1/48 Tamiya RAF Mustang III - W/O Pietrzak

[s1chris]

Ok so my next build is the following Mustang III -

As usual built to sit alongside the relics I have from this crash which claimed the life of the polish pilot W/O A Pietrzak. Details can be found in the crash report photos -

Photo Credit - http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co.uk/

I think these 1/48 Tamiya kits are great and Should get the build started over the weekend.

Cheers Chris

 

[Wurger]

Great !

 

[Crimea_River]

 

[Jeff Hunt]

Looking forward to watching this one.

Cheers,

Jeff

 

[dneid]

That is a phenomenal kit, at least the Gentel kit was stunning. just watch for the "lug" on the bottom of the cockpit floor and the wing. Once I ground down a touch of that lug, the fit was amazing!

 

[s1chris]

Thanks all, am I right in thinking that Mustang FX876 is NMF but appearing quite weathered?

Cheers Chris

 

[Peebs]

Looking forward to seeing your progress

 

[Wurger]

Thanks all, am I right in thinking that Mustang FX876 is NMF but appearing quite weathered?

Cheers Chris

All Polish P-51 Mustang III wore the standard RAF camouflage initially. Later, at the end of the war the "uniform" was removed or overpainted with the silver colour. Most pictures of Polish Mustangs with the NMF was taken after the war when nobody was going to take care of a better condition of coating.

Here is the Mustang IV PDoD of the 303 Squadron ...

 

[Wurger]

And here a clipped origin image with the the Mustang FX876 in ...

 

[s1chris]

Thanks Wojtek, I guessed you would be polish expert lol. So in war time conditions FX876 would have been camouflaged.
Now the decision of how to replicate it, camo or NMF? Also from the photo at the top with W/O Pietzak sat on the cockpit side, can anybody tell me what he is credited with at that point in time from the markings on the side?

Cheers Chris

 

[Wurger]

Judging by the squadron emblem it is a Mustang III of the 316th Squdaron but not of the 309th one.

 

[s1chris]

Also if I'm correct it has a different hood fitted?

 

[Wurger]

The slided back cockpit conopy is the Malcolm hood that replaced the american , side open type one. As far as the Mustang III in the picture with Aleksander Pietrzak is concerned .... it might have been the FB 378 of the code letters SZ-X lost on the 12th 07 1944 during the anti-diver action . On that day the morning patrol against V-1s was issued. An intercepted V-1 missile exploded destroying Pietrzak's aircraft. The pilot bailed out.

 

[s1chris]

Wow what a guy. That would make sense as the start of the "S" on the side of the fuselage is viable.
Such a shame he was killed only weeks before the end of the war.

We in Great Britain owe a lot to the Poles, something that I think is forgotten in modern day Britian by the majority.

 

[Wayne Little]

Good stuff chris!

 

[Lucky13]

 

[Airframes]

Good stuff, and yes that Mustang III is in bare metal, not painted silver. By early 1945, some aircraft were stripped of paint, and many new 'D' version (Mustang IV) arrived in bare metal, apart from the coated wing, of course.
Judging by the formation and the presence of drop tanks, that looks like an operational flight, still during the war.
Note that the 'Malcolm' hood did not have vertical frames on the opening section, the edges being rolled Perspex - a mistake many modellers make.

 

[Donivanp]

This is a cool subject, and yes the bare metal stangs did have the wing painted. The Tamiya 51 is a great kit as are most of their newer offerings. Malcolm hood I like as well. I shall endeavor to follow along on you merry course to stardom.

 

[s1chris]

Thanks all for the valuable input.
Not started yet as I have been finishing off my Martlet.
Hopefully the only question I will need to ask -

What to use for the NMF? I have heard of Alclad (spelling) and seen the results? Any other suggestions?
The photo appears to me to be in weathered/brushed aluminium and not the highly polished finish that can be seen on some birds. How best to recreate this?

Cheers Chris

 

[Airframes]

Alclad II provides a very good finish, in the various tones, although I haven't used it myself. Mainly due to the relative expense, and the somewhat involved process - if it goes wrong, it does so big style, from what I've heard and seen.
You could try the method I describe in my 'Bare Metal Made easy' thread. It can be a bit messy, but works extremely well, and has the advantage of using normal paint, also allowing many variations in tone.
Incidentally, the product mentioned in the article (SNJ Polishing Powder), is no longer available, but it's just aluminium powder anyway, and can be bought, at a very good price for a larger container, from suppliers of forensic materials, as it's used for fingerprinting. I recently bought two tubs, more than twice the contents of the original SNJ product in each, for less than the original cost of one SNJ bottle !