P51d Eduard

[spartacus]

Hi everyone .
I am back to you after the winter hibernation that has kept me away from the workbench but not from the PC  sceen where I modeled 3D  for a project that will start shortly.
This is a virtual preview that has already borne fruit in the "real world" (yes I know so much "Matrix" but give it to me), but this will be the topic of a new post.

 

 

 

 

But let's get back to the topic.
Eduard model in 1: 48, I saw a build on Youtube and I decided to buy the model directly from Eduard as I decided to use after market decals that have been in my decal stash for too long time with many others dedicated to this iconic plane.
BOX ART

 

 

Actually I have to review my style because I think it is not very attractive for marketing
Joking aside, that's the reason for the white box

 

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DECAL
This is what I said when I said that I have some p51 sheets (these are only for the "D", I have others for the other versions)

 

The choice fell on this sheet of Pyn Up which has a really beautiful nose art, the drawing is fantastic

 

 

The detail is photographed in SuperMacro in fact you can see the print dots but with the naked eye it appears very convincing (the Pinup is only 1.5cm high)
After the presentation here is the section
CONSTRUCTION
The model will be OOb with only the P.E. plate dedicated to the cockpit as the model is really very beautiful as it is; I don't think it's worth spending money on aftermarket: such as the cockip, and other parts of the plane unless you want superdetail but this is not the case I preferred to devote myself to the livery
COCKPIT

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For the walls I decided not to use many photo-engravings as although they are well made they flatten the model a lot, I decided to use only the plates and a few other details that are actually flat.

 



Olive drab seat with scratch (color option given by Edu. Which makes the office a little more colorful) I moved the seat belts a bit
For the floor: wooden base, then lacquer for hair, matt black, then I passed with a wet brush to make the underlying base reappear

 

MAIN TANK
The main tank received a coat of primer with a brush, tapping the surface to make it rough as in reality, I left the inspections and the various flanges, pipes etc. smooth.
I colored the tank in darkened german gray with black (all opaque) ,in shiny blacks the rest to give the contrast between the metals and other materials, as well as I distinguished the battery materials.
Washing with oil black and profiled the edges (no drybrus except on the serbstoio because I prefer not to have light smudges everywhere).

 

 

WEEL BAY
Another very well done detail is the trolley compartment which is made up of various pieces which one must pay attention to when assembling and follow the various assembly phases proposed by the instructions.
For the coloring I opted for a mixed coloring: structure in chrome yellow and aluminum tops (none of the 2 proposed by Edu but I have seen several photos with this type of coloring), washing with oil black and light profiling with lightened chrome yellow ( here the masking work made me a little crazy but it was worth it?)

 

 

 

LIGHTS
Eduard opted for a single piece in transparent to be fixed inside the wing before closing the shells I decided to paint the lamps from the inside to use the external part as a lens, to give a more convincing result to the whole I used an adhesive aluminum strip to simulate the internal parabola.The result is very convincing to you the judgment



 

 

 

At the closing of the wings I had difficulties because maybe I did something wrong in the assembly of the weel bay so they did not close properly so I had to scratch the edges a bit to avoid cracks so pay attention to the assembly of the trolley compartment

 


COLOR
Nothing special : Gunze glossy black base with Tamiya retarder to delay drying and the possibility of expansion of the color droplets to have a very smooth surface; 3 very light coats interspersed with one day of drying.
For the bare metal parts I used the Vallejo aluminum (the Metal Color series) which have nothing to envy to the Alclads, on the contrary being much less shiny I find them more accurate as a color rendering (but this is a personal opinion, I used Alclads for years with satisfaction).
For the wing surfaces that were filled and painted I used the White aluminum which is a good tonal compromise without exaggerating the detachment in the difference of the materials that often ruin the final effect, remember that in reality they were not built with too many different materials, if it was used a material other than aluminum there was a structural reason, I think they didn't care much about aesthetics, let's remember that these vehicles were used to bring down the enemy and not to do a fashion show.
In removing a hair, I used a fiberglass pencil and I abraded the silver paint a little too much, making the black below resurface so I decided to profile the various panels to make a sort of preshading, a rather successful and technical experiment to refine maybe with a bit a little bit more fine.
Here, too, the comments are very aprecied, let's see if we can get to version 2.0 of the technique or if it will fall into oblivion of useless techniques forever.

 

 

 

In the engine area I have always used Vallejo's Steel as a base and Burn iron as a nuance to simulate the effect of heat on the metal, all very discreet but perceptible.
 

 

 

 

That's all for now
Until next time