Small scale experiment with salt (1:72 Indonesian P-51)

[Dizzyfugu]

It's not a whif (unfortunately, would have been great for this year's GB...), but my first 2013 project was half experiment, half true modelling, and I think the technical results might be interesting for everyone?


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



I came across this specific airplane, aircraft 'F-319' from 3rd Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI) in mid 1958, rather accidently. I found its unique, improvised camouflage rather challenging – esp. when you build kits with enamels and brush like me. I still had a Hobby Boss P-51D in my vast kit pile, and so I decided to tackle this aircraft as a side project while waiting for parts for another project,

My model is based (only) on aircraft profiles and sketches, which were themselves only prepared on the basis of poor photographs. AURI Mustang F-319 (44-13045) took, according to an article in Air Enthusiast No.82, actively part in the fighting of 1958, and it is one of the few (maybe even the only) Mustang to sport a cammo scheme.
In general, the AURI P-51Ds were left in a bare metal finish, with colored spinners and a black anti glare panel, sometimes decorated with huge shark teeth. Actually, these aircraft were inherited from Dutch forces after Indonesia' independence, and the national insignia just replaced with the AURI pentagon. Even the tactical codes were kept.

F-319 was obviously hastily camouflaged, and only on the upper sides and wrapped around the lower fuselage, probably in two shades of green, or in green and brown. The exact colors remain unknown, but any profile I found depicts F-319 in two shades of green, so I stuck with it, and it's a nice color combo. F-319 was reportedly damaged during the attack against Amahai on 10 May 1958, after that the track is lost.

Anyway, key objective of this kit was to replicate that improvised cammo and weathered look that one might expect under harsh climate conditions and frequent use with poor maintenance in front line service.

All interior surfaces were painted in a zinc chromate green finish. I used Humbrol 150 as a basis color and added dry-brushed Testors 1715 on top of that. The landing gear was kept in Aluminum (Humbrol 56). Everything "standard".


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The model's lower sides were painted with 'Polished Aluminum' Metallizer from Testors. The upper surfaces, which would later be concealed by camouflage, were painted with acrylic paint, 'Aluminum' from Revell. The same color was also used for some contrast panels on the lower surfaces. Onto this basic finish, the decals were applied as a next step.
AURI F-319 appears to have had its cammo scheme painted around its original markings and some access hatches, and simulating this would be IMHO achieved the easiest way by simply duplicating the process on the kit!


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The decals themselves were puzzled together from several aftermarket sheets. The AURI insignia/national markings come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet, the tactical code and the "AURI" letters under the wing were cut and re-arranged from "USAF" letters in 1:72 scale. Improvisation rules, and the frugal modeler.

After the decals had been applied and secured under a thin coat of clear, acryllic varnish, I used water and salt to mask panel lines and leading edges with tiny mottles and irregular "spot clusters". It's actually a method that works well when you simulate rust and flaking paint on 1:35 tanks and such with an air brush, but I thought that it might also work here, too, since I wanted to let a lot of bare metal shine through the rather thin cammo paint.


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After having thoroughly dried, the camouflage scheme was applied with a broad but flat, soft brush, with slightly thinned enamel paint and only with gentle strokes. An air brush would have been better suited, not to stir the masks on the metal paint below, but on the other side a brush allows a more tattered, uneven look, enhancing the flaked and worn effect and the realism of the finish.

The basic camouflage colors are Humbrol 120 (FS 34227, Light Green) and Humbrol 91 (Black Green). They create a good contrast - but BW pictures are hard to interprete.


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After this basic cammo paint had dried up, the salt masks were rubbed away, supported by hard brushes and even fine sand paper. Surely, some repair and additions had to be made, e .g. around the insignia and the tactical codes. In some areas, the chipping effect was enhanced with some dry brushing, e .g. with Humbrol 78, 75, and 116. A wash with thin black ink was applied in order to emphasize the kit's engraved panel lines and the many surface details.


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Finally, everything was sealed under clear varnish – the lower sides with an acrylic Tamiya spray varnish, the upper sides with a matt coat. On top of that, some overall dry painting with olive drab and medium grey was done, and exhaust and soot stains around the guns added through dry painting.


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 North American P-51D Mustang; 'F-319' (ex 44-13045); 3 Skuadron, Angatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI); probably Padang Air Field, mid 1958, during CIA operation "Haik" by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

To sum it up, a small real-life project of a classic aircraft in a rather exotic, non-fancy but pretty challenging livery – it was more work than one might expect at first glance, esp. with brushes. An airbrush might be the better choice to applay paint, on the other side, the enamels created a unique effect this way. Improvised and tattered looks are bigger challenges than "fresh from the factory" finishes.

[dwomby]

That worked out well.

Thanks for posting this.  I need to try this technique soon and your explanation was excellent.

David

[Captain Canada]

That's pretty neat. Might have to try that one day. How do you get the spinning prop ? Really adds to photos.

Well done !

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks a lot for the feedback - I thought this was worth sharing.

The prop is the prop... I just added a metal axis, for ease of rotation, and blew onto it. Any simulated prop on a pic just looks fake, nothing beats "the real thing".

As an addendum to the salt technique: I used water rather generously, as well as the salt - I was not sure how well it would adhere. In fact, I created a very solid crust, hence the rather radical results... For 1:72, you might use just a thin brush for water (or hair spray!), and a simple salt shaker from the kitchen - I used a tea spoon...

Additionally: using a brush is not perfect, it's messy. But, on the other side, the uneven paint distribution creates even more shades and stains - an air brush and acryllic paints will surely lead to "cleaner" results. The Mustang looks more rotten than intended, but that's just fine - and it has a unique look.