big matt Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Hey Guys! As if I don't have enough on my plate already. A friend asked me to build him a P-51 and who am I to refuse. The plane I chose for him is Col. Donald Graham's RAF Green over grey invasion striped fillet-less, exhaust shroud-less wonder. All the goodies I wanted to have for a Mustang. The time frame is right around the Operation Frantic shuttle missions in the late summer of 1944. I chose to work from the old Hasegawa kit. I have Jerry Rutman's superb resin cockpit and some other goodies that Jerry sent me as well. I know the Tamiya model is coming but I really like working with the old kits so you can just call me a glutton for punishment. Here we go. First up is the kit fuselage tail fillet. It has to go. Gone. The canopy area needs some work too. Jerry's set replicates the rear of the cockpit very well. I think attaching the sidewalls to the fuselage will make things a bit easier. I know the Hasegawa kit is a little wide in the canopy opening but Jerry's floor seems to fit ok. I am not going to move mountains for 1.5mm. Here is the floor and rear deck with fuel cell. That's it for now. Now I get to juggle my Phantom and Hellcat with my Mustang, a veritable circus of fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 You are a machine! I know the juggling feeling. I have the 1/200 Arizona, SW Cr32 and Tamiya Spit all going at the same time. There is barely room to move in the old hobby room right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Matt Wow another classic. Nice start on he 'Stang. Jerry's detail kit looks awesome. Do you plan on sleeping much in the next few months? Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomek Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Now I get to juggle my Phantom and Hellcat with my Mustang, a veritable circus of fun! Seeing your subject probing on the P-51 Sig, I've been waiting for this to happen . Another one to follow <sigh...> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Seeing your subject probing on the P-51 Sig, I've been waiting for this to happen . Another one to follow <sigh...> Matt, Good to see you back on a Mustang and youre off to a great start. Looking forward to more. Cheers, Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRutman Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hey Matt! I see that you have wasted no time getting started. Just wacked off that fillit like it was nothin'! That's what I'm talkin about! L'Audace L'Audace...or something like that. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 Thanks guys! Ron, clutter is what keeps all this interesting. What I like about multiple builds is that I can break up the tasks that are less than enjoyable and not get overloaded on one subject. It helps, sort of... Peter, I'm not giving up sleep, just television. No big loss there. Tomek, been lurking on the sig??? Is there a Mustang in your future??? Got started on that project we discussed, maybe it will be done next week Glad you are looking in Geoff. I went through your last Hasegawa build several times and hopefully can do this plane justice. Your P-51's are nothing short of inspirational! Yo Bubba! Your cockpit is a breeze to fit in the Hasegawa fuselage. Once I got the position set it slipped in great. One question, how should I mount the panel shroud? You have some tabs coming off the back and the inner angles don't mesh with the top if the panel. Any advice??? Found some time to fiddle yesterday and got the main fuselage aligned. The fit is very good and there was no sanding of the resin, just removing the kit detail on the fuselage halves. I needed to thin out the lower edges of the windscreen but it fits great now. Unfortunately I broke the thin resin armor plate on the seat supports and had to make a new one. Bummer. Here is the mounting from the front and some bracing I added. The mounting from the bottom, just a few alignment blocks added. See Jerry, we don't need no stinking fillets! Profile shot. That's it for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRutman Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Very cool! Nice progress already and looks good. You can see here very clearly the biggest shape problem with the Hasegawa fuselage. They didn't get the cowl perfectly correct but pretty close. Actually the biggest shape problem with this kit is the tail. It's too blocky in cross section. So removing the fillit makes it easier to see and correct. My sunshield was made for the dragon kit(as is the whole pit) and so is a little small for the Has. kit. The Has kit canopy opening is wider and not as acurate as the dragon opening. The tabs on my sunshield should be sanded off and that should help the fit a lot. I hope that you plan to use my earlier N-9 gunsight as that would be more fitting for a D-5 fillitless bird. You are doing a bang up job on this though. Nice to see an "Old school" build of the stang before the new shake and bake comes out.(Not that there is anything wrong with that,don't start a flame war guys? J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomek Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 (edited) Tomek, been lurking on the sig??? Is there a Mustang in your future??? Yeah, just a lurker on the SIG. Guys over there are a pure well of knowledge. Fascinating stuff to follow. I have two Mustangs on my list, but nothing in the near future. The bird and my kits are too beautiful to be trashed because of my skills. Got to learn one or two things first. Got started on that project we discussed, maybe it will be done next week Your Bodacious is shaping up nicely. Keep pictures coming! Edited June 7, 2011 by Tomek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamme Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Hello Mat. Nice pit work. I also have the Jerry (really Great)set. Cheers, Jamme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Just caught up to this one Matt................Great work so far. The Has kit I found actually very enjoyable to build. Replacing the entire tail section however was NOT fun after melting it,but Hey Ho, lesson learned there. Are you going to be using Jerry's prop as well? Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Matt Loving every bit of the the build. The front office is amazing and par for your delicate touch. Way to go! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 (edited) Hey Jerry you should know me by now, no shake and bake here! If anyone is concerned, Jerry's cockpit fits into the Hase fuselage pretty easy. No crazy sanding and the parts just look right. Much better than the Verlinden set. I have not seen any others except for pictures but I like Jerry's stuff so that's that. No N-9 on this one though. "Bodacious" was equipped with a K-14 by order of Col Graham. It was one of the first D-5's so fitted and and many early D's followed his lead. I thought this was an interesting tidbit. I wanted to use your gunsight but have some other plans for it... I think your skills are just fine Tomek! Build that thing! I think you are just waiting for the Tamiya kit so you can be banned from the paper building club! Jamme, you are right, the cockpit is great, I hope I can get it painted up nice. Hey Brian, "Dixie Boy" was one of the reasons I picked up a couple of the Hasegawa kits. Your build is awesome! Yes, I have Jerry's prop and spinner as well as tail wheel and main wheels. Yo Peter, thanks for the comment, hopefully I won't screw it up. I still have that classic jet not far from the bench and who knows, maybe a Bearcat... Edited June 8, 2011 by big matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Ah Matt! taking the easy route and not scratching the cockpit this time eh? I suppose with about 20 builds on the go you need to take a short cut now and again! Teerific stuff, but I think the rear fuse needs looking at as there appears to be a big hole just before the tail. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomek Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I think the rear fuse needs looking at as there appears to be a big hole just before the tail. Following Matt's extensive research on the subject I can tell you it was an experimental air intake installed on special request of Graham, who as any Mustang buff felt his machine was too damn HOT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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