N.A. P-51D, The Enchantress, Tamiya 1/32

[Tomas Duck]

On 4/25/2022 at 2:18 AM, TAG said:

Hi, Tomas

 

I remember seeing you start this build on the ARC forums a couple years ago, your work was face-meltingly good back then, much as it is now here on LSP (a MUCH better home for what is bound to be one of the finest Tamiya Pony builds of all time, as I'm sure you'll find). There is clearly a pattern at work here.

 

In any case,

 

 

 

As for the scuff plate on the inside of the fairing doors (as NAA called them) or clamshells (as most modelers do), you're correct that later variants didn't need a primered scuff plate, as the entire wheel well started being sprayed in YZC from dash 20's onward. In earlier Mustangs the wells were left mostly in natural metal finish, with the exception of the main spar and stringers on the roof of the bay (actually the top of the wing, hence the stringers), which meant the scuff plates had to be primered as they are made of stainless steel, unlike the aluminum fairing doors. 

 

Most of you probably know that dissimilar metals corrode when in contact with each other, hence the need for primer. The reason they primered the scuff plates in early Ponies and not the fairing doors is because they needed those to be totally clean in order to spot weld parts together. Of course they could have primered the entire sub-assembly after the spot welding was done but that took time and during that phase of the war the emphasis was on building as many planes as possible, not corrosion control. I guess they figured not that many were going to survive escorting the Big Friends across the skies of Festung Europa.

 

But, as I'm sure you know by the amount of research you've put in so far, for every "rule" in P-51's there are a laughingly vast number of exceptions. Sometimes wheel wells were fully primered on one side and not at all on the other, on the same bird.

(In case anyone is wondering, the wheel wells are the bottom "holes", the upper fully primered ones are where the fuel tanks go.)

 

Anything can be explained by the vagaries of wartime manufacturing, I suppose.

 

Very much looking forward to the rest of your spectacular build, keep up the outstanding work!

 

Cheers,

Thomaz

 

Hi Thomaz,

Yes, you are right, this is my "Old beauty" from ARC. She is still in the same state as I showed her on ARC, but this site is better for she. I´m still not satisfied with NMF, but my actuall and also training project for NMF is B-25 now, so if will be good I would like finish her.

Thanks for your info about colours, I have the same opinion ( and I´m sure that isn´t only my angle of view). It´s logical, one things is regulation, second is war reallity. 

It´s reativelly simple find what tube is going from point A to B, but real colours is another story :-) But better then WWI :-)

Thanks for the positive coments!

 

Cheers

Tomas

[Tomas Duck]

Hi,

on this picture set I would like present my work on engine lower side structure, connection between wings fuel system and engine, fuel filtr, cooling tubes, hydralic and air intake. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the picture below are all connection which I was able make on this space.

 

 

 

...and everything is hidden... 

 

 

Tomas

[Thunnus]

Fantastic work! The wiring work, especially in the wheel wells, is impressively complex!

[scvrobeson]

Great detailing, especially on a mostly neglected area.  Keep it up!

 

 

Matt 

[Sasha As]

Great job!!!

[dodgem37]

Some very nice modelin'

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Troy Molitor]

Cracking build going on here.  Thanks for sharing your work with us.  

[Granger Davis]

Absolutely visually stunning work! If only mine could turn out this good!

[SwissFighters]

HI Tomas, thanks for posting these pictures here. Your work is something of an inspiration for my own Tamiya Mustang. May I ask whether you have thought of using foil to replicate the NMF? This is what I plan to do myself, when I get that far. Check out the following work at http://soyuyo.main.jp/p51/p51-1.html I'm not suggesting the same material thickness needs to be used and even kitchen foil is very effective. The trick is to find the right adhesive. I have found through some trial and error, that Tamiya's surface detail, fine as it is, takes kitchen foil very well. The Mustang's wings, as you know, were painted, so it remains 'just' the fuselage to be covered. Here is an LSP forum article which also gives some insight:  https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2604 

Maybe you've thought through all this already! Regardless, the idea has lots of potential and, if done well (and I believe you could achieve it looking at your work here), can reproduce the NMF like no other.

All the best with this model.

Tony