P-51B Mustang "Old Crow" Academy 1:72

[dr_gn]

Academy decals are notorious for being difficult to apply. I've usually used aftermarket in the past.

So here are some pics that illustrate the issues, namely, and the codes and insignia are not symmetrical side-to side, the B & 6 are transparent so look darker over the green. there is a bit of out of register on the letters too giving a white outline to some of them.







Here is a pic of the original, showing how the codes are a bit odd, but you can also see that the star can't fit properly w.r.t. the stripes and codes...I think there must me a size error somewhere, which is probably what confused everything to start with. anyhow, if I could get another spare set of decals, I could lighten the B & 6 by overlaying, and at least that would sort that:



Ho well, assuming nothing else goes wrong it will take its place in the collection after all.

[dr_gn]

Fair enough, thanks for the feedback.

I think if the star was scaled so it just touched the edge of the rear black stripe it would be much too small overall.

[dr_gn]

Thanks guys.

Perdu, I'd rather source a spare "B 6" decal, cut it in half and apply over the top of the offending decals. That way it's guaranteed to fit, al it would need was a mist of Tamiya Smoke and then local matt varnish. If I had a couple of spare "s"'s too, I could reposition the stbd. one a bit lower and it would look about as good as it was ever ging to look with those particular decals, and that stripe geometry. I took the stripe width from the decals inclued in the kit - I think they're off a bit too.

As you say, without a photo reference next to it probably nobody would notice the spacing errors. Unfortunately apart from me!

[dr_gn]

So despite everything, it's finished. Thanks to GinettaG15Girl for a spare set of decals, the fuselage codes of which I overlayed to make them less transparent. I also sanded off the stbd. "S" and replaced it in a more correct position. Obviously the fuselage stars are still wrong, looking back I've got so many decal sets now I probably simply applied the wrong ones! Ah well. The only other thing is the Malcolm hood - it's a fraction too small such that if it were to be pulled closed it wouldn't quite match the windscreen framing in height. Apart from that it'll do. In the end I hand painted the tailwheel whitewalls and applied some mud powder to reduce contrast and cover any imperfections. In summary it's a very nice kit, spoiled by terrible decals and a rather thick original canopy. Oh yes I also added some fuel tank lines from lead wire, a whip antenna from sprue and some Master Model brass gun barrels.



















I think my next model won't have stripes. My therapist says they've put my recovery back years.

Edited by dr_gn on Friday 11th July 17:27

[dr_gn]

Mutley said:

Doc, that looks amazing. Worth the wait to see the finished article. I know its been a little traumatic but I hope you haven't compromised too much.

Are you taking it to Legends tomorrow?

Thanks guys!

I'm going to Duxford tomorrow hopefully, so I might take something to sign if I get to meet Col. Anderson. Not sure if it's worth taking the model though. I'm hoping they sell his book at the museum shop.

[dr_gn]

mcdjl said:

Theres nothing that I'd consider a compromise in there!
As EricMc said, i'll be happy making my models though they look nowhere near that good!

Thanks!

That's good to hear about your building. Despite everything I enjoy modelling too!

[dr_gn]

HoHoHo said:

Absolutely brilliant

What's next Doc?

Ta.

Tamiya Mosquito.

OOB. Totally OOB.

[dr_gn]

Ayahuasca said:

Good work!

How did you get the pics of the prop spinning?

Thanks.

Camera on self timer, flick prop with finger at appropriate time. Nothing more complicated than that I'm afraid.

[dr_gn]

HoHoHo said:

dr_gn said:

HoHoHo said:

Absolutely brilliant

What's next Doc?

Ta.

Tamiya Mosquito.

OOB. Totally OOB.

OOB?

Out of the Box?

Yup.

[dr_gn]

No, I need something that will go together easily and look good without any hassle. I was going to finish the Mosquito in bare wood and aluminium, but I've got a Horten Ho.229 for that experiment now.

OK, I do have a small Eduard etch set for the Mosquito but nothing extreme.

ETA, And some Master Model brass gun barrels too.

[dr_gn]

mybrainhurts said:

dr_gn said:

Ayahuasca said:

Good work!

How did you get the pics of the prop spinning?

Thanks.

Camera on self timer, flick prop with finger at appropriate time. Nothing more complicated than that I'm afraid.

Depicting a running engine with no pilot? You do realise you're encouraging those Magnificent Men to commit irresponsible behaviour, don't you? Tut...

The pilot's just leaning over the other side a bit so you can't quite see him

[dr_gn]

Thaks guys.

Went to Duxford yesterday, but no sign of "Bud". He was definitely there, but he wasn't on any official list of veterans so I had zero chance of finding him. Ah well it was a great day as usual.

