Stokesy's 1/32 Trumpy P51 Mustang Mk 3

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Mar 27, 2022 10:41 pm

With the Chally finished (tow cables done yesterday) it was time to clean off the bench, scratch one's head for a bit then decide what to build next. It was time for something with a bit of style.

The P51 Mustang Mk III

We all know the blurb. Designed in the US by NAA (North American Aviation) in April 1940 she flew in September of that year. The aircraft was powered by an Allison V-1710 engine and was first flown by the RAF operationally. The RAF's reaction to the aircraft was that it sucked at altitude so in 1942 some jolly good eggs decided to chuck the Allison on the rubbish heap and plug a 1650 hp Merlin onto the business end of the fuselage and a thoroughbred was born. Fast, nimble and able to escort the American heavies all the way to Berlin and back, the Mustang is acknowledged as one of the outstanding fighters of the war.

So here we go....

Nice clean bench

Nicely packaged in separate bags for the sprues

I bought the decal set on the left because I wanted to build a US example but that has been shelved because the decal sheet is nose art versions only, no US insignia. I shall build the Polish RAF option instead.

Nice plastic. The Trumpy 1/32 kits ar pretty much the same. The plastic is good, the fit is good, the detail isnt Tamiya but neither is the price.

Some cheeky extras. Resin wheels, resin wheel bay and resin seat with molded on harness

The engine is undersized but that's neither here nor there. I will have the cowling on so the engine is just there to plug the prop into.

Underwing stores. I shall probably go for the rocket tubes and the larger fuel tanks. Loaded for bear!

Canopy glass and a few bits of PE. The kit comes with the factory hood but also the British 'Malcom' variant. I prefer the Malcolm hood but a review I saw said it doesn't sit right in the open position so I may have to go with the 3 piece original.

So there we go. As Bilbo Baggins said, 'I think I'm ready for a new adventure.'

Post by **RangerNeil** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:29 am

Nice looking kit - should be an interesting build.
Don't forget the Mustang was designed to a British Air Ministry specification.

Post by **digger303** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 6:45 am

This is a worthy subject, show us the magic and let the show begin.

Post by **Garion77** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:34 am

Nice build to follow ! Lots of nice addition to it ! Is it just me or have I seen you do mostly armor usually ?

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:11 pm

Nice looking kit, should be a fun one to build.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 6:47 pm

Garion77 wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:34 am Nice build to follow ! Lots of nice addition to it ! Is it just me or have I seen you do mostly armor usually ?

Hi Francis, yes, mostly armor although only since I came back to the hobby about 6 years ago. I hardly built any in my earlier years. Its been a great discovery over the last few years, finding great manufacturers and learning new processes for armor. I do have some terrific aircraft kits in the stash and they will be more to the fore this year. I'm building up to the new release Spitfire IXc from Airfix so I better be match fit!

David

Post by **Stokesy44** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 6:55 pm

RangerNeil wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:29 am Nice looking kit - should be an interesting build.
Don't forget the Mustang was designed to a British Air Ministry specification.

No one likes a smart alec!

Its an interesting one, why would we be looking for a new aircraft given we had the Spitfire in full production by 1940 and Hawker had already started on the Tiffy? I've been back to Wiki and it looks like it was ordered by an organisation set up to take advantage of US manufacturing power, The British Purchasing Commission.

Fascinating.

Post by **RangerNeil** » Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:18 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 6:55 pm
RangerNeil wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:29 am Nice looking kit - should be an interesting build.
Don't forget the Mustang was designed to a British Air Ministry specification.
No one likes a smart alec!

Its an interesting one, why would we be looking for a new aircraft given we had the Spitfire in full production by 1940 and Hawker had already started on the Tiffy? I've been back to Wiki and it looks like it was ordered by an organisation set up to take advantage of US manufacturing power, The British Purchasing Commission.

Fascinating.

Hah!! Its something we used to wind US Supervisors up with when they started on the "we did everythin" kick. Invariably it was the P51 and the B17 so we used to point out the P51 was designed to a British spec and was a flop until the British Merlin was fitted. The B17 was easy - we just said TallBoy & Grand Slam.

