Long post ahead...just got back from vacation and finally spent time finishing my entry.
When we last left off, I finished the main paint coats. Decal time! I used many of the kit's stencil decals, then the large markings were from AMDG Decals. Glad for the variety that the sheet provides, and maybe (probably) it's just my relative inexperience, but I found the decals to be a bit touchy. Even with Micro Set/Sol, they developed some bubbles, wrinkles, and a few tears too. The tail numbers in particular were very finicky, and I had to replace a few stray numbers from the sheet's extra schemes.



I looked through my wife's sewing kit and found some invisible thread I could use for the antenna wires. I normally use sprue, but figured I'd try something new. A quick drag through black paint, then glued into place.

I did appreciate the heat-tightening ability of the thread, though I was very nervous to try tightening any more than this. I did a bunch of tests and found this axiom to be true: when you think "just one more time," you've found the limit.

I opted for "Hot Pants" in honor of my old band director...a bit of a running gag back then

Since this is my first model with invasion stripes, I wanted to fully stripe the bird instead of just a half-coat as displayed on the sheet. Today "Hot Pants" is seen almost exclusively in half-stripes on August 4, 1944, when it made an emergency landing in Sweden and was impounded, with a full set of photographs taken for future modelers. It certainly had full stripes on D-Day and in the "crucial days of beachhead battles" as described in the instruction sheet. The only thing I couldn't uncover is how the kill markings might have changed in the two months between D-Day and Swede-Day. But it's my model and I wanted it with stripes so sue me.




The great debate over landing gear doors...I opted for fully closed. I don't remember where but someone said they were a crew chief during WWII and Korea and that they closed the doors for all their Mustangs (A-D) unless actively working under the skin. The major consensus seems to be "do whatever the hell you want," so I did.


It took a fair deal of fidgeting around, but I finally got the brass-tubing spinner to work! Pictures with flash come out like the
Propblur product, while pictures without flash are more like what your eye sees in person. A single breath spins the prop easily enough to take a good looking picture, though the effect doesn't last more than a second or two. A fan or hair-dryer would help for a prolonged photoshoot.


The pilot can finally take his seat. Even though most people seem to think of P-51D's, I love the look of the B's birdcage and was really happy to display it open like this.

And there you have it, "Hot Pants" is ready for display! Tamiya Mustangs are so well documented for anyone who wants advice and more technical discussions about the kit, but I'm very glad this campaign gave me a chance to document my first build after years away from my workbench. Thanks to Cristian for setting up the campaign, and thanks to all for the help along the way. Let's see some more kits finish up soon!
