dai phan Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 8 hours ago, Scooby said: Nice build Dai, sorry about the decals. I feel they aren’t hit or miss, they are miss. Shame Eduard stopped working with Cartograf. It seems Eduard is taking a step back with their decals. On NMF I just cannot take a chance on decals that may not work. The surface is so dedicate that any miss will require massive work like I just went through... Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 (edited) Ok Ladies and Gentlemen... Disasters one after another and another! I reached the edge of my sanity so gave the build a hard core butt whipping straight to the trash can !!! I will start all over but this time I will add extra details to make a remake worthwhile. That is engine and gun bay. Wish me luck this time. Sometimes it is better to start over then spending hours and days trying to correct mistakes. Dai Edited April 27, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 (edited) Hello all... The rebuild has began and now it is time to start on the engine and gun bay kits. Dai Edited May 1, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 (edited) Started working on the engine. Lots of small parts to remove and clean up. Dai Edited May 1, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 (edited) Some more progress... The engine casing will be painted chromate yellow. Dai Edited May 2, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 (edited) Good Monday everyone... Continue the build. I am going to see how the engine fits before I do the wing gun bay. There will be lots of more of piping work when the engine is installed. Dai Edited May 2, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 3, 2022 Author Share Posted May 3, 2022 (edited) Greetings, On to the wing bay. Things fits pretty well. Extreme care must be taken when cutting out the wing panel. When removing the panel, leave at least 1mm away from the lines for final fine tuning. Dai Edited May 3, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 Looks good Dai, I have a couple of these kits and watching your progress with interest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 Test fit the gun bay. When cutting the bay, leave 1 mm away from the panel lines for fine tunning. You see I will have to shim an area to close the gap. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 (edited) Hello all, A little bit more progress. If you are going to do the engine and gun bay I would buy 2 sets of each. For a beginner like me, mistakes are going to be made and you need a back up. I got 2 of each and these cost me 150 USD! Dai Edited May 9, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 (edited) Hi all, A word of warning. If you use the hair dryer to dry the paint as I do after each painting, you WILL warp the resin parts. The engine casing is very thin (3D printed?) and very prone to distortion with heat. However the material is soft and can be bent back to shape after multiple attempts. Dai Edited May 10, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) Ready to apply the main colors. I would say the panel lines on this kit is rather deep Dai Edited May 15, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 (edited) Yo fellow modelers... Got the main colors applied. For a strange reason, Mr Color MC 8 is affected by enamel thinner wash while others in the MC line that I have used are not affected. Also the Intermediate Gauzy Agent (clear coat) has very poor bonding to the coat. I use the MC 8 as it is called out on the instruction sheet but I would avoid this color if you can. The yellow zinc chromate is from Mission Paints. Very poor adhesion and just mild rubbing of parts will take the paint right off. That means I must be extra careful when I assemble the guns. For this reason I undercoat with silver so any rub offs will be "weathering in progress". Dai PS: When Eduard announced the release of the highly saturated Mustang kit 3 years ago, I anticipate state of the art, the kit to end all Mustang kits (like Tamiya P-38 IMHO). But although the cockpit and wheel wells details are superior, the surface details are let down. The panel lines are Airfix like and unrealistically deep. Edited May 17, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 (edited) Hi all, Time to choose a scheme ! I say I would stay away from the new Eduard decals as it proved to be a disaster in my hands. Dai Edited May 22, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 (edited) Greeting modelers... I just could not get pass Mr Color C8 on the wings. It does not sand well, does not feather and went on rough. Also the clear coat has poor adhesion to it. I had enough so installed a new set of wings this time using the well proven MC 159 Super Silver. I also added another half open wing gun bay on the left wing. This project is way over due to be completed (going on month #4 ) but I do see the beginning of the end. I used the Eduard bronze landing gears and I do not think they are worth it. Unless the kit's offering is woefully weak or the metal gears offer significant improvement in details, forget about them. First the bond between the bronze and plastic is extremely week (CA glue was used). A slight bump will detach the gears as if they were glued with white glue. Second paint of any