In the back of my mind is the spec. being for a replacement for the P40 for some reason. Got nothing to back that up though.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:22 am

That's a cracking-looking kit and will build up into a proper big bird.

It looks great in the box art scheme so will be looking forward to seeing this come together

Looks like the invasion stripes are included in the decal scheme so will you be using them or masking them off & painting?

Post by **Stokesy44** » Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:40 am

Tomcat64 wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:22 am That's a cracking-looking kit and will build up into a proper big bird.

It looks great in the box art scheme so will be looking forward to seeing this come together

Looks like the invasion stripes are included in the decal scheme so will you be using them or masking them off & painting?

Indeed. I've wanted to build a big scale B/C Mustang for a while. The exterior of the kit is really nice. Good surface detail and it looks right. Interior wise, the engine is poor but that's not a problem as I will not be showing it. More disappointing though is the cockpit. After looking at some builds on line I have decided to go for a resin replacement set. I had already bought a replacement resin seat but I've now got a full replacement cockpit arriving on Saturday. For not much more than the cost of a takeaway, I'm well pleased.

As for the invasion stripes. If I do them I will paint them, I might even be cheeky and use the decals as a template for the masking

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:07 pm

Got started during the week with the engine and mounting frame.

At first glance it does not look great but then I dont plan on showing it anyway. Worse though, the fit is poor, it wallows about inside the frame and the exhaust shrouds dont line up with the fuselage when test fitted. And with the engine not sitting properly the upper cowling doesnt either!

So what to do? Short answer is I ripped off the exhaust shrouds and glued them to the sides of the fuselage. They are the only actual bits of the whole engine and mount that are needed so I'll take the win. Here's the fit of the upper cowling now

These turned up today.

After looking at the canopy glass I thought I needed a mask set as some of the framing is quite intricate. The set also comes with US national insignia masks so I may make a US version after all.

The cockpit came as a result of having a long look at the cockpit the kit comes with. Even the B/C version of the Mustang without the big bubble canopy still has loads of visible detail in the cockpit because the fuselage is so wide and the glazing so large. The kit version really didnt cut it so I spent the cost of a takeaway on a new one.

After some fettlin' I was able to do some test fitting.

Left side panel, huge improvement on the kit.

Same again on the right, stunning detail

Seat and mount with molded on harness. I'd already bought the seat and it fits nicely to the new mount.

IP with PE inserts for the rudder pedals. There's a PE insert and film for the main instruments.

That's where it stands at close of business today. Happy with how the cockpit is shaping up. Hope to start painting it tomorrow

Post by **RangerNeil** » Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:35 pm

Looking good. The cockpit additions are excellent!!

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sat Apr 02, 2022 11:19 pm

That's got some really nice detail!

Post by **digger303** » Sun Apr 03, 2022 1:14 am

Shame about the poor engine fit, but it all looks good with some really nice detail.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Apr 03, 2022 8:52 am

digger303 wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 1:14 am Shame about the poor engine fit, but it all looks good with some really nice detail.

I knew, going in, the engine was poor. The attraction of the kit was building a big scale Mustang B/C so the engine was secondary. I wasn't prepared for the fit issues but tossing the engine was always an option once I could attach the exhaust shrouds to the fuselage.

I'll just have to glue the prop on at the end of the build.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Apr 03, 2022 8:34 pm

After some more fettlin' I was able to carry out a proper test fit where I no longer need an industrial press to keep the fuselage halves together!

The side walls are now glued in and the main floor and bulkheads fit nicely with the IP in its slot

And with the seat dropped in

Very pleased with the result. Now its painting time

Post by **Quax** » Sun Apr 03, 2022 9:52 pm

Super detail in the Aries set, its really going to pop with paint.

I wish makers would make it a little easier for builders who don't intend displaying the engine

Paul

Post by **digger303** » Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:58 am

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:55 pm

That's off to a good start with the exception of the engine!

The resin AM stuff really does look very crisp and a lot of it will be visible in that big ole cockpit

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Apr 10, 2022 3:03 pm

I decided to carry on with more resin work so I spent a couple of sessions working on the wheel bay.

