P-51 Mustang GT-4

[Scale-Master]

I've played around with this idea of doing cars with warbird schemes before, and I've done it using a few different Hot Wheels over the years.   

I'm using a Tamiya GT-4 kit that I cannibalized for other projects so it's perfect for exploring this concept in a larger scale.  I have a general idea of what I think it should look like.

After tinkering with TS-17 and AS-12 silvers from the cans and not getting the look I wanted, I found mixing them together and airbrushing them made what I was looking for; a bright satin silver with mild flakes. 

[Scale-Master]

The chassis was painted Zinc Chromate as the internal panels of a P-51 would be.  I mixed the color from old Testors and Tamiya enamels and did some mild shading.

[Codi]

This will be a FUN build Mark.  I like the solution for the silver paint........"hmmm, maybe if I mix the two......yeah that's the ticket".....that chassis color is bold, can't wait to see where you're going with this one.  cheers, tim

[Scale-Master]

The front of the hood and the nose were shot with Tamiya LP-8 Yellow.

[Pierre Rivard]

Now that's unique. Don't forget to add the propeller!

[GLMFAA1]

I could see a whole squadron of these: Tuskegee red tail, Quicksliver, Yeager's, Roush's, Old Crow, Tugboat (Empire of the Sun movie)

Hopefully no invasion stripes or maybe. 

Years ago Aurora did a series of race cars with military decals: Jaguar, Ford GT, Chapparal.

Nice looking project

greg

[cobraman]

Interesting idea. This will be cool.

[Scale-Master]

The suspension and drivetrain was done with other deviations from stock colors.  I used mostly old original Alclad colors from the 70's.

The brakes were done with Tamiya acrylic clear colors for an anodized look.

[Scale-Master]

I drew up and printed some tailored checkerboard decals.

[stavanzer]

Wow!

Can't wait to see this done!

[TransAmMike]

Cool idea Mark. I'm a watching!

[Scale-Master]

Thanks guys!

 

I airbrushed some AS-17 green on the rear emulating a scheme on some P-51s.  (Yes, it is not exactly the right shade, but then this car is not the right airplane shape either.)

I also sprayed an anti-glare panel on the center of the hood.

[vamach1]

Looking good.

Edited June 16, 2022 by vamach1

[Scale-Master]

The insignias came from an old Testors/Scale-Master sheet.  This era of planes did not have the red bars.  I also Dullcoted the checkerboard nose.

[Scale-Master]

I made the invasion stripes using white and black Warbird/Scale-Master decal stripes from sheets SP002.

[Scale-Master]

I painted the middle set of louvers the same green as the anti-glare panel.

The outside hood louvers were done in another old Alclad exhaust shade to represent the exhaust pipes on the planes.

[iamsuperdan]

Very cool idea.

 

[Scale-Master]

The wheels were done in a blue tinted silver shade.

I made a few more custom decals too.  One for the gas cap; I used the same design as on a P-51 filler.

It needed an appropriate name and numbers to follow the theme.  The 88 is from the Tuskegee P-51 Little Freddie, but I beefed it up a bit.  The numerals are tied to the name of this project.

[Scale-Master]

I designed decal sheets for over a dozen Tuskegee "Red Tail" Mustangs, so it was only fitting to me to make the rear wing red with the yellow stripes commonly used on the aircraft wings.  The stripes are from an old Scale-Master / Develotech McDonald's T-Bird sheet.  I just cut off the black pinstripes. 

Colored trim tabs were common on the rudder, so I went with yellow end plates and some more custom decals tied to the theme.

The taillights were sprayed TS-74 Clear Red before being sprayed with TS-71 Smoke for a blacked out effect.  The Red Tail theme was carried onto the center panel too.

[Scale-Master]

The kit decals were used for the C/F on the front winglets and I left them semi-gloss for the time being.  I went with red for the grille since a red spinner was common.

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

This is so very good. My gosh. Thanks for posting. Following.

[Scale-Master]

I used NATO Black instead of the "proper" black for the window surrounds.  Then I sprayed the clear sections Clear Blue and then a few more coats of Smoke.

[ea0863]

Awesome Mark!

[Scale-Master]

The mirrors were painted Fluorescent Red and Clear Green over silver as a nod the wingtip lights on the plane.  The wing tips were sometimes red, so I painted the cove details to reflect that.

[Scale-Master]

That was fun.  Now it's done: