P-51D Mustang by CDW - FINISHED - Dragon - 1:32 Scale

[realworkingsailor]

1 hour ago, CDW said:

Thanks for sharing that video Andy. I really enjoyed watching it.

 

Ed has some very interesting videos, his channel is well worth checking out. If you like the technical aspect, Greg’s Planes and Automobiles really dives into the nitty gritty of airplane performance, by the numbers (If you haven’t seen it already). He’s even done a recent set on human factors, why some WW2 planes are better than others from another perspective outside of performance.

 

Andy

[CDW]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:21 PM, Canute said:

Although I do have a year long battle with kudzu.

And one heck of a battle that must be. That stuff has taken over down South! Are you using 2-4-D to control it?

[Egilman]

Excellent Video Andy...

 

Proves one thing, absolute speed is relative...

 

Personally, Test aircraft should not be lumped in with service aircraft, and thankfully he didn't include the whole transonic arguments and the claims made in that genre...

 

I tend to stick with combat aircraft.... Within the role they played in combat...  Below 5,000ft the Tempest could walk an FW190, The Mustang couldn't do that... (in any configuration) Between 5-20,000ft  they all flew in the same envelope and performed very similar.... Above 20,000ft there are only a few and of those only one saw significant combat.... And the Mustang, the Merlin powered Mustang, was that airplane.... In My Humble Opinion of course.... {chuckle}

[realworkingsailor]

4 hours ago, Egilman said:

Excellent Video Andy...

 

Proves one thing, absolute speed is relative...

 

Personally, Test aircraft should not be lumped in with service aircraft, and thankfully he didn't include the whole transonic arguments and the claims made in that genre...

 

I tend to stick with combat aircraft.... Within the role they played in combat...  Below 5,000ft the Tempest could walk an FW190, The Mustang couldn't do that... (in any configuration) Between 5-20,000ft  they all flew in the same envelope and performed very similar.... Above 20,000ft there are only a few and of those only one saw significant combat.... And the Mustang, the Merlin powered Mustang, was that airplane.... In My Humble Opinion of course.... {chuckle}

If you haven’t seen it, this might interest you:

 

 

Andy

[Old Collingwood]

Hope   you  might  find  these  useful  Craig  -  I took  them  myself  back in  2017.

 

OC.

[Egilman]

11 hours ago, realworkingsailor said:

If you haven’t seen it, this might interest you:

Actually yes it does, although he has slanted it towards the late war German Me 109 and the effort to keep it a viable combat aircraft, Daimler wasn't the first to use water injection and eventually methanol-water injection...

 

Pratt & Whitney was....  In the R2800... It is what made the R2800 the engine it was... The water injection version entered production at the end of '42 and reached the front lines in mid '43... a full year before the first Me109K flew...

 

As the initial production Corsairs and Hellcats came back for engine replacement they were upgraded to take the more powerful engine... By the end of the war all Corsairs and Hellcats were running on Water/Methanol injection engines...

 

But it is interesting in it really explains what engine Knock is and what stops it.... (keeping combustion chamber temps down, while packing even more high octane fuel in) the easy way is to boost octane, but in wartime conditions that is not always available... Also something not said, the manifold boost and injection was not something used 100% of the time, it was used in emergencies only.... And yes even on the 109K, otherwise you would be rebuilding engines every two or three flights instead of every 50 flights.... Water injection was never incorporated into the Merlin engine in an operational aircraft to my knowledge... But I don't know everything {chuckle} and I'm sure those brothers that do will tell me quick...

 

Excellent video my friend....

[Egilman]

On 3/12/2024 at 5:55 AM, ccoyle said:

and the production Fury was 20 mph faster than the P-51D

Yep, below 25,000ft...

On 3/12/2024 at 5:55 AM, ccoyle said:

For what it's worth, I think nearly all piston-engined, propeller-driven fighters are beautiful.

Amen brother.... Especially in bare metal.....

[CDW]

The worst gaps were found at the wing roots. There I used some styrene to fill them in. After that used Mr Surfacer 500 to go over all the join areas on the fuselage. Once dry sanded it all down with a fine sanding sponge.

 

 

 

Next I used Mr Surfacer 1500 along the joints then sanded that down with an extra fine sanding sponge to see what I might have missed. Once I touch up a few small areas and add some parts, will be ready to lay down my gloss black primer.

 

[Canute]

Sheesh, I remember so many of the earlier kits with the gaps and dihedral issues. Very nice save with the thin strips and Mr Surfacer products. 👍

[CDW]

3 hours ago, Canute said:

Sheesh, I remember so many of the earlier kits with the gaps and dihedral issues. Very nice save with the thin strips and Mr Surfacer products. 👍

Thanks Ken. It will be far from perfect but a nice shelf model to represent whichever pilot option I decide to take. Trying to decide between Old Crow and Pete II. I prefer the color scheme of Pete II but love the Bud Anderson story.

[CDW]

The gloss black (Tamiya X-1) has been laid down and so far, it appears satisfactory. Smooth and glossy. The real test will be how it looks once the metallic is applied. Keeping my fingers crossed until then.

Edited March 15 by CDW

[Jack12477]

Question: How do you keep your paint stand so clean and so free of paint overspray?  

[chadwijm6]

22 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

Question: How do you keep your paint stand so clean and so free of paint overspray?  

