North American P-51D Mustang 8th AF

Not sure if Zinc Chromate is the right color, but... we're going with it. A wash'll darken it. 

Not sure I love the prepainted PE from Eduard. Maybe I got a bad one, but it seems to peel easily.  

Seatbelts! 

Tiny, tiny seatbelts. 

Chips and wash applied. 

I'm liking this so far, but again I'm annoyed with the prepainted PE. Next time I'll get the paint-it-yourself version. Too much peeling. 

Going together nicely. Can't beat Tamiya for fit! 

Pretty happy so far. 

Some Micro Kristal Klear on the gauges. Some of it's a bit foggy, but we'll chalk that up to unintentional weathering.  

Gear bay detail. 

All that polishing helped. 

Still got a few pebbly bits, but that just means MORE POLISHING!!! 

Aluminum on the wings is done. Not perfect, but pretty good I think.  

And here's the highly polished aluminum. 

It's not great, because the masking job I did on the wings wasn't sufficient and there was some overspray on the body which caused the shine to look weird. Also the tape on the wing root left some residue, which I'm bummed about. 

But, it's my first BMF attempt. It's not perfect, but it's a learning experience. Now how am I gonna mask that nose?  

The decals are going on just fine without any kind of clear coat. Alclad's finish is pretty smooth. I applied the decal with water and then, after it dried, applied Mr. Mark Softer on top of the decal only. It sunk into panel lines nicely so far.  

Just a few more decals, some detail painting and light weathering left to go!