Creamer's Dream - Red Tails P-51D from the Tamiya kit in 1:32

[al49]

Hi everybody,
I'm here again to show some progress:

and a big step backwards.

Where is gone the engine?

Here it is:

Broken back into pieces!
Why?
When I did a dry fit,I found that the main cowling couldn't be positioned bacause the right bank wasn't glued with the correct angle.
The issue has been understood and tomorrow I will put those pieces together again and re-start the cabling job ...
Alberto

 

[Crimea_River]

Too bad Alberto but you'll soon get it sorted.

 

[parsifal]

Alberto I like your work

 

[Wayne Little]

Some good work going on here...

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Nice work so far!

 

[al49]

Fortunately the issue with the engine was not too difficult to sort-out, here the result:

back in its place:

Some little paint retouches are needed here and there,

and as you can see, cowls fit almost perfectly now.

More to follow soon.
Alberto

 

[Airframes]

Nice !

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[parsifal]

amazing work. you are moving along pretty well alberto

 

[fubar57]

Nicely done.



Geo

 

[Crimea_River]

Good stuff Sergio. I didn't realize til now that there was just the single electrical harness along the top of the engine as the earlier model I'm working on has 2. Looks like you have it right though.

 

[al49]

Many thanks for all comments, yes I'm moving fast with this project while I have two other model reasonably advanced slipping in the cabinet on my back.

Still, here some details of the lower part of the engine, will be almost invisible at the end, unfortunately.

Instead details of the gun bay will be visible.

Next I assembled wings and fuselage together:

It can be seen that those parts that can be switched to show the model on wheel or flying, leave large slots that must be filled with something.

Now I have to sort-out two big questions, will the wing of my model have to replicate the "puttied" surface? How should I manage to do that?
Many thanks in advance for any suggestion.
Alberto

 

[Airframes]

Looking good Alberto.
Yes, the wing would be puttied, sealed and polished, as seen in the painting diagrams. I would think that a couple of coats of primer, heavier over the major joint, should do the job. Once the NMF is sprayed, it should look acceptable enough.

 

[Crimea_River]

I did mine by filling the panel lines with CA glue and filing and sanding smooth. Would have been easier to do that before assembly though.

 

[al49]

Thanks to all for suggestions.
One question on the filler: I'm not enough confident in my capability to use ca glue as filler on such large areas, so I would prefer to use something softer.
For instance I have Mr Surfacer 100 in a rattle can, but it's too difficult to control, but I also have a jar of the same and I would prefer to use it, so the question is: what should I use to thin it in order to spray with an airbrush.
Thanks
Alberto

 

[Crimea_River]

My opinion: thinning and spraying defeats the purpose and you will end up having to put on several coats to hide the details. If you use a brush and apply the stuff from the bottle directly onto the rivets and panel lines, it may go quicker.

 

[al49]

Many thanks. I think your idea is very good and solve the thinner problem too.
Alberto

 

[Crimea_River]

I meant "thinning and spraying", not "filling and spraying" and have fixed my post. Sounds like you understood what I was trying t say anyway.