kinds will not bond well to the metal. Mild handling will rub the paint right off. Third the gears do not fit well with the gear doors. Forget about them. The wing guns inserts are totally not needed and create another joint to clean up. The fit is tight so you will need to scribe if you want the same depth like the other panel lines. I will use ink pen to draw in the lines as I am horrible to getting the scribed lines to be perfectly straight. Also the inserts do not fit flush with the wings so you will have to do some putty work. I welcome any comments. Dai Edited June 10, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 (edited) Hi all, Working on the engine now. Dai Edited June 12, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 14, 2022 Author Share Posted June 14, 2022 (edited) Howdy all... The engine assembly is finished. You must have extreme patience to work with such small and fragile resin parts. There is so much dry fitting, trimming to make things fit and line up. And some areas mine still do not line up properly. The hardest part is trimming the parts without breakage. As I mentioned before do not use hair dryer as the heat will warp the parts. I am still deciding what scheme to finish this bird. Dai Edited June 14, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 14, 2022 Author Share Posted June 14, 2022 (edited) Still need to work on the gun bay. Dai Edited June 14, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) A little more progress. Dai Edited June 20, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) Greetings... Time to apply the decals. Still have lots of small details to add... I choose the Australian Air Force for something different in the display case. Dai Edited June 22, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 Hi all, Upon research I see the wing roundels are a bit undersized. But considering the rarity of the Australian markings, there are no other alternatives. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 (edited) Yo all... Adding some small details every day after a long day at work. Dai Edited June 22, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 (edited) Greetings... Getting closer every day to completion. Dai Edited June 23, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 25, 2022 Author Share Posted June 25, 2022 (edited) Hello all, Just need to attach the antenna and the fuel tanks then I am done. I am baffled on how the tanks are supposed to be mounted to the pylons. There are no alignment pins and it looks like the tanks and the pylons are from different kits! No wonder many builds on the Net do not have fuel tanks. Come on Eduard, you really can do better than this ! Dai Edited June 26, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 (edited) Greetings modelers... The project is finally done ! I decided not to install the fuel tanks as there is no way to install properly as they and the pylons do not have mounting tabs. I have tried Eduard resin replacements that fare no better. When Eduard designed this kit, they just made the tanks and pylons without the thought on how they should be mounted. Things like this makes you really appreciate Tamiya engineering. Here are my takes: PROS: 1. The most detailed P-51 D/K variant in 1/48. 2. Detailed cockpit and wheel bays. 3. Posable flaps and control surfaces. The latter requires minor removal of mounting tabs. 4. One piece rear canopy. 5. The trees give you many variants even you do not choose to build the particular version you bought. CONS: 1. The wing guns inserts are a waste of time as they are not flush fit and require sanding, filling, scribing to make them fit and look right. If you look at this area on the Net you will see they do not fit well. 2. The main landing gears requiring trimmings to get the correct angulation. 3. The main gears sub-assemblies are fiddy to install at best. 4. The front wind shield requires substantial trimming to allow it to sit flush to the fuselage. Mine is not to where I wanted to be but any more trimmings will fracture so I left as it. 5. The propeller insert is way too short that requires you to glue to the fuse or the prop will fall off. 6. The air filter panels need some trimming to installed flush. Doing this will result in some lost details. 7. The tanks and pylons do not fit together ! 8. Don't get me started but in my hands the new decals are just BAD ! I had to strip the model after decaling as the decals fractured/broken when the clear film was removed. At this late stage in the build, I do not want to take chances with questionable decals. I suggested you to use after market replacements. Ok so there you have them. It is a good kit but pain in butt in some areas to build. And avoid the decals if possible. I give you my assements on the Eduard engine and gun bays below. The engine and gun bays really add really nice details to the kit. The parts are really small and will break easily if not ultra careful. For the engine there are LOTS of dry fitting and trimings to make things line up. Despite my best, some areas are slightly off but not noticable. The gun bay is more simpler but requires some shimings to close minor gaps. Happy modeling! Dai Edited June 26, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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