Checkerboards on my P-51B

[Scott Richlen]

Good grief!  These things are painful!

[RC Storick]

Good grief!  These things are painful!

Yep!

[Gerald Arana]

Good grief!  These things are painful!

Yeah, but they really look good!  Sure glad it's you and not me! 

Jerry

[Avaiojet]

Yes, difficult to do, but you did a great job with them. 

[TigreST]

Gotta love the "Malcolm Hood" option.  Your doing a spin on the 357th FG scheme perhaps?

T.

[wwwarbird]

 Cool! 

[Scott Richlen]

T.:

The paint scheme is partially based on a D-model of the 78th FGp.  I claim creator's license to put it on a B/C model.

I did the Malcolm Hood as I thought that it brought out the curves of the turtle deck.  If you compare B models with regular canopy vs. Malcolm hood you'll notice what I am referring  to.

Actually doing the nose checkerboards wasn't too bad, but going around the curves of the wing-tips: yikes!

Scott

[TigreST]

Another interesting detail spin on the P-51 is the fin filet or sans fin filet across the production run.  And something rather new to me was the diff's in the wings at the wing root leading edge as relates to the wheel wells and such.  Some subtle diffs there depending on model and year of production, more so between the A-36 and P-51 Mk's. 

Btw, meant to ask..is this the Brodak kit or some other kit/plans variant?  Can't wait to see your completed model.

T.

[Larry Fernandez]

Yes Scott, checker boards are a nightmare
I spent a whole day masking this bad boy

Well worth it though

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Carl Cisneros]

tigre
it is a Tom Morris  kit

[Scott Richlen]

This is a club build that a bunch of NVCL members are participating in.  It was "kitted" for us by Tom Morris based on the plans that Pat Johnston did for Tom Dixon.

[Scott Richlen]

Here is Dave's P-51B.  Notice that he had prefinished the fuselage before mounting the wing.  He is now in the process of painting the wings and tail.  Will be done soon...

[Scott Richlen]

Here is Murphy's P-51B.  It is ready to paint...

[Scott Richlen]

Here are a couple of shots of Carl's P-51B.  It is done now, but I couldn't find the final shot...

[TigreST]

 What's the dimensional data of this model, wing span, etc etc, please?  Are they built up wing or foam core.  Are there any kits left?

Tony

[Scott Richlen]

It's about a 54 inch wingspan.  Current appropriate dimensions for other surfaces.  Millennial wing construction and other current building practices such as a plywood skinned fuselage.

You'll have to contact Tom Morris to see if he has any of the kits left.  He made a bunch and probably sold them all.

Or order the plans from Pat Johnston.  Ask for the Tom Dixon P-51.

4 other club members are building them and are at various stages of construction.

Scott

[Bill Johnson]

Another interesting detail spin on the P-51 is the fin filet or sans fin filet across the production run.  And something rather new to me was the diff's in the wings at the wing root leading edge as relates to the wheel wells and such.  Some subtle diffs there depending on model and year of production, more so between the A-36 and P-51 Mk's. 

I think so, too. I initially thought the vertical stab fillet was only on the D bubble canopy models but investigating (because of Scott's picture), found that many were installed on earlier B and C models to counteract a snap roll tendency, especially if the aircraft were fitted with an extra fuselage fuel tank behind the pilot.

[TigreST]

I think so, too. I initially thought the vertical stab fillet was only on the D bubble canopy models but investigating (because of Scott's picture), found that many were installed on earlier B and C models to counteract a snap roll tendency, especially if the aircraft were fitted with an extra fuselage fuel tank behind the pilot.

Bill,
I remember reading something about that "behind the seat fuel tank" and the issues it caused. Details are foggy (haven't picked up the book again in sometime) but the gist of it was.. the rear fuselage tank was supposed to be emptied first before any sort of combat maneuvering.  The fuel caused an aft c.g. shift or some such.  You did not want to try and land with it still near to full from all accounts.  There was a noted fighter ace that did just that and somehow managed to get the thing on the ground in one piece (Don Gentle or maybe Bud Anderson?) .  That tank in no small part helped the Mustang to reach Berlin but was not without it's issues if not managed correctly.

Tony

[Scott Richlen]

I ordered some of Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay White india ink to do touch-up on the white checkerboards where some off the edges were rough or where fixes were needed.  It is quite opaque.  I'm applying it with a very fine brush and it works great.  It is a bit brighter than the Sig white, but that's not noticeable until you get about 2 feet away.

I'll do the black checkerboard touch-up when I do my ink-lines.

Insignia next.

[goozgog]

There are some simple tricks to painting checks.
As the pictures show, I like them!

  Not pretending that my rough and ready utility
finishes are anything to admire but I get a lot
of compliments about how good the checks look
in the air.

   The human eye is programed to find flaws in
any repeated pattern. Do not miss a check
no matter how small it would be.

   Trick # 1 is to mask the perimeter of the area
you want to check. That way you're not fighting
to get neat edges going around wing tips and
hinge lines.

Trick #2 . I use blue painters tape and strip it to
the width I want by lightly sticking it to a glass
surface and using a long metal straight edge and #11.

Trick #3  This is the important idea. Get a 1-1/8" wide
stainless ruler at the dollar store then cut a yard
long strip of painter's tape exactly the same width
as the ruler. Lay the ruler at a 90 to the tape and
cut some squares.

   It's important to start at the hinge line.
Use one of the tape squares as a spacer as you apply
the squares working from root to tip.
  The squares naturally correct alignment errors
if you're reasonably careful.
  At the third or fourth row, check that things are straight.
They usually are.
Check that everything is stuck down and dope.
Tada!

   This is a two coffee job and takes about an hour
a side. It's a lazy way to get checks.

Cheers! - Keith