Hi Time II - P-51 Mustang racer conversion - Airfix 1/72nd.

 

The sphinx is a symbol of...sorry, what were we at? Ah!:(

(The completed model is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/08/hi-time-ii-mustang-reno-racer-academy.html

Let's see...Mustang blah-blah-blah, conversion blah, racer, blah.

Zebra!

Airfix kit: looks nice, rather soft plastic (I thought the landing gear legs could be a concern, they are not), mild interior detail but sufficient for general purposes, most likely aimed to general modeling population (nothing wrong with that), some minimum flash, one critical part marred during molding and rendered broken and incomplete (radiator air intake lip), poorly molded mast antenna, clever but simple and mostly effective engineering. And since I am by no means a Mustang connoisseur, or even remotely close, so I will leave it at that regarding accuracy, etc.

How to make a racer from this kit: chop wing and stab tips at the right places, restore Hörner-ish wingtip shape, delete any military equipment (boom-boom parts, radios, seat armor, fill bonga-bonga chutes, etc.) get the right prop, drink a nice G&T or Laphroaig. Ah! let's not forget the decal sheet, this time from Draw Decals (Set 72s-P51-135). I also have the Red Pegasus #49 Zebra set, although past disintegrating experiences relegate it to last resource cannibalization -only if necessary. 

A note: the decals' instructions state that the back of the prop blades were metal color, but photos show that they had on the back the same color as the front, minus the white tip.

Did I say... Zebra!?

Any mistakes committed during the building of this model shall be attributed to David the Tall and his Chili Conga Band. In case of surplus, related, derived or incidental blame of any kind, it shall be equally distributed among Mr. Christos P. of Atlantis and Herr Prof. Sönke S. of Volkania. The smallest amount of blame, actually a smidgen, a minute speck, a volatile quantum, will be attributed to Michael D. 

The sprues:

Ill-formed and broken part:

The radios have to go:

Gone and replacement part:

Attempt at repairing the darn radiator air intake lip, we'll see:

Some parts. The kit provides two sets of flaps, leveled and down:

A small group being prepared for the airbrush, the chutes being puttied:

The seat (quite basic and simplified) has the armor bit chopped off:

Foreground kit prop, background prop from Twin Mustang, a rather old and now completely outclassed kit:

Pew-pew protrusions deleted:

 Base colors, and the intestines of the Aztek airbrush. I have bought in the last 25 years or so about six of them, and some time ago the makers took the money and run, in spite of false promises of a "Life" warranty. Don't you love corporations, they just adore to screw their own loyal customers:

And as soon as you start to paint, you are confronted with Airfix's inexplicable, short-sighted, and frankly stupid practices, the first of which is giving the colors in the numbers of their own range, cryptically, not the actual colors, and not even their numbers "translated" to their own range name somewhere in the instructions. As if modelers will feel compelled to buy their stuff, and not use what they have at hand, prefer, or can get in their area. Way to go, marketing idiot that thought of this strategy! As you apply the instrument panel decal you also notice how inadequately thick the decals are, how much excessive carrier they have around, how reluctant they are to stay put. No parts' map, thank you very much. I don't need one, but many modelers may.

Now I respect and support Airfix's efforts to stay current, stay afloat, and remain relevant in a small and competitive market, heaven knows how many dozens upon dozens of Airfix kits I have built in my life, but that is the very reason why they shouldn't commit silly mistakes.

Choppy-choppy. The wing is reduced to its racing span. The horizontal tail was already chopped to size too:

The control column went to the great beyond, never to be found again. A new one is easily made:

The interior is completed OOB, only seat belts added. The fit is good:

The fuselage will close, after some little prodding. An interior that fits without shaving! An industry achievement!

A bit of filler on the fuselage seams. The antenna seen in photos under the wing is fabricated from filed metal and glued in place:

The wing is glued. It interlocks perfectly with the fuselage:

Rudder, stabs and flaps added. Excellent fit. The "flaps down" parts were used (the flaps are just plugged in, as they have to be removed to paint their bare metal leading edge plus the white before actually gluing them):

You may notice that in spite of the several modifications needed for this conversion, the build advances at quite a fast pace, thanks to the good fit, logical steps, and the avoidance of over-engineering. The only nitpicking I have is the small vent ahead of the big radiator air discharge flap on the belly. As you join the fuselage, you will have a seam line there that is not very easy to disguise. A small plug-in separate part could have been a cleaner solution. Of the rest I have no complaints.  

And after just a few hours of modeling, the first coat of primer is airbrushed:

White airbrushed (black for the exhausts as a base for burnt metal):

The individual colors of the blades are now one by one being painted, masking in turn the rest of the prop, the whole will take six airbrushing sessions. As explained, the Draw Decals instructions state the the back of the blades were natural metal color, but photos show the same color as in the front:

The rest is ready to go, but I am waiting for the cockpit masks I ordered (the kit has none), to do a cleaner job:

Maybe I could start with the decaling as it is.

The Draw Decals set is behaving nicely, the sections make sense, the images are very sharp and in register, and follow the kit's contours quite well. It's a labor of patience, and cutting the subjects properly is part of the secret. The carrier is inconspicuous and will tolerate to a certain extend pushing and tugging a bit to place the images in the proper place. A wet surface helps:

Since this requires attention, patience and good light, I will continue tomorrow.

Well, it's after midnight, so it is technically "tomorrow":

Now seriously, will continue in the morning.

Second prop blade color is painted:

Decaling is mostly done, only a couple sections for the canopy are left. The walkways and fuel caps (present in the aftermarket decal sheet drawings but absent from the sheet) are added too. I reiterate how nice this Draw Decals sheet is in all regards:

Almost there. Landing gear and flaps are on, only one blade remains to be painted. Canopy masks should arrive today:

The carnival prop:

The model is now complete:

But the photo session will have to wait as we have now (gasp!) rain in California in August! (and wildfires in Hawai'i!):

(The completed model is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/08/hi-time-ii-mustang-reno-racer-academy.html