I was wondering the same thing Jack. I get paint on the walls!!

[CDW]

23 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

Question: How do you keep your paint stand so clean and so free of paint overspray?  

 

Just now, chadwijm6 said:

I was wondering the same thing Jack. I get paint on the walls!!

 

I have several of those stands. That one is new and I have never painted anything on it yet. That particular stand is designed to hold model car bodies for painting. The spring wires go up inside the body and hold it tight while you paint and rotate the car body. I only used that stand because it was handy to sit the model on top while I took the photos.

 

When I paint an airplane like the P-51, I push a metal rod of the correct diameter up through the engine crankshaft/hole to hold and rotate the model while I paint it. If it's a jet, run an appropriate diameter dowel up through the engine nozzle for the same purpose. 

[CDW]

I take that back...it looks like I did paint something green once on that stand. But it definitely is a stand for model car bodies. And it's been seldom used so far.

[Jack12477]

I asked because I have that same stand. Mine is 2 in 1. A slightly larger one comes with it. 

[CDW]

I've heard from reliable source that Mr Color super silver 2, heavily reduced, then sprayed on in light mist coats similar to using Alclad, gives great results. I'm going to give it a try and see what happens. Won't try it until tomorrow giving this Tamiya gloss black a full day to cure.

[CDW]

Early to bed, early to rise...

She's shiny!

Decided at the last minute to use Alclad rather than experiment on her with the Mr Color super silver 2. I'll experiment with the Mr Color silver when I paint the fuel tanks, racks and rocket mounts. Wheels, and UC too.

I'm satisfied with the way the Alclad turned out.

 

 

[chadwijm6]

Looks great CDW. Which Alcad colour is that? 

[CDW]

15 minutes ago, chadwijm6 said:

Looks great CDW. Which Alcad colour is that? 

Thank you, James. The color is Alclad chrome. That particular metallic shade gives the effect with the most shine. Before I start handling or decaling and masking the model, I'll need to apply a clear acrylic gloss coat. Alclad is very susceptible to fingerprints and decal carrier film will look distorted on the model without the clear coat first. 

 

[CDW]

Using Pledge, applied with a soft, wide brush to protect the Alclad chrome finish. Keeping brush strokes gentle and minimal to avoid marring the bright finish of the Alclad. Being careful not to allow droplets to appear along edges from over applying the Pledge. Less is more. The self-leveling qualities of the clear acrylic will take care of itself, so don't "over-brush" it.

I'll lay down two coats before it's finished then allow a couple of days for it to cure before masking or decals.

[chadwijm6]

3 hours ago, CDW said:

Using Pledge, applied with a soft, wide brush to protect the Alclad chrome finish. Keeping brush strokes gentle and minimal to avoid marring the bright finish of the Alclad. Being careful not to allow droplets to appear along edges from over applying the Pledge. Less is more. The self-leveling qualities of the clear acrylic will take care of itself, so don't "over-brush" it.

I'll lay down two coats before it's finished then allow a couple of days for it to cure before masking or decals.

Morning, I hope you don't mind but another question CDW.

 

Why use pledge, could you also use an airbrush to apply a gloss acrylic varnish?

 

Thanks

 

James 

[CDW]

4 hours ago, chadwijm6 said:

Morning, I hope you don't mind but another question CDW.

 

Why use pledge, could you also use an airbrush to apply a gloss acrylic varnish?

 

Thanks

 

James 

mostly it’s trial and error experience. What’s worked for me in the past I stick with and the rest I discard. I suspect Pledge works best as it has no adverse effect on the Alclad finish, plus it’s cheap and readily available. The airbrush tends to be unreliable as it’s hard to lay it down smoothly without pooling, sags, and runs. I get more control with a soft brush and Pledge self-levels.

[CDW]

I'm committed to the Petie 2 scheme now as I masked and painted the blue nose.

[Canute]

The blue covered nicely.

[CDW]

2 minutes ago, Canute said:

The blue covered nicely.

Primarily because of the smooth finish under it. But it's always that way with paint. It's only going to be as good as the surface it's painted on. I forgot to mention, the blue is Tamiya lacquer, "Pure Blue". it may be a tad darker blue than it should be, but I can live with it.

[CDW]

I'm thinking about breaking up all that shiny aluminum with some various shades of aluminum on different panels.

[AJohnson]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

I'm thinking about breaking up all that shiny aluminum with some various shades of aluminum on different panels.

That looks really nice as it is, but know what you mean, some variations will add interest. From reference I have the panels either side of the exhaust stubs often look darker (not just staining either). I’m no Mustang expert but weren’t some Mustangs wings painted, even the NM ones?  Not sure where I got that notion from. 

[Old Collingwood]

Excellent progress  Craig,   i will  be a Stunner   when finished  - love  the idea  about  the  contrast  panels.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

Good kit, bad kit, doesn´t matter, it looks like a Mustang and it´s going to be a nice one Craig.
I like Pledge as a varnish like you, but prefer using it in the airbrush. What I don´t like about Pledge, it´s not the most durable finish and can be easily damaged with decal solutions. I once had frosty irritations around decals, using the relatively mild Micro Sol onto pledged decals.
It´s good to see, the Pledge took away only a tiny bit of the shine, an effect, I always fear, when it comes to sealing NMF.

 

Cheers Rob