**** DONE: Mustang Mk III of No. 315 (Polish) Squadron RAF, Sqn Ldr E.Horbaczewski

[Airframes]

Great job Igor, the weathering looks just right.
The 'dark' appearance to the model pics is due to the (relatively) low light conditions (especially if taken indoors under artificial light), and the short range to the subject. This is because the camera will have set to an aperture which is wide, but with a shutter speed which is just about usable, hand - held. This will allow a reasonable to good photo, but will be prone to any slight movement, especially 'camera shake', which can even be just the natural pulse of the human body.
In these conditions, if the camera has the capability, then a tripod, a table-top mini-tripod, or some other way of steadying the camera will help enormously. Also, if possible with the particular camera, adjust the 'white balance' for the shooting conditions, use a sheet of white paper or cloth as a reflector on the opposite side of the light source and/or as a background, and set the camera for the required conditions. Preferably (with a tripod), this should be a slow shutter speed, and, for depth of field, the smallest aperture possible. (Small aperture = high F number. That is, f2 = wide open, f22 = almost closed aperture.).
Hope this helps.

 

[Crimea_River]

Awesome Igor! Will look fantastic with the decals on.

 

[ozhawk40]

Great job with the weathering Igor - looks just right.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Great looking machine Igor, the wear looks perfect.

 

[imalko]

Here's one quick update, just to show how model looks at the moment with almost all decals in place...

Looking at all the problems Dirk had while trying to apply decals to his Academy Typhoon, I decided to be cautious and not to put Academy decals on my Mustang wherever possible. While I was stuck with original decals when code letters, etc. are concerned, I used spare national insignia decals from my Revell Hurricane - that is on all positions except for upper wings, because Hurricane top wing roundel is quite larger then that of a P-51. Rest assure, on one (Academy) top wing roundel a part has torn down. I was thinking to fix this by cutting a small portion of blue surface from spare decal and applying over the torn part... Will this work?

 

[rochie]

looks good Igor

 

[Airframes]

Looking very good Igor. You could try using a spare piece of decal, but it's probably better, and easier, to paint this in, mixing the paint to match the decal. Seal the decal first with a clear coat, and when dry, touch-in with paint, sealing again afterwards. Then apply the final clear coat as normal.

 

[Wurger]

I would remove these broken roundels and use masks for painting of these new.

 

[Crimea_River]

I'm with Wojtek. If you can cut a mask perfectly round, that would be the way to go in my opinion.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

That's a bit of bad luck Igor. Shame it's a bit late to send you some replacements.

 

[imalko]

Cheers mates. Thanks for the offer Vic and indeed to everyone for your advice. I went with my original plan and applied pieces of replacement decals over the torn parts. (It was the easiest and fastest way for me to do this.) It looks quite good actually. Now, presuming the decals won't desintegrate when I apply clear coat, the problem should be solved. Pictures soon.

 

[Wurger]

Glad you have managed to get the torn declas repaired.

 

[imalko]

Okay, here she is with top wing roundels repaired...

 

[Airframes]

Nice save Igor!

 

[Wayne Little]

good stuff Igor!

 

[kgambit]

Okay, here she is with top wing roundels repaired...

Nice recovery Igor. Can't tell at a glance where the originals and repairs meet.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Glad it turned out great Igor. Nice build.

 

[B-17engineer]

Good work Igor

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Great recovery Igor, give yourself a pat on the back.