Forgotten War Mustang

[R Palimaka]

1 hour ago, Antonio Argudo said:

here some interesting documents

cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Just a caution. These particular items from that post are from the 1955 RCAF Maintenance Manual, which I posted at some point sometime in the past.  The control panels in particular, and the installation are unique to RCAF Mustangs that went through an upgrade and winterization in the early 1950s. 

 

The other items would would be useful for USAF though. 

 

Richard

Edited May 9, 2019 by R Palimaka

[John1]

Antonio, thanks very much for posting all those pics.   I'd seen a couple before but most are completely new to me.   Now to see if Tamiya has the appropriate control in the cockpit for my chosen radio fit. 

 

Regards,

 

John 

[John1]

Told you I was slow.   It's taken me this long just to post the obligatory box shot (which is even out of focus to boot).   Here are all the bits I'll be using.   

 

 

The Pacific version of the Tamiya kit has a few extra bits that will come in handy for this kit. In looking inside the box, as with the F4U-1D I just completed, I'm in awe of the quality of this kit.  The surface detail is truly amazing, the instructions are first rate and quite honestly, you could build a truly wonderful Mustang right out of the box.   If anyone has yet to build one of Tamiya's recent 32nd scale aircraft, you really have to treat yourself.  You won't regret it.  

 

All that being said, I decided to splurge on this project.   I added the following resin from BarracudaCast:

 

P-51D Cockpit Upgrade - this smallish set includes a superdetailed K-14 gunsight, control stick, throttle quadrant, battery (getting tossed since on the F-51D, the battery was moved from behind the pilot to inside the engine compartment), radio (I need to verify the type, hopefully it will be the same one used on "my" Mustang) and a few other small bits.  

 

P-51 Mustang Diamond Tread Tires - a very cheap upgrade.  Fantastic quality and much better than the vinyl ones used in the kit.  

 

P-51 Instrument Panel - a nice mix of PE, resin, and instrument decals.  Each instrument bezel is a separate PE piece.  Gonna have hours of fun here!  I'm not entirely convinced this set offers a marked improvement over the kit parts.   I'll study them closely before making a final decision on using it.  

 

P-51D Mustang Cockpit Sidewalls - just what the label says.   Looks to be a nice improvement over the kit parts and they include a late style radio controller which looks to be a nice fit for the one "my" F-51D would have had.

 

For decals, I've got the aforementioned AIMS F-51 Korean War Mustang set.   I'm not completely thrilled with this set.  For one, they neglected to provide the spinner polka-dots for the  RF-51D option, so the modeler is left with the very fiddly task of punching out decals or masking and painting a dozen or so dots on the curved surface of the spinner.  They also only provide the teeth for the sharkmouths of two other subjects.   The red mouth itself has to be masked and painted.  Someone less of a PITA but not what I would have expected.   Oh well, given it's the only set of large scale F-51D decals being offered, beggars can't be choosers. 

 

Lastly, I've got the Barracuda P-51 cockpit decal set.   Approx 50 tiny decals that accurately represent every warning label and placard used on the real thing.   I used these on "My Nel III", my F4U-1D Corsair project and I have to say - they make a huge difference.    I really wish Barracuda would offer these for other models.  Once you see how a cockpit looks with these installed, you don't want to go back to a sterile, unmarked cockpit again.  Those decals went on surprisingly easy, they are highly recommended. 

 

Anyway, that's my big update for tonight.   I'll be going on a nice cruise to my favorite island on the planet in the near future, once I get back, I'll start doing some actual work.    

 

Thanks for looking. 

[MikeA]

Just a suggestion around getting the best finish for this very sad weathered variant of Mustang. Kitchen foil treated with lead fishing weights soaking in bleach will provide this finish very well. The foil dulls quickly to matt silver/gray and will typically have an uneven discolouration, which is exactly what you are after. You quickly get a feel for how long the foil should be left, as the bleach will actually dissolve the foil and perforate it. The time taken depends largely on how dilute you make the bleach. I found the heavy duty Reynolds foil to work very well and allowed for decent discolouration before being dissolved. Ordinary foil tends to get too thin. The foil is also very resilient to and takes paints and oil washes very well. There are some striking examples of older Russian jets on LSP finished in this way that I came across when doing the homework for my foiled Starfighter.

 

Fiddly and time consuming, but very rewarding and imho gives a much better finish than any paint will. 

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

 

[Biggles87]

Some very interesting document here, especially the radio fitting.

I’ve always wanted to do a Mustang in the faded/tatty Korean War finish, so I will be watching closely and hoping to pick up some tips.

