Here is the Academy 1/72 P-51D, kit number 2132. It is a rather simple kit, but it went together well.

My primary reason for building this kit was to try out a NMF. I used Mr. Color C-8 Silver. I had sprayed this color on scrap plastic, and it looked quite good. I also used Mr. Surfacer 1200 as a primer. Although the Mr. Surfacer was a great primer, it was not glossy, and the silver didn't come out that as well as I had hoped. In the future, I will use Mr. Surfacer only for camouflaged exteriors, and use a gloss primer for NMF's.

The landing gear, wheels and spinner are Gaia Silver EX-07. This was brighter than the Mr. Color, even over unprimed plastic, and I will be using this for a NMF at some point in the future. The tires are Auto-Borne black, which worked okay. I tried to use it on the propeller blades, but it did not stick to the plastic. I ended up using Floquil Engine Black. The olive drab anti-glare panel is Mr. Color C-12 Olive Drab. The cockpit was 27 Interior Green, which seemed too light to my eyes. This project was my first large-scale attempt to use Mr. Color, and all in all I was pleased.

The canopy was masked by hand. I tried to use the EZ Mask that was designed for the Tamiya kit, but it didn't come close to fitting. I used a large curved blade to cut the tape, pressing rather than slicing. It turned out okay.

Having had issues with Academy decals in the past, I used Superscale 72-667 P-51D Mustang Aces. I chose the scheme with the simplest paint job (no invasion stripes) and the fewest decals, as I do not enjoy decals. I did not have to spray a gloss clear coat - the Mr. Color was glossy enough as is. I flat coated with First Step Clear Matte, thinned with windshield wiper fluid, which works well.

Page last updated February 14, 2024.