help in making and painting p-51 mustang models

[emadriss]

As reported in my introduction, even though this hobby is very difficult for me, I have committed time and resources to learn how to make aircraft models. my strategy to accomplishing this goal is to build several 1/72 p51 models from start to finish to learn the necessary skills to attempt larger models. here is what I have learned so far:

1. tamiya 1/72 p-51 - seatbelt decal very difficult to place - mine broke as was thus useless - no control panel decal; good sidewall detail; the entire length of the fuselage (top and bottom) has a seam which needs to be filled and sanded; wing to fuselage attachment good - no filler needed except at the bottom wing roots, so careful filling and sanding was needed here; extremely poor fit of the intake part on the radiator - much filler and sanding needed for this part to make it look right; this is as far as I have gotten

2. airfix 1/72 p-51 - parts are very similar to the tamiya kit at about half the cost; no seatbelt decal but they have one for the control panel - this decal is missing in the tamiya kit; no line delineation to paint the propeller tips yellow - thus this task will be very difficult to do properly; poseable wing flaps which is very nice - the tamiya kit does not have this option, even though their 1/48 kit has this option!!!; very thick attachment points on the sprues make cleanup difficult - this is my first airfix model - do all airfix models have these very thick attachment points?

Specific help need for painting p-51 mustang models

1. what is the best way to paint the propeller tips yellow so they are even and the black paint on the propeller blades does not lift off when masking them to paint the yellow color? - how do you measure even yellow tips on the airfix model when there are no propeller tip lines that help in painting, like most p-51 kits have?

2. how do you properly mask the olive drab non-reflective section in front of the cockpit? - this panel narrows to a center point on the engine cowling and the proper masking procedure to get a even and professional looking panel is not obvious

3. on blue nose p-51s, how to you mask/create the large blue nose painted section on the engine cowl?


thanks again for all of your help

[Paul]

If you want some honest advice, forget the p51 for now and go and buy airfix 1/48 me109 it's a very nice new tool kit to put together, not expesive and being 1/48 will be a lot easier to model than the smaller 1/72. The mustang wil require a NMF or natural metal finish and that can be quite hard to replicate and to get the best results requires some tricky techniques.

The kit recommended above is a great kit to start out on it was one of the first aircraft I built when I got back into this hobby and I really can't recommended it enough.

[schweinhund227]

Hello

For the Yellow propeller tips ! I would just put Tamiya Masking Tape where needed on the Tip of your propeller ! which you would have painted mat black by now!

Then Spray some Flat White on the area you need painted yellow! just a little to give your Yellow a nice base to show up nice and bright !!!

After the white base-coat has dried.... spray the Yellow... and when satisfied ! Peel away the tape diagonally to create a nice sharp demarcation line ! I

The Harness Decals are junk ! never use those.... You can make your own out of Tamiya Masking tape! and buy nice Photo etch Buckles or just buy Photo etch Harnesses.

How's your building set ? Sanding and prepping plastic ? if you plan to do Metallic finish !!! Those skills must be quite high in order to avoid seeing assembly defects and blemishes through you Metallic finishes...

They tent to over exaggerate minute faults... and make it look Big and nasty !!!

Good luck and if you have more questions Shoot! we are here to help one another !

[Paul]

The easiest way to do prop tips is to use a shallow tub or a tamiya/mr hobby bottle lid and dip the tip in until it touches the bottom, it can take a few goes to get it spot on but you get good at it fairly soon.

[Lee]

The easiest way to do prop tips is to use a shallow tub or a tamiya/mr hobby bottle lid and dip the tip in until it touches the bottom, it can take a few goes to get it spot on but you get good at it fairly soon.

^^^ what Paul said - By far the easiest way to do it

[UKscalemodeller]

I dare not try a Natural metal finish yet, my prep work is way too poor to even attempt it.

What sort of masking tape are you using?

[schweinhund227]

The easiest way to do prop tips is to use a shallow tub or a tamiya/mr hobby bottle lid and dip the tip in until it touches the bottom, it can take a few goes to get it spot on but you get good at it fairly soon.

^^^ what Paul said - By far the easiest way to do it

A dip ? humm doesn't it look rather Thick ? or do you dilute the paint somewhat ??
after all its the Thinnest part of the prop !

Just asking... Haven't done one of those is a while... so the Dip could be quick and painless ???

[Paul]

The easiest way to do prop tips is to use a shallow tub or a tamiya/mr hobby bottle lid and dip the tip in until it touches the bottom, it can take a few goes to get it spot on but you get good at it fairly soon.

^^^ what Paul said - By far the easiest way to do it

A dip ? humm doesn't it look rather Thick ? or do you dilute the paint somewhat ??
after all its the Thinnest part of the prop !

Just asking... Haven't done one of those is a while... so the Dip could be quick and painless ???

No just as it comes out the bottle, works perfectly.

[Lee]

I have to admit I thin and dab. Thin with X20A and then dab on paper towel to wick away the excess and touch the edge up with a brush later