CANicoll Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 That is really awesome - you do that like "yeah I just used some milliput, and did a bit of sanding and scribing, and it looks like it came from the factory, but what the heck, I'm going to get a beer.....". Terrific work!! Do you belong to a local club? Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Thank you guys for the kind words! I'm having so much fun with this kit that I suspect all my add-ons and modifications have for sole purpose to make the pleasure last longer. I'm currently struggling with the Eduard PE wheel bays. My eyes are watering but I'm beaming inside I'm still impressed that there's no need to source photo-etch canopy rails for this kit, although what you've done with the radio etc. is tempting. I WANTED so much to use PE for the canopy rails but found that the moulded details on the kit rails are more than adequate, once painted silver and a black wash applied. Chek, you might interested by this release from AMUR which offers PE for among other things, the radio AND 2 sets of canopy rails for much cheaper than Eduard. Do you belong to a local club? No, Chris. No-one would want me. I'm too old . I used to be a member of IPMS Brussels in the 1980s. Still have two good friends from the same period. Cheers, Quang Edited May 9, 2018 by quang CANicoll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KUROK Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Looks great with Tamiya canopy. It's amazing how a distorted canopy like the Revell can make a fantastic miniature ...look like a toy. quang and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Looks great with Tamiya canopy. It's amazing how a distorted canopy like the Revell can make a fantastic miniature ...look like a toy. I agree with you. The difference is day and night! Edited May 10, 2018 by quang CANicoll and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted May 19, 2018 Author Share Posted May 19, 2018 SPRUCING UP THE WHEEL WELLS Revell did a rather good job with the wheel wells. It accurately portrays the main wing spar as the back wall of the wells contrary to the great majority of existing P-51 kits. The kit part looks adequate, only missing the maze of plumbing present on the actual machine. But when I saw Jan_G's delicate use of photo-etchings on the wheel wells of his Mustang, I decided to take the plunge. I ordered the Eduard Undercarriage enhancement set and off we go. Original stock part Details erased The replacement photo-etched parts are tiny and require much patience and concentration. After completion, each sub-assembly is dipped in Klir, left to dry for extra strength and cemented in the wells with PVA glue. It's a long and fastidious process but well worth it. The completed wells is primed and painted in YZC. I know that the general consensus is NMF for the wells top and YZC for the spar and stringers. I was too lazy to do it so I painted everything YZC. A wash is applied to the entire wells using a home brew of 1 part Klir + 1 part distilled water + a dash of Vallejo Brown + a dash of Vallejo Violet. The combo Brown+Violet enhances nicely the Yellow Chromate base colour. When dry, plumbing lines made from solder are cut to length, painted and added one by one in the wells. Photos of the actual machines were used as reference. Not two aircraft are alike but there's a certain rationale in arranging the lines. The main goal is to make the whole thing look busy and credible. After the wheel wells is done, the upper and lower wing halves can be joined and mated to the fuselage. That's all folks. Until next time, Cheers, Quang LSP_Kevin, Model_Monkey, johncrow and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Quang Wheel wells look nice and busy - very well done Keep ‘em comin Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Agreed with Peter - looks terrific and worth all of your hard work on the PE wheel wells and then the wiring is an added bonus. What size solder did you use for the plumbing? Looks like two or three different sizes? Best, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 (edited) Thank you Peter and Chris for your kind words. The plumbing was mostly 0,6mm with a few lines in 0.5mm thrown in for variety.Please note that these are hydraulic lines (as shown by the blue-yellow-blue color code) and not electrical wiring. They're metal tubing and therefore rather rigid. 0,5mm diameter would be more in scale but I found that 0,6mm would add more presence to the whole. Edited May 20, 2018 by quang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chek Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Details erased The replacement photo-etched parts are tiny and require much patience and concentration. After completion, each sub-assembly is dipped in Klir, left to dry for extra strength and cemented in the wells with PVA glue. It's a long and fastidious process but well worth it. The completed wells is primed and painted in YZC. I know that the general consensus is NMF for the wells top and YZC for the spar and stringers. I was too lazy to do it so I painted everything YZC. A wash is applied to the entire wells using a home brew of 1 part Klir + 1 part distilled water + a dash of Vallejo Brown + a dash of Vallejo Violet. The combo Brown+Violet enhances nicely the Yellow Chromate base colour. When dry, plumbing lines made from solder are cut to length, painted and added one by one in the wells. Photos of the actual machines were used as reference. Not two aircraft are alike but there's a certain rationale in arranging the lines. The main goal is to make the whole thing look busy and credible. After the wheel wells is done, the upper and lower wing halves can be joined and mated to the fuselage. That's all folks. Until next time, Cheers, Quang The photo etched wing ribs in the wheel bay definitely add a touch of finesse. I'm usually quite particular about what folded metal can and cant do, so may go for backing the PE with plastic sheet to make it look more substantial. I may be wrong, but that's how they look to me. Regarding the YZC overall in the MLG bay, only a short while ago that wouldn't have raised any eyebrows. but when you come across folks sourcing supplier decals to denote unpainted aluminium sheet, well that's almost a new frontier of detail junkie. I am, of course speaking from the perspective of one whose crudely hacked and drilled pieces of 20 thou card and needle pricks represented, at one time, a pinnacle of P-51 gear bay detailing. But you've certainly made what looks like a lot less wiring and tubing go a lot further than on my P-51B build from Hasegawa hulk. None of which observations are intended to be critical, you're doing a fabulous job on your build. I only hope I can fix my puddled windshiekds so neatly. Out2gtcha, CANicoll and quang 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Terrific work, quang! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 Thank you Kev for the kind words. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 Chek, I'm well aware that the current trend for Mustang wheel bays is YZC + natural metal with decals of the metal sheet watermark thrown in. There are quite a few attempts of reproducing this color combo on recent P-51 builds. Unfortunately none of these attempts look convincing to me. Upon reflection I think it's because there are too many things ‘happening' in such a small area: the main spar, the stringers, the 2 color combo, the watermarks, the plumbing. It's like standing in the center of Times Square looking at all the neon signs. They are so many that your eye is diverted and cannot decide on which sign to concentrate. So I decided to keep it simple by using one single color to bring out the complex and delicate structure of the wells. I also kept the plumbing to a minimum, just enough to make the whole area look busy. To me the real art of modelling lies more in the power of suggestion than in the ability of replicating things. Of course you may have another approach and think different but that's precisely what make this hobby so exciting. Cheers, Quang Chek and Shoggz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Superb Quang. Will bookmark this for reference when I eventually tackle my P-51. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maxim Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Nice work on those bays! Looks really great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Looking real good Keep ‘em comin Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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