mawz Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 On 9/15/2019 at 3:10 PM, Falconxlvi said: 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 Just a note, I was talking about the hood (the sliding part of the canopy) where I have the same orange peel issue on my Spitfire IX as you mentioned yours has, not the cowling, which Eduard got right on the Spit. I have every intention of building the Eduard P-51D regardless, once I'm finished wrestling with the Airfix kit, which is not nearly as nice a build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 20 hours ago, mawz said: Just a note, I was talking about the hood (the sliding part of the canopy) where I have the same orange peel issue on my Spitfire IX as you mentioned yours has, not the cowling, which Eduard got right on the Spit. I have every intention of building the Eduard P-51D regardless, once I'm finished wrestling with the Airfix kit, which is not nearly as nice a build. Oh Gotchya. 👍🏻 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) Update 9/17 The main metal colors are on! Initially, I sprayed the wings with Mission Models Silver, and for whatever reason, the paint refused to dry- I’ve never had this happen with any of their paint so perhaps a bad bottle? I even set up a test bed project and couldn’t get their silver to dry after three days- very weird. I tried different thinner ratios, a hair dryer, etc. Normally, their paints dry within minutes. The other metallics behaved normally and so I switched to a home brew silver consisting of 20:1 Mission Models Duraluminum to Mission Models Mission White. I also carefully built up some Mission Models Chrome on the fuselage to check for tonal contrast between the wings and bare metal areas. Satisfied, I masked the silver wings and proceeded to paint the chrome. It does not need to be thinned and is already water thin out of the bottle. I slowly built up the coverage over the gloss black base until achieving the finish you see here. It lays down great and is very durable- I wet sanded (to repair and repaint a few blemishes) and masked over it without any problems after letting it sit for a night. As with all chrome applications- surface prep is everything- there are some areas I wish I would’ve spent some more time on surface prep, but if you can’t see it, I’m not telling! Look at that shine! Next, I killed a roll of masking tape and applied some Mission Models Dark Aluminum over the exhaust panels and Faded Aluminum on a few panels and the fairing around the empennage. I have to put the model down for a few days, but hope to resume with more updates next week. Thanks for stopping by! Also, if you want to see some real metal mastery, check out the B-58 in the Jet Modeling forum! Steve Edited September 18, 2019 by Falconxlvi . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) I’m not sure why I can’t embed any more pictures in my previous post. Every attempt to edit results in an error when saving. So here they are... Steve Edited September 18, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 (edited) Update 9/22 Just another quick update. I painted the theater black ID bands and decided to add the fuselage star and bars to make masking the thin bare metal line underneath the insignia and invasion stripes a little easier for the “Miss Steve” option. I got the idea from watching Plasmo’s incredible build on YouTube of the same plane. I sealed the decals with MMA-005 Semi Gloss Clear. Anyways, tomorrow will be titled “fun with masking tape” 😂 Mask this! Edited September 23, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 (edited) Prop time! Edited September 25, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 (edited) Update 9/24 (I’m getting behind my actual progress, sorry!) Lets talk about masking off the invasion stripes around the fuselage roundel. I purchased an OLFA circle cutter to help with this task. Using some 25 mm Tamiya masking tape, I cut about 300 degrees of tape slightly wider than the roundel circle. And then (very) carefully applied this slightly offset over the roundel after detacking the tape. I masked the whole stripe area on the fuselage sides and sprayed white first, then used 10mm Tamiya tape to mark out the black stripes. After all the tape came off, the results looked liked this... I also masked off and painted the blue nose Tamiya X-14 Sky Blue and anti-glare panel with MMP-091 Olive Drab. Time for decals! Steve Edited September 25, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 I’m not sure what’s going on with photos- I can add some but not others via Imgur? I’ve given up trying to add them via the edit function above and will just do that below: The masking: After: Painting the nose and anti glare panel: Started decals There are a TON of stencils - I am in the process of adding them now. More pictures soon! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 Decals complete! There are soooo many stencils on this thing, most of which are less than 5mm- it definitely requires some patience. I took the better part of today to get the stencils on but the results are worth it. The decals performed great and I had no problem getting the insignia to lie down over the aileron actuators using a little bit of microset and microsol. I have an early box so these are not the new in-house Eduard decals, but I am looking forward to trying those. I sealed everything with MMA-005 in prep for a wash and set the model aside to dry and work on the Brassin 250lb US bombs. The fins require a bit of cleanup but they look great. This is the generic Brassin set (648086) and not the one for the Airfix P-51. Thanks for looking! