**** DONE: 1/48 P-51B "Lambie II" - Allied Manufactured Aircraft

[JKim]

Nice looking cockpit Andy! Interested to hear/see more about the puttied seams, especially on a natural metal finish.

 

[fubar57]

Very nice additions.

Geo

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far Andy!

 

[chris brown]

Hey Andy, I'm not sure if you have seen which seems got puttied on Mustang wings but I stole this image from the ARC forum which should help you out. The dark areas would remain in NMF (on NMF planes)and have visible rivets. The lighter areas would have been puttied and painted in aluminum paint. The light gray lines shows the seems that would have been filled.

Hope it helps, if not you than maybe others who might not know.

 

[fubar57]

Thanks for that Chris. Were the gun panels metal or puttied?

Geo

 

[Wurger]

Actually... the wing above is for D variant of P-51.

 

[chris brown]

The gun access panels were not puttied, but it looks like they were painted aluminum with the rest of the wing. But I can't say with certainty.

 

[chris brown]

According to the thread I was reading, this applies to all variants from A to D. Here is a link to the thread. Some of the first posts were deleted but the pics are re-posted later in the thread.

Mustang Wings and panel seams - ARC Discussion Forums

 

[Wurger]

OK. Here some of info and a couple of pics I found via the net...

"The first 40% of the wing chord was sprayed with one coat of zinc chromate primer followed by enough coats of Acme Gray Surfacer No. 53N5 to cover all irregularities. Skin butt joints were then filled with Acme Red Vellunite glazing putty N 58485. The entire area was then sanded and sprayed with one coat of camouflage enamel. When camouflage was deleted, the forward portion of the wing (sometimes the entire wing) was sprayed aluminium."

"The wing leading edge of the Mustang will be smoothed and surfaced as outlined in the P-51B and P51C Series Repair Manual Repoert no NA-5741, with the exception of that the camouflage coats will be deleted and aluminiumized lacquer will be applied over the surfaces. The deletion of the camouflage will eliminate approximately 42 pounds of finish from the B-25 Series Airplanes and 16 pounds of finish from the P-51 Series Airplanes. It is anticipated that the removal of the camouflage will also result in materially increased speed."

 

[Wurger]

And one more diagram... to answer the Geo's question - the gun panels were puttied and painted in the same way the entire top of the wing was.

The light blue areas - two layers of the putty then sanding to the smooth surface without seeing rivet lines. And then, applying of the silver coat.
The green areas - one layer of the putty then sanding to the smooth surface without seeing rivet lines. And then, applying of the silver coat.
The yellow areas - the silver coat only.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks for all the info guys. Chris, yes, I had read that reference and have that diagram filed. Despite being a diagram for the D version, I think it's a fair assumption that the B was similarly treated.

At the moment, I'm catching up with "Wild Bill" and will be in a position to address the wing seams on both aircraft over the weekend. Thanks again for all the info.

 

[chris brown]

Great pics and info Wurger! I would assume that while rivets on the access doors would be puttied, the actual fasteners would not or else rearming the guns would be quite a challenge! One last thought on the wings on the Tamiya kit, I think I read somewhere that the raised rivets on the bottom of the wings next to where the landing gear attaches where a post war mod or used on a restored aircraft that Tamiya copied.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks for that Chris. Were the gun panels metal or puttied?

Geo

Only seams/joints and rivet depressions were filled. The remainder was coated in a glazing putty, which was then polished smooth, rather like a thin coat of primer. The surfaces were then painted in 'Aluminium'. As Far as I know, the gun access hatch panels were painted, as the 'glazing' was only done as far back as the main spar, the remainder being primed and painted.
EDIT:- Didn't see Wojtek's reply before posting this, which gives a better description.

 

[Wayne Little]

Cool detail...

 

[Crimea_River]

This next series of pictures shows the panel lines being filled with CA glue, filed flat with a jeweler's file, and then sanded with various grades of wet/dry paper. It's strange but the filled panel lines still show up as a darker colour, though they are in fact level with the surrounding surfaces.

The wings are now smooth enough to receive a coat of primer for checking the seams but this will be done after everything is assembled. Thanks for looking in.

 

[Wayne Little]

Way to go Andy, my preferred method for those seam lines...

 

[Wurger]

 

[JKim]

Interesting work... what are the advantages of filling panel lines with CA glue?

 

[Catch22]

Interesting information guys.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys.

Interesting work... what are the advantages of filling panel lines with CA glue?

Dries quickly, can be easily built up, files and sands smooth, and sticks like sh!t to a blanket. Other options: putty (messier), stretched sprue (kinda fiddley to get the right size to fill the gap properly), or Milliput (long dry time).