goondman Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 As soon as im finished with my Tornado ECR, i plan jumping into an Airfix 1/48 F-51D-SAAF livery. From what ive read, no consensus tho; they were NMF. Is that correct or were they Aluminium Dope? Also; could i get away with using Korean War Era-US-pilot figure? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CardsFan Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Hi Goondman, I am also working on a SAAF F-51D, but using the Eduard kit. From what my research into this question has revealed, the SAAF flew both NMF and aluminum doped Mustangs, just as the ROKAF and USAF did. From what I can gather from the various Mustang experten on this and other websites, the tell in photographs as to whether the Mustang in NMF or painted aluminum is to look at the rectangular panel from which the exhausts protrude on the engine cowling. If it appears to be darker in color, as do the photographs of WWII-era NMF Mustangs, then the plane is probably NMF. If it appears to be uniform in color with the rest of the airframe (not including exhaust staining), it most likely is painted aluminum. My biggest research question is whether the wheel wells were painted aluminum for corrosion control purposes on the aluminum doped planes. While I could not come up with a definitive answer, I decided to paint my wheel wells aluminum to match the finish on my aluminum doped SAAF Mustang. Good luck with your build. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I wrapped up a long F-51D build last year. Did a bunch of research for my Korean War Mustang. Jeff is correct. Some F-51's were NMF, others were sprayed overall aluminium during overhaul. Aside from the darker stainless steel panel around the exhausts, another way to tell if one is painted or not is the area of the flap that is exposed when the flap is lowered. This would normally remain natural metal, vrs aluminum. As far as the wheel wells, that is a much debated subject in general. I haven't found anything that states that these wells were painted during overhaul. I left mine as the looked coming out of the factory. For some reason, many Mustangs had one well painted and one left in natural metal. I went for this look just for something a bit different. Good luck on your build! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
goondman Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 Thanks guys!!!!! Now to find some pictures of the subjectmatter 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CardsFan Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Beautiful build John. I have bookmarked and read your build thread several times while slogging through my build. You are one of the experten that I was referring to when I was doing my research as well. If I recall correctly, I read somewhere that postwar the RAF and possibly the RAAF painted the wheel wells of their Mustangs aluminum in order to fight corrosion. Based on that, I thought it would be logical for the wheel wells to be painted aluminum dope as well if they were going to the trouble to paint the entire airframe, especially as these aircraft were being kept in service many years longer than anticipated when they rolled out of the factory. Another reason I decided to paint it aluminum is after I decided to add hydraulic lines and such to wheel wells, it would be nearly impossible (at least for me) to then paint the well ribs in ZCY or DDG with the cables and lines running through it. I guess you can say that I chickened out! Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
goondman Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 3 hours ago, 11bee said: I wrapped up a long F-51D build last year. Did a bunch of research for my Korean War Mustang. Jeff is correct. Some F-51's were NMF, others were sprayed overall aluminium during overhaul. Aside from the darker stainless steel panel around the exhausts, another way to tell if one is painted or not is the area of the flap that is exposed when the flap is lowered. This would normally remain natural metal, vrs aluminum. As far as the wheel wells, that is a much debated subject in general. I haven't found anything that states that these wells were painted during overhaul. I left mine as the looked coming out of the factory. For some reason, many Mustangs had one well painted and one left in natural metal. I went for this look just for something a bit different. Good luck on your build! John Didnt notice the pic the first time around-excellent work! Would you mind sending me the WIP link? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 4 hours ago, goondman said: Didnt notice the pic the first time around-excellent work! Would you mind sending me the WIP link? Sure.... I co-posted the build here on ARC but it was primarily on LSP because I got much more info from the folks over there. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/80450-forgotten-war-mustang/&tab=comments#comment-1129999 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
goondman Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 5 hours ago, 11bee said: Sure.... I co-posted the build here on ARC but it was primarily on LSP because I got much more info from the folks over there. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/80450-forgotten-war-mustang/&tab=comments#comment-1129999 Thank you!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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