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Nice work Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 On 9/26/2019 at 5:18 AM, a4s4eva said: Nice work Thanks ☺️ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 Update 9/26 Here’s my last Mustang update before it’s finished. The model is constructed and just needs some weathering. I added bombs to my P-51 because of the decal option I chose. Lt Cullerton had 16 enemy kills on the ground and flew his final mission, where he was shot down, attacking an airfield. Bombs seemed more appropriate than fuel tanks. These don’t exactly slot into the kit pylons, but nothing some superglue can’t fix. The sway braces included in the photoetch parts for the pylons are super cool and look great when built up. Here are a few shots of the Brassin 250lb bombs after painting and decaling. I had a major self-induced mistake on the nose which saw me lose an entire day of progress as I had to basically redo the entire anti-glare area. I was trying to fix a panel line and put dymo tape over a flat coat that wasn’t cured. When I started to remove it, it pulled up the paint to the plastic underneath. Stupid is as stupid does 🤦🏼♂️. Thankfully the bare metal was spared. I sanded everything down around it and built up the repair starting with the primer. I think it’s a decent repair but man what a bummer! I didn’t bother to take any pictures of this event. After the repair, I gave the model a wash with AMMO Dark Brown. Before: After: The spinner received a wash with AMMO Sky Grey and I masked the paddles off and flat coated the cuffs to give a little more visual interest. After cleaning the excess wash I started the process of finishing the fiddly bits- the gear door actuators, mirrors, etc. Anyways, I hope to finish tomorrow and take pictures over the weekend. Thanks for stopping by! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brett M Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Looking great! The bright blue nose and tail add a nice visual interest. And, the restrained wash definitely pulls detail out. Glad to see how well the MMP paints work, as I like the way they spray. More to add to the supplies closet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 29, 2019 Author Share Posted September 29, 2019 7 hours ago, Brett M said: Looking great! The bright blue nose and tail add a nice visual interest. And, the restrained wash definitely pulls detail out. Glad to see how well the MMP paints work, as I like the way they spray. More to add to the supplies closet! Thanks! Yes, MMP paints are great and don’t offend my wife’s nose when painting inside. I didn’t add a ton of weathering because the period photos of Miss Steve show that is was maintained really well- you don’t really see exhaust stains or crazy leaks. I’m glad you like it. Please look in the display case forum for my final reveal pictures soon! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bravosierra001 Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 That looks awesome so far!!! I know you sealed it, but I would have been scared to death to apply tape over that insignia. Looks as if it worked out great tho!! Brandon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiskey Posted September 29, 2019 Share Posted September 29, 2019 Definitely will be using this as a build guide for my Mustang, even if it's the Airfix kit, as it's to good to pass up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 18 minutes ago, Whiskey said: Definitely will be using this as a build guide for my Mustang, even if it's the Airfix kit, as it's to good to pass up. Alright 👍🏻 I would recommend the Eduard kit hands down. You can save $13 more dollars and be rewarded with a much much better and detailed kit out of the box. I have really been underwhelmed with Airfix’s latest offerings in terms of fit and quality control. My unsolicited $0.02. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Falconxlvi said: Alright 👍🏻 I would recommend the Eduard kit hands down. You can save $13 more dollars and be rewarded with a much much better and detailed kit out of the box. I have really been underwhelmed with Airfix’s latest offerings in terms of fit and quality control. My unsolicited $0.02. I'm building the Airfix right now. I'll recommend the Eduard just from my experiences with the Airfix. It fits like a Monogram kit, without the excuse of 50 year old molds. Far too complex and fine design for the soft and low-quality plastic they're using. My current opinion of new Airfix kits is they are good designs let down by middling tooling and the cheapest, softest plastic Hornby could source. I'd be very unhappy if I hadn't got it for $20CDN from a buddy. Right now if you're looking for an inexpensive but good build, get the Tamiya, otherwise wait for the inevitable Weekend Edition. Leave the Airfix for when you want to wrestle, or just get a Monogram D instead for a similar amount of wrestling at far lower cost. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) 32 minutes ago, mawz said: I'm building the Airfix right now. I'll recommend the Eduard just from my experiences with the Airfix. It fits like a Monogram kit, without the excuse of 50 year old molds. Far too complex and fine design for the soft and low-quality plastic they're using. My current opinion of new Airfix kits is they are good designs let down by middling tooling and the cheapest, softest plastic Hornby could source. I'd be very unhappy if I hadn't got it for $20CDN from a buddy. Right now if you're looking for an inexpensive but good build, get the Tamiya, otherwise wait for the inevitable Weekend Edition. Leave the Airfix for when you want to wrestle, or just get a Monogram D instead for a similar amount of wrestling at far lower cost. Or just order the Eduard overtrees from SprueBrothers for $22.99 when they are back in stock. Most of us have a lot of P-51 decals in the stash I’d bet. I actually binned a new tool Airfix Spitfire Mk I last year- the molding quality and fit was truly terrible for the engineered way in which it is supposed to go together. And wouldn’t you know it, Tamiya blessed us with an absolutely world class kit for a few dollars more. Time is money, and for my time and money, spending another $10-15 for a subject made by Tamiya or Eduard is worth it. I can truly enjoy workbench time instead of cleaning up and shimming and test fitting every.single.part(!) of an Airfix kit. Rant over 😂 Edited September 30, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) On 9/29/2019 at 5:39 PM, Bravosierra001 said: That looks awesome so far!!! I know you sealed it, but I would have been scared to death to apply tape over that insignia. Looks as if it worked out great tho!! Brandon Thanks! Yes I made sure the clear was absolutely dry and really, gingerly laid the tape down after sticking it to my shirt a few times to de-tack it. When pulling it up, I went slowly away from the center of the decal at a 45 degree angle. No problems there! Edited October 5, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted September 30, 2019 Author Share Posted September 30, 2019 All done! Pictures here: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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