dai phan Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 (edited) Hello all, As my latest project is winding down, this will be my next build. It is a conversion of the Eduard P-51D into a two seater variant. Mainly it is a fuselage and cockpit conversion. I contacted Halberd to order different decal sets in addition to the Latin scheme and I was advised they are included free for me! Awesome service !!! It is amazing how they mannage to run a bussiness during this time of madness! Dai Edited February 18 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 (edited) There are no after market decals so I will use what are avialable from Halberd. Dai Edited February 18 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 (edited) Hello, Any Eduard P-51D can be used as the resin fuselage has the dorsal fin built in. It will be at least a month before I get the kit from Ukraine for obvious reason. Dai Edited February 22 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 Hi all, I feel so bad breaking up this limited edition for parts so I ordered overtree kit instead. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) Greetings, Draw Decals does have the TF 51D decals and I just ordered some. But the resin conversion set recommended by DD made by Black Magik does not have the second IP that it should. Dai Edited February 23 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) Hello, The Bolivian TF-51D and the P-51-39A depiected by DD have taller tails so I ordered this conversion kit to get the correct tail. Both the Temco and Cavalier Mustangs are 2 seaters. However the TF-51 has dual control cockpits while the Calavier only carries the passenger without the IP and controls. Plus the TF-51 has different fuselage and canopy style. Dai Edited February 23 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) Hi all, Just ordered two Eduard's Look sets. Do not know if it is accurate for the TF version but better than kit's parts. Dai Edited February 23 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 (edited) Hi all, The overtree and instrument panels are here. Waiting for the kit to arrive from Ukraine. Dai Edited February 27 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ikon Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Interesting conversion. Nice seeing one going together that is a 'little' bit different. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 Hello all, The order has reached USA on 2/28/25. I hope I get the kit this weekend. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThePhantomTwo Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 658 in the Indiana ANG markings was our TF for a few years,my dad had tons of time in the backseat,they'd fly out a crew chief to fix our cross country F-51D's that broke down. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 Hello all, Instead of using the resin seat, IP and control stick for the back seater, I will use all Eduard's parts. This is to ensure both cockpit details are the same with each other. This weekend I will go ahead and assemble as much as I can of the Eduard's parts while waiting for the kit to arrive. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 (edited) Howdy all, Good news ladies and gentlemen... It is amazing how Halberd manages to do business during the time of madness. I often email back and forth with the company and two weeks ago I was told there was missile attack just 3 kilometers away ! Dai RL069688575UA UKRAINE Zaporizhzhia UNITED STATES Show status of dispatch track Item out for physical delivery UNITED STATES 06.03.2025 Edited March 7 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cubs2jets Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Ahn Dai, Be careful with the Eduard P-51D-15 interior in your TF-51D build. The Eduard set represents a WWII configuration / coloring. and the TEMCO / Cavalier TF-51D is a later upgrade / creation. It is hard to find period pictures of the TEMCO / Cavalier TF-51 to corroborate correct colors. Most pictures are of more recent restorations with gray interior. Original may have been flat black. The yellow striping and red cautions on the instrument panel were definitely WWII and may not carry over to the TF-51. C2j Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 2 hours ago, Cubs2jets said: Ahn Dai, Be careful with the Eduard P-51D-15 interior in your TF-51D build. The Eduard set represents a WWII configuration / coloring. and the TEMCO / Cavalier TF-51D is a later upgrade / creation. It is hard to find period pictures of the TEMCO / Cavalier TF-51 to corroborate correct colors. Most pictures are of more recent restorations with gray interior. Original may have been flat black. The yellow striping and red cautions on the instrument panel were definitely WWII and may not carry over to the TF-51. C2j Chao anh, I fully understand that is why I bought the latest version of the IP. These may not be accurate but they are much better than the resin IP. The interior I believe to be black. I believe post WW2 in early days tend to have black interior like the F-86A. Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 (edited) Hello all, From this build, I found out the Eduard's tanks do not fit well at all to the kit's pylons so I had to use Tamiya's tanks and pylons. I will have to order a Tamiya kit for this. The photos show Tamiya's pylons and tanks that fit perfectly to the Eduard's wings. Dai Edited March 7 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) Happy Friday everyone... The kit has arrived perfect for a weekend modeling. The resin casting is very good quality same on par with injection molded counterparts. There are flashes that you need to remove. Use the kit's fuselage as a guide as what you think as a blob of resin could be a detail part covered in flash. Dry fitting indicated very good fit over all. Be very careful when you sand because resin wears at much faster rate than plastic. Dai Edited March 8 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) Hello all, The details of the resin casting is on par with the kit's so everything seems to come from the same tooling.The halves has locating pins just like on the plastic parts. So far very impressed with the quality of this conversion unit. Dai PS: The floor should be wood color? Edited March 8 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 9 Author Share Posted March 9 (edited) Hello all, The plane is almost ready to be primed. The plane builds up quickly due to excellent fit of the kit’s parts to the resin fuselage. To me this is exceptional resin design and manufacturing. Dai Edited March 9 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThePhantomTwo Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 Our TF-51D our unit had,my father had quite a few hours in the rear seat. https://i.imgur.com/vbSpu3A.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/vbSpu3A.jpeg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 9 Author Share Posted March 9 (edited) Hello all, The plane is primed and ready for the main coat. The Eduard'd landing struts fit very poorly to the main so for better result, I ordered this new set from Kazan Model Dynamics based in Canada. It has resin as well as stainless steel rod. Also ordered the Brassin set with bronze lannding gears for comparison. Maybe I made a mistake but the canopy will not sit flushed in closed position due to the height of the rear seat. Either I placed the rear seat too high or there was not enough bulging in the rear canopy. Will have to sort this out. Dai Edited March 10 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 (edited) Greetings, Using the photos provided by ThePhantomTwo , the kit's rear canopy profile needs to be more bulged upward. I cannot find operational period photos to see if I need to lower the rear seat as well. TF-51D references are very hard to find except restored birds that are modernized and do not represent how these planes look during their service period. Dai Edited March 10 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 (edited) Hello all, I made a mistake of filling the slot on the top fuselage for the canopy to slide back. Tonight I will have to scribe and open up this slot again. Damnation! Dai Edited March 10 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 (edited) Happy Monday everyone... Placed the canopy groove as well as shimming the windshield area for better fit. The grove on the resin fuselage is too narrow in width and that was why I thought it was a ill fitting panel line. If you have the Eduard's P-51D look at the groove and it is pretty wide. Therefore use sanding stick to widen the groove before you glue together. Also the profile of the upper rear deck is not accurate. From the dorsal fin to the fuselage should be straight rather than having a upward tilt depicted on the fuselage. I plan to pose the canopy open so this minor error is virtually impossible to detect. Dai Edited March 11 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 (edited) Greetings, Applied the main colors. Tamiya LP-11 for the lacquer aluminum and Mr Color Super Metalics SM 201 for the NMF. This Tamiya Silver feathers extremely well when sanded leaving a seamless transition even when sanded to bare plastic. Not so much with Mr Color. When working with metalics, you always find flaws not detected with the primer coat. When thinned with 70% thinner and applied in multiple thin coats, the SM 201 can offer very bright shine comparable to AK but 1000 times more durable. I will have to look into Tamiya metalic lacquer line as I am very impressed with this paint. Dai Edited March 12 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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