dmthamade Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I was looking through Sprue Bros. for a P-47D in the PTO when i came across these decals. http://store.spruebrothers.com/132-warbird-decals---p-47d-30-thunderbolt-escudron-de-pelea-201-32003-p28025.aspx They are for a P-47D In the Mexican Air Force based at Luzon the Phillipines 1945 attached to the 58th FG USAAF. Wikipedia has info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escuadr%C3%B3n_201 The build will be Hasegawas excellent 1/32 P-47D Thunderbolt. Aftermarket will include Eduard PE seat belts, Hasegawa .50 cal machine gun barrels, and Warbird decals. No resin cockpit on this one as little can be seen when the fuselage is closed up. Finish is NMF with black anti glare, White scalloped nose and a green/white/red striped rudder. Markings are basic USAAF stars and bars at the standard places with green/white/red Mexican Air Force triangles on wing surfaces. Prop tips are also in the tri-colors. There does appear to be nose art on the left fuselage side, possibly a squadron insignia, so this will be a colorful build. The aftermarket i ordered today, but i have the kit in the stash so i will start soon. I will update as much as i can, but during the good weather summer months i don't get a lot of building done. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Don, I have these decals in 1/48 on the to do list. I'm looking forward to seeing this one done. Cheers! -O Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Managed to get almost all of the cockpit done, forgot the belts!! They are on Eduard painted PE on order from Sprue Bros along with other things for this build. Anyway, this is the kit pit with some additions. I added the oxygen hose and rods from the throttle assembly. I painted it with FS 34092, As the pit was painted a dark green, not the typical Zinc Chromate Green. Washed with a black/brown mixed then given a drybrush. The instrument panel is the kit decal settled with future. After the dullcoat i put a drop of Future on each gauge. on to some pics. I might redo the seat a bit, wash looks overdone. Hopefully the belts etc will arrive so i can get the fuselage closed up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Managed to do some work on the build, have a few subassemblies done. For the most part this thing builds like Lego, parts fitting each other very precisely. I did have to fill the lower fuselage joint, not a fit issue but more like a low spot. There are low spots on the wings that will have to be filled, Mr. Surfacer is fine for this. Finished the engine, will install towards the end. I didn't do much detail work here as very little will be seen when installed. Some pics for the night. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Litvyak Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Excellent choice of subject! Looking forward to seeing this progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Love the engine and gearwells. I have this kit in my stash and its been calling me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Excellent choice of subject! Looking forward to seeing this progress. I had this kit in the stash for a long time, looking for decals for the PTO i came across these at Sprue Bros. Shows there were Allied combatants other than the more well known ones. Love the engine and gearwells. I have this kit in my stash and its been calling me. You'll enjoy building it. There are some things that need work but it is a simple well thought out kit. Okay, there are sink marks on the top of the wings in two spots on each. I didn't want to lose any detail or overwhelm it with fill, so i outlined the sink mark with tape and filled with Mr.Surfacer. Let it dry then sanded it down. Might have to rescribe a bit but looks good so far. Slowly working away at the build, enjoying the great summer we're having instead. One pic for the night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MaRiO FDZ Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Nice work on the gear bays. I'll be looking after this one :) Take Care Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Well it's been a while since i did an update. Had some time today and managed to apply a primer coat of Tamiya fine primer in white. Planning on the best approach to the wing and fuselage stripes. They are supplied as decals and look thin, but i think painting them on would look better. The only issue with that is the black stripes have a very thin white strip as an outline, will have to think about this for a while. Couple of pics for the night. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 4, 2012 Author Share Posted August 4, 2012 Shiiiinneeee!!! Applied the color coat of Tamiya AS-12. I was going to use Citadel paints but the two bottles i have are bad. The Tamiya spray can worked well, smooth with excellent coverage. The grain is a little coarser than the Citadel paints but i'm happy with it. Been looking for pics that show differences in the BMF panels but they seem to show there isn't really a lot of differences between them. Seen a lot of builds that show big differences in shades, think that is more artistic license than accurate. Will probably do a little of both methods. Right now it looks like a toy, more panel paint and weathering should help get rid of that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Been raining today, so i had time to pint panels with different shades of metallics. Differences aren't big between them, might change with a dullcoat and wash. Something i noticed on the Hasegawa wings, the left wing has the typical 1/4 turn fasteners engraved into the gun/ammo covers While the right wing has simple circles engraved I'm going to dullcoat the build next to seal the paint, then mask and spray the stripes and anti-glare panel. