White Wolf Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hello all, this will be my 1st entry into the GB, a P-51D Mustang in Thunderbirds markings. I will be using the 1/72 Tamiya F-51D for this build, and the decals are by Warbird Decals. The WHIF background story on the instruction sheet explores the possibility of the Thunderbirds being activated in 1948 with P-51Ds. There are two choices of markings, the "original" 1948 bare-metal version or the overall gloss white aircraft specially painted for the 1976 Bicentennial. I'm going for the Bicentennial bird. Having finished a 1/48 Tamiya P-51D not too long ago, I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with its smaller sibling. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Started off with the cockpit. After reading that most post-war Mustangs had black cockpits, I painted it and the cockpit sidewalls flat black instead of the usual yellow-green. Various switches and dials were painted in yellow, white, green, and red to break up the black and add visual interest. The cockpit tub went in between the fuselage halves, and the wings and stabilizers were added. No problems with fit at all, the Tamiya Mustangs go together so well it's almost scary. I deviated from the instructions a bit and skipped drilling the holes for the pylons to represent a clean show bird. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 The rest of the construction was quickly finished and the whole plane painted in gloss white, and a gloss coat in preparation for decals. I decided to paint the wheel wells white too, just for the heck of it. Decals applied, need to do some touch-up on the anti-glare stripe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Wow!!! :woot.gif: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spokane-Modeller Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I think this would have been a neat part of their lineage, especially if there was a demo team to fly along side the F-16's. Great work looking forward to seeing it finished. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 One of the best P-51D schemes I've ever seen! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wh1skea Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Looks great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 Thanks guys :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Damn, that looks good! Absolutely breathtaking! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 How is it that they never used 51s for the thunderchickens? Looks awesome. Especially at so small a size. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hornet97 Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 wow just caught the tail end of this one looks good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
White Wolf Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Spinner fitted and canopy unmasked. Will be working on the rest of the smaller items next. I did apply a panel wash to highlight the panel lines, but it just made the model look ugly IMO. I removed the wash with soapy water and just highlighted the control surfaces instead of the whole plane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_s Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Great scheme for the Mustang. This one is looking good. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MIG Mikkel Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Wow it looks great!! sooo cool to me it reminds me about the Guatemalan Mustang: (not ment to spoil your wonderfull WIP :) Cheers, Mikkel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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