[dr_gn]

dr_gn said:

Thaks guys.

Went to Duxford yesterday, but no sign of "Bud". He was definitely there, but he wasn't on any official list of veterans so I had zero chance of finding him. Ah well it was a great day as usual.

So yesterday I finally got the base finished...with a signature! I ordered a book, and the man himself signed some cards I'd e-mailed; they arived printed out and slipped inside the cover:





I'm two chapters into the book - very good. Anyone interested can read the first few pages here:

http://www.cebudanderson.com/ch1.htm

[dr_gn]

I assumed that to become a triple ace, survive the war and get to 93 years old (and still going strong), it might take a character with a very hard edge. From what I've experienced though, and read of him, he is very helpful when people ask questions, is a true gent and nobody has a bad word to say about him...apart from when he was in a fighter aircraft in combat at which point his character changed completely.

Ironically, Chuck Yeager is apparently his best frined, and from what I've read about Yeager, he is as abrasive out of the cockpit as he was as a fighter pilot. Still, takes all sorts.

[dr_gn]

perdu said:

Garth the model, stand and signature make a wonderful picture.

You really bought home the bacon here.

Well done mate.

This one deserves to be at the top of your sig list.

Ta Perdu.

What's a sig list??

[dr_gn]

mybrainhurts said:

dr_gn said:

So yesterday I finally got the base finished...with a signature! I ordered a book, and the man himself signed some cards I'd e-mailed; they arived printed out and slipped inside the cover:





I'm two chapters into the book - very good. Anyone interested can read the first few pages here:

http://www.cebudanderson.com/ch1.htm

Pic on the book cover is a P51D. What happened there?

He had three 'Old Crow' P-51's: Two B models (the first got shot down while being flown by another pilot and was fitted with the birdcage canopy), the second was the one I modelled, and he shot down the most aircraft with this. The third was the D model on the book cover, with the bubble canopy. This aircraft was originally green, but his ground crew polished it becasue IIRC they'd heard it was more difficult to spot in combat.

Before the P-51's there was also a P-39 'Old Crow', and later an F-105D known as "Old Crow II" which he flew in Vietnam.

[dr_gn]

perdu said:

He flew most versions operationally

that's just one of them

Doc

I mean the list of models you have with your posts at BM

This should be on the top, because the result is mega-relevant.All signed for you.

I see. I like it because of the story and the signature, but it's technically not my best model. He actually signed about 16 of those cards in different pen colours and line weights, so I could choose the one I liked best (I only asked for one, but that's his own attention to detail showing I suppose). I guess I could build a few more of his aircraft if I trimmed the aircraft names off.

[dr_gn]

mybrainhurts said:

dr_gn said:

mybrainhurts said:

dr_gn said:

So yesterday I finally got the base finished...with a signature! I ordered a book, and the man himself signed some cards I'd e-mailed; they arived printed out and slipped inside the cover:





I'm two chapters into the book - very good. Anyone interested can read the first few pages here:

http://www.cebudanderson.com/ch1.htm

Pic on the book cover is a P51D. What happened there?

He had three 'Old Crow' P-51's: Two B models (the first got shot down while being flown by another pilot and was fitted with the birdcage canopy), the second was the one I modelled, and he shot down the most aircraft with this. The third was the D model on the book cover, with the bubble canopy. This aircraft was originally green, but his ground crew polished it becasue IIRC they'd heard it was more difficult to spot in combat.

Before the P-51's there was also a P-39 'Old Crow', and later an F-105D known as "Old Crow II" which he flew in Vietnam.

I thought as much, but did they all carry the same markings?

The mustangs were all S * B6 as far as I can tell.

[dr_gn]

RichB said:

dr_gn said:

So yesterday I finally got the base finished...with a signature! I ordered a book, and the man himself signed some cards I'd e-mailed; they arived printed out and slipped inside the cover:





I'm two chapters into the book - very good. Anyone interested can read the first few pages here:

http://www.cebudanderson.com/ch1.htm

So despite the hiccups you must be very proud of that, to my untrained eyes, it's wonderful!

Thanks, yes the overall result is acceptable, although I'm still kicking myself for making so many avoidable mistakes and wasting so much valuable modelling time in correcting things. Luckily I only 'lost' about £3 for the original kit and a bit of paint and glue that got binned.

[dr_gn]

I really do appreciate the positive comments. I am happy with the overall result!

It's a shame that I don't seem to get time to do enough modelling to remember my mistakes from previous builds. This is one reason I like to document things on threads like this even though it doesn't always work. I remembered too late the Academy Thunderjet with again had hopeless decals and I needed to source another set. I should hae remembered that episode and learned from it.