My next build will be Revells P-51B Mustang in 48 scale . This is ICM moldings which is a copy of the Tamiya kit with the cockpit parts following the lines of the accurate miniatures kit .







Terri

Terri,
Great choice of kit. Will be following along your journey.
Joel

Thanks Joel , started on this yesterday removing parts for clean up and so far there is fine flash . Nothing that a sharp blade and sanding stick can't fix . Will have some pic's of progress soon ...




Terri

Okay , my first impression of this kit seemed to be up there until it was time for test fitting and this is where this went south , deep south !

Cockppit parts don't overly fit very well and mods need to be made on the seat rest . This is waaaay too wide and inter fears with the frame work .

The spare box was raided for seatbelts . The oxgen regulator was removed from the left side of the cockpit and a new hose was made using copper wire glued to the right side .

Instrument panel , Wasn't pleased with the crappy decal so I sanded the back side until paper thin drilled out the face and glued the decal on the back side with future for new glass . Much better in scale appearance














Since this pic's , dull coat has been sprayed and fuselage closed up which a poor fit doesn't end here


Pic's of this coming soon .....



Terri

Terri,
I was somewhat surprised to read your last post that the fit leaves a lot to be desired, especially after your intro:

"...This is ICM moldings which is a copy of the Tamiya kit with the cockpit parts following the lines of the accurate miniatures kit ".

Needless to say I was hoping for the opposite since the Tamiya kit is the standard in all three major scales.

Joel

Hey Joel , I was expecting this to go together without any hassles at all , just a quick out of the box build while I wait for paint to dry on the 109 . Rowan gave a very fair assessment of what the kit is like , just wasn't expecting fit issues


Some of the seams are clean up and will finish this off once the wings are place . I had to place shims on the inside and this is after having to sand the top of the wheel wells to get the wings to fit and there is still some gaps along the wing root . Cleaning this are up will remove the fine riveting along this path .



















Terri

Missed a pic....





You can also see where I fit the wrapped areas on the tail planes .


Terri

Okay , I had some trouble in the left hand wing root area and I actually cracked the seam and had to fix this which didn't turn out to be one of my greatest repairs .

The canopies in the kit I cut apart to model the green house version and this will be in the open position











Terri

" fuselage closed up which a poor fit doesn't end here "

I didn't see your original post but, I had real problems with this kit about 5 years ago...... I binned it! not something I would usually do but I consider it to be one of the worst kits I've ever bought.

paul

Terri,
So far you're winning the major battles and the war. I'm somewhat surprised that a copy of the Tamiya kit produced such poor results, as the kit is pretty good coming from the Tamiya family.

The fuselage halves sure looked that they didn't want to blend very well together either, but it looks like you've put that one to rest as well.

With a coat of primer or base color coats over the pre-shading, your efforts will really show.

Joel

Hi Paul , glad to know that I'm not the only one with issues with the kit . It did come close to being binned when the wing cracked .

Joel , not sure if I got it beaten yet , the per-shading really hides the mess . Once the camo is applied I know this will stick out like a sore thumb . Then again at this point I really don't care how well it turns out . Just what to get it done is it can go on the shelf of shame ....

Yes there was also fit issues with the fuselage halves as well as the cockpit parts . The whole kit is just one bad fit . I won't be building the other one in the stash , it has been tossed already !



Terri

Terri,
If anyone can beat this puppy into shape, it's you. But if it's a lost cause, just put it to rest, and move on with the Bf-109E.

Joel

Thank-you for the vote of confidence Joel

Yesterday I put the airbrush to work and spent the whole day in front of the bench working on this one and the 109 .

The underside I sprayed Tamiya light grey XF-66 and olive drab XF-62 . For the blue I mixed Tamiya blue X-4 and XF-8 and the yellow zinc chromate Tamiya XF-3 mixed with a dab of flat black XF-1 . Now for some clear coat and detail painting of the smaller parts and she is ready for decaling .
















Terri

Terri,
You brought this one up to standards with your air brushing skills. WTG

Joel

it seemed to me that both half's of the fuselage and the wings all came from different kits! but to be fair you've done way better than I could with it.

