Here's a kit which I
am sure most of you have seen many times before. It was, however, my first
ever Tamiya kit. It was really a great build - the fit was just
about perfect, with many of the parts virtually clicking together without the
need for glue. My only serious gripe was the quality of the decals, which
were rather crumbly (see the red lines on the flaps and the edge of the blue
circle of the main decal). Actually this looks worse with such close-up
pictures; in real life you can hardly see the problem. Nevertheless, it
was really very time-consuming coaxing the carrier film off the backing
paper.
The cockpit was
supplemented with the Eduard Zoom PE set. In some ways I wish I had just
added the harness. The detail of the kit's own cockpit is really fine and
I am sure I could have it painted up really well to get a nice
"office". The problem with PE is that it is so flat (duh
- obviously). Well you live and learn.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Paints used were my usual eclectic mixture: Xtracrylic Faded
Olive Drab and Neutral Grey, Tamiya X-4 for Yellow Chromate wheel wells, Gunze
for the interior green, Humbrol enamels for the spinner and undercarriage.
It was then Klear/Future coated and panel washed with thinned oils. Next
an Xtracrylic Flat coated, followed by a little brushing with chalk pastels for
exhaust and gun stains. The coloured lights were Humbrol, touched up with
Klear coloured with food dye (again this looks better in real life, as the
photos are a little over-exposed).
The antenna wire was "invisible thread" used by
dress-makers, painted with black enamel; I will use a marker pen next time, as
the line looks uneven. The tension also seems to change depending on the
temperature - the kit was completed and left out in my chilly garage - and
the line loosened. After a few hours in the house, it tightened up again
(but not in this picture).
P-51B-5 43-6913 "Shangri-La" was the mount of Captain Don
Gentile of the 336th FS/4th FG based at Debden in Essex in 1944.
He had previously flown Spits (for the RCAF) and Thunderbolts, though he scored
most of his 21 kills in Shangri-La, which he pranged on a low-level
pass when he returned from his final mission, in front of the attendant
press corps.
After the war, he became a test pilot and trainer and died in a flying
accident in 1951.
Richard
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