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I just picked up the Testors' boxing of Hawk's old Mustang for super-cheap, and I thought it'd be fun to build it as a WIF. I just finished a project that took me way longer than I expected, so I'm looking to do something quick and fun before I get in deep with another more "serious" build.

Anyway, here's what I started with:

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I don't know what paint scheme or markings I'm going with yet, but I like what White Wolf and wh1skea did with their WIFs. I do know it's not gonna be your typical NMF Mustang, so I decided to rescribe the raised panel lines on the wings. (I know it's been brought up before, but it's odd that Hawk has raised lines on the wings, and recessed ones on the rest of the airframe.) Besides the scribing and the possibility of a pilot figure from a different kit, this build's gonna be pretty much OOB.

I filled the tank and rocket tube attachment points on the underside of the wings, and covered the raised detail I wanted to keep with some tape.

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I've started to scribe, and will work on the interior later.

Anyway, thanks for lookin'. Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-O

Edited by oortiz10
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I reckon Mustangs are great whiffing fodder as everyone usually associates them with an overall NMF finish (maybe olive uppers and grey lowers as a second option), meaning everything but those two options will look kinda "fresh".

Looking at the boxart, with the olive Mustang with a striped nose and the yellow stripe denoting kit and manufacturer,.... hmmm, a P-26 Peashooter scheme wouldn't look too bad on a Mustang, would it? :woot.gif:

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OK, I've made a little more progress on my Mustang. The wings are together, and the fuselage is together. Pretty soon I'll be able to join them to each other, but there are a few things I still need to address.

So far, the wings are scribed and sanded...

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If you notice in the second photo above, a piece of the lower wing has broken off. That's actually a good thing because I have to make a modification to the wing assembly. I packed some Milliput into the upper half of the wing assembly at the root...

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Because the wing/fuselage joint doesn't exactly line up.

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Once the two assemblies are glued together, I'm gonna reshape the upper part of the wing for a better fit. The Milliput's in the wing in case I end up sanding through the plastic.

This is what the two assemblies look like when they're pressed together.

DSC00591_zpsc0c4ed72.jpg

con't...

Edited by oortiz10
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I also got a little work done on the cockpit. Since it's so bare, I decided to add a few things to distract the eye.

First, I decided to add a some odds-and-ends, by way of some simple wires, to the kit's (totally imaginary) deck behind the pilot...

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I also decided to add a modern pilot to the seat...

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I started to paint him, but before I spent too much time on him, I needed to make sure he'd fit in the cockpit. Luckily, the answer's yes...

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If you notice in the photo above, the kit's landing light is (oddly) molded onto the canopy...

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Anyway, that's where things are as of now. This thing's going together pretty quick. I guess I should start thinking about paint and markings.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. Feel free to drop you two cents into the bucket on your way out.

Cheers,

-O

Edited by oortiz10
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Boy, this build's going together pretty fast! I was able to get a few more things done on my Mustang.

I was able to get my pilot painted and sealed in his cockpit. Also, the transparencies are on and masked. (Sorry, no pix.) I glued the wing and fuselage assemblies together, and tackled that "step" at the front of the starboard wing.

If you remember, the forward part of the starboard wing extended past the wingroot fairing molded onto the fuse half. Like this:

DSC00621_zpsbf9cb311.jpg

Once I got the wing/fuse joint glued-up nice and tight, I stuck on the piece of the lower assembly that was broken off. I made sure that it was lined up where it was supposed to be. Like this:

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After that as all dry and rock solid, I used some tape to act as a guide and to protect the wing's surface from any stray scratches. Like this:

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My Dremel, some sandpaper, and a bit of elbow grease produced some pretty good results.

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As it stands now, my Mustang is pretty much ready for paint.

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I still need to decide on a final scheme, but I've narrowed it down to two or three options.

Stay tuned!

-O

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Good job so far on the build. I miss those old yellow Testors boxes. I like the build up pictures on the front and they usually had a few images of different angles on the back. They really made me want to dig in build those kits.

I find that I am amazed by what a difference it makes to me when I see a modern pilot in your P-51. He looks cool in there.

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I find that I am amazed by what a difference it makes to me when I see a modern pilot in your P-51...

ChernayaAkula threw out the idea of a Peashooter scheme for my Mustang, but since I was adding a "modern" pilot, I didn't think the paint and pilot would go too well together. Els, I too like the look of the pilot in the cockpit. As a result, I'm gonna go with a modern scheme to compliment out intrepid aviator. I'm still kicking around a few ideas, so this build's on hold while I experiment with some paint and masks. As soon as I'm satisfied with my results, I'll continue this build. In the meantime, I think I'll start up a second WIF...

Stay tuned!

-O

Edited by oortiz10
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^ I think Jennings once did a profile of a Mustang in Mod Eagle colours, complete with low-viz nose-art, that looked absolutely spectacular.

I saw that in the WIF thread! That was one of the options I was considering and the one I decided to go with. Mine will be a little bit different, but it will be built up in the Mod colors.

-O

Edited by oortiz10
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  • 2 weeks later...

Not much to show, but I figured I could at least prove that I'm still alive...

I decided to build up my Mustang in Mod Eagle colors with Gunship Grey markings. So, while I wait for some national insignia masks to arrive, I decided to make some masks for the squadron markings.

First, I sprayed some Gunship Grey (lightened 4 parts GG to 1 part Neutral Grey) on the areas that will be home to the markings. Then, using some old decals from my junk drawer, a straight edge, and a fresh Xacto blade, I made a few masks.

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You can also see that I went ahead and laid a little paint on the spinner, too.

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Anyway, that's where I'm at. Once the insignia masks get here, I'll be able to send this bad boy to the paint shop.

Thanks for looking! Feel free to share your thoughts.

Cheers,

-O

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OK gang,

My "Modstang" has a little paint on her. The masks arrived and I was able to get her sprayed. I'm not super crazy about the color of the markings. I decided to use a Gunship Grey, but I think they might've looked better in a lighter shade of grey. Also, the panel lines look too dark for my liking.

Oh well, it still ain't something you see everyday.

Lemme know what you think...

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Thanks for lookin'!

-O

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Thanks for the feedback gang. I think I'll be a little more satisfied with it once I put some weathering on it. I plan to use some pastels to tone down the darkness of the markings. Hopefully some weathering will tie everything together. There's a bit of free time for me this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to make some progress on both my Mustangs.

Cheers!

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OK, just a little more progress to share. I got the Modstang up on her two legs, and got her stabilizers attached. Waiting to get everything attached before I spray the flat and remove the masks. Hopefully it shouldn't be too much longer before I can stick a fork in this one.

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Tell me what you think! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for lookin'!

-O

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OK gang,

She's all done. Here she is!

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I'm gonna post the same one in the The Display Case section, and a couple more in the Display Gallery.

Feel free to share your comments or criticisms...

Thanks for lookin'!

-O

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