73.8 KB · Views: 431
  • Can Jan 088.jpg
    Can Jan 088.jpg
    51.1 KB · Views: 364
  • Can Jan 090.jpg
    Can Jan 090.jpg
    87.5 KB · Views: 390
Hey, All,
Terry, THANK YOU for the pictures. I appreciate you taking the time find 'em and upload 'em. They have been a great help.

Got the basic painting done late last night. I let it all dry, dbl checked and here are the results.
Painted Bottom 1.JPG
Painted Bottom 2.JPG
Painted Top 1.JPG
Painted top and side 1.JPG
Painted Top and Side 2.JPG


One question. The area at the trailing edge of the wing where the flaps will be installed. Should the interior of that area be painted aluminum? The couple of pics I can find of P-51Bs seem to NMF. Correct?

Dale
 
Last edited:
Hi Dale. The paint finish looks great.

The area of NMF would be on the top of the flap like the picture below. The inside of the wing in reality would be unseen once the flaps are installed. There is also a strip of black and white banding in this area for visually indicating the flap extension to the pilot.

Reference_Photo_flap_skinning.jpg
 
The 'rolled' edge of the flaps were bare metal, with the two open inspection ports visible when lowered. The inner wing skin would more likely be in Z.C.
HOWEVER! Don't worry about it, as when the flaps are fitted, that area can't be seen. Leaving it bare of paint also helps when cementing the flaps in place.
EDIT: crossing posts with Andy ! The flap angle indicator was on the port side only, black bars on a yellow background, and can be seen in the first pic I posted, directly between the white recognition stripes.
 
Last edited:
Hey, All,
Thank you all for the feedback and the answers to the questions I have posted. I have yet another question. Looking at the first pic Terry posted, I see the out wheel hub is the same color as the nose. The few pics I have found indicate that the inner wheel bugs are not the same color. However, those pics show far more kills in the banner than the decals supplied with the kit. Any feedback?

Another point of contention between the kit and most of the pics I am finding..... the white spinner cap. Every picture I find show the spinner cap red. Sigh.... and I had the spinner looking damned nice in that kit shown white cap/red spinner base thing. Grrrrrrrrr.

Just had one of those "ah-ah" moments wrt the flap indicator. I was looking on the fuse. I now see it on the actual rolled area of the left flap. That will be fun to add (reaching for the very fine brush and the magnifying lamp).

I have the final coat of Future on. I found I can get a nice gloss finish with about 3 coats. I just dial back how much is being thrown from the brush and keep the brush moving and just go over the entire area several times per application. Seems to be working fine for me. I'll post a pic or two later this evening for your feedback.

Dale
 
Last edited:
The wheel hubs were painted red when the spinner and nose were given the Group Identifier colour (red) of the 4th FG. Before this, the nose band and spinner were white, part of the recognition markings. The inner wheel faces remained in bare metal, with the yoke of the leg in a dull, metallic grey, and the leg itself finished in a mix of silver paint and aluminium powder, which gave an 'off' silver look. Mix a small drop of matt white with silver, and this will replicate this.
The B&W photo was taken around march 1944, just about the time when the red was introduced. The white front part of the spinner might have been a temporary fit, or not yet painted for whatever reason when the photo was taken.
The scroll was painted to allow enough room for 'kills' and of course these increased until Gentille's final total. From what I remember, the Tamiya kit includes decals for the 'part' scoreboard, and final scoreboard. For a particular number of 'kill' markings, you'd need to decide on a date, and check his 'kills' total at that time.
The profile below is from the Osprey 'Mustang Aces' book.
 

Attachments

  • Can Jan 089.jpg
    Can Jan 089.jpg
    48 KB · Views: 404
Hey, All,
Well, started decaling, kinda. Anyone care to tell me the secret to Tamiya decals and Micro Sxx, either set or sol. Not using them both on the same decal. I started with Micro Sol on one decal. The sol seemed to run off the decal like water off a duck's back. Another decal, but with Micro Set. Same thing. What is the secret?
Dale
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back