N M F By Brush

[John Krukowski]

To check seams before painting I use silver spray paint, sprayed into its own cap then brushed over the sanded/puttied areas to better detect any minor flaws so they can be fixed before the paint goes on.

In this case I used Testors No.1290 "Chrome" for this task. I had a nice flat 3/8" wide brush and upon finishing the seams which didn't need any further attention I noticed that it flowed on very thin and covered in one coat over the gray plastic so I just kept going and painted the whole model that way. Everyone's techniques are a little different but I paint using some downward pressure to "iron" the paint out as I go...hard to explain but it works for me.

It's not the "prettiest" NMF but I think it looks somewhat realistic in tone for an operational WWII aircraft. The model was glossed for decals and semi-glossed afterward. This one is "Ridge Runner III" which was only something like five weeks old when lost:

The model itself is Fujimi's 1/48 scale kit with some simple modifications and a few parts from the spares box. (Finished at the end of 2007 for H/S's Mustang G/B.)

Any and all comments are welcome, good, bad or ugly!

John

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Here's a link to my Photobucket album...about 80 models, all are 1/48 unless otherwise noted, click any thumbnails of interest to enlarge:

http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/cc77/tubeglue/

[Aigore]

Interesting technique Well the finish looks great realy, at least I can´t see any brush strokes.

Not being a Mustang nut the only thing I can coment is that some shading of different panels would have looked nice as well as a little soot :D

Other than that it´s a very nice and clean Mustang!

Cheers!

[John Krukowski]

Thanks for the feedback. I thought of "tinting" a few panels but I was pretty satisfied with the results and didn't wanna risk ruining it, although I did use a different shade (regular Silver) on the elevators. Maybe I'll be a little more adventurous on the next one I decide to paint in this fashion.

As for the soot or other weathering, "Ridge Runner III" looked pretty clean on the pictures I used as reference:

It was only about five weeks old when lost.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

John

[mkimages]

That's quite a nice looking Mustang . Fairly interesting that you were able to get such a smooth silver finish with a brush. I've never been able to do silver in more than small areas without brush marks popping up. I'd guess that your decanted paint happened to be exactly the correct consistency to go on smoothly.

Also, a neat technique I've used to tone panels on painted silver finishes is to mask off the panels and use a cloth to rub pencil graphite into the paint (after it has cured, of course). Depending on how much graphite you use & how hard and the direction you rub, you can vary the look of the darkened panels a bit.

;)

[John Krukowski]

Thanks for the graphite tip! Most often, simple tricks employing basic household items are among the very best.

" " yourself!

John

[Jinxter13]

This one is "Ridge Runner III" which was only something like five weeks old when lost:

That is quite a feat if those are victory markings below the exhausts, it was one very busy warbird with one helluva hotshot pilot!!!

[John Krukowski]

A hot shot, but most of those victories were carried over from his previous aircraft.

You can follow Maj. Pierce McKennon's career on the cowling panels of these three Mustangs:

The above photos are from the "Little Friends" website...a treasure trove of wartime photos

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/index.php

Clicking the group NAME will take you to the data/stats.

Clicking the group COLOR will take you to the photos.

John

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One more photo...and see link to biography below it:

The photo of his headstone's a little morbid, but there's some good stuff in here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunnybrook100/1869983924/

Especially interesting (to me, anyway) is his piano playing.

He's more famous for getting shot down twice, the second time riding back to England on his wingman's lap...after McKennon belly landed in enemy territory his wingman landed, they both ditched their chutes and squeezed into the one cockpit for a long ride home.

Edited January 12, 2010 by John Krukowski

[Pirata]

I like it. Considering the scale, (Being a 72nd guy, I've always wanted to say that.) I think you did a great job with the brush painting. Silver is the hardest colour to paint with either an airbrush or a brush and the bigger canvas you use, the more opportunity for mistakes. Your finish is very good. I don't see any brush strokes at all. Considering the plane was brand new when she was lost, I wouldn't expect much weathering.

I was thrown off in the second photo by what *I thought* was the letters I V I on the rudder. When I compared it to the first photo, I realized they were shadows being cast by the horizontal antennas. I'm not familiar with those antennas. What are they for?

I remember reading the story about him being rescued by his wingman. There were other instances of that happening, too. I guess, given the nature of modern combat, the days of that sort of seat-of-the-pants type of rescues are over. I once told that story to someone and he turned to me and said: "Naw, man! You've been watching too many movies!"

Now, your new mission is to do the same thing with a 1/32 Mustang!

Edited January 14, 2010 by Pirata

[terrysumner]

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this airplane was not NMF but rather painted silver lacquer as were most Mustangs???

[John Krukowski]

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this airplane was not NMF but rather painted silver lacquer as were most Mustangs???

The Mustang's laminar flow wings had their seams filled and they were painted silver at the North American factory but the rest was left in NMF although they weren't polished, as some modern warbirds are, like this one:

Ironically, this warbird IS painted silver but it's probably closer to what a wartime NMF looked like:

A few more pictures from Oshkosh here, if anyone's interested:

http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/cc77/tubeglue/?start=180

John

[John Krukowski]

I like it. Considering the scale, (Being a 72nd guy, I've always wanted to say that.)

Ha! I bet you have! :(

>"Silver is the hardest colour to paint with either an airbrush or a brush and the bigger canvas you use, the more opportunity for mistakes."<

Respectfully, I beg to differ...you guys have to be even more precise because a brush mark is the same size no matter what the scale of the model, and that goes for anything else that can possibly go wrong!

>"I was thrown off in the second photo by what *I thought* was the letters I V I on the rudder. When I compared it to the first photo, I realized they were shadows being cast by the horizontal antennas. I'm not familiar with those antennas. What are they for?"<

They're an early form of tail warning radar...I think a buzzer went off in the cockpit when somebody was on your tail.

>"Now, your new mission is to do the same thing with a 1/32 Mustang!"<

Now if you really wanna challenge me, tell me to do it in 1/72!

Thanks, Pirate, or "Aaaaargh"...

John