Solid progress and really great looks so far, my friend @coling!

Thanks, Spiros@fiveten . There will be more to see soon as I get some major painting done. I am trying to keep tedious description of the work process to a minimum these days. Hopefully future pics will reveal the beauty of the Vallejo Metal Color which I'm using these days (tiny bits applied so far as shown). Great stuff and very forgiving of mistakes and mishaps.

Your attention to detail is awesome, Colin (@coling). My attention detail usually extends only as far as remembering to add the canopy to the plane. Looking forward to your next steps.

Here is an update to a build I have left for a while - about 6 months on the shelf. This is the first big scale super-detailed Tamiya kit I have ever done. I usually like to do Hasegawa or Special Hobby in this scale, since they have a low parts count and go together quite quickly, with some finishing and scratch detailing to do to get the best result. The Tamiya P-51D is quite different. Engineering is extremely precise, so I have to be extra careful to remove parts from the tree and clean them up so that no gaps appear from over sanding or over trimming. Very slow work for me. Build sequence is also crucial so instructions need to be followed like scripture. I had some challenges getting the complex contents of the cockpit and engine bay all lined up precisely when things were closed up. Likewise, getting the wings on successfully with the complex flap mechanism was a headache in which I narrowly averted disaster from a misaligned part. It is not that this is a badly designed kit. It's just that it is unforgiving.

Anyway, I had put the build way when I got a bit spooked by how to handle all the panel detail around the engine and how to mask all of that for painting. This week, I found that I would need to use some spray metal to finish the prop and landing gear for my B5N Kate. The stuff is so expensive and tricky to use that I decided to finally get on with the P-51 and paint on the metal coat in the same session so not waste any metalizer.

So, first I trimmed and fitted all the engine panels for the P-51, carefully fixing all of the metal bits and remaining magnets. This finally gave me some clear ideas how to get this exterior painted without overspray on the exhaust stubs (which can't be removed) or engine detail. Thus, I decided I could leave just the two side panels off and mask the only exposed area left - which would make room to mask the exhaust stubs around that.

Thanks, John. Tamiya provides numbered shaped strips to build up like mummy tape in overlapping layers so that you can cover the complex shape of the bubble canopy. I have had to add further strips of kabuki tape here and there around the edges to keep them sharp.

This is your usual wonderful progress, my friend @coling! Would be better if Tamiya provided laser cut masks for sure.

Thanks for commenting, George. Have fun with your F-51, these are beautiful models well worth the price and care in building. I am hoping my step-by-step posts on this complex build will be helpful to others. I have a couple more of these kits in my stash and the next two will be a lot easier. Figuring out how to paint things as you go can be a headache, but I have the sequence down now. Another thing is to not use quite as much glue on the delicate assembly around the engine. That can allow you to pry things apart here and there when things don't quite pop into place. The fit is superb in the end but a lot of things have to connect precisely all at once.

I decided the primer was dry enough to flip over the model and take a couple more pics.