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1/32 Tamiya P-51D-15-NA Mustang, "The Millie G"


Hoss FL

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The landing gear bay is now complete. I probably took the most complicated route to painting this section. My original plan was to assemble the entire bay, including the added wiring and plumbing, paint it all YZC, and then pick out the details. But after assembling the unit I learned online that representing the aluminum skin unpainted and the structural elements YZC was more appropriate for my subject. So I ended up painting the entire assembly Mr Color silver (to represent Aluminum), masking the flat sections, then painting YZC. The wiring and plumbing followed using some excellent references online along with the painting of the details and weathering. 

 

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One of the challenges with these parts is the extensive number of deep ejector pin marks in very visible locations. After painting I realized that I had done a poor cleanup job in a couple of areas so I cut out some Coke can pieces to fit and glued them over the offending areas with CA glue. 

 

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After reading the heated debates (understatement :D) on a couple of posts here in the forum, I decided to represent putty on the wings. I used this fine drawing I found on the forum as a guide. 

 

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It took about 3 coats of Mr. Surfacer 1000 to cover the panel lines sufficiently. I've masked off the trailing edges of the wingtips to (hopefully) avoid breakage. 

 

HHeOhie.jpg

 

Thanks for looking. Comments and critiques always welcome. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/4/2022 at 1:07 PM, Thunnus said:

Wow, another incredible build!  You and Tomas seem to be taking turns raising the bar on enhancing the Tamiya P-51 kit!

Thanks John. Much appreciated. I've followed your builds for a while -- wonderful work on the Corsair, the 109K-4 and Dortenmann's Dora. Very inspirational. 

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I'm making incremental progress and have just completed the MG bays and assembled the wings. I used the Eduard upgrade kit for the top plate and heaters for the .50's and the bay doors. I still have to add the latches and support rods and will do that toward the end of the build. The doors themselves are significantly more detailed than the kit doors. I have some more weathering to do -- chips and scratches and a little more grime. 

 

cPrGg13.jpg

 

I primed the area with MRP primer and used Mr. Color Zinc Chromate Yellow for the main colors. Drybrushing, gloss coat and an oil wash followed. The MG's were painted with a Mr Color mix of Metallic black, blue and silver. Wiring for the solenoids and heaters was also added. 

 

MlZ5Hct.jpg

 

The Eduard doors come with hinges that would allow you to glue them open. I wanted to be able to remove them so I added a plastic post on the bottom outboard corner of the door, replicating the kit door mounting scheme. 

 

owopc3c.jpg

 

The Eduard upgrade also has some nice detail for the rear and bottom of the gun bays. I'll get some better shots and post them later. 

pnwdgc0.jpg

 

I stuck with the kit ammo trays and chutes. Even though the painting was a project, it looks better than the 2D Eduard PE ammo belts. 

 

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I'm starting to think about the paint colors for the wings and fuselage. 

 

For the wings, I'm thinking about a 1:1 or 2:1 mix of a light gray and sliver, using Mr. Color paints. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. 

 

For the fuselage, I'm planning to paint all the main colors, including the checkers on the nose. My NMF approach is a base of Mr Color GX 2 gloss black, followed by SM 201 Super Fine Silver. I'll paint specific panels Super Stainless and Super Iron as well. 

 

For this scheme, I know there's debate on whether the green color was olive drab, RAF dark green, jeep paint or some other green. I'm definitely in the RAF dark green camp and am evaluating Mr. Color C309, C330 and C361, which all seem pretty close, but are different. Any insight from the experts would be more than welcome.  Right now I'm leaning toward C330. 

 

And now for the big news!  As luck would have it, the Airpower History Tour (https://www.airpowersquadron.org/daytona-beach-fl) is in Daytona Beach this weekend and I've booked myself a ride in this baby:  

 

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Tough to beat this bucket list item. And it's the same marking scheme as the Millie G so I'll keep my eyes open for details and take lots of photos. 

 

Thanks again for looking. Comments and critiques are always welcome. 

 

More later. 

 

 

 

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Nice gun bay.  The Eduard doors are a great enhancement.  The ammo painting is indeed a project.  I remember the ones I did well.  Congratulations on fulfilling a Bucket List Item.  Make sure you have a HelmetCam so you can post your ride.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

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On 5/14/2022 at 3:58 AM, dodgem37 said:

Nice gun bay.  The Eduard doors are a great enhancement.  The ammo painting is indeed a project.  I remember the ones I did well.  Congratulations on fulfilling a Bucket List Item.  Make sure you have a HelmetCam so you can post your ride.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

 

 

Thanks Mark for the nice comments. Here's a link to the ride video. Who said researching your subject isn't fun? 

 

 

And the wings are now complete and mated to the fuselage. It's starting to look like a Mustang!

 

ShVZAn4.jpg

 

TKPuK2s.jpg

 

It's nice to see the main assemblies come together. More later. 

 

Comments and critiques always welcome. Thanks for looking. 

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