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Forgotten War Mustang - F-51D in Korea


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Thanks much guys!    Just a small bit of progress, I completed the propeller.   The blades are Quickboost "uncuffed" Hamilton Standard units, which seemed to be the most common ones used over there, although there are examples of the earlier cuffed blades and even a few Aeroproducts ones.   

 

Nothing particularly special about this assembly, given the poor conditions of the airfields, the blades would have been beaten up pretty good so I went heavy on the chipping and, (as is seen on many dirt airfields), I replicated most of the finish being worn off the back sides from the rocks and sand.

 

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That's it for today, as always, thanks for looking! 

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16 hours ago, Falconxlvi said:

I love the faded wear on the backside of the propeller blades!  Well done 👍🏻 
 

Steve

Thanks Steve!   When are you going to jump in the 32nd scale pool?  I’d love to see what you could do with one of these Tamiya kits. 

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3 hours ago, 11bee said:

Thanks Steve!   When are you going to jump in the 32nd scale pool?  I’d love to see what you could do with one of these Tamiya kits. 

I don’t see it happening this year, but I do have the 1/32 Tamiya P-51D and Slecial Hobby Tempest Mk VI in the stash.  ☺️

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Next up is the MG access door.   The Tamiya part is a bit simplified and doesn't include the exterior locking levers (which should be extended when the door is open) and interior latches.  Here's a pic that shows how the real thing looked.  In addition to the door latches, there is a large handle next to the aft ammo feed. Also note the thin support rod on the right hand side of the door. 

 

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I started off by carefully removing the recesses for the two exterior locking levers.   When these are opened, you can see through this straight into the MG bay.   I drilled a few holes with my pin vice and then used an X-acto knife to carefully remove the remaining material.   I then used thin strips of PE to replicate the levers.   As shown above, in the open position, they actually protrude through the opening into the inside of the door.  One thing Tamiya does include is a nice decal that closely replicates the large loading instruction placard on the interior of the door. 

 

Here is how it looks from the frontal aspect.  Sorry for the less than clear picture, I really need a better camera! Note that you can (barely) see all the way through the lever recesses.   Also note the locking (I'm guessing) lever in the vertical position by the ammo feed tray.  I replicated this from a piece of plastic card, carved, sanded and bent per the original.  Also added some tiny bits of scrap PE and plastic for the mounting bracket.  

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Here is how it looks on the backside.  Note that the door is just press-fitted in place so the support rod is out of position.   This will be in the proper spot once I glue it in permanently. Also note that I haven't done final touch-up painting and weathering.  

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Sorry for the crappy pics but you can (barely) see the door's latching mechanisms.  Also, one thing I neglected to mention before, later Mustangs (not sure if they came from the factory like this or were mod'ed later in life), had the fuel drain accumulator vent intake housing removed. In it's place was just the recess for the scoop and the drain opening.   The Tamiya kit has the scoop molded to the fuselage (it will be interesting to see if they addressed this with their F-51D kit, the way the part is designed, I'm guessing they didn't).   I carefully carved the scoops away (it's present on both sides) and drilled the drain openings.  On some F-51D's, the recessed area was painted red, I'm not sure if my subject had this or not, still researching. 

 

Here is a nice reference for some late Mustang exterior mods.  I'll be adding the g-suit opening and battery drain at the end of the build.  

FSX Warbirdsim P-51D-30-NA "Shangri-La" 44-75025

 

And a final crappy picture.  I'll try to post better pics later.

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As always, thanks for looking! 

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16 minutes ago, Slartibartfast said:

I'm surprised at the G-suit air source.  Any leak in the suit or connections could introduce CO into the cockpit.

That’s funny, I was thinking the same thing. Seems like an odd location for an intake.  

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Spinner installed and final (I think) paintwork completed.   Last open task is the canopy interior (anyone have any decent pics that show the inside, the Tamiya part seems much to barren) and adding a couple of antennas and I think this one will be done!

