1/32 Tamiya P-51D Mustang 'Daisy Mae'
For sheer looks and glamour in the display case it's hard to beat a Mustang. In this case an ETO version assigned to one Lt Allen K Abner, a Block 10 variant of the venerable P-51 built in Inglewood, California. I had no idea who 'Daisy Mae' was so had to look it up. Turns out she is from the Li'l Abner cartoon strip that run for 40 years starting in the 1930s.
This kit proved to be more challenging that the Spitfire. The inserts in the wings are a cow to get to fit so I ended up filling these and then rescribing the detail and the rivets. In the end this worked well enough but it was a pain to do. They are supposed to just slot in and out with magnets so you can remove the landing gear. I have no idea why I would want to do this so I was happy to forgo this option. It seems that the ambition of the kit designers outweighed their engineering ability to pull it off. Nevertheless, it's hard to argue with the result. While I am aware of the debate about the rivets in the wings I decided against filing them, largely because for any kit to sit of the limited shelf space that I have any model has to be special enough the justify it's space on there. The extra detail on the wings helps to differentiate it from a plain plastic wing.
Painting was done with my usual Mr Color paints but also Alclad II for the metal surfaces. I am not sure that I would use Alclad again as it is very temperamental and seems inferior to the Mr Color Super series quite frankly. The final finish was an Alclad Light Sheen finish which took over a year to dry. I have since abandoned the use of the Alclad finishing sealers and use Mr Color mixes instead - they dry in 10 minutes. Problems aside, this aircraft always gets peoples attention in the display cabinet and she always the pretty girl at the show.
Beautiful model and a beautiful work around the NMF and delicate weathering. What medium you used for the panels brownish?
Hi Pedro,
I don't remember the exact shade, but I swear by the Abteilung 502 oil paints. It was likely either burnt or raw umber - perhaps with a dash of earth and smoke.
Hope that helps!
This is a wonderful result, David @moxibustion
The weathering is indeed exceptional, very realistic.
Mustang always looks good in Metal Finish!
A wonderful model, David!
Congratulations!
@moxibustion - David: beautiful result on this Mustang. You're right that few airplanes look better (but I just ordered the version that violates all of that - the Turbo Mustang)
"Li'l Abner" was a very successful American comic strip from the 40s and 50s. The "Schmoos" (a little critter that provided anything and everything one needed) were very popular with kids. I recall having an entire boxful of various "Schmoos" in different sizes and mediums. Lt. Abner obviously "went for it due" to his last name.
In the 56th Group, Dave Schilling was such a fan that he wrote Al Capp, the strip's creator, and got permission to use the characters for nose art in the 62nd Fighter Squadron, which is where all those "Li'l Abner" characters come from on his airplanes.
Good info! I think this cartoon must have been before my time. Good luck with the Turbo Mustang.
That screams "just right!" and checks all the boxes. That is a fine Mustang, and a great chosen scheme. I'm still deliberating what my 1/32 Mustang will represent.
So many schemes to choose from!
This is a beautiful looing Mustang, great job on your build.
Spectacular...
Looks very nice. Daisy Mae never looked better.
Thanks everyone. It's a nice kit and I will likely build another one one day.
That's a great-looking Pony - nice scheme. Guess it ages me that I would have know right away who Daisy Mae was...!