ANGELO LODETTI

Aircraft Scale Models

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Mustang P-51 D – A.M.I. - Italian service – Brindisi, 1955

On speaking about the Mustang P-51 D we can’t avoid assessing the development and charactheristics of this splendid fighter, among the best of the second WW, not just for its effectiveness in war but also for the special appeal that it has always had on lovers of historical aircraft. The P-51 has conquered a place of honour in the chronicles and hearts of those who have lived alonfside it, trasmitting intact all its charm up to nowa-days. The Mustang,renamed F-51 D, hasn’t had an operational life closely connected to combat in Italy in the post-war period. On the contrary it has never fired a shot if not on exrcise, but has certainly contributed in a decisive way to the re rebirth of the Aeronautica Militare Italiana and to the improvement in the tecnica and professional knowledge of our pilots, making the watershed between the propeller fighters and first jet aircraft.

2. The Kit P-51D Mustang 1/48 ProfiPack #82102

Eduard’s all-new 1/48 scale P-51D Mustang comprises around 265 parts in grey plastic, 17 parts in clear, a colour photo-etched fret, die-cut self-adhesive masks and decals for six marking options. The little panel lines and rivet patterns are absolutely amazing. The plastic cockpit was the most complete I’ve seen in this scale. And if that’s not good enough, pre-colored photo-etched parts (PE) add detail. Eduard provides extra T-handles and levers so when your tweezers launch the first part into an alternate dimension you’ll have a spare. All parts fit very precisely, and any sloppiness in cleaning up all sprue nubs, or hamfistedness in assembly, will lead to multiple problems down the line. Take care in preparation of parts, take care in assembly, commit to the revolutionary act of following the instructions, and the result will be one of the best models you have ever created.

I have used the following accessories:

Eduard P-51D cockpit 1/48 Cat.No.: 648522
Eduard P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller 1/48 – Cat.No.: 648487
Eduard P-51D wheels diamond tread 2 1/48 – Cat.No.: 648511
Eduard Brassin set - P-51D engine 1/48. Cat.No.: 648555

3. Cockpit and Seat

I wanted to upgrade the cockpit area to include side wall detailing and replace the ejection seats with resin versions. To do this, I have used resin Eduard P-51D cockpit 1/48 Cat.No.: 648522 and photo-etched instrument panel by Eduard. After gluing the parts with superglue, I painted the entire cockpit in Interior green MR Hobby H58. All the buttons are painted in white and some in red. After these operations, we will do the weathering, for the line between the panels I used color OIL - MAIMERI PURO mixing with THINNER 5816604 - Petroleum essence (535 - Ivory Black ). Then I applied the dry brush technique to the Cockpit and ejection seat with metallic colors from Testor colors.

4. Fuselage

The fuselage is accurate, with recessed panel lines and the plastic is easy to work. After assembling and painting the inner parts, you have to insert the exhaust pipes and glue them in place. The fit of the two fuselage halves is good, but you will have to rescribe some panel lines that are removed during sanding etc.

5. Wing and Tailplane

The wing look good, so I just secured them to the fuselage. This operation proved straightforward, as the join was extremely good.

6. Canopy

After assembling the model I installed the canopy. This was masked with paper, then painted. This painting included the frame of the internal armoured windscreen. When the canopy is finished it can be positioned and secured with cement.

7. Engine

The -Eduard Brassin set - P-51D engine 1/48. Cat.No.: 648555, It’s perfectly cast, highly detailed and well fitting resin parts; comprehensive instructions. Contains almost everything you need to create a beautiful miniature Packard V-1650-1 ( a license built Merlin 61-series engine). The Brassin P-51D engine set offers comparable levels of finesse, and will give the front end of your Eduard Mustang a very different look to an out-of-the-box build.

8. Painting

Here I will detail a couple of the techniques I employed. The first task is to smooth the surface of the kit using wet abrasive paper of different grades until you get to 800. After having prepared the surface the model is primed. I painted my model using Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black thinned with Lacquet Thinner.

This is the sequence of the surfaces that I painted.

A. Clean the whole with alcohol

B. Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1200 gray – and Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black

C. All the final surface with AK aluminum metal

D. Final semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it - floor glass

9. Landing Gears and Wheels

The undercarriage looks good, but still needs some detailing work like adding some wire to simulate the brake cables on each oleo. The wheels are too are good too. I replaced the wheels with the Eduard brassin resin.

10. Spinner and Propeller

The shape of the propeller is beautiful. But, I preferred to insert the resin kit Eduard P-51D Hamilton Standard propeller Cat.No.: 648487. The prop blades had their tips painted yellow, which, when dry, were masked prior to spraying the blades with Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black . After this can paint the model and stick the propeller into the propeller-hub.

11. Decals

The decals are Tauro Model Art. N. 48-543 F51 D Italian Air F. I have passed a layer of transparent acrylic paint of semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it.

12. Weathering

The wear of the model can certainly not be carried out randomly, especially in the case of the Mustang F51 D Italian Air Force , which must respond to a precise logic. Let's see how: first of all we need to highlight the paneling lines. There are different techniques for this purpose: Personally, I use dry brush strokes with aluminum-colored powders in various shades and acrylic and oil colors for soft effects.To complete the work it is necessary to pass a coat of semi-gloss with Johnson's Pledge Revive it - floor glass transparent on the whole model.