British Mustang - 1:48 Tamiya P-51D

With all the etched parts in place, the cockpit detail is taken to another level

spraying any paint onto the cockpit parts, some raised details had to be sanded off in preparation for the etched items to come. I also added the side frames missing on the seat using thin plastic strip. The interior was airbrushed Interior Green, Black and Rubber Black before the etched details were added. These parts were a considerable improvement over the original ones especially the instrument panel, which really makes a difference. After brush painting various details with acrylic colours and coating the interior with a gloss varnish, Ammo by MIG Dark Brown wash was used to add depth to the structural details and a Neutral Grey dry brushing helped to ‘illuminate’ the black areas. Ammo by MIG Rubber and Tires and Aluminium was applied with a sponge to give some chipping effects to the seat and side walls. The cockpit of this over twenty-year old kit still holds up nicely when finished!

The gun muzzles and exhaust stacks were drilled with a manual tool for a better representation of the real thing and soon I was ready for painting. After filling the wheel wells

with Silly Putty and securing the canopy in place with Pritt-Tak, the whole model was coated with Black primer. As mentioned, camouflaged Mustang IVs were painted in US with American colours, these reported to be ANA 602 Light Grey for the underside and ANA 603 Sea Grey and ANA 613 Olive Drab for the upper surfaces. Using lighter shades of these colours I applied the ‘marbling’ coat, playing with tonal variation to add some interest to the incoming camouflage. To make masking work easier I decided to paint the Sky fuselage band first and then proceed with the camouflage colours. I started on the underside, followed the upper surfaces, always working slowly in thin layers to make the ‘marbling’ effect subtly show through the camouflage. With the first layer applied, Off-White was then ‘dabbed’ with a sponge on the wing roots and then blended with another thin layer of the camouflage colours. A very thin coat of Off-White was sprayed over the rudder for a faded effect, as the fabric covered surface tends to fade faster than the rest of the airframe. To represent the stressed fabric over the rudder ribs, each frame was carefully

The Eduard etched instrument panel is a huge improvement over the original part

Weathering the seat started with a Rubber and Tires applied with a sponge to simulate paint chipping

A Dark Brown wash gave depth to the cockpit The cockpit was easily installed in the fuselage

The painting process started with Black Primer

-51 MUSTANG P BUILD 13 – A manual drilling tool was used to carefully open the gun barrels

masked and clear Smoke paint airbrushed on the edges of the masks creating a shadow effect. The Yellow leading edges, nose and spinner were then masked and painted, with the spinner receiving its Black stripes.

Painting completed, the Aeromaster decals were applied over a coat of Gloss varnish, but even using setting solution some of them refused to conform in the recessed details. I then used a sharp knife to cut the decals along the panel lines and a second application of setting solution solved my problem. Weathering started by the propellers with some paint chipping being represented by Black and Aluminium colours being applied with a sponge on the leading edges of the blades. The same technique was used on the spinner as well, but this time using Ammo by MIG Yellow and Rubber and Tires colours. To create subtle dirt marks on the blades, perpendicular lines of Ammo by MIG Rainmarks were painted on the propellers and then blended with a flat brush moistened with Mineral Spirits. After adding some Aluminium chips on the wing roots using the same sponge technique I moved to accenting the panel lines. I used different wash colours according to the desired effect. A Blue Grey wash was used on the underside and a Deep Brown on the upper camouflage. The moveable surfaces received a stronger contrast with Deep Grey on the underside and Black on the upper side. A Dark Wash was used in the wheel wells for depth and dirt effect. I then moved onto Ammo by MIG Streaking products for different effects. First some leaking fluids were represented on the underside with Streaking Grime for Panzer Grey, a very dark tone. These were applied mainly

Light Grey was used on the underside to create a ‘marbling’ coat

A Medium Grey shade was used on the ‘marbling’ coat for the upper surfaces Medium Grey and Dark Earth shades were used on the upper surfaces

Light Grey was used to match RAF’s Medium Sea Grey The RAF’s Ocean Grey was replaced by Sea Grey

With all the postshading now applied, it was time to blendin the effects

After careful masking work, the wing leading edges and nose were painted in Yellow After masking the rudder ribs with thin strips of masking tape, clear Smoke was airbrushed on close to the ribs to create a light effect over them

Light Dust pigment was used to represent exhaust soot, being first applied with a small brush to create the peculiar curve of the soot The finished Mustang, ready for assembly

on the centreline of the aircraft, close to the landing gear. Ammo by MIG Streaking Grime and Ammo by MIG Dark Streaking Grime were used to add some dirt aspect to the wing roots and some panels around the engine. The technique was basically the same, first the product was applied with a fine brush where desired and once it was dry to touch, the effect was blended and softened with a clean brush. The same method was used to fade the roundels, but this time using Light Blue and Light Red shades of oil paints. These aircraft usually operated from un-paved runways in England, and to represent some mud splattered by the landing gear on the underside I used the Ammo by MIG Earth Effects, just flicking a moistened brush with a toothpick where I wanted. This was also applied to the gear covers, and then complemented by some Ammo by MIG Dark Earth pigments. To give the tyres the look of being used on unprepared runways, I mixed the Dark

Earth pigments with Mineral Spirits and the resulting paste was applied to the treads. Once dried, the excess was removed with a cotton swab. More Ammo by MIG Earth coloured pigments were added to the wing roots as well and some Rust and Black products were used on the exhausts to give them a rusty and worn appearance. The exhaust soot was also created with pigments, first using the Light Dust colour followed by some Black powder close to the stacks. This was easy, and effective. The final touch on the airframe was done with watercolour Silver pencil, adding small scratches to the many bolts around the engine panels.

Before gathering all parts together, the drop tanks fuel lines were made with cooper wire and bended according to my references. The tanks were then glued in place with the new lines being inserted in the previously drilled holes on the wing. The Mustang is one of the most built subjects all around the globe and I just love building the P-51. Natural metal finishes are great and eye-catching but when you dress it up with a camouflage she still looks beautiful. The darker shades of the US colours and the Black and Yellow details really contributed to make this build special to me and I’m really pleased with my choice!

-51 MUSTANG P BUILD 13 –