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Tamiya 1/32 Early P-51D "Lou IV" finished 07-09-15


MustangManiac

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Hey Randy,

 

I found one more place we need to do a very minor edit to the mask set for the next person. We'll see if anyone even notices what I did later when I post it next to a photo of the real thing.

 

Cheers,

Brady

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Thanks for the uplifting words. I was starting to think I really messed up at the last minute. Here's what she looks like now:

 

IMG_20150612_210715_284_zpsklvdra9j.jpg

 

IMG_20150612_210801_502_zpsrzvamwnk.jpg

 

I guess I won't be giving her a coat of future on the bottom tomorrow after I wake up in the afternoon now most likely, just to be on the safe side. I'll probably do the bottom later in the week.

 

Thanks again!

 

Cheers,

Brady

 

WOW, Looks FANTASTIC!  Hoping to do the checkers tomorrow night but your plane looks amazing.  The paint and finis are flawless.  Just wow!

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Thank you very much for the uplifting words CANicoll. Good luck on the rest of your checkers, you've been determined and done well on them this far you can get them done.

 

Good news you guys were all right. I looked at the wings one last time before leaving for work tonight and the cloudiness was already gone. I may be able to do the bottom side sooner than I thought it was going to be. I'll get a few more pictures for you later. I'm pretty much down to adding the pitot tube under the wing and the exhaust stubs into the shrouds, then picking between pilot figure or finishing the frustrating HGW belts (the ones you cut for yourself). When I got these belts they hadn't released the laser cut ones yet, but it did come with a resin dinghy for the seat that I haven't seen released with the laser cut belts. Other than those few things and removing the liquid mask off the canopy I think I'll be done after that. 

 

Now I'm trying to decide what to build next on my to-do list another Mustang (Fighter or Photo Recon), a Spitfire (Fighter or Photo Recon), a Corsair, or a Zero ( US Captured Land or French Captured Sea Version)......decisions, decisions, decisions and not enough time.

 

Cheers,

Brady

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Looks AWESOME!   Love the look so far.........................as to Future........................   *SIGH*

 

I still use it for canopies (although I trying to move away from that too) as I like thin CA to attach windscreens with..............and I know lots of folks like Peter have GREAT luck w/Future as a clear, but me personally I H A T E  IT.

 

For me, it pools way too easy, clouds things up if not dry, is very weak in the end, especially for a clear coat that is supposed to be the last line of defense against environmentals, and I cant even use my beloved clay washes on it, as it too is water based........................I really truly abhor Future as a clear.  

Personally I have found MUCH easier products, that (for me at least) perform WAY better than Future.   If I were you I might try experimenting with other clear options out there as to me Future is about as problematic as a clear can get, and delivers results that are not nearly as bomb-proof as the options I currently use.  This is just MHO, so your mileage may indeed vary.

 

 

 

Your Mustang is coming along swimmingly..................keep going!

Edited by Out2gtcha
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys,

 

Sorry for the delay in response. It's been raining a lot here recently and my basement has been taking on water so I've not done much of anything else recently to my P-51. The Future however did dry and cure nice and clear to answer your questions. I hope to get it finished this week and I think I'm just going to add the pilot figure and be done with the cockpit so I can quit messing with the HGW belts.

 

Cheers,

Brady

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Oh no!  Hope you get the basement dried out and all is well.  Hate it when 'real life' intrudes on hobby time.  The good news is that Lou IV is looking just amazing and am glad to hear the Future cleared up.  I really did expect that it would, but heart stopping when something like that happens and you just have to hope chemistry works!

 

Good luck on adding the pilot and hope he is a simple slip-in.  I thought I was being smart to not have added the seat and pilot before closing up the fuselage - figuring once I got the HGW seatbelts sorted and the pilot figure painted and all, it would be a small matter to simply slip in the seat with the pilot set in the seatbelts and all.  Umm no.  Thankfully I didn't install the gunsight before trying but it is an incredibly tight fit to put the seat into the plane with the pilot already seated (and belted in).

 

But I also can't imagine trying to get the lapbelts onto the pilot figure if the belts are already on the seat and the seat is in the plane.  If I do this again I'd get it all done and set before closing up the fuselage.

 

Hope you get back to the workbench soon!

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Hello everybody,

 

 

I finally am getting the basement dried out and some more done to Lou. I've gotten more done and made more for myself to do in the process somehow. I managed to wiggle the seat and the pilot in the cockpit. The seat wasn't a challenge, but the pilot's legs were close to being too wide to getting him in there even without having arms yet. Anyway I got it all in there and glued his arms on in position and then I added the exhaust stacks and the pitot tube. The antenna is dry fitted because I haven't painted the base OD green yet.

 

IMG_20150701_202152_135_zpsfmqugsqi.jpg

 

IMG_20150701_202336_213_zpsarbpvfuj.jpg

 

IMG_20150701_202419_578_zpsj5pavntb.jpg

 

IMG_20150701_202512_031_zpsttrrz4gj.jpg

 

After I thought I was done, I realized I somehow managed to get glue on the one horizontal of the tail, leaving an ugly glob on the horizontal. So now I get to sand it off and repaint it, and use the Flory wash on it with another coat of Future to seal it. The only good part is the glue did miss all the rivet and panel line details.

 

IMG_20150701_202614_283_zpsmucf6rsy.jpg

So that's where we are now.

 

Cheers,
Brady 

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Looks wonderful!    the paint indeed came out really nice, and you used the masks to very good effect.

 

 

Oh one thing I forgot to mention was I couldn't get the pilot's goggles to fit so I didn't use them. For future reference was there any trick to getting these to fit his face?

 

 

Yes.  Use the True Details pilot.

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Brady, I ran into the same problem with the googles, but I used a spare length of HGW seatbelt for the goggle strap.  Tack the strap to the google with a bit of CA.  Plus then its removeable/moveable if you want.  If they don't fit right, prop them up on his forehead.  

 

DSC_0116_zpsmcbuv7dm.jpg

 

DSC_0115_zps8ojqfopu.jpg

Good luck!

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