 

John

[dennismcc]

At first glance it would seem to be a fairly simple build but looking at the info so far maybe not the case, the dull finish is one that will be challenging but very rewarding and I look forward to seeing you tackle it.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[kensar]

As far as the finish,  I would investigate a paint mix of flat gray mixed with silver, but how sophisticated you want to go is up to you of course.

[Bstarr3]

Very interesting subject of an otherwise quite common plane. It looks like you're really going to take your time with this and do it amazingly well. I'm following with great interest.

 

PS - as a spectator, here's one more vote for foiling!

[chuck540z3]

John,

 

If I might chime in, the dull aluminum look will be very easy to do.  Too often modelers are trying to get the polished aluminum look and the finish comes out too dull, so your "problem" is easier to fix.  Here's what I would do, based upon your first pic.

 

1)  Base coat of Gloss Black Lacquer.  This gives the Alclad something to stick to.

 

2)  Pre-shade the black with gloss white in a mottled pattern that is random.  Some panel lines would be pre-shaded as well, but keep these to a minimum, based upon reference pics.  You don't want the plaid look at all.  You want gloss finishes in both cases to keep the paint smooth.

 

3)  Paint with Alclad Aluminum (not Duraluminum or Polished Aluminum).  This lacquer is naturally dull, so shine is not a problem.

 

4)  Selective weathering with Tamiya Pastels, especially my favorite, "Oil Stain".

 

5)  Dull coat.  I like Tamiya Flat Coat the best.

 

BTW, Great introduction on the differences between a P-51 and F-51.

 

HTH,

Chuck

[Padubon]

On 5/14/2019 at 8:17 PM, John1 said:

Told you I was slow.   It's taken me this long just to post the obligatory box shot (which is even out of focus to boot).   Here are all the bits I'll be using.   

 

 

The Pacific version of the Tamiya kit has a few extra bits that will come in handy for this kit. In looking inside the box, as with the F4U-1D I just completed, I'm in awe of the quality of this kit.  The surface detail is truly amazing, the instructions are first rate and quite honestly, you could build a truly wonderful Mustang right out of the box.   If anyone has yet to build one of Tamiya's recent 32nd scale aircraft, you really have to treat yourself.  You won't regret it.  

 

All that being said, I decided to splurge on this project.   I added the following resin from BarracudaCast:

 

P-51D Cockpit Upgrade - this smallish set includes a superdetailed K-14 gunsight, control stick, throttle quadrant, battery (getting tossed since on the F-51D, the battery was moved from behind the pilot to inside the engine compartment), radio (I need to verify the type, hopefully it will be the same one used on "my" Mustang) and a few other small bits.  

 

P-51 Mustang Diamond Tread Tires - a very cheap upgrade.  Fantastic quality and much better than the vinyl ones used in the kit.  

 

P-51 Instrument Panel - a nice mix of PE, resin, and instrument decals.  Each instrument bezel is a separate PE piece.  Gonna have hours of fun here!  I'm not entirely convinced this set offers a marked improvement over the kit parts.   I'll study them closely before making a final decision on using it.  

 

P-51D Mustang Cockpit Sidewalls - just what the label says.   Looks to be a nice improvement over the kit parts and they include a late style radio controller which looks to be a nice fit for the one "my" F-51D would have had.

 

For decals, I've got the aforementioned AIMS F-51 Korean War Mustang set.   I'm not completely thrilled with this set.  For one, they neglected to provide the spinner polka-dots for the  RF-51D option, so the modeler is left with the very fiddly task of punching out decals or masking and painting a dozen or so dots on the curved surface of the spinner.  They also only provide the teeth for the sharkmouths of two other subjects.   The red mouth itself has to be masked and painted.  Someone less of a PITA but not what I would have expected.   Oh well, given it's the only set of large scale F-51D decals being offered, beggars can't be choosers. 

 

Lastly, I've got the Barracuda P-51 cockpit decal set.   Approx 50 tiny decals that accurately represent every warning label and placard used on the real thing.   I used these on "My Nel III", my F4U-1D Corsair project and I have to say - they make a huge difference.    I really wish Barracuda would offer these for other models.  Once you see how a cockpit looks with these installed, you don't want to go back to a sterile, unmarked cockpit again.  Those decals went on surprisingly easy, they are highly recommended. 

 

Anyway, that's my big update for tonight.   I'll be going on a nice cruise to my favorite island on the planet in the near future, once I get back, I'll start doing some actual work.    

 

Thanks for looking. 

 

Very interesting subject.

I am hoping to build a Guatemalan Air Force (FAG) F-51. 

The Guatemalan Mustangs used the same radios that were used in Korea.

Something curious is the fact that all the FAG’s 50 + Mustangsl

had the tail wheel fixed in the down position, black cockpits and the wheel wells were repainted silver with spray cans.