Nice job Terri!

And to think - I got it in the neck from Revell for being too harsh on the kit in my review...

All the best

Rowan

Thanks guy's , appreciate your time

Joel , thanks . A few tricks I pick up along the way on covering mistakes with per-shading , hence the solid black for this Weathering will tie this together and it will be hard seeing some of them .... I hope


I agree Paul , it is a mix match of parts from other kit's . Sad really ..


Rowan , you gave a honest review of the product . They should look at this and the kit its self and build it .


I started the clear coating yesterday and should have this finished for tomorrow . Three day weekend and I want to take full advantage of this time .




Terri

That is an interesting comment. I have often used two or more kits to produce one model.
It used to be called "cross-kitting," and before the proliferation of after-market parts, was the norm. I still do it. Mainly because a kit with the parts I need is cheaper than resin castings and other 'wonder extras' that can cost more than the original model you started with.

Is it not reasonable to think of a kit as a canvas that a montage of plastic sheet and rod, milliput, and brass or aluminium sheet from cooking trays can be added to?

Dry-fitting tells me to add or subtract plastic before final assembly. A piece of sheet at a wing-root so that it fits dry avoids the need for filler and irritation.

Just a few thoughts...

Karl.

Hello Terri. I give you my sincerest apologies for hi-jacking your thread. I, in no way, was criticising your work. But I have made a serious Blue.

I have been following your build with great interest as I intend to use this kit for my own Mustang. I put a mate onto Aeroscale as he is rejoining the hobby and he has taken an interest in this build and (poor, misguided fool) asks me about your techniques, especially the cockpit. (Brian, time to join up and contribute!)

This is an honest build and a damn fine one. Most would have given it the boot and moved on,but, to the benefit of readers you have continued and possibly helped sell more kits. Revell owes you.

How did I get onto the after-market stuff? Because you have not used any. I read each new issue of "Scale Models" gleaning little tips and tricks for my own use. These days, modellers have never had it so good with paints, decals and the like coming from "specialist" manufacturers.

I do hope you continue this build and have a good laugh at mine.

Cheers

Karl.

Terri:

This looks great. I really like the crispness of the paint job and the blue nose/OD contrast up top.

Are you using a birdcage main canopy or Malcolm Hood on this one?

Hi Brian , I'm going with the green house canopy in the open position


Hi Karl , no need to apologize . I know about kit bashing , done many projects in the past and will do more in the future . Not afraid of scratch building , I do a fair bit of it with my WW 1 projects .

No I don't really use resin or a lot of aftermarket stuff . If it comes with the kit - fine , if not ; so be it . Most of my WW 2 are out of the box . Very little time for the bench so I keep the super detailing to one subject even then . These projects take me up to two years to complete

I really don't recommend this kit at all for your project . Go with the Tamiya kit itself even though the cocpit floor is wrong there are a few resin sets out there to fit this .


Decaling is almost finished , just the stenciling to go , pic's coming soon .




Terri

Still wants to fight me all the way . Start with the decaling over the weekend and the scheme was to be ( HELL-ERBUST ) . Got the national makings on first all is going well until it came time to able the heller bust decal which shatter in a million pieces . At this time some real colourful language was used . What to do now ...

Well I'm not stripping the paint for a another scheme , this build wouldn't make it that far ....

So it is now a fictional scheme ....and I call her " THE - Q " in refs to this is a very questionial kit ??? And the Squadron making QPZ stands for Question Period Zone . Each kill makes is for how many times I wanted to bin this project . The ID stripes are painted on which I did before decaling started .














Terri

Terri, your definitely a busy bee! Ashame this kit has been such a struggle, I'll take the warnings to heart and be wary of this kit. Your paint looks great, I really like your blue, the blue nosed OD mustangs look awesome IMO (I also liked your 109s yellow too but failed to mention). Real shame about the decals but I like your alternate solution

Thanks Mike ,


Well as far as I'm concerned , calling this one done .























Terri

Fantastic finish on a difficult project! You're helping to inspire me to finish another project I've let slide.