1:48 P-51D by Tamiya 44-13410 LOU IV (1 Viewer)

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So the resin kit included a new tail, rudder and the two rear landing gear doors which were molded on the original tail. It also contained a blob I am not sure of, perhaps the small landing gear doors were attached to it and they fell off in transit. Picture #1 shows the resin parts laid out.

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The way the kit was designed the old tail was to be cut off right along a panel line. And the resin part had panel lines and details that appear to otherwise exactly match the tail that came with the kit.

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So, after some very careful use of my brand new saw I had the old tail off, and the new tail dry fitted in place. It appears to line up and I can feel no step or bump where the forward fuselage joins the new replacement tail!

Have to say thanks again George, a great suggestion and I am very happy with the preliminary results. The rest will be up to me attaching the rudder and the landing gear doors but I am pretty happy with how it looks!

Any suggestions on the best adhesive to use when joining resin to polystyrene?

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It is quite difficult to melt a resin using glues, right. The problem is that the fuselage and the tail are made of different materials. The glue for the polistyrene can work with the plastic but not with the resin. And vice-versa the epoxy that works great with the resin can't work with the plastic. So.. the only one is a CA adhesive that can work with both polistyrene and resin. Of course neither the plastic nor resin is melted by the CA glue.
 
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Looks like a nice neat job Robert, well done. The only reason I found out about the conversion is I started a "Stash" file on www.scalemates.com When you enter a kit you have, up pops all sorts of add-ons as well: conversions, masks, P.E., decals etc. It's not complete as additions are made all the time but it does save searching
 
Looks like a nice neat job Robert, well done. The only reason I found out about the conversion is I started a "Stash" file on www.scalemates.com When you enter a kit you have, up pops all sorts of add-ons as well: conversions, masks, P.E., decals etc. It's not complete as additions are made all the time but it does save searching
I had noticed that, after you first suggested the site way back, but I have only entered a few of the stash so far so did not see the tail! But sure glad you did!
 
Lots more progress. Also will be restarting my SBD group build as the parts arrived. But for now have the new tail on, pretty much all of the seams (they were not bad at all on this kit) have been filled. Still adding seat belts and new paint to the pilots seat, that should be done tomorrow.

Pic 1 is attaching the rudder, the tail is already attached and sanded.
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Next photo is some of the sanding and seam filling on the nose.

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Someone asked why I primed first, and the answer is I saw the technique done elsewhere by someone that wanted a visual cue on how and where they were sanding. I felt it would help me better control my tendency to over sand.

Next pic is the only seam I needed to fill on the belly. I used sprue glue and very careful taping/masking.
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The final couple of pics show handling the wing seams. I also used sprue glue on these along with as tight a masking line as I could. I was pretty happy with how they came out.
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And for the moment that is where she sits, on the list is to mix up a batch of paint of the correct color and repaint the wheel wells. That will take a bit of trial and error but am looking forward to making some test mixes and will post the results here for comment.

Thanks for looking in!
 

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