dai phan Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 (edited) Greetings, Start to decal the model today. I use the Life Like decals as the kit's offer is way too thick. The VF-T on the kit's offer is way oversized and the Life Like is undersized. The Kits World's offer is correct but such poor quality that cannot be used (you can see the dots). KW’s decals are subpar with colors being off and poor resolution. I am shocked they are even on the market. For the Life Like, strangely the fighting cock emblem has the correct yellow while the serial numbers on the tail takes on a lime yellow zinc chromate in color. Quite odd. Correct may be? Dai PS: When applying the decals, use the reference photos as the Life Like's illustration is way off. Edited November 14, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted November 13, 2022 Author Share Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) Howdy all, Finish decaling the main part. Life Like provided the stencils for the D version rather than B so I had to order an after market. Dai Edited November 13, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted November 13, 2022 Author Share Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) Okay here is an interesting discovery. The Aires engine assembly to way undersized when compared to the kit's outline . You can see how short the Aires offering is. Either Tamiya is way oversized or the Aires is way undersized. Quite a huge difference ! Kit's is on the left. Now I know why the plane looks to be very short nosed. Dai Edited November 13, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 (edited) Hi all, Fine tunning the engine assembly and waiting for the stencil sheet. Dai Edited November 14, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted November 16, 2022 Author Share Posted November 16, 2022 (edited) Hello everyone... The P-51 stencil set has arrived. However all for the D version so I have to use what I can. There is one P-51C stencil on the left side of the aircraft but not the same as on the photo so it is of no use. The real thing has fewer text lines than the decal offer. There is no yellow stencils that I was hoping to use as on the actual photo of the B, there are some on the fuselage. Dai Edited November 16, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 (edited) Greetings everyone... Just tack fit everything together for some photographs before the final assembly. Tamiya's fit is so good that things can be held togther without glue. I had to order a replacement Life Like decals as the Solvaset solution has distorted the white band. Be careful as the decals are thin and prone to distortion from Solvaset. I use the yellow serial numbers from the Foxbot stencil sheet as the Life Like is wrong in color (lime yellow). Tamiya got the color right but wrong in the spacing (too close together). It is challenging to line up all 5 numbers but the result is much more accurate. I cannot recommend the Aires engine set as it is severly undersized. You can see how short the top fuselage panel is compared to the kit's. Dai Edited November 26, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 (edited) More on the tail serial numbers (slightly out of register) and the problem with the severely undersized Aires engine... Dai PS: Does Aires have the kit to check out the dimensions I wonder ??? Edited November 28, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 (edited) Greetings... This project is finished. As usual here are my takes... PROS: 1. The best P-51B in 1/48 scale. 2. Detailed cockpit and wheel bays. 3. Excellent fit and engineering. 4. Dropped flaps. 5. Optional open or closed canopy. CONS: 1. Propeller assembly is finicky to assemble. 2. Propeller shape is not accurate. Ultracast has correction set. 3. Flaps have identations that must be filled should they be placed in the down position. Ultracast has correction set that I use. 4. Clear parts do not fit well. The worse is the leading edge light. 5. The vertical antenna is oversized and short. I left mine as is. 6. Lacks the vertical attachment for the second antenna wire on the top of the fuselage. 6. Oversized and thick decals. The Aires engine set adds nice details to the overall kit. However it is severely undersized and cannot be recommended. It looks to be 1/57 scale. When looking at the profile view, it becomes obviously short. Dai Edited December 4, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 3, 2022 Author Share Posted December 3, 2022 (edited) Hi all, To get better fitting of the side clear pieces, remove the molded in tags. This will allow flush fit of the pieces. Dai Edited December 3, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 3, 2022 Author Share Posted December 3, 2022 (edited) The top beacon light fits so poorly that your best bet is to apply a drop of white glue to simulate the light. You will need to apply about 5 times to account for the shrinkage. Dai Edited December 4, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 4, 2022 Author Share Posted December 4, 2022 (edited) Yo all, Now into the display case and another chapter comes to a close. Dai Edited December 4, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 4, 2022 Author Share Posted December 4, 2022 (edited) Yo all, I hope you all are enjoying watching the World Cup. Here are some final photos with some additional weathering. Dai Edited December 4, 2022 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chukw Posted December 4, 2022 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Beautiful work, Dai Phan- cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 4, 2022 Author Share Posted December 4, 2022 1 hour ago, chukw said: Beautiful work, Dai Phan- cheers! Thank YOU !!! Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 5, 2022 Author Share Posted December 5, 2022 Hi all, What's next? What to do??? Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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