Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang finished

Finally! I didn't think I would finish this one after all the issues I've had (mostly of my own making) so I'm pleased to see it done and it breaks my track record of USAAF subjects which haven't made it to the end. 

So here then is P-51D 44-14868 'Hurry Home Honey' from the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group flown by Major Richard A 'Pete' Peterson;

 

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang

I was having a look at another modellers P-51 the other day (that Spencer Pollard chap) and the way he had picked out different panels using the base colour and another colour and although I have already applied the decals I wanted to do this on my model.
The decals needed masking so I coated them with Winsor and Newton masking fluid and when dry put Tamiya masking tape over them. The AS-12 that I used as the basecoat was decanted into a jar and when it had degassed I mixed in some XF-1 black and sprayed the wing gun panels and around the exhausts.

Mostly the masking fluid worked at protecting the decals when removing the tape however the red lettering on the nose suffered a bit;

The solution was to paint in the red by hand using Andrea basic red, a fine paint brush and hoping it matched the decal. I think it worked;

All I need to do is apply the national insignia on the wings as the Microscale decal sheet arrived today and the grey on the stars and bars seems to match that on the EagleCals sheet.
It's not going to be perfect by any means but I'm glad that the finishing line is in sight, particularly as it would have just been sitting in the Box-of-Shame plus I've learned a couple of new things too which is always a bonus.

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang

After all the issues I had with the model during painting I'm pleased to say that it is now up to the decalling stage as over the past few days I've been masking and painting, followed tonight with a coat of Alclad Aqua gloss;

If I was to do this scheme again I would leave the exhaust stacks off as they made masking tricky for the red and yellow chequers around the nose.
I was very dubious about the handling properties of the Tamiya AS-12 spray paint but I had no issues with paint lifting of the model and it seems to be fairly tough stuff so it bodes well for future natural metal finishes.
Considering that this was a basket-case a few weeks ago and consigned to the Box-of-Shame I'm pleased that I've actually got it this far, with a bit of luck I might actually finish it.

Edit; I had two decals left to place on the model when this happened;

The decal just broke into pieces after I got it out of the water! What's more annoying is that although I have replacement decals in stock, NONE are the grey type of insignia as depicted on the aircraft I wish to build.
The decals I'm using are from an EagleCals set and they are one of the best aftermarket decal companies out there so I'm very surprised this has happened, anyway I've found a Microscale Mustang insignia and stencil decal sheet that features the grey stars and bars so I'll have to wait for this to arrive. Bugger!
Stupid bloody hobby.....

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang and Heller Mirage IV

Having calmed down a bit from the last time I touched this model I decided to give it one more shot so I resprayed the wheel bays then masked them off along with the cockpit.
Instead of using Alclad I decided to use a Tamiya rattle-can (AS-12) as recommended by one of my model-making buddies , this being applied directly to the bare plastic.
There were STILL some issues with the styrene looking rough in a couple of places on the fuselage sides however I gave the model three coats and it's more or less evened out and will do for my purposes;

I have to say the AS-12 looks pretty good! The next test would be with masking tape as this model will require the olive drab anti-glare panel, yellow band around the nose, a yellow tail and black invasion stripes masking off.
With that the first area was the anti-glare panel and where everything started going wrong last time so using Tamiya tape the nose was masked off and sprayed with Tamiya XF-62. The tape was carefully removed as I was concerned about the silver paint coming away but there was no need as the AS-12 seems to be pretty tough stuff;

This bodes well as I may actually finish the bloody thing! The cockpit still needs touching up due to the Mr Muscle oven cleaner getting in but after looking the other day it's not THAT bad and repairable.
While I was in the loft I decide to get some paint on the Heller Mirage IV;

I used Tamiya X-27 for the base coat however it was very warm in the loft and the paint was drying out before it hit the model so I've been left with a rough surface that will need going over with Scotchbrite before applying the green for the camouflage scheme.

ICM 1/35 ZiL-131

After gloss costing the model with Alclad Aqua Gloss I masked off the front bumper and grill ready for the yellow and blue. I mixed Mr Hobby H-25 Sky Blue and H-11 Flat White until I got a near-as-dammit match with the decals, keeping the paint in jars as I may have to paint over the Cyrillic lettering on the bonnet;

After applying the decals I'll start the weathering although apart from spraying the base coat I haven't touched the rear cargo bed as I need to have a think about how to simulate worn wood.