The first thing was to remove the kit bay walls and detail that will be replaced by the resin piece, the next thing was then to trim down the resin so it actually fit! After a lot of scraping, shaving (and frequent hooverings) its just about there.

The goal was to get the wings to close up without a hydraulic press and for the upper wing skins not to sit too high against the fuselage.

I also glued and sanded the gun bay covers. One side needed a fair bit of sanding, which was disappointing. I'll have to have a look at it after priming as I think it may need some more work.

The fit is ok underneath

Plenty of detail in the bays which will look great when painted.

I've only got a half day in the office on Monday of this week with the rest of the week off so I'm looking prime and paint from tomorrow afternoon.

Post by **digger303** » Mon Apr 11, 2022 12:24 am

Post by **WordenB** » Mon Apr 11, 2022 8:50 am

Love all the detail bits, going to look quite something when painted up.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon Apr 11, 2022 3:13 pm

Fantastic!

Sorry I am late professor, I will take a seat in the back

Post by **Stokesy44** » Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:57 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Apr 11, 2022 3:13 pm Fantastic!

Sorry I am late professor, I will take a seat in the back

Fashionably late of course

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Apr 13, 2022 9:22 am

That's coming along really nicely mate - the detail in the wheel bays is great

Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Apr 13, 2022 7:40 pm

I did some more fettlin to trim down the upper wing interiors. Now the wheel bay finally fits and the wings come together quite easily.

I then primed the cockpit and wheel bay with Ultimate grey and got started on the painting.

Cockpit first. I have done the base colors and a little dry brushing, there's washes, chipping and dirt still to do

Floor and seat. I scuffed up the floor paint to simulate where the pilot's boots would have scraped through to the wood.

Sidewalls

Instrument Panel. The main part of the panel is a printed film on the back of a beautifully detailed PE insert. It still needs work with individual switches to be colored.

I have not done any effects on the wheel bay. Just the base coat so far.

Washes and dirt tomorrow then I can think about putting it all together.

Post by **Garion77** » Thu Apr 14, 2022 12:53 am

Stunning work. Love the instrument panel. Paint came out nice.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu Apr 14, 2022 2:18 pm

Garion77 wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 12:53 am Stunning work. Love the instrument panel. Paint came out nice.

Thanks Francis.

I finished off the weathering this morning with silver dry brushing and oil washes. Then test fitted everything.

I finished off the wheel bay with dry brushing and a black and brown wash

Everything fits nicely now. The wings are ready to go together once I add the 3 nav lights on the underside of the wing. I need to install all the radiator junk and the tail wheel into the fuselage before that can go together but that's no big deal. Then it will be on to the tail section and clean up of the seams.

Its a bit different from building a tank, that's for sure!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Thu Apr 14, 2022 3:10 pm

Cockpit looks awesome, love the instrument panel details

Post by **Garion77** » Thu Apr 14, 2022 7:45 pm

Another great update. The instrument panel looks even better then the first time. The wheels bay is more then perfect !

Post by **RangerNeil** » Thu Apr 14, 2022 11:47 pm

Love the way the cockpit turned out, looks like the wheel wells are also going to look as good! Might want to park this on a mirror surface when done so.all that exent work can be seen....

Post by **Tomcat64** » Sat Apr 16, 2022 7:35 am

Fantastic work on the cockpit mate - the instrument panel is really eye catching

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat Apr 16, 2022 8:28 am

Tomcat64 wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 7:35 am Fantastic work on the cockpit mate - the instrument panel is really eye catching

RangerNeil wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 11:47 pm Love the way the cockpit turned out, looks like the wheel wells are also going to look as good! Might want to park this on a mirror surface when done so.all that exent work can be seen....

Garion77 wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 7:45 pm Another great update. The instrument panel looks even better then the first time. The wheels bay is more then perfect !

