P-51 "American Beauty" by Javlin - FINISHED - Trumpeter - 1/32

[Javlin]

This has to be one of my Favorite paint scheme's out there for a P-51 I have integrated the Quinta P-51 for Tamiya as best I can it looks okay no Tamyia for sure but it will do.The IP worked out great the rest......?I am not going to have the gun bays open(?) and the engine was crap it's already in the trash I am going for aesthetics overall.So far the fuselage fit together great w/o that engine now.

[Canute]

Nice! Great start. I'm in.

[Javlin]

I am thinking it will look like a P-51and hopefully a pretty one.The fit of the fuselage halves was really Quite Nice for Trumpeter kit a little scraping and then some 600 stick work.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Javlin

[Egilman]

Looking very very nice Jav...  beautiful cockpit....

[popeye the sailor]

that's a big girl!  love the large scale aircraft.........they take up a lot of room,  but there's a lot more to them    

[Javlin]

It's no Tamyia EG but the Quinta decals did the what I needed for the pit I am going for aesthetics to the viewer from the outside.I would like to see ICM do a P-51 in 1/32 I figure they could hit the market @ $80/100 and be almost as good as a Tamy?

[Javlin]

5 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

that's a big girl!  love the large scale aircraft.........they take up a lot of room,  but there's a lot more to them    

That's true Denis but I have a big Cabinet and about to embark on another floor cabinet this year.

[Egilman]

12 minutes ago, Javlin said:

It's no Tamyia EG but the Quinta decals did the what I needed for the pit I am going for aesthetics to the viewer from the outside.I would like to see ICM do a P-51 in 1/32 I figure they could hit the market @ $80/100 and be almost as good as a Tamy?

The grade of kits ICM is putting out now makes them a direct comparison to Tamiya... I have the Tamiya 60322 P-51D, I haven't cracked the box yet so I haven't examined it directly, but all the reviews say it is the best 1/32 P-51D on the market today, and at almost 200.00 something of similar quality at half that price would be greatly welcomed....

[CDW]

On 7/9/2022 at 9:42 PM, Egilman said:

The grade of kits ICM is putting out now makes them a direct comparison to Tamiya... I have the Tamiya 60322 P-51D, I haven't cracked the box yet so I haven't examined it directly, but all the reviews say it is the best 1/32 P-51D on the market today, and at almost 200.00 something of similar quality at half that price would be greatly welcomed....

Buy your Tamiya kits from scalehobbyist dot com. He sells the same P-51 kit for $132.99. Fast, friendly service. No sales tax.

[Javlin]

The tailplanes were wrong I am trying to get her primed today wing fit pretty good.

[Danstream]

Good progress, it's an airplane now.

Dan

[popeye the sailor]

no......it's a glider   

[Javlin]

You know what gets me guys with all the info and internet how did they engineer those tailplanes that way?I do not know about the 1/32 kit but the 1/24 the area between the windscreen and the engine is to long?I have one waiting for construction one day

[Javlin]

Black base a little pebbly but I buffed the l/wing some after these pics will be fine need to let it dry better.Got the gear built.

[CDW]

What brand of primer do you use? Looks good from here.

[Javlin]

20 hours ago, CDW said:

What brand of primer do you use?

That Craig is actually Alclads Gloss Black over Tamyia 1200 I usually do not primer been doing it lately did it to the He-111 liked the results.I buffed the plane with a 5000 grit pad we sell at work got smooth not glossy per say but it looked good.I got better results at 20psi slow pattern kinda heavy for Alclad says light but it gives more depth going slow.I then buffed the plane with a paper towel and laid another coat the color and reflection of the Alclad Semi-Flat Silver came through.I now move onto some flat panels and flaps.

[CDW]

The flat silver looks great! 

Is the Alclad primer a lacquer or an acrylic. Do you spray it through the airbrush straight from the bottle or reduce it first? I've never used their primer.

[Javlin]

Craig straight from the bottle I p/u the bottles @HobbyTown Mobile for about $9 a bottle and lacquer.I thinks I can say that one bottle with do 2/3 1/32 scale fighters single engine I used a whole bottle on the 1/32 B-25.You ought to see their polished metal you could do up some realistic modern day civilian stuff gorgeous but a pure gloss black coat beneath the polished.

 

The stuff dries super quick already on to the masking and panels

[Javlin]

Well took it as far as I can go for today anything I felt gun related was Alclad AL101 so the doors,gunports and a panel for the chutes underneath very subtle.The flaps were all done in Dull AL. and the exhaust was MM Magnesium.I hope to get the spinner and front of the fuse tomorrow in Red.I will pick out small panels before the clear with SNJ Silver before I clear.

 

She might good if the decals work out.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Javlin

[CDW]

Inspiring photos! 

[Egilman]

4 hours ago, Javlin said:

She might good if the decals work out.

She looks beautiful right now... As far as the decaling? I have faith....

[Javlin]

Work continues....The red has been applied and the last of the panels.I paid attention to the fillets for the wing/tail and hatches only with the SNJ.I use the Testors pin point brushes(rd fur ball) to apply the SNJ then buff with a regular q-tip and the last stage I use the Tamyia pointed q-tip to bring to a higher luster and touch the borders(paint in the lines) it is very subtle but I like the effect.The other thing if you do paint outside the lines a new point q-tip and wa-la it's gone.

[Egilman]

Just a suggestion brother, the fabric covered tail surfaces, I would use  a tint to darken then about a half shade... They were painted dope and weathered out a hair darker than the bare metal...

 

Beautiful paintwork my friend, it's going to be a real beauty....

[Javlin]

7 minutes ago, Egilman said:

They were painted dope and weathered out a hair darker than the bare metal...

They are EG almost a grey in person the flash kinda blends it out a bit.I think  me leaving out the engine and gunbays saved alot of unwanted headaches and the fit of the kit improved.

[Javlin]

Their are issues with the decals most will not notice some areas like the "Flying Dutchman" I should of opted for painting?I call it a conspiracy by Trumpter but she will look the part.I may explain the issues if my fingers can type that long!

[popeye the sailor]

sorry to hear of your decal woes......although you still can touch them up.  I have to ask........why two names on the nose?  American Beauty on one side and Lovely Lila on the other..........are you suggesting the duality of man,  sir?     super good job on the paint........an old acquaintance of mine used Alclad extensively  

Edited July 22, 2022 by popeye the sailor

[Egilman]

38 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

why two names on the nose?

A lot of pilots gave a name to their crates which was generally placed on both sides, but some put the name only on the left side and put their wives/crew chief's names/nicknames on the right side, a practice that continued through the Korean War...

Edited July 22, 2022 by Egilman

[popeye the sailor]

something I've not seen.........I've seen either - or........and not a combination like that.  some wrote their love's name in some place.....preferably close to the canopy for a sense of closeness........but most names were a poke at their oppressors  

[Javlin]

I am hoping to get the rest of the stencils laid out tomorrow.

[king derelict]

A beautiful paint and decal job. It looks stunning. I'm almost scared to try an aircraft build seeing the high standards set

Alan