"Roxie"/"Dottie n Butch
Finally put the finishing touches on this one...3 months of work, lots of tape and experimenting with Vallejo Liquid Mask. This is the Eduard 1/48th scale P-51B/C finished out in the markings of Joseph Kaplanek's well used mount from the 118th, shared with pilot L.D. Monaghan. Building this version wasn't on my radar but the more I got to looking at it I thought I'd give it a go. When I was researching the history I found a great tribute site to Kaplanek...but I didn't bookmark it and now it's nowhere to be found. He passed in 2005 at age 83 after working in the Aerospace industry in Southern California. His wife Ruth passed in 2011. The build is straight out of the box with the concession to the lightning bolts. Having had issues with Eduard decals in the past I opted to paint them on with lots of taping and liquid mask. After more experimenting I found that Abtielung oil paint reducer removes the varnish layer from the decals almost instantly. These kits are amazing to work with and many more are in the works! Thanks for having a look
Jim
That’s an all star model, Jim! Exceptional. Any issues with assembly?
@j-healy Thanks John! Eduard really knocked these out of the park. The only critique I have is the instrument panel assembly placement. The non-dorsal kits have a slot to insure proper alignment. The dorsal molding does not...and it's kind of floating on super glue. I cut all the parts off the sprues and cleaned them before building...also, I kept paint off the glueing surfaces. It went together with very little filler.
Thanks!
Really awesome paint and weathering, Jim (@jimh). You are clearly a master of creating these types of effects.
Super job, Jim
Nicely done, Jim. I have yet to try removing the outer portion of any Eduard decals but plan to on my next Ed kit.
Great Build, Jim! And I leaned something new. The 118th is the CT Air Guard. I have decals for their A-10 with the thunderbolt and I've seen the photos of one of their C-130's painted with it but had never seen anything from their WWII action.
I've always considered the kit assembly to be less than 50% of a build with the painting and weathering to determine "World Class" or not. You're defiantly World Class.
Thanks Chuck! I'm not worthy of all that but it is much appreciated. I know Tamiya appreciates the tape sales. It was either last year, or the year before that the CT ANG had C-130 at Osh with the lightning bolts. It was really impressive, as are the A-10s. It's great the USAF continues with the retro themes. Thanks again!
Jim
That's an impressive result, Jim @jimh
Especially the weathering and the painting with the lightning looks really nice.
Outstanding build and finish, while matching the photos to a "T"
Thanks Bob, this is definetly an 'art project'...she was really beat up.
Jim, (@jimh), It looks like you put a lot of time,energy and patience in studying the photos of this aircraft to get a feel of what was needed to get an excellent representation of Joe's P-51. Certainly not an aircraft fresh out of the factory nor a bird that was lovingly cared for by a crew chief. Rather, an aircraft that was kept in running order to perform many missions in a rough environment. You've done a excellent portrait (Eduard kit) of a P-51 at war. Bonus,a informative article and some good photos about a combat vet adds interest about Joes life story and the model.
Thank you Stephen, this one was a real challenge but worth it! Eduard sure provides a great canvas, and all the modern paints and accessories sure make it joy.
Speechless! An absolutely wonderful result, Jim!
Congratulations!
Thank you Spiros! I really appreciate it...she's a keeper!
That is a real beauty! The paint and weathering knocked it out of the park.
A great result - judging from the photos all your hard work nailed it!
G’day Jim (jimh),
Great attention to detail with the paint and weathering.
Liked!
Looks extremailly good!
Thank you all for the kind comments...learned a lot from this one and more to come!
Best
Jim