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 3:10 pm Cockpit looks awesome, love the instrument panel details

Thanks Gents. I'm really glad I went for the resin cockpit. One thing I have done since the pit was finished was move the seat forward. I bothered me it was so far back and on looking at the real thing I saw it needed to be in line with the rear of the canopy. Its now been repositioned about 3mm forward of the original placement with most of the adjustment due to not tilting the seat mount rearward to such a degree. Looks much better now.

I've now started work on all the guff that goes into the rear fuselage, rads, bulkheads and tailwheel stuff. Pictures to follow.

Post by **digger303** » Sat Apr 16, 2022 9:50 am

Lovely work and your comment about going for the resin cockpit. Is it a thing with Trumpeter aircraft that they need a cockpit upgrade, but the rest of the craft is fine. I recently procured a A-10a as a gift and on reading some reviews they all seemed to concur that the CP needed replacing, but the seat was great.
cheers

Post by **Stokesy44** » Mon Apr 18, 2022 8:53 am

digger303 wrote: Sat Apr 16, 2022 9:50 am Lovely work and your comment about going for the resin cockpit. Is it a thing with Trumpeter aircraft that they need a cockpit upgrade, but the rest of the craft is fine. I recently procured a A-10a as a gift and on reading some reviews they all seemed to concur that the CP needed replacing, but the seat was great.
cheers

From my limited exposure to large scale Trumpy kits I would have to agree with you. I built one of their 1/24 Spits a while back and that was pretty basic. I have their Hurricane in the same scale and that has the same problem. Exterior is stunning but the pit is really poor. They even do an upgrade set for it but I've never seen it in stock or I would gobble it up.

And on with the build.

I mentioned previously I had repositioned the seat. It now sits level with the rear of the canopy. The pilot can reach the pedals now

Then it was time to button up the fuselage. I added the internal bits around the tail wheel and positioned the main rad where I think it goes. The instructions are pretty vague and that was made worse by the replacement resin cockpit part being a different shape at the point where the rad was supposed to be attached. After some fettlin and some guesswork (

) it was done and it was time to close it all up.

I added the rudder as soon as the fuselage was closed up. For some reason its a big thing for me. It completes the aircraft's profile and for me, its the point where the kit becomes an aircraft. Weird I know, but hey, you get your kicks where you can find them.

Engine cover is on. The fuselage was a fraction too wide for it so I added an interior piece of plastic card with super glue that pulled the fuselage together by about 0.5mm. Hopefully its done the trick.

Dontcha wish your airplane was hot like me? There aint no curves like a P51's curves!

Closing up the wings today then attaching them to the fuselage. Tail stabs and elevators too.

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:59 pm

The wings went together with some Tamiya tape and elbow grease.

I added the flaps and ailerons (which fit beautifully) then attached the wings and tail pieces. Everything fits really nicely and the wing joint (upper and lower) is really good. Only a small amount of filling will be needed. The fuselage joins only need sanding.

So here she is.

Believe it or not, the wheel bay isnt glued in. Even after all the scraping and fettlin' the fit was so tight the bay doesn't move a mm once the wings are closed up!

As for the wing joint you can see the it forward of the wings but its level so only a tiny bit of filler will be needed.

Filling and sanding up next then adding the cockpit glass and masking ready for painting.

Post by **DRUMS01** » Sun Apr 24, 2022 11:47 pm

Sure like how this is turning out. Keep sending the updates...

Ben / DRUMS01

Post by **digger303** » Mon Apr 25, 2022 1:28 pm

Not a Tamiya fit,but still a good looking kit.

Post by **BigWall** » Sat Apr 30, 2022 1:09 am

It's looking great David!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Tue May 03, 2022 2:29 pm

Nice work fettling the AM cockpit into place mate and then persuading the fuselage to behave as well

She really looks the part with the wings on - are you far off laying down some primer now?

Post by **Stokesy44** » Tue May 03, 2022 7:58 pm

DRUMS01 wrote: Sun Apr 24, 2022 11:47 pm Sure like how this is turning out. Keep sending the updates...

Ben / DRUMS01

Thanks Ben, I've been a bit tardy of late but I hope to get more bench time soon.

digger303 wrote: Mon Apr 25, 2022 1:28 pm Not a Tamiya fit,but still a good looking kit.

