An (not at all crap...ish) Airfix P-51D

[Stuart]

Something like Mr Surfacer was what I was referring to. Something that can be brushed on. It behaves like thick paint so it is easy to apply and sand. It has a tendency to shrink as it dries so it's best for small/fine fills but it will make life easier in many situations.

That's cool John. I've ordered some 500 with the intention of using it to fill the wing panel lines.

[KSaarni]

The vertical stabilizer is a full cantilever structure with an area of 9.98 sq ft, and set 1° to the left, rotated about the centerline of the rear beam

Amazing, thank you Stik for the important information, was totally new information for me!

- Kari

[speedgraflex]

Something like Mr Surfacer was what I was referring to. Something that can be brushed on. It behaves like thick paint so it is easy to apply and sand. It has a tendency to shrink as it dries so it's best for small/fine fills but it will make life easier in many situations.

That's cool John. I've ordered some 500 with the intention of using it to fill the wing panel lines.

Good luck with using the Mr S 500. I’m not a big fan. I’m currently finding ways to use up the jar I have. Last night I painted the copper wires with a thin layer to simulate insulation. My major problems with 500 are two: it smells awful and you should only use with a lot ventilation; and it doesn’t just dry smoothly, it coagulates for me. Like I wrote Duke, I am trying to get a feel for use, but I don’t like the way I have to work under pressure of its drying time.

[speedgraflex]

The vertical stabilizer is a full cantilever structure with an area of 9.98 sq ft, and set 1° to the left, rotated about the centerline of the rear beam

Amazing, thank you Stik for the important information, was totally new information for me!

- Kari

Yes he is absolutely correct. Verify that angle before assembly! Looks exaggerated to me.

[Stikpusher]

Yeah, it looks a tad bit exaggerated, but they certainly did try to show it.

As far as the Mr Surfacer goes, make sure that you stir it thoroughly before application. And when you think it’s stirred enough, stir it some more...

[jkim]

I've not used Mr Surfacer 500 much at all. I primarily use Mr Surfacer 1000 and Mr Primer Surfacer 1000. The smell IS awful... no getting around that! But no drying issues for me... smooth as a baby's bottom. I like it because it is easy to apply in small amounts and feathers into the plastic without a trace. I don't like it because it shrinks as it dries. So I like to use CA glue to fill panel lines.

[jkim]

Mr Surfacer can be thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner so the consistency can be altered to fit the situation. You can even shoot it through an airbrush as a primer.

[Duke Maddog]

I've also thinned my Mr. Surfacer with regular lacquer thinner when it got close to drying out. That brought it back to a decent consistency, and sometimes I thin it more for a consistency closer to Mr. Surfacer 1000; maybe more like Mr. Surface 750...

[Stuart]

Well I've pretty much run out of steam with this kit - so onto the S.O.D it goes. The tailplane pretty much did it for me, not only did the skanky three piece assembly not go together very well (leaving me big gaps between the tailplane and the elevator that I'd need to shim), but having assembled the mainplane it would appear that if you let it sit where it wants to sit - there's a massive alignment issue. AS it is it looks like the rear fuselage is warped... but it's not - it's the mainplane and the odd twist the tail has...

Soooo, I've had it. I don't care enough about this build to burn any more of my precious few hours bench time a week trying to rectify it. One thing I will say is everything in what's left of my stash with a red circle on it is going on ebay this weekend.

[Floki]

I can understand not wanting to spend anymore time on this Stuart.