andy's 1:24 red tails p-51d

[phalinmegob]

well better late than never. posting a box and sprue shot to prove i have not started yet. will not bother posting individual sprue shots as these can be seen in ade's thread. hoping to use alclads on this and see how it turns out. i am hoping to end up with something similar to the box art.View attachment 97181

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[Ian M]

Nice one Andrew. I'll look forwards to this.

Ian M

 

[phalinmegob]

well finally made a start on this kit and beginning to wish i hadn't. nothing fits together the way it should. awful amounts of flash on it and pins don't fit in locating holes. a nice shiny box but the moulds are stamped as 1972. any way that is enough of a grumble. started with the cockpit as usual and have painted up the pilot to represent LT Spurgeon Ellington. not fitting the engine as i am going to put an electric motor in it and it is easier to loose the engine than fit the motor inside it. there are an awful lot of parts that have to line up inside the fuselage before you can put them together so that should be fun when i get to it, especially as they are both twisted. seat belts out of a bit of masking tape, and i know they are not correct, i just wanted to simulate a seat belt which i have never really bothered to do before. had to cut off the foot pedal assembly from the floor of the cockpit because the pilot would not fit in at all with it in place and i found that preferable to him loosing his feet.View attachment 98650

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[papa 695]

Great start Andrew looking forward to more

 

[dubster72]

The cockpit & pilot look great Andy! Such a shame these old kits promise so much & fail to deliver

I bet you'll beat it into shape though

 

[tr1ckey66]

Lovely work on the pilot and office and I do hope you resolve the fit issues. The top notch progress so far deserves a finished model and I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

Cheers

Paul

 

[colin m]

Great start. That pilot looks one mean son of a .......................Don't want to mess with him.

 

[aaron]

Tuskegee right?

I watched an awesome movie about these gents last week.

 

[phikoleoputra]

Tuskegee right?I watched an awesome movie about these gents last week.

What is the name of the movie Aaron? Might watch it too sometime

 

[aaron]

What is the name of the movie Aaron? Might watch it too sometime

Called "Red tails" mate, full movie free to watch on utube.

 

[tommy1drop]

Nice start on the cockpit and pilot Andy.

 

[phalinmegob]

i got the DVD red tails for Christmas and loved even though its not quite historically accurate, it was the inspiration for this build..

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

I share your pain on the fit issues, your putting a lot more into it than I have with mine

Watching this build closely

Adrian

 

[BarryW]

Love the pilot. Far better than I could do.

 

[phalinmegob]

really cracking on with this now as i get bored of a build quite easily unless i start seeing good progress.thankfully airfix provided a spare part for the motor to sit in as i could not see how i was ever going to fit it inside the kit engine.


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these tiny swivel pins are never going to work

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if anyone is thinking of getting this kit then dont,its horrible

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nothing fits where it is meant too properly but i dont want to sand it all down and lose all the the rivet detail and anyway real aircraft were never that smooth,thats my excuse and i am sticking with it

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it has had a coat of alclad black gloss base, need a bigger spray booth

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this is where i am up to as of now,one coat of misted alclad aluminium. will spend the next day or two masking off various panels and doing different shades of alclad.

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have made a little boo boo, there is no mention at all in the instructions of where to put the slot for the stand, they are no cut outs etc but there was a little plate on one of the sprues which fits the top f the stand. so i glued this to the underside of the plane when half built based on a guess. now the plane is together it is way too far forward on the fuselage. have packed loads of lead in to the nose to try and alter the centre of gravity but cant fit the stand until i have the switch and battery holder and wires in place. dont think it will stand up though,not sure how to slove that one,maybe half a ton of lead on the base .....

 

[tommy1drop]

Looking great mate.

 

[aaron]

I agree this is looking fantastic, pity about the fit and stand issues mate.

 

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

If you look at the intake scoop underneath there is a small slot cut into it, this is where the stand fits


Adrian

 

[flyjoe180]

i dont want to sand it all down and lose all the the rivet detail and anyway real aircraft were never that smooth

P-51D's were actually quite smooth with very little surface rivet detail. Wing panels were often filled to further enhance the laminar flow and reduce drag. All the same this is looking very good Adrian, despit ethe kit's issues you are doing a great job.

 

[phalinmegob]

final update before completion, sprayed six differing shades of alclad. this stuff sprays like a dream but shows every mark underneath off. i have noticed a couple of small fingerprints showing through. View attachment 100810

olive drab sprayed on nose and sprayed the fuel caps red

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managed to snap a propeller off just by removing a strip of tamiya tape

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well the red tail has a red tail

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decals added

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added some shading to the panel lines

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nearly done

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very close now

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