Tamiya 1/48 P-51B Build (1 Viewer)

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Dale some clean lines, I'm glad you managed to overcome all the issues you had because it was worth all the effort. The canopy looks really crisp and the decals are spot on. As far as the antenna wire is concerned I use lycra elastic which I find works really well. All in all a great build. Looking forward to seeing that Dora progress.
 
Last edited:
I think your invisible mending thread will be fine Dale. That's the stuff I use.

I believe the wire on the 'B' was attached at the leading edge of the fin near the top. If you have the tools, try drilling a tiny hole at this point and CA glue the thread into the hole. If you don't have a drill small enough, a small blob of thick CA, after removing the paint, should hold the thread. The trick is to make sure that the thread is pointing in the general direction of the post when it dries so you don't get a weird curve in it when you try to attach it to the post. When dry, gently pull the thread to the post and find a way to hold the thread taut on top of the post so you don't have to hold it. (I find that sometimes I can get lucky and hold the thread while the CA dries but I now like to spend a bit of extra time to set up a jig so I don't have to hold it). For example, if you leave the thread long enough to extend past the nose, you can clamp the end in a tower of Lego parts and move the tower until the thread just touches the post at the right point. Once secure, dab some thick CA on the post. When dry, carefully cut the excess thread with a very sharp blade.

See a pic of how I did this on my He 219 here in post 443: http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/8-commonwealth-night-fighter/done-1-48-tamiya-heinkel-he-219-wnr-290123-1-njg-1-nightfighter-gb-26813-30.html
 
Last edited:
Looks the part Dale. I can't be 100% certain, but I don't think an antenna wire was fitted, even though the earlier antenna mast and the secondary insulator are in place. By this period, VHF radio was in use, which did not require a wire, but used a ferrite rod aerial, enclosed within the later style mast.
In photos of Gentille's aircraft, even though the fairlead at the top of the mast is visible, no wire is visible leading from it, or from the white insulator terminal.
Personally, I'd omit any wires.
 
Hey, Terry,
Yeap, all the pictures I was able to track down do not indicate any radio wiring. So, lets call this one done.
Dale
 
Hey, All,
I wanted to close this thread out with a post mortem or lessons learned on this build. I felt this would be of value for the new folks and a way for me to get these stuck into my head.

Pros
Tamiya kits are excellent. The overall fit was amazing on this kit. I had only a few places where I needed to sweat any filling and sanding. The wing to fuse joint was great with a touch of filling at the leading edge/wing/fuse joint. Fuse seam needed just a touch of sanding. Only down side I found was the decals, they are awfully thick. I did use a set of SuperScale decals for the final finish with the Tamiya stencils where needed.

Testor's Model Master enamels are very nice. I took some time before I painted the kit to practice the mix/air pressure for the airbrush combo. I arrived at about a 30% thinning and around 10-12 psi for the final paint job.

Future is great for sealing and laying down a smooth surface the decals.

MicroSol still rocks even on the thicker Tamiya decals, just needed 2-3 applications to get the kit decals the sit down nicely.

Tamiya putty and Cutex fingernail polish remover make for a GREAT way to fill those areas without having to rescribe any surface detail.

Tamiya masking tape ROCKS. I used 6mm and 18mm for most of the kit. This in conjunction with kitchen plastic wrap makes masking so much easier.

Brake fluid does a GREAT job of removing paint without damaging the plastic. Lord knows I used a bunch to recover from my major stumble.

Windex really does remove Future nicely.

My Passche air brushs still rock. I am finally getting a feel for the gravity fed Talon.

Cons
Tamiya Flat base is just that, a flat base designed to be added to paints/finishes. Not really a con as much as me not reading the instructions or understanding what I was using.

Summary
This was my 1st serious build since returning to the hobby this last year. Overall, I am pleased with the results (pics reposted below). I have built a couple of less expensive kits to dry run myself and relearn some of the more subtle aspects of construction and build techniques. So, what did I learn with this build?

1) Read the directions. Study them before you cut the first piece from the tree. Pay attention to any decal placement instructions buried in the assembly steps. For this kit, the propeller decals were called out in the propeller assembly steps.

2) Dry fit EVERYTHING. A few moments spent here will save you time and mistakes. For this kit, the underside of the cockpit floor was interfering with the wing assembly to the fuse. A quick pass with a moto-tool grinder solved this problem.

3) Let your paint cure at least 24 hours. I know, this can be a trying to those of us that are patience challenged, but it will save you huge problems with subsequent coats.

4) Read up on mixing enamels and acrylics. The guys here were a HUGE help with this challenge for me. If you are not sure, ask. Someone here will answer your question fairly quickly.

5) Future really does make a difference with the clear parts. I did dip my canopy glass in Future for the 2nd finish pass. What a difference this step made. Just be sure cover the parts under something as the Future dries. I used a clear plastic cocktail cup for this.

6) The make up area at my local Wal Mart has some neat things for finishing and these are far cheaper than hobby "branded" supplies.

7) Know your airrbush. Practice with it before you try on your model. Believe me, you will save your sanity shooting over some styrene sheet 1st.

8) The folks here are amazing. AMAZING. They are patient and so very thoughtful in their responses. Yes, they can get a little crazy, but, hey, we all sniff glue for fun. What do you expect?

That is it for now. I will roll back to the post with some pictures I will take tonight.

Dale
 

Attachments

  • Shangri-La 1 of 4.JPG
    Shangri-La 1 of 4.JPG
    45 KB · Views: 137
  • Shangri-La 4 of 4.JPG
    Shangri-La 4 of 4.JPG
    43 KB · Views: 145
Last edited:
Hey, Guys,
Thank you for all the comments and patience you all have shown. I know I was asking you all a ton of questions and you all always came through for me. I do appreciate everything from all of you on this build, fumbles on my part and all.

Vic, I am going to get into an official GB soon. I am doing the Unofficial Dora build ATM.

Man, I had forgotten how relaxing this hobby can be. As long as I am slow and patient, I really enjoy my time at the bench. The Dora is slow to get re-started due to work load. But, after this post and getting dinner in the oven (along with a NY Style cheesecake) I am gonna make myself comfortable in the building room, fire up some tunes and bear down on the Dora.

Once again, thank you to each and everyone of you. Your help and encouragement are most appreciated.

Dale
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back