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I love the look of Mexican markings. I'm surprised at how few people know about the contributions of Mexicans to the allied effort during WW II Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 I love the look of Mexican markings. I'm surprised at how few people know about the contributions of Mexicans to the allied effort during WW II I never knew of the contributions of the Mexican Air Force in WW II until i started researching this build. Lots of stories and anecdotes out there, of hardships on the battlefield and obstacles stateside. Something i did find is there aren't a lot of good pics of the planes online. Ones that i have found show a lot of variations from any standard. Nose scallops, position, color and number of stripes, noseart varied plane to plane. The decal instruction sheet says the anti glare panels are black, pics i've seen seem to suggest Olive Drab, so that is the color i used. The weather today is absolutly perfect, hot with a brilliant blue sky but i'm inside watching the Olmpics and painting the T-bolt. The Olympics can really draw you in, lost count of how often i lost track of time. Anyway, i managed to complete the wing stripes and the anti glare panels. This was a pretty straightforward mask and paint job. I will say the metallics are very durable, Tamiya masking tape did not mar the metallics in any way. I masked over the Tamiya AS-12 like any other paint. Some pics for the afternoon. Will start on the fuselage stripes next. These will be more of a challenge due to more lumps and bumps. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 YEEAHH! Those black stripes with the white outlines look really sharp. Nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Last pics of the night. The fuselage stripes wern't as bad as i thought they would be. I used the decals to give me the width needed and they also followed panel lines at their edges. When i removed the tape, some white did get pulled up. I could easily touch this up or i could leave it as chipped paint. I will be doing more chipping so it may be a start. The nose uses a large scallop decal that is supposed to wrap around the front opening. I don't know how well this will work so i will apply white paint to the front of the cowl ending at a panel line to help hide the decal work. Pic below is of a Hasegawa 1/32 T-Bolt i did a few years back. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 WOW Amazing paint job i also never knew mexico had an air force during WWII Im suprized Eli from Zolt decals hasent coverd the subject (i think hes from mexico) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Tamiya sprays never cease to amaze me. I'm going to all this trouble to use Alclad and that looks fantastic and probably took you a quarter of the time. Those stripes are incredible as well. A master of masking you are. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 Tamiya sprays never cease to amaze me. I'm going to all this trouble to use Alclad and that looks fantastic and probably took you a quarter of the time. Those stripes are incredible as well. A master of masking you are. I think if you want a very shiny factory fresh finish, Alclad is the stuff to use. I've yet to see anything that works as well. For what i do the Tamiya spray and acrylic metallics are fine. With one exception i've had excellent luck with Tamiya sprays, will continue to use them. Tonight i sprayed the front of the cowl, i was debating masking and spraying the scallops, but the very fine pinstripe scared me off. I also masked off and sprayed the tri-color prop tips. Doing these was a little difficult, spacing and straightness had to be right or they would look off. After painting and stripping i saw everything looked good. Looking at the colors, i could think of one thing; Merry Christmas!! Yeah i know it's August. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaronw Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 When you look at the full list of participants you really see the WW2 really was a world war. Very cool to see this, while I knew many latin american nations participated in the war, I don't think I've every seen any models built or decals available. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 When you look at the full list of participants you really see the WW2 really was a world war. Very cool to see this, while I knew many latin american nations participated in the war, I don't think I've every seen any models built or decals available. I did know Brazil participated in the ETO, the P-47s they used had modified stars and bars for their markings. Reached a small milestone on the build, everything is painted. I can glosscoat everything tonight, then hopefully will start applying the decals tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing this one with the green/white/red triangles and fin flashes applied. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 I glosscoated the parts yesterday, using Tamiya clear gloss X-22 and their thinned X-20A. Stuff worked really well, better than the Acryl that i usually use. Today i started on the decals. I'll be using the kit decals for stencils and stars and bars. The stars and bars that were included with the Warbird decals looked black. The Hasegawa decals worked really well, settling in fine. The aftermarket stuff need a little more work. I think they're sized for the Revell or possibly the Trumpeter kit as the fit of the fin flash is off. They also don't conform well, Microset/sol not really having any effect. I used Solvaset and that seems to work, though there is a lot of wrinkling to smooth out. I won't add any more decals that i've applied just in case i have to strip them and mask and paint. Thinking about it now, the decals i will need to use are the squadron art, serial numbers and nose scallops. I think everything else i could or have masked and painted. The nose decal will be a challenge, may have to paint it anyway. Some pics. ive seen worse wrinkling on other decals so i am hopefull these will smooth out. