Official FlightLine 850mm P-51D Mustang Thread

[Aros]

Ah, Stuart made it sound like you did, haha...I knew you weren't THAT bad. :P ;)

[Radar-Guy]

Did anyone notice that the Decal Placement Guide shows the Stars 'n Bars on the wings pointing aft? Looks like at least McLogo went into this trap. In addition, the S/N on the decal below the cockpit is wrong as well ;)

Maidened my P-51 today with 4s 2200 power. Lots of fun!

I didn't like the instrument panel and made a 3DP part plus a gunsight. Files are attached, feel free to make your own. The pilot is available from Thingiverse, scaled by 87% plus a slicer cut in height. Just search for "ww2 pilot USAAF", there are different choices (goggles on/off, oxygen mask). I added rivets using the toothpick method and added some TAMIYA Panel Line Accent Color.

[Aros]

Very nice RG, thanks for the links! Looks great!

[Aros]

Not sure if it's just my end but I received this error when trying to open the STL files...

[Radar-Guy]

Not sure if it's just my end but I received this error when trying to open the STL files...

It works fine here when I click on the files. Perhaps some kind of protection filter on your end. If the problem persists, I can send those to your email address. Just send a PM.

Frank

[Hardway]

Thanks Frank!!! The files opened here just fine... :Confused: That will make the cockpit look much better!! Jerry

[Spitfire4life]

OK as requested I'm going to try and detail as best I can the steps I took to make the rudder mod, but for the most part I'll let the pictures do the talking... I chose to use pin hinges and for the control horn the Freewing horns that make use of the rod fastners.

-) Accessories required for this mod, you'll find them both on our site:




-) Use a ruler and nice an sharp blade to cut down the scale hinge line already molded in on the foam. Also at this point you'll want to insert the rudder push rod (I used the wire you get with Freewing jets to pull servo leads through) and mark its natural sitting point on the rudder, this is where the rudder control horn will be installed. You need to taper the L/E of the new rudder you've just cut free now too, then lightly sand.



-) Draw a center line down the T/E of the vertical stab and evenly mark out 4 hinge install points with a tool of sorts (I used an old 1.5mm hex driver) by indenting the foam with a little pressure, or a marker pen as I did on the rudder. Using a lighter, warm up that same old tool for a few seconds then push it into the foam at your marked points. This trick is an excellent way of forming pilot holes in foam for hinges and the like as it doesn't tear at the foam like drilling would. Do the same on the L/E of the new rudder surface.



-) Use foam tac glue for the hinges, it only needs a little in each hole. Make sure you dip the pin/pivot point of the hinge in some kind of oil before you glue in place, otherwise the glue will get into the hinge and it will never be free to move. At this point I'm about 15-20mins in to the process.



-) Now's a good time to paint the exposed white foam, I found Tamiya XF-16 paint to be a very good match for the factory silver. With this horn I went the extra mile and put a screw through the middle right to the other side of the rudder. I then cut a small square of plastic (from an crashed A-10 nose gear door ;)), this is what the screw screwed down into. Combined with the foam tack used to glue this horn in place, I now have a rock solid horn on the rudder.



-) Always wanting to keep weight down on these smaller electric models, I opted for the basic FreeWing plastic gear 9g servo with the 100mm lead. No binding on the push rod nor any overloading on the servo when installed, nice, clean and simple install all round.



-) Below you can see the amount of travel I get at maximum throw, in high rates, should be more than enough.




Once all is said and done, I think if I'm being honest it took me about an hour to complete, including the painting. If you use foam tack, be sure to let it cure fully overnight so its completely bonded ready for the setting up of the surface on your radio.

I hope this helps for those that were interested, and I hope the presentation format in this post is clear enough. We plan to fly these tomorrow for a later video but I'll post my own findings with the rudder mod tomorrow once flown.

Stuart.

[Spitfire4life]

I did no such thing with this one!

lol, 'this one' ;)

[Aros]

Nice job Stuart! Easy peezy even I could do it! LOL

[McLogo]

Did anyone notice that the Decal Placement Guide shows the Stars 'n Bars on the wings pointing aft? Looks like at least McLogo went into this trap. In addition, the S/N on the decal below the cockpit is wrong as well ;)

I noticed... after the Stars were on the wings :Loser:

Congrats for the successful maiden.

[Radar-Guy]

I noticed... after the Stars were on the wings :Loser:

Congrats for the successful maiden.

Thanks! You should open a ticket and ask for a new set. :Angry:

[McLogo]

Thanks! You should open a ticket and ask for a new set. :Angry:

;)Should have just looked at my T-28, Wildcat or a pic of a US warbird when I did it.

[Aros]

FlightLine makes excellent models. Their decal department on the other hand... :Not-Talking:

[Hardway]

Removed the rudder and beveled the LE of the control surface... Also, after I painted the anti glare panel black, and then painted the red stripe over it. This shaded the red to a different color, so I primed the spinner and the rudder with flat black, and then started to add the Tamiya red in layers with the airbrush... Still working on the final color...

[Aros]

Looking good Hardway! :Cool:

Have the first layers down for Bald Eagle...I cannot say enough how blown away I am with that Tamiya tape! It's absolutely incredible. Sharp, crisp lines, doesn't peel paint, easy to use for compound curves, etc...This is one of those times I smack my forehead and say "Why didn't I use this tape sooner!!"

Next up: Invasion stripes and painting the spinner and front of the cowl yellow. Callie's sending me decals this coming week to finish her off. Now I am going to have to follow suit as some have and add a pilot and scale up the cockpit a bit.

[Aros]

Updates...Invasion stripes and yellow spinner/nose...Just waiting on Callie now.

[uscanuck1xa]

Updates...Invasion stripes and yellow spinner/nose...Just waiting on Callie now.

Nice work!! It will look fantastic with the graphics applied.

[Aros]

Nice work!! It will look fantastic with the graphics applied.

Thank you!

[Aros]

Took her out for a quick flight. Under-toss, torqued extreme left and smashed into the pavement.

:Angry: :Angry: :Angry:

It happened so fast I couldn't react to save her. Could be worse...I need to repair the starboard LE section, reconnect the servo, need a new spinner and prop. Good thing I bought a few. This bird needs to be tossed high in the sky. A low toss is asking for trouble.

[Hardway]

:Scared::(:(:Straight-Face::Crying::(:(:(