P-51A this time, Accurate Miniatures 1/48

[Floki]

This is looking really good!

[KSaarni]

- Kari

[BlackSheep214]

[Stuart]

That's coming together really nicely and I'll keep all you said in mind when I build mine, hopefully in the not too distant future.

So, if you assemble the nose sections onto the fuselage first, the nose (cowling) is actually slightly wider then the front of the fuselage and you had to put a shim in under where the windscreen would be - correct? That's good to know!

[tempestjohnny]

I've built 3 of these AM early Mustangs. Nice kits. For a GB on that other forum I'm building the F-6A starting in January.
Thanks for the tips on this one John

[jeaton01]

Thanks, everyone. I'm having fun with this one.

I photographed the canopy from different angles and used them to make masks for the canopy. One thing I noticed is that there is no detail on the rear windows for the fasteners that clipped the windows to the fuselage, so I added that detail to the masks. It will be interesting to see how well thee masks fit the Tamiya P-51B kit. I noticed that the clear parts have a sort of bubbly look to the surface, it's obvious the molds were not as smooth as they should have been. If anyone wants the dxf file to cut the windows I'm happy to share.


Interior green applied. The wing root fit was pretty good, though there was a little bit of a step and gap on the front left.


Before when I have offset control surfaces I have not been entirely happy with the look of the hinge line. This time I applied some canopy glue in the seam, it took several applications due to shrinkage. A little roughness in that area really sticks you in the eye.



Alclad II ALC 101 was sprayed on in wear areas, I intend to step way out of my comfort zone and try some salt chipping here.


And if you look close you will see salt on the leading edges of the wings and tail, and in the left wing root area.


I am going to try to make this one look pretty worn. Although the Merlin powered Mustangs were better at high altitude, the Allison powered airplanes gave nothing away to the Merlin Mustangs below 20,000 feet. They were very reliable and served into the last years of the war.

[Stuart]

That's coming along nicely John, thanks for all the info!

I do like the early high backed Mustangs with the original canopy, they looked so much sleeker than the D models or those with the Malcolm hood.

[jeaton01]

You're welcome, Stuart.

A few more steps here. The neutral grey underside and the OD 41 topside were painted, and then I found out that I'm not an expert on salt chipping. I think my paint was a little too thick because it was harder than I thought it should be to loosen up the paint. I did get some pretty good effects but there is still salt under some of the paint. Good thing it's plastic and not aluminum! After applying an Alclad Gloss clear coat and then not waiting long enough I made masks for the number on the tail and painted those, using white with a bit of neutral grey added, and then I put on the decals. They are the kit decals and they went on very well, some of the nicest decals I have used.

Now I need to step away from the bench before I mess this thing up! The Microsol is drying.

It's really hard for me to decide whether it's a weathered model or just a poorly made one

[KSaarni]

Great progress John!

The salt chipping worked as a charm!

- Kari

[mustang1989]

I really like these AM kits. They seemed to be waaaaay ahead of their time. Progress is looking great so far John so count OUT the poorly made model. You're doing fine man.