Stokesy's 1/32 Trumpy P51 Mustang Mk 3

[Tomcat64]

Great work on the undersides mate, you've definitely kept the layers light enough to see all the work you put into the marbling layer

[digger303]

The marbling which was a very nicely achieved and then you over coated with the grey. Now you have a very subtle shading going on. It's a terrific accomplishment well done.

[Stokesy44]

Great work on the undersides mate, you've definitely kept the layers light enough to see all the work you put into the marbling layer

The marbling which was a very nicely achieved and then you over coated with the grey. Now you have a very subtle shading going on. It's a terrific accomplishment well done.

Thanks Gents.

I got on with the upper surface this morning. This time it was Mr Hobby paint which is just as nice as Tamiya to me. Went down nicely and I hope the effect looks ok. Masking was fine, no bleeds and no overspray













Its nice to back and enjoying the bench again

[digger303]

The mottling is easy to see on the upper surface. Very smooth paint coverage and it's good to see you back at the bench too.

[BigWall]

Phenomenal! Keep up the great work

[Parker]

looks great!
I'd love to do a 1/32 scale at some point but I'd need to put an extension on the house!

[Stokesy44]

The mottling is easy to see on the upper surface. Very smooth paint coverage and it's good to see you back at the bench too.

Phenomenal! Keep up the great work

looks great!
I'd love to do a 1/32 scale at some point but I'd need to put an extension on the house!

Its a quandry, I agree

Thanks guys

Things have moved on a bit. I masked and painted the wing and tail stripes along with the nose. Then it was on to the masks for the stars and bars insignias. This is a first for me as I have never done 2 color insignias before.

I started off applying the masks and backing up with tape







Then it was on with the Tamiya white







You can see the nose clearly in the above pic. The paint said red on the bottle but I'm not convinced. I may have to revisit the problem





I then applied the bars and stars mask inserts. Lining them up was a proper kerfuffle but I got there in the end.







I think the under wing mask must have stretched or not gone down straight when I applied it because no matter what I did I couldn't get the star to sit nicely in the circle and lined up with the bars at the same time. In the end I figured the line up with the bars was more important, that's why the star sits a bit deep in the circle



A little touch up is needed where the white has bled a little and is showing against the green base coat. Other than that, not too shabby and well worth the effort me thinks.

[aur0ra145]

Nice job with the stencils!

[digger303]

Stenciling came up well and I can imagine the frustration in trying to line up the inner stencil correctly as you say...
The paint work too is outstanding very smooth and I like the way the kits panels don't appear to be all in the same plane. I haven't seen that in a build before....outstanding.
I'm a bit worried about the masking tape lifting on the canopy, is that ok ?

[BigWall]

It is ok to be worried Digger

Stokesy: WOW! Just wow. The stencils came out great

[digger303]

It is ok to be worried Digger

[Stokesy44]

It is ok to be worried Digger

I'm aware. I press it down when I spray near the area so its ok

[Garion77]

I've missed a few updates on this one ! I've been too occupied to come on the forum since before my vacations. great progress ! love the US stars. Much better with masking then decals. They came out great.

[Tomcat64]

Superb work with the markings mate - they look fantastic.

Red can be an absolute pain to work with as it always seems determined to play up one way or another... my guess is that it looks darks due to the dark colour underneath so it might be worth masking & repriming lightly with white (or even yellow) before giving the red another top-coat or two? That way you might be able to keep your mottling effects in that area too

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looking great David keep at, you almost have her done
Mottled base and the printed emblems look great

[Stokesy44]

I've missed a few updates on this one ! I've been too occupied to come on the forum since before my vacations. great progress ! love the US stars. Much better with masking then decals. They came out great.

Superb work with the markings mate - they look fantastic.

Red can be an absolute pain to work with as it always seems determined to play up one way or another... my guess is that it looks darks due to the dark colour underneath so it might be worth masking & repriming lightly with white (or even yellow) before giving the red another top-coat or two? That way you might be able to keep your mottling effects in that area too

Looking great David keep at, you almost have her done
Mottled base and the printed emblems look great

Cheers gents.

I glossed the kit last week and got started on the rest of the decals today. The squadron codes in the mask set are too big so I used the codes from the aftermarket nose art set. This meant I could use the nose art too so I now have a genuine 4th Fighter Group subject for display.

Really please with the decal quality. No silvering, lovely and sharp too.











Really please with how the decals have sucked down and preserved the surface detail





Stencil decals are next then priming the fuel tanks, prop blades and undercarriage

[Tomcat64]

That's a shame about the stencil's being the wrong size but those decals look like they've behaved impeccably mate - all the panel line & rivet detail is still popping out!

And as always the first hint of decals just brings everything to life - great progress

[ForeverPlasticKits]

Amazing build, this Attack Mustang is a must, you deal with it so great!

[digger303]

Nice build...that's a understatement I know and I'm a sucker for the nose art.

[Stokesy44]

I've been getting on with the various bits and bobs still left to do.

I managed to sort out the red nose color by coaxing some Tamiya red back life with some thinner and judicious stirring. Painted the prop, undercarriage, fuel tanks, finished off the decals and then glossed the kit again

For some reason known only to themselves, Trumpeter put panel lines on the prop for where the yellow tips go. I filled those before priming











Next up is gun smoke, engine exhaust, undercarriage dirt etc, paint chips and then a wash to finish.

[digger303]

Doing a really nice job on this....flawless.

[Twokidsnosleep]

She comes alive with her decals

[Tomcat64]

Awesome work mate - really pleased that you got that mystery red tone sorted out

[Stokesy44]

I seem to be winning my battle with Covid so I was able to use some of my down time to bring the Mustang close to the finish.

I added gun smoke and engine exhaust stains, glossed over those then added a Ultimate Dark Dirt wash this morning. I used pencils for chipping around the gun bays and bit on the wings then it was time to put the tanks and the undercarriage on.

Just a few bits left now, the aerial mast, tail wheel doors, wing light cover and pitot tube but that's about it

[Garion77]

Great work !

[digger303]

Yae....Stokesy makes it....
Pesky decals playing up, but the finished product is fantastic. Love the used look around the engine.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Fantastic!!!

[Tomcat64]

Great work dirtying her up mate - looking forward to the addition of the final greeblies to finish it all off

[Stokesy44]

Yae....Stokesy makes it....
Pesky decals playing up, but the finished product is fantastic. Love the used look around the engine.

I only spotted that when I reviewed the photos. Hopefully I can tack it down again

[BigWall]

It's coming along quite nicely

[Stokesy44]

FINISHED.

I put all the minor bits on and am calling her done.

Some shots of the underside to prove I actually did any work!























That's it. My P51 B/C of the USAAF 4th FG late 1943. Thanks for looking and for all your comments.

[digger303]

Lovely result to be proud of. I love the panel detail it really pops and all the decals just finish it off to lift the realism to a higher level. The subtle mottled paint and smudges are excellent too.

[Quax]

Agree totally with Digger, really very good!

Paul

[Tomcat64]

Superb work mate - the way the rivet detail shows through the markings is absolutely spot on.

Cracking job

[BigWall]

Exceptional work. Nicely done

[ForeverPlasticKits]

Step by step you build a marvelous "assault" Mustang less know than the Typhoon or the P-47 but it did its work!