Agreed, the Tamiya kit is the best engineered kit I have ever built. The Trumpy kit costs less than half of it though and therein lies the rub.

BigWall wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 1:09 am It's looking great David!

Thank you Sir, its a nice kit to work on, that's for sure.

Tomcat64 wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 2:29 pm Nice work fettling the AM cockpit into place mate and then persuading the fuselage to behave as well

She really looks the part with the wings on - are you far off laying down some primer now?

Thanks mate. I did the filler work over the weekend so next is painting the gunsight and IP hood before masking up the glazing and attaching for priming

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun May 29, 2022 12:27 pm

Its been too long since I had a proper session on the Mustang.

She's finally ready for priming. I'm going with the US style hood instead of the Malcolm RAF hood. The reason being the Malcom does not slide back properly. Its too small and there are no runners for it. Also, the kit's aerial mast is in the way. I dont think Trumpeter really thought this through. They just added the hood and a couple of RAF schemes and slapped a Mustang Mk3 label on it.

So, the alternative option is what I've gone for. The kit comes with the 2 versions of the US style latched hood. I'm using the closed hood for painting as its easier than masking off the cockpit. I've masked it properly as it gives me the option of displaying the canopy open or closed. I'll use the mask set for the open pieces and see how they look at the end.

The canopy has also decided what paint option I'm going for but more on that later.

All ready for priming

Ultimate black primer as I intend to marble below the base coats. It went down well once I remembered you have to give it some welly! Time to find out how the joins are looking

Nose isnt too bad. The cowling center line is meant to be there (thankfully)

Gun access panels look ok although I've lost some surface detail. Not too worried as Mustangs had very smooth wings.

Wing roots are ok

Underside looks ok. I may need a little filler on the centre line aft of the tail wheel but other than that the rad intake and the air scoop are ok.

I'll let it dry nicely then its on to the marbling effects.

Post by **digger303** » Sun May 29, 2022 1:36 pm

All systems are a go

Post by **Tomcat64** » Sun May 29, 2022 5:35 pm

Great to see you back up & running with your neglected Mustang

That primer coat looks lovely

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon May 30, 2022 7:17 am

Gotta love a nice primer coat!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon May 30, 2022 3:56 pm

Neat and tidy in primer = similar in paint
Good job

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Jul 17, 2022 7:32 pm

Been away from the bench for various reasons.

Finally got some time this morning. It was a delayed start because (to my shame) It looks like I didnt clean my AB properly after the last session and it needed a proper bit of TLC until it was back to its usual services standards.

Laid down the marble coat using Tamiya White.

That's about it for now but at least I got going again - pretty big deal for me.

Post by **BigWall** » Thu Jul 21, 2022 12:00 am

It's looking sweet man! Keep it up

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Jul 22, 2022 8:02 am

Nice work on the marble coat & great to see you back at the bench again mate

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Jul 24, 2022 9:13 am

After the hellish heat of the week, temps cooled down enough for me to fire up the AB and get started on the base coat.

Tamiya light grey acrylic. I'm still in love with Tamiya acrylic, it just suits me and my setup. Never any tip dry, nice coverage and I know, going into a session, that its going to be an uncomplicated process.

So enough waffle, I sprayed light coats to cover the marbling, hopefully I've left enough for the effect to work.

I'll be doing the upper surface today and the red nose. I've decided on a US variant as the Malcolm hood doesn't sit properly in the open position. I have decals for an aircraft from the famed US 4th Fighter Group and I've decided on that.

I have read Tumult in the Clouds, the biography by Major James Goodson, one of the original pilots of the 4th. He flew with the RAF Eagle Squadrons which were transferred to the USAAF and became the 4th FG when the 8th Air Force began building up in East Anglia. They switched their Spitfires for P47s then transitioned onto the Mustang B/C as they became available.

Its a great biography and I highly recommend it. Its half biography of the man himself along with character studies of the men he flew with. A real insight into what it was like to be a US fighter pilot flying escort missions over Europe 1943-45.