what areas to putty on P51 wings?

[pzcreations]

Im working on Tamiyas P-51 , and was looking for info on what areas to putty on the wings..ARC is down, so couldnt check that thread.

thanks ,Tim

[Doctorgaz]

[joker]

_{Tim, Hyperscale will have pages and pages on this subject...but get a cup of coffee and some aspirin first , guarenteed after reading all of it, your head will hurt... really.}

[Juggernut]

The short version:

40% chord from the leading edge back from root to tip is puttied and sanded top and bottom. Panel lines aft of 40% chord are also filled judging from photos. Three exceptions are the landing gear access panel in the wing, the ammunition access panels and fuel tank access panels under the wing. The rest of the wing was primed,sanded, primed again, sanded and then painted.

Edited September 19, 2013 by TimC

[Out2gtcha]

Although that is a really nice diagram a bit hard to sus out i Czech/non English for me.

 

Tim is correct, but I personally would not recommend going to HS and reading up on the subject. Too much red-tape and other yucky stuff to wade through IMHO on the subject.

 

Mr Heilig put out a very nice, simplified drawing that makes things pretty clear IMHO. Lighter grey/blue is the filled/painted areas, and the medium grey on the flying surfaces, wing roots, gear doors and under-wing fuel tanks are the NMF areas:

 

[pzcreations]

thanks guys for the responses..too late Brian..I already have a head ache     didnt realize such a detail caused such a big and heated debate... anyway..thanks for the diagrams! a huge help.

[Juggernut]

The ammunition and gun bay panels were filled, sanded, primed, and painted.  See diagram above...

 

 

How could they be when they were removable?  they may have been primed and painted as above but they wouldn't fill removable panels.

 

Edited September 19, 2013 by TimC

[LSP_Kevin]

How could they be when they were removable?

 

Yep, that's a bit like painting all your windows shut (or maybe your front door even). Even the drawing that Jennings asks us to refer to (his own creation by the way) shows distinct panel lines for the ammunition and gun bays.

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

I think what Jennings meant was (correct if im off here) and as I took it, the panels were sanded primed and filled, as in filled in the defects then primed and painted the individual panels, as apposed to having the panels in NMF.

[LSP_Kevin]

I think what Jennings meant was (correct if im off here) and as I took it, the panels were sanded primed and filled, as in filled in the defects then primed and painted the individual panels, as apposed to having the panels in NMF.

 

Ah, that makes more sense Brian.

 

Kev

[Guest Nigelr32]

Please clarify the painted vs filled areas.

 

If you look at the pics posted by Tim, I have these in the "how to build a P-51" book, which is crammed full of great factory photo's, it looks as though the area behind the main spar is not filled on the upper wing surface?

[dodgem37]

'it looks as though the area behind the main spar is not filled on the upper wing surface?'

That is correct.  As TimC wrote, the front 40% only was filled in.  I believe this is written somewhere in the book.

 

Sincerely,

Mark
 

[Radub]

You must keep in mind that most of the discussion about puttying the details revolved around the Dragon wing, which featured a lot of heavy detail. But the Tamiya wing is a completely different thing, it features very dainty detail. Just a coat of MrSurfacer and then a coat of gloss silver-grey paint should to the trick.

 

The wing was puttied, sanded and lacquered, but that did not yield a glass-like "piano lacquer" finish. Some detail remained visible. Also, you MUST keep in mind that not every "round item" on the wings was a "rivet". The wing featured a lot of drains and fasteners that were not puttied.

 

Here are some photos of the Hendon Mustang, which features a puttied and lacquered wing.

 

Radu

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2013 by Radub

[Radub]

I was in Hendon yesterday. I spent some time looking at the Mustang, both from the balcony above or the ground below. As many of you know, this plane is mounted on a revolving table that moves the plane around slowly. Just stay there for a while, watching how the light hits the wing as the plane rotates - the change of lights and shadows will show you things you do not usually see on a regular exhibit that you can only see from one angle. It is absolutely evident that the wing was puttied and covered with gloss lacquer. No arguments there! BUT... there is a lot going on there:

1) The wing features some panel line joints that were obviously filled in. However, these joints between the panel lines that were filled in are still visible because light reflects along the lines and there are also some shadows. This it is not a "groove", it is more like a "crease", but these filled lines are still visible.

2) The wing features some joints between panel lines that were never filled in. These are clear and visible as "grooves". These are lines going both chord-wise and span-wise. These lines are more numerous than the lines described at point 1 above. These are panels or components that were intended to be removable or at least allow some degree of movement as the wing flexes under stress.Some panels feature fasteners with a cross-like Philips groove. 

3) The rivets were filled in with putty. But they were not totally made invisible. Rivets are still visible in the same manner as the lines described at point 1 above, i.e. they are highlighted by reflections and shadows. Furthermore, the wing features a certain degree of "quilting" (or "oil-caning") that draws the eye towards them. 

4. There are many fasteners in lots of places. These were never filled in. 

Now, please allow me reiterate: I do not dispute the fact that the wings were puttied and smoothed. This is not a point of contention. I just do not think that an indiscriminate "smoothification" of the Tamiya wing is the answer. In my opinion, using the Tamyia wing as it is without any modification will yield a more realistic wing than obliterating everything. I also recommend that you visit any museum that shows a Mustang (or alternatively look at as many photos of Mustangs as you can find on the internet or in books) and make up your own mind. 

HTH

Radu 

[Guest Peterpools]

After going through this once before when building BBD and getting ready to build another Tamiya Mustang after my Skyraider, I am still soaking in all the new information. My biggest question is: exactly what is the color and mix for the paint applied to the wings. On BBD, I know I was off and want to get it right this time.

Thanks