1/48 Tamiya P-51 D Mustang

Gallery Article by Fabio Carabelli on May 2 2011

 

Back in December, I decided to start a new project in order to try, for the first time, a natural metal finish with the use of Alcad. Since it is essential to avoid any imperfection on the model's surface to obtain a good effect with Alcad, I choose to build a well-engineered kit, with a good fit, in order to spend less time in the construction phase and concentrate on painting. The kit I chose was the Tamiya P-51 D Mustang and I was not disappointed.

Assembly started with the cockpit, which has very nice details on the instrument panel and on side walls. Only the seat is quite simple, but Tamiya provides two pilot figures (plus a third pilot in standing position!) and I thought that one of the pilot had a nice posture, so I decided to add it. It would give more realism if I will insert the plane in a small diorama. The following steps were very straightforward. Only a small amount of putty was used in the area around the lower intake.

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Painting started with a coat of Alcad White Primer and Microfiller, which then was sanded to obtain a perfectly smooth surface. This step is very important because any little mistake will be highlighted by the final coat of paint. After that, I sprayed the Alcad Aluminium and, on some selected panels, Alcad Polished Aluminium.

Even if the decals provided by Tamiya are very nice, I decide to use the Montex Mask for a plane belonging to the 8th Air Force Fighter Group.

Weathering was achieved using oil washing to highlight panel lines and black and brown pigments to represent exhaust and machine-gun smoke.

I would like to thank my girlfriend, Cristina, who helped me to shot better photos of my last model.

Bye!

Fabio Carabelli

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Photos and text © by Fabio Carabelli