For the rocket mounts I will use the Trumpy P-51 ones: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F293014741436

I will also use the uncuffed prop from the 1/32 Airfix see trough 51.

I will be glued to your project.

[John1]

Hi guys and thank you all for the tips and words of encouragement.  I'd hoped to have had a bit more to show you all by now but it's just been a hectic summer (as they all are I suppose).  My wife and daughter are going camping next week without me (at one point in life I was an infantry soldier, you couldn't pay me to sleep outside anymore!) so I think I'll finally be able to get some progress done.   Here is my tentative radio set up for my Mustang.  It's got the late WW2 fit of the old SCR-522 radio and the IFF unit, with the addition of a BC-453 receiver which I think was used for navigational purposes.  Although the picture posted of Little Beast doesn't show the BC-453, according to what I read, there was a pretty aggressive program to update Mustangs, so I think there was a good chance this might have been added at some point during the war.  It'd be nice if someone offered a resin update kit for late Mustangs that included this rig but instead I'll have to scratch build the radio and it's mount.  I think it's do-able but if for some reason I tank it, I'll just go back to the original configuration. 

 

I'll try to keep you posted! 

 

 

BTW, the picture above came from a very interesting Flikr site.  This guy has a wide range of illustrations showing all the arcane differences found in D-model Mustang cockpits.  Didn't know there were so many variations.  Worth checking out for those interested in the subject.   https://www.flickr.com/photos/34363610@N08/with/30496690655/

[Cheetah11]

Hi John

 

I will be following your build with interest as I plan to do a SAAF Mustang from The Korean conflict sometime in the future.

 

Just a point of interest about 90 percent of the photos I found on SAAF Mustangs does not have the radio fitted behind the seat. Maybe the fit was only implemented later in the conflict.

 

Nick

[John1]

1 hour ago, Cheetah11 said:

Hi John

 

I will be following your build with interest as I plan to do a SAAF Mustang from The Korean conflict sometime in the future.

 

Just a point of interest about 90 percent of the photos I found on SAAF Mustangs does not have the radio fitted behind the seat. Maybe the fit was only implemented later in the conflict.

 

Nick

Thanks for the info Nick.   Regarding radios, I'm still a bit on the fence on this one.   I'd like to add one of the newer radios, if nothing else, just to make the Mustang a bit different from all the WW2 birds.  Got a bit of time to figure this one out...

 

Browsing through the Flickr site I linked above, found some really useful pics that show some details on later versions Mustangs. These are on a D-30 Mustang, need to do some research to figure out if they all were retrofitted to a D-25, which is the version that Little Beast was.  

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by John1

[John1]

On 7/18/2019 at 3:24 PM, chuck540z3 said:

John,

 

If I might chime in, the dull aluminum look will be very easy to do.  Too often modelers are trying to get the polished aluminum look and the finish comes out too dull, so your "problem" is easier to fix.  Here's what I would do, based upon your first pic.

 

1)  Base coat of Gloss Black Lacquer.  This gives the Alclad something to stick to.

 

2)  Pre-shade the black with gloss white in a mottled pattern that is random.  Some panel lines would be pre-shaded as well, but keep these to a minimum, based upon reference pics.  You don't want the plaid look at all.  You want gloss finishes in both cases to keep the paint smooth.

 

3)  Paint with Alclad Aluminum (not Duraluminum or Polished Aluminum).  This lacquer is naturally dull, so shine is not a problem.

 

4)  Selective weathering with Tamiya Pastels, especially my favorite, "Oil Stain".

 

5)  Dull coat.  I like Tamiya Flat Coat the best.

 

BTW, Great introduction on the differences between a P-51 and F-51.

 

HTH,

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

 

Thanks for the info, I''ve been reading through your very impressive Mustang build for hints (and motivation).   Question for you - on the above technique, you mention that the Alcad Aluminum is naturally dull.  However, you don't mention anything on how you applied decals.  Did you not have to apply a gloss coat over this so your decals could go on with no silvering?

[chuck540z3]

52 minutes ago, John1 said:

Hi Chuck,

 

Thanks for the info, I''ve been reading through your very impressive Mustang build for hints (and motivation).   Question for you - on the above technique, you mention that the Alcad Aluminum is naturally dull.  However, you don't mention anything on how you applied decals.  Did you not have to apply a gloss coat over this so your decals could go on with no silvering?

 

 

Yes, I applied a gloss coat of Future before decals, but today I prefer Tamiya acrylic X-22 instead.  Gloss coats can really dull a nice shiny metallic finish like polished aluminum or chrome, but for these dull aluminum paint schemes it’s not a problem. After decals, I sealed them in with another gloss coat, then I applied a dull coat as required.

 

Cheers,

Chuck