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1/48 Eduard P-51D-5


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I know, another Mustang...do we really need one?!  After spending about two weeks on the new Eduard kit, I think the answer is a resounding yes!

 

I got so into the build that my Corsair project is effectively on the the back-burner until the P-51D is done.  Here’s a quick recap of the progress I’ve made on the Mustang so far.  

 

The cockpit is highly detailed - I augmented the kit cockpit photoetched placards with the excellent set by Barracudacals.  

 

Primed with Mission Models Black Primer

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The floorboards were painted Tamiya XF-57 Buff and then streaked with Burnt Sienna oil paint for the wood look...

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...then oversprayed with highly diluted Tamiya XF-85 Rubber Black.

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The seat was assembled and painted US Interior Green, with highlights added and then chipping with Aluminum.   The seatbelts are from Eduard’s Steelbelts range and come with the aftermarket LOOK resin instrument panel that I purchased.  They are a bit more refined and detailed than the kit supplied photoetch belts.  

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Finally, everything is brought together with the excellent cockpit sidewalls which are adorned with all of the Barracudacals stencils and placards.  

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The gear bay is superbly detailed and features an interlocking assembly to ensure rigidity and alignment. 

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And that’s where things stand at the moment!  It is a superb kit and I highly recommend it.  Thanks for taking a look.  

 

Steve

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11 hours ago, Parabat said:

Wow that does look like the level of detail you'd expect in a modern 1/32 kit. Very nice. 

Indeed, I would say the cockpit rivals the Tamiya 1/32 kit out of the box.   

9 hours ago, Seaknight said:

WOW.Nice start.

It's an amazing kit from Eduard.

I started today my Mustang too 😉

Thanks!  I hope you are enjoying your build as much as I am!  

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We have a laminar wing 😊.  The fit here was almost perfect.  The underwing identification lights are part of the same, one-piece, clear insert that installs from the inside of the wing- they were painted their respective clear colors and backed with chrome silver.  Ailerons are separate, aerodynamically shaped at the leading edge, and beautifully moulded.  You could easily pose them deflected for an in-flight model.  The trailing edge is razor thin like the real thing.  

 

  The gun inserts needed some putty to blend them in.  Note the filled in access doors under the forward fuselage for the P-51D-5.  Eduard moulded these for the later variants but the instructions call out for them to be filled.  I used a combination of AK Interactive water based putty for the wing leading edge and lacquer based Tamiya for the gun inserts.  It should be dried tonight and ready for sanding.

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Steve

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On 8/28/2019 at 9:39 PM, Brett M said:

You're not joking, that's a nice instrument panel. Nice work on the build, it's looking sharp!

Yes, it’s well worth the price!  Thanks for the kind words.  

3 hours ago, 11bee said:

That’s a great looking kit.  Eduard in 48th is the equivalent of Tamiya in 32nd.    I need to get back back to my MiG-21SMT pretty soon.   

 

Great job on the Mustang so far.     Really like the cockpit floor.   

Indeed it is.  I have the 1/32 Tamiya P-51D and was actually using it today as reference for adding dzus fasteners to the top of the cowling on the Eduard kit.  Strangely, they are missing abeam the top part of the cowl, but their painting guides for all of the kit markings show them and they have dzus fasteners on the sides of the cowling.  🤷‍♂️

 

Happy Mustang building to us both!

 

Steve

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Mustang Update 9/2

 

I decided to putty the panel lines on the wings except for the gun/ammo doors and oval inspection hatch in the port wing.  The Eduard kit has an oval hatch on the top of each wing but it should just be on the port side, so be sure to fill it if you are building this kit.  I used Tamiya White Surface primer and clear CA glue to fill the various panel lines and smooth out the gun inserts. 

 

Only the forward 40% of the wing was puttied according to the diagram below but I decided to fill complete panel lines (minus the gun/ammo doors) as I thought it would look awkward to leave them partially filled when it came time to wash the wing.  

 

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And the wings before sanding...

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And after the sanding...I started with 800 grit, then 1000, and stopped at 1500.  

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I also rescribed the panel lines and re-added rivet detail that was obliterated after joining and sanding the fuselage halves.

 

 I attempted adding the prominent Dzus fasteners along the top of the cowl and didn’t like my first attempt, so I filled it in with gap filling superglue and tried again.  The dark spots are the old fasteners filled in but the new ones don’t really show in the photo.  They aren’t perfect, but my second attempt was better than the first and unless the primer reveals something egregious, I’m going to leave it.  

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Steve

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1 hour ago, 11bee said:

Good stuff!   Maybe I missed it but are you going to use kit decals or aftermarket?    Must be a few hundred options to choose from.  

Kit decals.  There’s not as many options as you would think the way this kit is optioned- it is for a D-5 with fin fillet and there aren’t a ton of those represented in decal form.  There is an option for Miss Steve in the kit, and My name is Steve, soooo, haha, there you go 👍🏻👍🏻

Edited by Falconxlvi
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Update 9/12

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Here’s a quick recap of the work I completed the past few days:

 

First, I added Brassin exhausts.  They are a drop-in fit once the casting block is removed.  They are also necessary, because unfortunately one of the shortcomings of this early boxing is that the some of the exhaust tubes are short shot.  Anywhoo- this is a no brainer $6 upgrade.   

