TEXHILL
Tamiya Olive Drab was applied in heavier coats over panel lines, this one step process negates the need for either pre- or post- shading.
A close-up of the wings showing the effect of this painting in 'patches'.
cockpit was then sprayed with Model Master Aircraft Interior Green and the side radios and switches were finished in the same manner as the instrument panel. Some additional wiring was added with lengths of thin solder and cockpit placards were added using an old ReHeat decal sheet, a detail that I think adds much to the look of aircraft cockpits even when already using the best resin interiors. Eduard photo etch belts were then added from my stash.
Keeping in mind that the P-51Bs delivered to
The underside after the ‘Klear’ gloss coat shows the somewhat stark post-shading. Most of this will be blended-out by the end.
the 23rd FG were already well worn, I used a silver pencil to add scratches to the metal areas of the wooden floor plate, making sure to only add the scratches where appropriate. As my sources didn’t reveal whether the floor was left natural or painted, I went ahead with more Aircraft Interior Green as it was certainly easier than replicating a wooden surface. A generous wash of mineral spirit diluted brown oil paint was applied to 'age' this area. This is especially important for the photo etch seat belts, as I often see models of otherwise well worn aircraft with immaculate seat belts installed. The final bit of detail was adding wiring to the radio boxes behind the seat. At this point, I felt there was enough detail added for a closed cockpit canopy model.
ICM’s choice of plastic is rather soft and a bit
warped, so it required some clamps to keep everything together while the glue dried. At this point, I was almost half way through the building as the parts count is not particularly high. The wings and tailplanes fit were rather good with
A pin wash of burnt sienna oil paint was applied to bring out the detail of the rivets and panel lines.
A high gloss coat of Johnson's ‘Klear’ deepens the colours and emphasises the Olive Drab variations.
just a bit of filler required. The kit provides separate flaps, so I decided to pose them deployed to add some interest. There is a rather large seam in the fuselage underside exhaust area that would have been rather difficult to fill and sand. So instead I simply cut a square of thin plastic card to fit and glued it over the seam. A liberal dose of Tamiya thin cement to soften the plastic area followed by a light sanding easily covered this area.
A word regarding the mainwheel well area – it
is not accurate in this kit. The rear wall is shown as boxed-in whereas it was ‘open’ in the real machine. To correct this, a rear wall will have to be cut and a rear spar added that runs parallel to the span of the wing, and then fix up the details. The easiest way may simply to cut the entire area out and use a resin replacement. However, in this case, it was one more flaw I was willing to live with...
After some minor seam clean-up, the clear
parts were added, sealing in the cockpit. Using Tamiya tape and a sharp No 11 knife, these were masked off for the primer coat. I like to use Tamiya primer right from the aerosol spray can – wonderful stuff but has a strong odour, so good ventilation and a face mask is a must. This was allowed to cure overnight and the mainwheel wells were finished with Interior Green. The wells were masked and Tamiya IJN Gray was used on the underside. While the mainwheel wells may be technically incorrect and a bit shallow, they do come with fairly good detail, so a wash of diluted black and brown oil mixture was applied to make all the detail standout. Finally, a bit of
A cotton swab moistened with mineral oil was used to remove
excess oil paint and to drag the paint back in the direction of the airflow.
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