1/24 Airfix RCAF Mustang IV…finally done

[Wolf Buddee]

Beautiful Mustang!

 

……..and done in just the right markings. I love the spiral on the spinner!

 

Cheers,

Wolf

[R Palimaka]

8 hours ago, Wolf Buddee said:

Beautiful Mustang!

 

……..and done in just the right markings. I love the spiral on the spinner!

 

Cheers,

Wolf

 

Thank you Wolf, means a lot coming from you.

 

I've always loved 424 Squadron's markings, ever since I first saw Dennis Bradley's restored Mustang in the early 1980s. 

 

Richard

 

 

[R Palimaka]

So a show, Heritagecon in Hamilton, Ontario at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, finally convinced me to finish this project after five years. It was a race to the finish as it was a last minute decision to enter. 

 

The major stumbling block was drilling the hole in the canopy for the antenna wire, which caused me all kinds of problems. I was hesitant to do it after all the work to get it clear, but in the end it was fine. The next step was to create the roller mechanism inside the canopy, one of the two types on the Mustang. The wire itself is beading wire, which can be bought at Michael's. It's very flexible but not stretchy if that makes sense. It consists of extremely fine wire braided and covered with clear plastic, and looks very authentic. The insulators were made from beads of white glue. In the end it wasn't all that bad, but the fear of ruining the canopy made me hesitate...for months. 

 

The two types of roller mechanisms/pulleys, for those that might find it interesting.

9253 had the second type (figure 6):

 

How it all turned out:

 

 

And the final addition was the spike antenna under the starboard wing:

 

 

RIchard

Edited April 5, 2022 by R Palimaka

[R Palimaka]

Some photos from the show, which was held on March 27. I didn't expect to win anything but it was fun to enter and talk LSPs with others. I'll get some proper RFI photos once I get a spot set up.

 

 

And the pilot which I was quite happy with. It's the AIMS FAA pilot converted to an RCAF pilot from the 1950s.

 

More finished photos soon.

 

Richard 

Edited April 5, 2022 by R Palimaka

[LSP_Kevin]

Congrats on getting the build finished, Richard! It has turned out amazingly well, and you should be justifiably proud of your results, prize-winner or not!

 

Kev

[Uncarina]

Really nice work Richard! Well done, and a great subject aircraft.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[themongoose]

Beautiful build! Love the eyes on your pilot, very realistic looking kinda sideways. Congrats on the big finish and getting your girl to the show!

[crobinsonh]

Great build of an old model.

[R Palimaka]

14 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Congrats on getting the build finished, Richard! It has turned out amazingly well, and you should be justifiably proud of your results, prize-winner or not!

 

Kev

Thank you so much Kev! Finally! A bit late for the group build from 2016! Although I’ve started another 1/24 Airfix Mustang, I’m going to put it aside for a bit to do something out of the box and much easier. 

13 hours ago, Uncarina said:

Really nice work Richard! Well done, and a great subject aircraft.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Thanks Tom, it’s been a labour of love. I’m a bit obsessed with RCAF Mustangs. 

11 hours ago, themongoose said:

Beautiful build! Love the eyes on your pilot, very realistic looking kinda sideways. Congrats on the big finish and getting your girl to the show!

Thanks! It felt good to get pushed to finish her. The figure kit itself is brilliant and easy to paint, and the eyes are molded so even a rookie like me could do a decent job. 

2 hours ago, crobinsonh said:

Great build of an old model.

Thank you! For a fifty-year old kit it still looks great with a bit ( i.e.huge ) amount of work. 

[R Palimaka]

6 minutes ago, MARU5137 said:

Richard  

Well I had to re-read it all from the beginning as I had not been here for almost 5 years.

What a fantastic and diligent build this has been. I LOVE  MUSTANGS  and they are also MY all-time favorite.

 

You did an AMAZING job , and your Canadian Mustang has turned out to INCREDIBLY STUNNING;  So very IMMACULATELY  finished.

 

    

 

Your figure work is also top notch ..( looking closer at his eyes , it looks like he's astonished !! probably cuz he's finally got his Mustang done !!).

   

 

Richard... its GORGEOUS  and looks very IMPRESSIVE  as it sits proudly in the show.

You are MY Mustang  hero.

KUDOS.

   

Goodness Maru, I’m humbled by your kind remarks. You are always so supportive of everyone’s efforts here, and I for one appreciate it very much! You make it such a pleasure to be part of this group. 
 

This build was a wonderful (and long) experience, and I learned a lot and developed skills that I’ll use again. I know a lot of people find Mustangs boring but it’s my aviation passion…time to build  something else though. 
 

Haha! Yes, the pilot does look surprised!  Like, “Really? What?! It’s done?”

 

Thank you!
 

Richard