 

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2 hours ago, Falconxlvi said:

That is looking sooooo good!  The beat up finish, the tanks, the prop- I love the weathering!   Looking forward to seeing it finished up soon 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks very much Steve!   I’ve been plugging away on this build for over 9 months, can’t believe I’m almost done.  I put a good deal of money into this project, between the kit and all the aftermarket bits but if you average it over 9 months, this is definitely a very cost-effective hobby (or at least that’s the line I use on my wife).  
 

Got the Tamiya 32nd Mosquito on deck and from the quick look I’ve taken, this kit looks to far surpass the very nice Mustang I just built.  wish me luck!  

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7 hours ago, DONG said:

John

 

That has to be the crappiest most beat up Mustang I've ever seen online or at a show.

 

WELL DONE :clap2:

 

Don

 

Thank you sir!  Believe it or not, if you look at some of the pics I posted of the real thing, Butchie is actually in better shape than many of hisdd (her?) peers.  These aircraft really had the crap kicked out of them.  Made for an enjoyable build, I learned some new tricks and pushed the my modeling boundaries a bit.  

 

Regards,

 

John 

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So I'm thinking this one is finally done.   I added a few bits to the interior of the canopy frame and then used some plastic polish to give it a decent shine.    Next on went the dorsal antenna (these later versions didn't have a wire coming off it).  Lastly, I added safety wires to to the napalm tank ingniters and the rocket fuzes.  They are present in the picture below and were a feature on all underwing ordinance, WW2 to present.  If you zoom in on this picture, you can see how the rocket safety wires are secured to that slot in the leading edge of the forward stub launcher.  You can also make out the safety wire for the pylon mounted 500 lb bomb/napalm tank hanging down.

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These are present on all underwing ordinance, WW2 to present.  Whilst on the subject,  I'm a big fan of realistic ordinance.   It's surprising how many super-detailed, realistically weathered builds out there have immaculate, glossy bombs, with no safety cables, dirt, stencils, etc.  Call me weird but I actually enjoy superdetailing ordinance.   It's almost like a mini-model.  Here is a 500 lb bomb I did for my last build, the Tamiya F4U-1D, Dark Blue Killer.

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Here's a shot that shows the final outcome.

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I'll be back to post some final shots and will do the obligitory RFI.

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So Butchie is done and on the shelf.  Although a good amount of $ was sunk into this project, if you factor in the months of enjoyment (most of the time) that I got out of this project, it was very cost-effective (again, this is what I keep telling my wife)!   I have to say, I think I was spoiled by the Tamiya Corsair I built before this.  It was a much more straightforward build.  The Mustang has too many toy-like features (retractable landing gear, movable flaps and control surfaces, etc.). that make the build unnecessarily involved.   That being said, the quality and detailing of the kit are indisputably some of the best in the modeling world.   I was also very happy with the Barracuda cockpit decals, I wish they would offer these for every 32nd scale kit!  Also, props to Fundekals and Print to Scale for their very nice decal sheets.  Lastly, a major thank you to Dennis7423 for graciously supply the HVAR's.  I wouldn't have been able to complete this build without these.  Here are some final pictures and when I get around to it, I'll post some pics in the Constructive Comments forum.     

 

Bottom pics first and I'll come back with the topside ones in the next post. 

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Topside pictures:

 

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Last note - a sincere thank you to 2nd LT John Irwin who, during his assignment to the 2nd ID for two years as a Forward Observer, would have probably have been calling in Butchie for close air support.   You are not forgotten! 

 

Thanks for looking! 

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Glad to see it completed, lovely build you did of a very interesting subject, love the weathering, especially the wear effect on the markings.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Carlos

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Thanks very much guys, can't believe I finished it in record time, lol.   Next up is the Tamiya 32nd scale Mosquito, as a Strike Wing bird flying anti-ship missions over Norway. 

 

That should keep me going for 2-3 years.  

 

 

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