P-51D Mustang by Lt. Biggles - Eduard - 1/48 - PLASTIC

[Lt. Biggles]

Time to begin my next project while the B-17 gets its finishing touches.

This one also I’ll not be keeping myself, but unlike the fortress, this time I have an actual plane to replicate. 

This makes it easier mainly and perhaps occasionally more difficult.

For this kit I have Eduards, Profi Pack edition, so will be an out of the box build. As it contains cockpit masks and Photo Etch I’ll not get any aftermarket parts.

The subject for this build will be,

Lt. Donald F. Vulgamore’s P-51D, E9-V “Jaspers Joker II” who flew as part of the 361st Fighter Group in Europe.

The reason for this subject is the paint scheme!

It has a yellow nose, NMF (natural metal finish) and doesn’t have the full D-Day invasion stripes. So it ticked all the boxes. To top it off I managed to find decals for this very build.

If I can find spray stencils I may give them a go otherwise I’ve got the decals and I’ve heard good things about Aero Master decals printed in Italy by Cartograf. They weren’t easy to find as they aren’t made anymore and bought mine from a collector it seems! 
 

I think this will be a faster build than the B-17 and I’m looking forward to trying my first ever natural metal finish. Each build I try to do something new and push my abilities. This time the NMF will be that part!

So any tips at all about how to get a weathered war weary aluminium look I’m all ears! I’ve got some Mr. Color Super Metallic 2 lacquer paints, Super Fine Silver 2, Super Duralumin and Super Iron 2 which will be new for me to try.

Ive been doing a lot of research over the last month and have a 1/72 mustang prepped as my test mule. Currently the undersides of the wings are an assortment of different base colours to see how much of an effect they have, as it’s one thing to be told something and another to see for yourself. 

Im expecting the build to be pretty straight forward and once at the prep for painting stage I’ll be in new territory.

 

[king derelict]

I look forward to seeing this build with interest. I’ve been curious about the Profipack kits and I’m trying to work up to a Naural Metal Finish on the Yak.

alan

[Dave_E]

I’ll watch! 🍿🥤👍😀

[Egilman]

16 hours ago, Lt. Biggles said:

Ive been doing a lot of research over the last month and have a 1/72 mustang prepped as my test mule. Currently the undersides of the wings are an assortment of different base colours to see how much of an effect they have, as it’s one thing to be told something and another to see for yourself. 

It depends on the final look you want, most of the sprays give a flavor of new metallic with varying grades of shine, although I've been impressed with a few of the sprays that have been coming out...

For shiny aluminum, gloss black undercoat with a thinned aluminum overcoat, for an oxidized aluminum finish dark grey gloss with a bit heavier coat of aluminum... Me I will still do it in RnB... But that's the old school way...

 

I'll be following brother...

[Lt. Biggles]

3 hours ago, Egilman said:

It depends on the final look you want, most of the sprays give a flavor of new metallic with varying grades of shine, although I've been impressed with a few of the sprays that have been coming out...

For shiny aluminum, gloss black undercoat with a thinned aluminum overcoat, for an oxidized aluminum finish dark grey gloss with a bit heavier coat of aluminum... Me I will still do it in RnB... But that's the old school way...

 

I'll be following brother...

As always glad to have you along! You always have good tips and tricks up your sleeve!

I’d love to go for the oxidised aluminum.

Well that’s the goal at least!

 

I will try giving different grey undercoats a go! Thanks for these tips!

does it need to be a gloss coat? 
I will try gloss and Matt undercoats and see if it’s different. And also gloss and Matt clear coats over top!

About the thickness. I’m abit worried about loosing all the details if I do a primer, a few coats of thick gloss paint and polish then wet coats of my aluminum.

In my tests I’m trying to get the gloss black thick enough to get the smooth surface otherwise I get the almost patterned finish. If I try sand it back smooth then I sand back to plastic and so the paint needs to be thick enough to sand! I’m secretly hoping I can paint the super metallics over the Matt primer if my prep is good enough.

I’ve not sprayed any of the super metallics yet as I need to go get a respirator and set up a place in the outside garage due to the smell! I’ll not get away with spraying lacquers on the dining room table 😬

[Lt. Biggles]

11 hours ago, king derelict said:

I look forward to seeing this build with interest. I’ve been curious about the Profipack kits and I’m trying to work up to a Naural Metal Finish on the Yak.

alan

I’ve also been keeping an eye on your build to see how you will do yours and any tips and tricks or dos and donts! 
Here is to us managing to get lucky and land a result we are both happy with on our first attempt 🍻

[Lt. Biggles]

6 hours ago, Dave_E said:

I’ll watch! 🍿🥤👍😀

Welcome along! 

[Lt. Biggles]

The NMF experiments have begun on my 1/72 scale test mule.

This is what I’ve learned so far.

Smooth smooth smooth!

I think that’s all there is to it really.

so I just need to find away to make the smoothest surface with the thinnest amount of paint to keep all the surface details.

I also learned that the gloss base isn’t just because it shines through and makes the paint more shiny and metallic it’s that gloss has a smoother surface.

Here the far left has the gloss black under it and the rest is the Matt surface primer. And the changes are just applying more coats… which makes it smoother and so a better finish.

Here the wing on the right from our perspective is straight on the Matt primer. On the left I gave the primer a quick sand with 1200 grit sand paper and it’s noticeably better except you can see the scratches in it, so I’ll need to find super fine sand paper.

 

My next lot of tests will be to sand down the primer as smooth as I can and see if that is ok. Or if I need to spray something on the primer that I can make smooth.

Any ideas are more than welcome!

 

These paints are really nice to work with though!! 

[Lt. Biggles]

The cockpit has begun on the real model now. I’ve ordered some 3000 grit sanding sponges and will be part of my next experiment with the paint mule.

 

Made my own mix of interior green with tamiya green and yellow mix while making the Fortress and seems to do the job well. I wanted to make the colour in a bottle so I can do touch ups and all the rest of the parts without having to mix it each time!

Put down some buff colour then brown oil paint streaked on top to give a wood grain effect.

Once dry I’ll seal it in with a clear coat then try out my chipping fluid and paint with rubber black and scuff up the floor alittle. Letting the oil dry might take a good few days though.

So begun on the bits behind the seat. One part has to be a battery and the other maybe a radio but kinda looks like a battery also! Anyway good fun parts to detail that I don’t think will be visible once finished.