F-51D & P-51D Dual Build Finished

"Don't you just love it when a project comes together?"

I lift my hat off to Airfix, those new tooling Mustangs are wonderful kits to build. Both started at the same time, one finished in a week (helped with being off work) and the other in two and a half weeks. I can strongly recommend these kits, I already have two more sitting in my stockpile waiting to be started. 

In my last posting, I had just started with the decals on the F-51. This kit came with a lot more then the RAF P-51, mainly because that was a starter set kit so more basic on that building side for beginners. So with the F-51, once all of the larger markings and nose art were laid down, I finished off the decals with all of the stenciling for the aircraft. When the sharks mouth decals dried, there was a little gap between them and the upper surface of the intake was still in silver. So these areas were touched up with some red paint before going over with gloss clear to seal them. Now the detail painting and final assembly could begin, I had set myself a deadline to take this model to the Newark Model Show on the 11th October and time was running out.

Finally, I made the deadline, the F-51 was finished by 8pm on the night before the show. I stayed with my plan and kept it as a preserved aircraft, so absolute minimal weathering was done to the model. A couple of strips of Bare Metal Foil was used on the inside surface of the main undercarriage doors, on some aircraft, this panel was painted and others polished metal. 

Yes, the real aircraft might have most likely been painted silver, but I thought that would have been a little boring. The actual flying preserved example of this aircraft is painted silver and it does not have the same stand out effect as it would in natural metal. But as the saying goes, it's modellers license. And I hope you agree with me that the natural metal does look better then the painted silver finish! Enjoy.

And here are some photos of both Mustangs together that I have just taken. Both were entered into the competitions last Sunday along with several other of my models. The F-51 Mustang came home with commended in the USAF class. My 1/48th scale Spitfire FR Mk.XIVe came second in the RAF/FAA class, just beaten by a 1/24th scale Typhoon. Cannot grumble at that!