Merseajohn's 1/48 P51 d mustang Tuskegee Airmen version

[JohnSimmons]

Hey chaps! Well we have six weeks left so I might aswell start another build. After watching Red Tails the other weekend I thought what better model to do than Tamiya's 1/48 P51 d mustang Tuskegee Airmen version. This is my first ever plane and I really dont know what I'm doing lol. So it's a real learning curve but it's one that I'm enjoying so far.
Ok so some pics, box shot with unstarted kit:

Cockpit's done, used some old photoetch for the seat belts (Yeah I know they should start from the middle :)

Have no idea what this is, some sort of radiator I'm thinking...(told you I dont know what I'm doing!)

Installed in the fuselage:

Exhausts:


And this obviously is part no.A8:

Anyway going into this blindly is lovely because I'm just ploding along having fun with the film on in the background. Hope you like it and more updates shouldnt be far off.
MJ

 

[Leighbo]

Bit of a change for you mj!

I'll look forward to seeing what you do with this one

 

[JohnSimmons]

Bit of a change for you mj!

I'll look forward to seeing what you do with this one

Thanks Leighbo, Yeah I thought I'd give one a go, just a bit nervous about the silver base coat...

 

[Glorfindel]

merseajohn your doing fine. Deflector dish goes where the bomb would go and use the blaster option instead of the wing guns. Oh' and the engines get lit! I think she's in good hands.

 

[JohnSimmons]

merseajohn your doing fine. Deflector dish goes where the bomb would go and use the blaster option instead of the wing guns. Oh' and the engines get lit! I think she's in good hands.

Ha Ha cheers mate! Gotta question, shall I bother pre shading black under the base coat silver (the instructions call out for Tamiya as-12 bare metal silver, which I have and am using) is that the thing to do? I'll be decanting the silver from the can so I can use it through my airbrush. Will the pre shade show through? Or will it just look wierd?
MJ

 

[Chris S]

Cool ;D nice to see you tackle a bird John . A sweet one at that ! ,good start on the cockpit ,exhaust ...etc .

Pre shade ,is really up to you ,if you are going for a worn weathered look then yes ,it helps a lot with that ,but if you're building clean ,then dont worry about it ,just wash the panel lines .

Look forward to the rest of the build .

Chris.

 

[JohnSimmons]

Thanks Chris,
Yeah I always usually do a pre shade, just never under silver before. I'm really looking forward to weathering on this. It's going to be dirty!

 

[Chris S]

I was hoping you'd be getting dirty ;D ;D ,you know how to pre shade anyhoo ,so no need for me to teach granny how to suck eggs Are you going to do some of the panels a slightly different shade ? that does look good

Chris.

 

[Solander]

Ah, an airplane, so, MJ, how hard was it for You not to add some guitar strings behind the pilot's chair and a targeting computer monitor over it? ;D
If seriously, really cool, buddy. I'll be watching this with great interest, and You're up to a superb start!
And btw, I've found recently, that I using a not too thinned silver paint, preshading under it would look awesome - even better then under most of the ordinary not-metallic paints. So, I'd recommend, go for it! It will definitely add some cool depth, and it is really worth a try.

 

[JohnSimmons]

I was hoping you'd be getting dirty ;D ;D ,you know how to pre shade anyhoo ,so no need for me to teach granny how to suck eggs Are you going to do some of the panels a slightly different shade ? that does look good

Chris.

I was thinking of doing some of the panels different shade's yeah, probably using oils as filters?

Ah, an airplane, so, MJ, how hard was it for You not to add some guitar strings behind the pilot's chair and a targeting computer monitor over it? ;D
If seriously, really cool, buddy. I'll be watching this with great interest, and You're up to a superb start!
And btw, I've found recently, that I using a not too thinned silver paint, preshading under it would look awesome - even better then under most of the ordinary not-metallic paints. So, I'd recommend, go for it! It will definitely add some cool depth, and it is really worth a try.

Ha Ha yeah could have done a targeting computer and stuck an R2 unit on there somewhere lol. Thanks for the heads up on the pre shade/silver. Metallic paints are something I've yet to dabble with, should be interesting to see how my techniques work on a metallic surface ??? ;D

 

[Sven Harjacek]

Very nice work,i love it!

 

[CTspeedshop]

Looks Killer MJ!!!

 

[ScreamingSamuraiStudio]

You know...I don't do very many aircraft models either..but I did work on one earlier this year and it was the Pegasus 1/48 scale Tuskegee Airmen kit as well.
I did Lee Archer's fighter, and it was pretty cool. I don't show it off very much but it was cool to work on.
Nice start and good luck with this one.

 

[JohnSimmons]

Very nice work,i love it!

Thanks Sven!

Looks Killer MJ!!!

Cheers CT!

You know...I don't do very many aircraft models either..but I did work on one earlier this year and it was the Pegasus 1/48 scale Tuskegee Airmen kit as well.
I did Lee Archer's fighter, and it was pretty cool. I don't show it off very much but it was cool to work on.
Nice start and good luck with this one.

Nice, I'd like to see that if theres a link?

Well another update guys. Got the plane near enough built (allthough theres the lots of little bits to go as yet), first off after loads of filling and sanding (still not that great but if you dont look for it you wont see it lol).

Then worked on the pre shade:


I've actually started spraying the base coat, but it's drying and I didnt want to mess it up with finger prints just to get a photo.
Hope your enjoying it as much as I am!
MJ

 

[JohnSimmons]

And here's the base coat:




I gotta say I'm pretty happy with it. It's all new to me using metallics and I'm enjoying it It's a lot more shiny in person though.
Anyway, let us know what you think.
MJ

 

[nicholassagan]

wow! that paneling looks pretty darn good! i really do hope it's a bit shinier in person...the first photo looks like it has the most luster. have you thought about using any Bare Metal Foil pieces here and there?

 

[JohnSimmons]

wow! that paneling looks pretty darn good! i really do hope it's a bit shinier in person...the first photo looks like it has the most luster. have you thought about using any Bare Metal Foil pieces here and there?

Thanks Nicholas, yeah I was a bit worried people would think it was a little 'dull' but I can assure you it's nice 'n' shiny in person. Got some colour on her now:

 

[nicholassagan]

Holy crap that color looks good! Nice and crisp!! How much did you thin the red and @ what pressure?

 

[JohnSimmons]

Cheers mate! The red is first off tamiya gloss red (which the instructions called out for) but that was sort of transculent and didn't cover the preshade at all and just looked weird. So I put a coat of enamel Matt red (humbrol) over it. Hope that helps.
MJ

 

[nicholassagan]

Well, it looks good. How big is this in 1/48? Your great, detailed photos betray the actual size of it...