Monogram 1/48 P-51C Mustang
This was a SOoB build, no flash to worry about and it went together quite nicely. Painting, applying the decals and the finish was the hardest part of this build.
Paints used:
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acrylic Tamiya Chrome Silver and flat red.
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I mixed a variety of craft acrylic paints to make the Olive Drab for paiting the anit-glare.
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Clear gloss - Future (Pledge)
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Clear flat - DecoArt Clear Matte Varnish
I used water colour thin tip markers to make the different panel shades and used a cotton swab to spread it out evenly. I also used a black mechanical pencil to highlight the panels and panel shading by the engine cowling area
Tamiya panel Highlighter (Black) was used on the flight controls.
Exhaust streak, water colour black marker and used a cotton swab to spread the streak.
Dry pastels to add some dirt to the tires.
I chose to use a decal set from Microscale, Decal #1178. I ordered it directly from Microscale's website last year. The markings represent a P-51C from the 5th Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force, based in Italy 1944. The pilot who flew the actual plane was Lt. Calvin Allen, Jr. He was credited with shooting down 7 enemy aircraft in aerial combat.
Looks really nice, Bob. Great to see a classic built
Thank you George @blackadder57.
Monogram, still builds into a pretty kit.
Thank you David @kahu. I am thinking of building the Typhoon later on if I get the chance.
Fantastic build of this Monogram classic, Bob!
Congratulations!
Thank you Spiros @fiveten!
Excellent result, Bob @v1pro
The effect from the water color markers is also really nice.
Thank you John @johnb! So far I am enjoying using the water color markers and I am happy with the end results.
excellent result! congrats! need to finish my Monogram P-51D!
Thank you Dan @danfrombermuda!
Nice work, Bob. I love seeing old kits built.
Thank you John @j-healy! I am having a blast building these old kits! 🙂
Beautiful metal finish and a great build, Bob @v1pro! The canopy looks great, too.
Thank you very much Felix @fxrob! I forgot to mention that I used Vallejo Silver acrylic paint on the window frame. I first brushed on Tamiya flat black for the base coat and then the Vallejo Silver was brushed on later. I used a tooth pick to trim the edges.
I used this method of canopy painting on a Monogram kit a while back it worked great! Glad to see that you used it succesfully too. Seems to work well with older kits that have very distinct canopy framing (mine was the mongram p-40). Yours really turned out nice on this one. Your finished Mustang here is excellent, thanks for posting this! I love seeing what people do with older kits.
Thank you David @dbutir. On some of my builds if the canopy or clear parts are already glued into place before the painting is done, I will mask them. But for most of my build, I do it the way I described for this build.
Building the old kits for me is a lot of fun. They do build up very differently compared to how my younger self would build them back when I did not know how to.
Bob (@v1pro), looking at this classic makes me wonder at times on why I through so much money at contemporary "new" kits designed and made with the latest tech. When sitting before my eyes is a kit that can be bought at a reasonable price and on many levels is just as good. Of course your artistry adds a lot to the appeal of this kit. Monogram open the door to what is now a modern kit. It was done with pencil and paper, a wood mockup, slide rules and artisans. You've carried on that tradition. Two thumbs up.
Thank you very much Stephen @stephen-w-towle! Most of my builds are the older kits and I am very happy seeing how they turn out. I'm still old school but do try to use some of the newer products to help tweak my builds. My wife suggested to me a few years ago to try to use water color markers and I like how they look after they are applied properly.
You are right about Monogram, when they first released their 1/48 P-39, P-47 or the Typhoon were light years ahead from the toy like kits released at the time. In the mid to late 70's Monogram went on a tear releasing their 1/48 multi-engines kits. The details on all of them were amazing!
That is one gorgeous aircraft and I love the old school, low cost products you used to achieve such amazing results. Makes me want to try an old kit again. Great job !
Thank you Dan @wig41! I love the old kits, this kit I feel is an excellent kit to build. But there are some older kits that lack a lot of the details and will require extra work. My build posted before this one took a lot of work, scratch building and reworking shapes. But still I feel they are worth the extra work put in and enjoy the builds very much.
These kits brings back childhood memories. Nice build and result!
Thank you Chris @champagnecrc.
Classical materials for a classic build, and your Mustang looks amazing!
Very nice work, Bob.
Always a fan of Microscale decals!
Chris @champagnecrc, thank you. This Mustang fell together nicely, my previous Monogram build the Hurricane was another story but that is expected on some of these builds. I like Microscale decals too, I first started using them in the mid 70's and enjoyed building kits with different markings and schemes. On this build the yellow stripes gave me a fight in certain areas but they do look nice and sharp when this was all done.
Really nice work with this old pterodactyl of a kit. A truly excellent result.
One minor thing, not a complaint: the gunbay and ammobay covers were also given a coat of aluminum lacquer like the rest of the wing (which makes sense since they were already on when the wing went to the paint shop). This is a "mistake" I think every Mustang modeler has done (in my case more than once). It makes painting the wing a lot easier.
Thank you Tom @tcinla! Yes I noticed that after I was done. I was too focused on looking at model builds instead of focusing on the real deal. Later on I plan to make a D version from the same fighter group. I will not make that mistake again. By the way, when I do make the D version, it is going to be the old Hawk kit! 😉
Excellent build of that old classic- looks great!
Thank you Chas @chasbunch!
Magnificent work, Bob (@v1pro). When I saw the photo of your model, I would never have guessed that it was the old Monogram. You have really done the old girl justice! Well done.
Thank you George @gblair! I was trying my best on this one.
Bob, you did a great job on this iconic kit. It is a sentimental favorite of mine and especially in the 1966 blue box.
Thank you Russell Jurco @russjurco! I prefer the old blue box over the boring white box any day!
I love the art work.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Looks great Bob, you did a great job, the kit holds up well.
Thank you Robert @roofrat! I am glad it came out the way it did.
A goldie, oldie, GEM, Bob. Well done!
Thank you gary @gwskat! 🙂
Well done Bob! I've always had a soft spot for this old kit - built one as a kid. Love the fast-back ponies!
Thank you Greg @gkittinger. I built this kit too when I was a kid and again when I was a teenager. This kit goes together quite nicely. I love the "D" version but the B and C are my favorite Merlin Mustangs.
Bob, this Monogram Mustang turned out excellent ! The colorful markings you chose to use really make it stand out. Well done !
Thank you Jay @ssgt. I've been wanting to make a Mustang in this scheme for a while.