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Greenghost Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 (edited) I love the look of Mexican markings. I'm surprised at how few people know about the contributions of Mexicans to the allied effort during WW II Hi guys, I will add my 5C here. One of the mechanics attached to 201 Squad. was from a very small town south of Mexico City, when they got back from the war, the president asked them what they want in retribution from their service. This mechanic requested the president to build a elementary school in his town, since then in a town called Tepoztlan there is a elementary school named "Escuadron 201" FO Luis Perez Gomez, 443 RCAF Squadron, June 16th, 1944. The only mexican killed in the days after the invasion, right now working in his Spitfire MkIX. From Guadalajara, Mexico. In the early days of the war as Mexico and the US were not directly involved in the war effort, he migrates to Canada and join the RCAF, MIA in June 1944, his remains and tomb were id few years ago. http://www.canadaatwar.ca/memorial/world-war-ii/142243/flying-officer-luis-perez-gomez/ http://www.inmemories.com/Cemeteries/sassy.htm http://www.manitobamilitaryaviationmuseum.com/PDF/443squadron.pdf Edited August 14, 2012 by Greenghost Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-Neu- Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I glosscoated the parts yesterday, using Tamiya clear gloss X-22 and their thinned X-20A. Stuff worked really well, better than the Acryl that i usually use. Today i started on the decals. I'll be using the kit decals for stencils and stars and bars. The stars and bars that were included with the Warbird decals looked black. The Hasegawa decals worked really well, settling in fine. The aftermarket stuff need a little more work. I think they're sized for the Revell or possibly the Trumpeter kit as the fit of the fin flash is off. They also don't conform well, Microset/sol not really having any effect. I used Solvaset and that seems to work, though there is a lot of wrinkling to smooth out. I won't add any more decals that i've applied just in case i have to strip them and mask and paint. Thinking about it now, the decals i will need to use are the squadron art, serial numbers and nose scallops. I think everything else i could or have masked and painted. The nose decal will be a challenge, may have to paint it anyway. Some pics. ive seen worse wrinkling on other decals so i am hopefull these will smooth out. Don Now that looks clean and pretty. For problems like that I try to "pop" the air bubble and push down on the entire length of the decal to get it to adhere. Worse case I will try to cut along the wrinkle line and let it adhere on top of the other side. It often works and it looks none the worse when you glosscoat it (though it might prove to be a challenge with a white decal and opacity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Hi guys, I will add my 5C here. One of the mechanics attached to 201 Squad. was from a very small town south of Mexico City, when they got back from the war, the president asked them what they want in retribution from their service. This mechanic requeste the president to build a elementary school in his town, since then in a town called Tepoztlan there is a elementary school named "Escuadron 201" FO Luis Perez Gomez, 443 RCAF Squadron, July 16th, 1944. The only mexican killed in the days after the invasion, right now working in his Spitfire MkIX. From Guadalajara, Mexico. In the early days of the war as Mexico was not involved directly in the war effort, he migrates to Canada and join the RCAF, MIA in July 1944, his remains and tomb were id few years ago. http://www.canadaatwar.ca/memorial/world-war-ii/142243/flying-officer-luis-perez-gomez/ http://www.inmemories.com/Cemeteries/sassy.htm http://www.manitobamilitaryaviationmuseum.com/PDF/443squadron.pdf Wow!! Thats great information, especially of FO Gomez. Never heard of this til now and i'm sure few others did. Going to look for more info on him. The tail flash seems to have settled in OK, i'll have to do some touch-ups withe some spare striping included in the decal sheet. The nose decal.... I will see how this looks, but i don't have a lot of hope for it. The decal sheet gives two of these decals so i may use it to make a template to make a mask and paint it on. All topside stencilling is on, still have to do the stencilling on the bottom. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 The clean and pretty part i hope to get rid of with weathering. Right now it looks like a toy or diecast. I really enjoy and fear the weathering part, makes the build come alive but i have a bad habit of overweathering. The cowl decal looked like a** so i removed it and painted it on. Small tutorial. Started by setting the crucial spacings and centers of the points. Did this with a strip of Tamiya tape wrapped around the cowl using the rear edge as the starting point. I then marked center on top and bottom of cowl on the tape. I then started on the masks by making a copy of the decal and cutting it out. I applied Tamiya tape to a clean sheet of styrene, and cut the masks out using a new blade. I split the mask into more manageable parts, the top half as one, the bottom two as separate parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.