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

[JKim]

I won't buy Montex masks anymore because of the lifting you are experiencing. On my last build, I used the Montex masks as templates for new masks cut from Tamiya tape. The Eduard masks are MUCH better in my opinion. Your work looks great as always!

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far Andy!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. John, I wouldn't buy them either but, since I got these for free, I figured they were better than trying to make my own especially on the curved frames. I agree the Eduard masks are top notch but usually don't buy any as I can't justify the expense when, with a little work, I can do an acceptable masking job myself.

 

[javlin]

That Ed copit set dressed her up nice in side Andy.I like the colors of Lambie

 

[Totalize]

Haven't heard good things about Montex masks too but I'm a sucker for the Eduard masks. I like them a lot given the limited bench time I get.


Nice work on the canopy Andy. She's looking good.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks everyone. The next series of pics were taken over the last 5 days. I still wasn't happy with the fit of the canopy so I continued working at it. After about three seam fills with primer, filing, and green paint reapplication, I got the satisfactory smooth transition from the fuselage to the glazing that I was looking for.

When I thought I had everything up to snuff, the whole model was primed. A couple of areas still needed a bit of attention as can be seen by the sanded patches.

Yesterday, I masked the wings and painted the main surfaces with Alclad Dull Aluminum and the ailerons, flaps, and wing tips with Alclad Duraluminum. The Dull Aluminum, as expected, came out a but grainy so I polished these surfaces with a 12000 grit micro-mesh pad. The jury is out on how this turned out as the finish came out a bit patchy though this isn't easily seen in the pictures. Today, I finished the rest of the NMF, leaving the nose unpainted since it will get the blue flash. The rest of the aircraft was done in Duraluminum except for the cowl pieces around the exhaust stacks which were masked and painted with Alclad Magnesium.

The overall finish certainly has room for improvement as there are a few blemishes that are quite evident on close inspection. I hope that once the decals and other colours are on, these things will be less noticeable. Being my first real attempt at an overall NMF finish since returning the hobby ten years ago, I'm reasonably satisfied with the result and hope to carry forward some learnings to the next ones.

 

[fubar57]

She looks good from this side of the Rockies. I've read that Alclad is susceptible to finger prints. Is that true and if so, howyagonna deal with it?

Geo

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Scrubbed up alright andy.

 

[Airframes]

Looks good to me, and once the decals and any other surface detail are added, the change will surprise you - for the better, that is.

 

[JKim]

That looks good Andy! Definitely a bit of a learning curve when it comes to using Alclad (and similar metalizers) colors. They are just SO unforgiving and require lots of inspection and clean up. And definitely try some of the more "shiny" shades of Alclad like Aircraft Aluminum, Polished Aluminum and Chrome to see if you like them.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys.

Geo, no issues with finger prints. Probably coming form someone who used one of those rumoured bad batches or who laid it on too thick. On the contrary, I've found that the stuff dries quite quickly to a rock hard finish.

John, I'm actually trying to avoid that airshow-fresh polished look. In fact, I may go at this one with a slightly matted gloss coat to reduce the shine. Secondly, Alclad replenishment at the LHSs have become a real frustration. Our customs guys must be turning it away at the border.

 

[Wayne Little]

Pain when you can't get what you want....

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely work so far Andy!

 

[Totalize]

Nicely done Andy. Like your choice of the Magnesium colour near the engine exhausts.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. Actually, I think it's a bit dark Dave. There's a spade shaped panel that might work for this colour but I may go over the rest with a slightly darker shade.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Today I masked and painted the black wing stripes and blue nose.

Here is the model with the masks for the black stripes applied and the painting started. The paint is Tamiya flat black cut with a few drops of white.

Removal of the masks revealed nice sharp edges everywhere with no bleeding. I like when that happens!

Next it was on to masking for the blue nose. For this, I studied the above pic and cut the mask using a french curve to replicate the pattern as closely as possible.

The blue was a mix of Tamiya XF-8 lightened with white. I've learned that the earlier Mustangs of the 352nd had lighter blue noses than the later D's so hopefully I got it close. After the complete base coat of blue, I darkened the paint slightly in the paint cup and thinned it quite a bit then went over the panel lines. I then went over the black stripes and the blue nose with a thin coat of Future.

 

[Wurger]

Nice !

 

[Wayne Little]

Nothing wrong with that, well done Andy....