Tamiya P-51D The Hun Hunter: 4/27/16: DONE AND IN THE BOOKS

[Guest Peterpools]

Brady

Very much appreciated but it's always nice to have new references.

Peter

[Guest Peterpools]

 

UPDATE: 12/27/15: THE FUSELAGE: BUTTONED UP

Finally after what seemed like weeks of work, all the interior sub assemblies necessary to button up the fuselage had been completed. Adding the Barracuda resin AM sets was a joy as always with the only the front office floor fit needing extra care. Chuck (540z3) reminded me of the correct procedure for trimming and fitting it in place (you would think I should have it down pat by now, after building three Mustangs with the Barracuda sets) but as the years tend to fly by, a kind nudge in the ribs always helps -much appreciated Chuck. With RB seatbelt set in place, I moved forward to doing all the masking and air brush work needed in finishing off the Merlin with the early style exhausts, engine mount (inside and outside), adding all the coolant pipes, coolant tank and prop mounting plate (?) to the front of the Merlin. Five different shades of aluminum were used: 3 from Alclad and two from AK, for subtle color differences between the parts for a bit of added interest. Some parts are still just being test fitted but all looks good so far.

Tamiya loads the fuselage up with a boatload of sub-assemblies, parts and magnets, all of which took a bit of coaxing to fall into place. The Merlin needed it's own TLC and of course with Tamiya's tight fit, most of the paint on matting parts needed to be removed to keep everything joining up correctly. Slowly working my way from tail to nose with Tamiya Extra Thin and Tamiya Tape, the fuselage halves were glued together, taped and left to thoroughly dry for 48 hours.

While the fuselage was setting up, the tailplanes and rudder were built up – Oh the joys of those movable parts – thank goodness, they are a thing of the past. Once the tape came off, the tailplanes were added and left to dry.

Next up: The Wings: filling in all the rivets and panel lines.

Thanks for checking in

Peter

 

 

 

 

[Iain]

You're really not helping with my focus Peter - I should be building Spitfires - then I see your latest photos...

 

 

Iain

[Guest]

Coming along nicely Peter!

[Guest Peterpools]

Thanks Iain, so very much appreciated.

Peter

[Guest Peterpools]

Much appreciated John.

Been spending hours with Bondo and wet sanding the wings - oh what fun.

Peter

[scvrobeson]

Certainly flying along with this one Peter. These Tamiya kits always seem to go together easily, looks like this one is no different.  Keep up the great work buddy

 

 

 

 

Matt 

[LSP_Kevin]

Even while I'm on holidays, I can't build as fast as you Peter! Good work, buddy.

 

Kev

[Guest Peterpools]

Hi Matt

Thank you for the kind comments ... Right with you on Tamiya kits; super kits with no problems or vises. Sometimes adding AM upgrades throws a small wrinkle in the build but easily moved around.

All that's left on the wings now is to add the flaps and ailerons, and the wings will be ready to join the fuselage.

Peter

[Guest Peterpools]

Thank Kev

Much appreciated and love them Mustangs

Peter

[nmayhew]

hi

 

great build, thanks for sharing

 

may i ask how you plan to get the OD paint demarcation over the codes and stars / bars correct?

 

will you cut decals out on backing paper, bluu tac them to the fuselage and just pencil line around so you know where to paint?

 

the aircraft is well-photographed, but also the demarcations are very precise (touches the W, not the R and Z etc)

 

whatever you do, i will probably copy you!

 

thanks again

 

Nick

[ClumsyDude]

Super work Peter - really clean modelling and your usual excellent photography. Your builds are reliably entertaining, every time.

 

Cheers

Jim

[Guest Peterpools]

Hi Nick

Thank you for the very kind words on my Hun Hunter build. I really haven't given a lot of thought as to how I am going to locate the ID markings  in relation to the olive drab cammo, as I tend to work out a POA as I reach each step. I had somewhat the same situation on my Tamiya P-47 build and used tracing paper to locate the ID codes and Stars and Bars and once I had their placement taped off, I masked and painted on the invasions stripes. The plan worked out fairly well and I'm hoping will work for the Mustang.

Peter

[Guest Peterpools]

Thanks so much Jim for the very kind words on my build and photography.

I just enjoy building my models as well maintained aircraft, ready for inspection in the display case.

Peter

Edited December 30, 2015 by Peterpools

[Loic]

Excellent !