1/32 Tamiya Mustang P-51D

Gallery Article by Olivier Barles on July 30 2014

 

Here are a few photos of my Tamiya 1/32 scale P-51D Mustang.

Built straight from the box, I just added a few cables on the radio, the antenna passing through the top of the canopy and some wiring on the engine (even though, I always prefer to have my models displayed "ready for flight" - only part opened being the cockpit, waiting for its pilot!).

 

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My Mustang wears the markings of Lt. Duane Grounds, 376 FS, 361 FG ("The Yellow Jackets" or "The Bottisham Boys").

It has been a very nice challenge to give an operational look to a machine that was otherwise very well maintained by its ground crew.

After a few coats of Tamiya Silver, I sprayed 2 thin coats of semi-gloss varnish and once well dry and hard, I recovered little by little the whole surface of the plane with some Tamiya weathering soot.

After a couple of minutes of drying time on every little area, once the soot acrylic base could fill all structure lines and rivets holes, I erased it using an ultra fine microsponge so that all structural patterns could remain dark while the overall silver (or yellow) colour reappeared - but rendering in the end nuances of a weathered glossy / greasy look all over the surface of the plane...

Giving a nice final and realistic look to a machine in "natural metal" is always difficult and can be obtained by many different methods.

Hope the one I used for this Mustang is satisfactory to your eyes...

Merci,

Olivier Barles

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Photos and text © by Olivier Barles