John1 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) Looking for something a bit different than just another ETO P-51D, I opted to build a Korean War era F-51D. Differences between a WW2 spec Mustang and a Korean War version varied from aircraft to aircraft but in general - "cuffless" Hamiliton Standard props, additional radio equipment aft of the pilot's seat, provisions for 6 5" HVAR rockets on underwing stub fittings and (in some but not all cases), a locked down tailwheel. From a painting standpoint, I learned that many of these Mustangs were actually painted Matt Aluminum during refurbishment, instead of being left in natural metal. At the same time, many had the cockpits painted black. One thing that attracted me to the F-51D was that unlike in Europe where these aircraft were cutting edge thoroughbreds, in Korea, they were expendable "bomb-trucks" that often flew 4-5 times/day. As such, most of these Mustangs were absolutely filthy. Here are a couple of examples of the real thing, I used these as guides for my weathering: Below, note the scratched "USAF" which was from foot traffic during the rushed re-arming process. And one of the the cockpit. This is an unrestored F-51D, note the heavy weathering and patchy black finish. Here is the finished model. It's the Tamiya P-51D/K version. Aftermarket bits include Barracuda resin wheels and cockpit bits, Quickboost resin propeller blades, Brian Fawcett resin HVAR launchers, donated Tamiya HVAR's and for decals, Barracuda's awesome cockpit placard set, Print To Scale's F-51D set and Fundekals P-51D stencils. All the radio gear in the back and many small odds and ends were scratchbuilt. d And the finished kit: And for those that are curious about my "colorful" napalm tanks, I got my inspiration from this: Thanks for looking! Edited March 20, 2020 by John1 Madmax, Landrotten Highlander, dodgem37 and 25 others 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reuben L. Hernandez Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Very nicely done and different, I like it, I like it allot. John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Great to see the model, which inspired Tamiya to release a 1/32 F-51D kit, finished, and to some tune. John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Nicely beaten John , turned out great John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 (edited) Love everything about this build. Sincerely, Mark Edited March 21, 2020 by dodgem37 John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Well done! The weathering and napalm tanks look awesome! John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircommando130 Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 WOW! That's awesome! Put her on a PSP base with some mud and a little ice and snow in the holes it would be in Korea! Love the absolute beat up look but they had to keep them flying in those harsh conditions! I've been all over South Korea and it definitely gets cold! What....hearing the MASH theme song now! Cheers...Ron John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Great job John! You have captured the beat up look perfectly. Congrat’s! Cheers Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 1 hour ago, chuck540z3 said: Great job John! You have captured the beat up look perfectly. Congrat’s! Cheers Chuck Thank you sir! A good number of the techniques I used on this project came from tips I learned from following all of your awesome builds. chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 What a superb result for all your work and research. It was a pleasure following the build, and watching you ensure that you got all the details correct, from all the modifications made to late F-51Ds even down to the weathering and finish. It's not easy to recreate a convincing combat filthy aircraft, but you nailed it. Well done! Richard John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Sweetly done! John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepp Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Superb from start to finish. Chapeau! John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javlin1 Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Nice looking Crate ! Kevin John1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Great job all around John. Your weathering is very well executed. Ernest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Superb model and some great reference photos as well, these will be useful when I come to do mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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