P-51D-5 Mustang by Eduard in 1/48.
My first model for 2021. Very happy with the result although it took me much longer to complete than usual. I have a good many Mustangs in this scale & was looking forward to a trouble free build on this one, which is my first (Mustang) from Eduard. Didn't happen; but to move on, I'm glad it's finished & I'll be looking forward to another in due course, now I am aware of the pitfalls! This is the box top scheme, which I have long admired & it looks great on the shelf next to 'Old Crow' also in O.D. & N.G..
To give credit where due, I had no problems with the decals, fit or surface details & the marking choices were all great. To be fair my issues were mainly due to unexpected engineering problems involving attachment of control surfaces & undercarriage, which I overcame after a bit of trial & error; so it's all good & I say thank you to Eduard & so does my spares box!
That's a sharp and clean looking Mustang , Tony.
Can imagen that it looks lovely next to your 'Old Crow'.
Thanks John.
awesome
Thanks Richard.
Congratulations, Tony, on your first 2021 build!
Looks amazing!
Happy New Year!
Thanks Spiros. This one took me quite a while to finish, but I do love Mustangs, so I'll be back for more!
Congratulations on your first successful 2021 built, beauty, as ever, is in the eye of the beholder, but, Mustangs are beautiful, no, not for me, sorry.
True enough George. There's quirky beautiful, sleek beautiful, graceful beautiful & just plain ugly beautiful. There's room for 'em all in my book!
That is a great way to start 2021 Tony (@tony-prince)
Thanks Erik. I guess it's how you finish the year that counts. At my present rate of building I will live to about 125 years of age before I finish my stash; so I'd better get on with it!
I had my eye on this kit, but the places I've checked are either out of stock or the shipping is egregious. I do like this color combo, your Mustang looks great!
Thanks Greg. I bought this one from one of our club members who also is a kit supplier & attends our IPMS meetings once a month. always good for the latest kits. There is also a great supplier in Melbourne (Australia) who does mail order & carries good stock.
Good looking Pony, Tony! I need to build a few more Mustangs...
Thanks Greg. I've built six so far, with another four to go, as well as the big Tamiya kit which is still a work in progress. I must confess I have a liking for the P51B with the Malcolm hood...Just something about it?
Great looking early 'D', Tony!
Thanks Robert.
Those too-thin decals strike again. Eagle Editions has a sheet with this on it, with good decals, as well as some other interesting airplanes, thus making purchase worthwhile. Then you can get a "do over" on the yellow markings and your excellent work on everything else will really sparkle.
Thank goodness there are a ton of aftermarket decals, so these excellent kits can turn into good models. They are fiddly, as you discovered, but there are ways around most.
One Big Thing I recently discovered is that if you take that part (G-34) that's supposed to go atop the wheel well, and instead glue it into position with the cockpit floor where it's supposed to finally fit, when you attach the wing and fuselage it really will "click into place." That ends all the "fiddly."
Thanks for the tips Tom. Having a large collection of P51 decals I thought that I could put on a second set on the fuselage if needed. Well,as you say, it was. The hitch was that every aftermarket decal I tried for fit was smaller than the Eduard pair: not by much, but enough to result in an oversized blue surround. I ended up using white Valleho Air by brush which fixed the problem to acceptable levels. The 'Frenesi' was a different matter, as it folded over under the 'F' & I ended up over painting the yellow by hand (carefully!). I also used a faintly 'dust' tinted eggshell clear, which seems to blend everything in. The undercarriage bays were a fiddly issue, so for my next one I will certainly take your advice.
Tony, an excellent looking Mustang, (I too really like this paint scheme). I have a few of these Eduard beauty's on my shelf, so I'm paying very close to my fellow modeler builds. Over all you've done a wonderful bit of modeling here. I like really it !
Thanks Terry. Eduard has some nice kits on the way, including even more Mustangs later this year.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Nice looking Mustang build.
The subtle weathering is very well done Tony.
Thanks for the kind words. I usually use pastels; the advantage to me is that I can wipe off the mistakes!
This Mustsng turned out very nice. I’ve never built an Eduard kit before, but they seem to have many on imodeler that love them. I’ve got a 1/32 Revell kit with these same markings, I’m thinking of starting it soon. I hope it will turn out as well as yours did.
Thank you Jay. I haven't built the big Revell Mustang, but I'm well advanced with the Tamiya 1/32 kit. It will (hopefully) appear here in due course. I must confess that these days I'm inclined to prefer the simpler kits without all the moving bits & I think the Revell kit may be better for me next time from that point of view. Good luck with yours!