Tamiya 1/48 North American P-51D Mustang : “Blondie”
North American P-51 D Mustang. “Blondie”, as flown by Lt Marvin Arthur,334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group.
One of Tamiya’s finer kits, I think.
OOB with Eduard seat harness.
Finished with Testor’s buffable Metallizer “Aluminum Plate”.
Testor’s Acryl “Guards Red” on the nose.
Testor’s enamel wash (Black) on the bottom. It was pretty hot, even for the Future clear coat.
Topside panel lines drawn in with a black Micron 0.05 pen.
The kit decals had a hard time adhering to the model.
I suspect its because the buffable metallizer didn’t provide a firm base for the Future to adhere to.
A couple tried to peel up, in places. Otherwise, they performed well.
22 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Craig Abrahamson said on June 18, 2013
Beautiful work….great pics….nice all around job!
James Kelley said on June 18, 2013
Thanks Craig, I appreciate it.:)
Ulrich Schütt said on June 18, 2013
I don’t like Mustangs…… but you did a very nice job on this one!!!
James Kelley said on June 18, 2013
Hi Ulrich,
You should try one! This is a really lovely kit. Thanks for the kind words.
jorge rivas krause said on June 18, 2013
+1 regarding mustangs…but you did an excellent job!
James Kelley said on June 19, 2013
Thank you Jorge. 🙂
bob mack said on June 18, 2013
quite a beauty james
James Kelley said on June 18, 2013
Thanks Bob, I appreciate it. 🙂
Bill Koppos said on June 18, 2013
First of all, that’s a really pretty pony there. Very nicely done model. Next, Testor’s Metallizer is nice looking NMF- IF you spray it last and don’t try to mask over it. It Will peel up under any kind of stress. Metallizer sealer is made to spray over this, but I suspect it will still peel up. However I have never used this for a full NMF job because Alclad II works so well. Have you ever tried this? I use “White Aluminum” as the base, you can add Testor’s flat black or white to it to vary panels. So don’t feel bad, Metallizer just does not stick well, it’s pretty well-known for this trait.
James Kelley said on June 18, 2013
Hi Bill, thanks for the kind words.
I used to use Alclad II all the time, but the LHS no longer stocks it. At some point, I’ll get some from Sprue Brothers. I like the Testors stuff.
I had no problem with it pulling up, per se, and I masked over it without difficulty (sealed with Future). I just had a few decals pull up after they were set with Mr. Mark Softer, and dried.
steven a weinmann said on June 18, 2013
James shes a beauty very well done I has problems with my decals on this kit as well it wasn’t you my friend…..again very nice work thanks for sharing
James Kelley said on June 19, 2013
Hi Steve, thanks.
George Williams said on June 18, 2013
Beautiful, neat job, James. What’s the anti Mustang thing about?
James Kelley said on June 19, 2013
Hi George, thanks.
I don’t think it’s an organized movement, lol! To each his own.
Gregor de Ste Croix said on June 19, 2013
Cool P-51 James, like it 🙂
James Kelley said on June 19, 2013
Thanks Gregor, I’m happy with the NMF.
Chuck A. Villanueva said on June 19, 2013
The Mustang, next to the Corsair, my favorite WWII fighters. And what is really cool there are still a few flying. Living in So Cal, not to far from Chino Airport where are few flying examples still take to the air. Well done NMF finish, weathering is well done. Haven’t built too many kits in NMF finish, and I have a few in the stash that will eventually have a NMF scheme. But the couple I have built, I used Alclad on both. I use the MM metalizers for the detail panels over the Alclad. Haven’t run into any decal issues as you experienced as yet. Regardless I enjoyed viewing your Mustang, thanks for sharing.
Chuck
James Kelley said on June 19, 2013
Chuck, I’m glad that you enjoyed it.
Stephen W Towle said on June 22, 2013
James I would have never imaged that this kit would be such a radical build. The painting is neat and crisp with a good NMF finish, no visible seem lines. the landing gear is true, the clear parts are crystal clear, the decals look good and of course the female figure is what any good modeler would choose as a good subject of interest. On another form,…people are spitting bullets and trading insults about the prop which would appear to be a easy fix, On the whole this is a good strong model with some good photo’s. Two thumbs up looking forward towards your next build.
James Kelley said on June 22, 2013
Thanks, Stephen.
Sgt. Ray B. Hall said on June 24, 2013
James .. a TRUE modelers’ dream build .. NEAT paint job, to the cock-pit shots .. an AWESOME photography presentation all around … all she needs now is a guy standing by with the “fire-bottle” and a pilot !!! GREAT !!!
James Kelley said on June 25, 2013
Thank you very much, Ray. It does have a few boogers. Overal, though, I’m happy with it.
Jim Frasure said on March 29, 2015
Hi James,
I want to congratulate you on a great model of Blondie. Marvin Arthur was married to my mother from 1991-2001 when he passed away. He was a great guy and I spent many hours talking to him about his flying experiences. I went to several reunions of the 4th Fighter group with him and got to meet some greats like Don Blakeslee and James Goodsen. I also got to meet Don Allen too who was Marvin’s crew chief and the artist that painted Blondie and many other Planes in the 4th. Thanks for keeping Blondie alive with your great Model.