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Before priming, there are a ton of tiny etched detail parts to add- they look great but are fiddly to get into position.  I used a plasticard strip for the intake support because the photoetch piece was  incredibly difficult to align and keep straight while getting it to cure with super glue.  The etched grille is a nice touch but you will probably never see it unless you pick up the model and shine a flashlight

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The radiator support is an etched piece but there is a notch in the fuselage to aid alignment.   

 

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There is a nice etch part for the inner flap

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I also am using the Brassin wheels.  They look great out of the package.  You do have to trim the flash between each wheel spoke in the separate hub, and you can see I have started that here.  

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Oddly, the Brassin wheels are too tall to fit under the main gear struts out of the box.  I had to trim about 2mm off the gear strut where it arches out in order to get the tire to fit.  A small fix, but kind of annoying, like, did anybody and Eduard bother to check?  This isn’t a one off either, multiple builders have encountered this and reported it on the Eduard Build Facebook Page.  

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Another nitpick is the Clear parts...they are not up to what we’ve come to expect from Eduard recently and they have a bit of an orange peel effect OOB.  I broke out the polishing pads- 6000/8000/12000, and then compound.  Afterwards I dipped the canopy in a 50/50 windex/future solution. This isn’t the best shot, but you can see the rougher texture in the unpolished canopy (sprue gate attached) compared to the polished canopy below it.

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As a side note, you get three versions of the P-51 canopy in the kit, which means you can use an extra one to handily mask off the cockpit 🤗

 

Finally, I primed everything with Mission Models Black primer...the first attempt showed me I needed another coat of putty on the wing panel lines.  I want them “barely there”, but not accented compared to the gun access doors.  

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After fixing a few flaws and sanding down the primer, I shot a few more coats of black primer and then a final coat of Mission Models Gloss Black Primer.  I am in the process of polishing the whole plane using the MicroMesh system, but here is roughly where things stand at the moment:

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Thanks for looking!

 

Steve 

 

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On 9/12/2019 at 8:06 PM, jester292 said:

Fantastic! I noticed the lack in quality with the canopies as well. Mine don’t have the orange peel but they do lack the clarity of the more recent kits. 

 

Good luck on the finish! Love the puttied wings. 

Thanks!  I suspect the clear parts will be much better in the upcoming Profipack Mustangs.  I believe Eduard sometimes rushes their kits for certain events and then tweaks the molds afterwards (like their Tempest last year!).  Anyways, it is still the best 1/48 P-51D by a long shot.  The puttied wings have been a chore- I may skip this for my second go at this kit.  

21 hours ago, Rodney said:

Enjoying following your build.  Great skills. 

 

Rodney

Thanks the kind words Rodney 👍🏻

Edited by Falconxlvi
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15 hours ago, 11bee said:

Great looking kit, impressive attention to detail by Eduard with the PE part on the inner flap surface.    Nice job on the finish, looking forward to seeing how you make out with the final NMF finish, I struggle in that area.   

Yeah, I do too- surface prep is the key and I’ve been sanding this thing to death.  In hindsight I should have left the flaps off and painted them separately.  I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to paint it but I am leaning towards using Mission Models Chrome on the main body for the overall color, and then use some Mission Models Aluminum and Dark Aluminum on various panels.  The wings will be Mission Models Silver.   I have been inspired by the Mustang at the Boeing Museum of Flight (below).

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Here’s an actual photo of Miss Steve- note the various metallic shades throughout the fuselage.  

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Steve

 

 

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Update 9/13

 

After more sanding and polishing and buffing than I’d care to admit, I think I’m finally ready to paint some metallics 🤗

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I used Mission Models Gloss Black Base for Chrome for the very first time over their standard Black Primer and am super impressed with how quickly it goes on and dries, how it sands/buffs, and how durable it is. 

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I polished it with Micro Mesh pads down to 12000 grit and then used damp Novus polishing pads for plastic. 

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I plan on shooting some Mission Models Chrome for the main fuselage to get the high shine finish.  In certain light, the model almost looks Chrome already 😎.  

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Anyways, I will let this set for 12-24 hrs per Mission Models instructions before applying the Chrome.  I also fixed a few flaws I noticed after taking these photos - it’s never ending 😂

 

Steve

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14 hours ago, Brett M said:

Looking forward to seeing how the MMP metallics look. Definitely some great progress made here and looking forward to seeing more progress!

Me too!  I hope to have an update tonight.  I’m masking things off right now.   

 

8 hours ago, a4s4eva said:

Looking great Steve

Thanks!  I appreciate the encouraging words 👍🏻

5 hours ago, mawz said:

Looking great!

 

A pity about the hoods, I have an initial release of their Spitfire IX in 1/48 with the same issue, I suspect it’s a minor manufacturing issue that they will resolve

It’s a bummer, but with normal sanding along the join, you would probably have to deepen the fastener detail anyways.  I used my 1/32 Tamiya cowl as a reference and then used a beading tool create the missing fasteners- a 5 min job once marked out 👍🏻

 

Don’t let it keep you from building this kit though!

 

Steve

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