Post by mumbles on Jul 3, 2014 23:14:05 GMT 12
Just something I have been working on lately, 4 TAF Mustangs from the recent 1/72 Airfix P-51/F-51 kit, with Ventura decals. Bought one on a whim with the idea of doing one, then decided to do one from each squadron. There are still a couple of options on the sheet, and I'm planning to build at least one more from it. Apologies for the repost if you've seen these on any other forums 
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I used a bit of artistic license with '27 after seeing a picture that showed the aerial mast definitely being a colour other than aluminium, so chose red. The pic I was working from was black and white, but oddly showed that '27 was natural metal with yellow looking prop tips rather than HSS with white tips as the instructions suggested. The pic also showed '27 with the 36" roundels rather than the 48" ones I actually put on, but I had already applied them when I noticed, and had run out of 36" at that point anyway
Aside from '13 they are all in the NMF factory finish, but the difference shows up better in real life than in the photos. In keeping with the real things I didn't weather them beyond washing the engine cowl panel lines and control surfaces. I don't highlight panel lines on silver or NMF finishes as a rule as I feel with a dark base coat they do that themselves - the light is catching some of them as highlights, but again in the flesh this isn't so apparent. I left most of the NA stencils off, as they didn't seem to be apparent in photos, and '19 was the only one I noticed the red flap marking on. I also filled most of the panel lines on the wings again in keeping with the originals. Also the fin flash on '13 is smaller because I ran out of flashes of the right size.
Apart from a few warped parts on mine and probably operator error fit problems (I'm the only one who had them it seems) it's a great little kit, well recommended.
The various posts on the topic on this forum were a huge help for references. Thanks for looking!
1 Squadron (Auckland)
2 Squadron (Wellington)
3 Squadron (Canterbury)
4 Squadron (Otago)
.I used a bit of artistic license with '27 after seeing a picture that showed the aerial mast definitely being a colour other than aluminium, so chose red. The pic I was working from was black and white, but oddly showed that '27 was natural metal with yellow looking prop tips rather than HSS with white tips as the instructions suggested. The pic also showed '27 with the 36" roundels rather than the 48" ones I actually put on, but I had already applied them when I noticed, and had run out of 36" at that point anyway
Aside from '13 they are all in the NMF factory finish, but the difference shows up better in real life than in the photos. In keeping with the real things I didn't weather them beyond washing the engine cowl panel lines and control surfaces. I don't highlight panel lines on silver or NMF finishes as a rule as I feel with a dark base coat they do that themselves - the light is catching some of them as highlights, but again in the flesh this isn't so apparent. I left most of the NA stencils off, as they didn't seem to be apparent in photos, and '19 was the only one I noticed the red flap marking on. I also filled most of the panel lines on the wings again in keeping with the originals. Also the fin flash on '13 is smaller because I ran out of flashes of the right size.
Apart from a few warped parts on mine and probably operator error fit problems (I'm the only one who had them it seems) it's a great little kit, well recommended.
The various posts on the topic on this forum were a huge help for references. Thanks for looking!
1 Squadron (Auckland)
2 Squadron (Wellington)
3 Squadron (Canterbury)
4 Squadron (Otago)
