Metal Mustang

Background

I’ve always loved the P-51 Mustang.  So when I saw that the guys at Flite Test were flying one, and then released plans and a speedbuild kit, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it!

My first Flite Test plane was the FT-Racer, and it was a blast.  To make it my own I used aluminum foil tape on the fuselage, and to accent the wings.  I was happy enough with the Racer, but there was one thing wrong with it: it wasn’t a Mustang.

Skipping ahead...My FT-Mustang kit arrives!  I knew I wanted to use aluminum tape again, since Mustangs were largely bare-metal, but I remembered what a pain it was to put the tape on the Racer after I had put it together.  So before assembling anything, I popped all the pieces out of the speedbuild kit, and covered every inch of “outer” surface with aluminum tape.  I chose not to remove the paper from the foam first, mostly because I wasn’t sure how much strength I would lose, and I really didn’t want warped pieces to work with.  I decided to live with the added weight of the AL-tape, knowing that I’d probably need a slighter stronger motor to get her movin’.

Here’s all the parts and pieces laid out and "metalicized".  Ready to assemble!

The other reason I wanted to do the exterior with AL-tape is the ability to score panel-lines and fastener details.  More on that later...

Assembly

Despite the Al-tape covering, assembly of the pieces went just like the build video.  I really have to thank Josh B. for the detail and explanations in his videos, it makes it very easy to just follow along as you build.  I highly recommend you have the related video playing as you build your Flite Test models.

So here we have all the surfaces and servos connected and centered, sub-assembly of the big pieces is done.

Here you can see that I closed-off the wingtip, as opposed to leaving it open and undercambered.  I had two reasons for this:  1) Looks. I wanted a clean, more complete looking wing, and an undercambered wingtip just didn't look right.  2) Strength.  My FT-Racer, which has basically the same wing, started to show stress-cracks near the undercamber-break, where the tip is unsupported.  I definitely didn't want my wingtips coming off, so I chose to reinforce them with another piece of foam and some more Al-tape.

And here it is with major assembly done!  At this point I hadn’t weighed it yet, but it didn’t feel extremely or noticeably heavy.

Landing Gear

Nothing really new or novel here, they’re just like Josh builds in the Mustang-Build video.  I did add a little external reinforcement over the gear wire, to keep it popping out of the wing.  I also cut out some gear-doors to attach to the main struts.  I just eyeballed them from pictures, they’re not incredibly crucial, but they do add to the completeness of the look.

Canopy

Next I got to work on the canopy and tailwheel, and she finally looks like a Mustang!  To make a clear canopy is easy:  Use the black canopy paper supplied in the kit, or the outline in the plans, and trace them onto two sheets of transparency film – the kind used for overhead projection.  I say TWO sheets, because I felt that one sheet was “too see-thru”, and you couldn’t really tell that there was anything there.  With two layers though it’s still transparent like glass, but it gives it a little more depth and just the right opacity, I think.  You fold both sheets the same, using clear packing tape to assemble them, stack them, and then use AL-tape to add the front canopy-frame.  Fasten to fuselage with AL-tape, and overlap it such that it creates the rear canopy lower-frame as well.  You don’t have to, but I also put some black paper just on top of the fuselage inside the canopy, so it sort of looks like there’s some depth there.

Panel Line Detail

In order to do the panel lines, I looked up some pics and scaled them to the FT-Mustang plans.  Then in Photoshop I drew over just the major panel lines, so I could print a simple overlay to trace from.  I've attached the PDF here, so you can add lines to your model if you like.  I don't claim to have made it super scale or 100% perfect, but it should add a nice extra dimension of detail.

FT-Mustang Panel Lines

I simply traced the lines through the paper using a flathead screwdriver and a ruler, then went over them again after removing the paper. Then run a pouncing-wheel along either side of the panel lines, and add a few in-between rows with the pouncing-wheel for good measure.

Then I had to rough it up with some scotchbrite pads - the difference is subtle, but I think it's noticeable and helps the lines/rivets to pop a bit more.  The reason for this is that the AL-tape is naturally VERY shiny, but Mustangs were not all that polished.  They still had a metal shine in the sun, but for the most part the surface was more “brushed metal” and less “mirror finish”.

I pondered the idea of weathering, but just the act of handling this model as much as I do is already serving to add some character to it. I remember watching Adam Savage (Mythbusters) talk about weathering his models, and how subtlety is important; I think he used a rag dipped in a little dirty motor-oil and gave the model a light rub-down. What better to dirty-up a warbird than, well, dirty oil! :P

(I didn't actually do any weathering yet, but it's a thought for the future)

Color Scheme

After ordering and receiving a big box of colored packing tape from TapeBrothers.com, I could get going on the color.  I decided to recreate the Red Tail Mustang “Bunnie”, flown by Lt. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr.; the first Red Tail to down an ME-262!

http://www.aviationartstore.com/pilot_Roscoe_Brown.htm

Color adding begins… 

And tape is done!  I made my own decals by laying packing tape on wax paper, then cutting out the shapes using simple paper-printed templates. This works really well for basic stuff like roundals and numbers (especially simple straight numbers like "7").  It doesn't work as well for round words though, which is why I didn't use tape for the nose-art.  One side will say "Bunnie" and the other "Miss Kentucky State".  You can get stickers printed with whatever graphics you want on CafePress.com, but I didn’t have time to wait.  So I printed the words on some more transparency film, and just glued them on!

POWER

Then my new 4-blade "Art-Tech" prop arrived, along with a bigger/better/slower motor to handle the beefy 10x6x4 paddle prop!

The only mod I had to make was to the spinner: it comes in YELLOW. No matter; easily fixed with a good red Sharpie. :P

I'm super thrilled with this motor/prop combination, it's like they're made for each other. The motor shaft is the exact right-size for the prop and spinner, and it even comes with locking nuts and a washer (not typical for Hobbyking). Obviously I didn’t know how it performs yet, but was sure it won't lack for power. I highly recommend this combination if you're looking for a more scale appearance for this bird.

Here are the details on the motor and prop combo I'm using:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__37799__D4023_850_Out_Runner_Motor_US_Warehouse_.html

http://www.killerplanes.com/product/art-tech-p-51-mustang-propeller-4-blade-paddle-prop-10-x-8-x-4-2-props-1-spinner

All done and ready to fly!

Here you can see the nose-art decals glued on, as well as the exhaust-stacks.  For the exhaust I just cut some short pieces of black straws and hot-glued them on, paying careful attention to placement and spacing based on reference pics.

A little Photoshopping fun.  :)

MAIDEN FLIGHT

And then it was finally Maiden Morning.  I wasn’t worried I'd be too heavy to fly, but I knew it wouldn't handle like the "stock build", so I was understandibly a little apprehensive about the first flight.

I had a bit of a headwind, but that actually helped to get right off and slow the landings down, which was nice.  I was a bit nervous before the first takeoff, but once I got airborne the muscle-memory of flying took over and suppressed the nerves.

The peanut-gallery...I mean cheering section definitely helped make for a great time! :)

Flight Report

Now, I haven't actually flown a "real" Mustang, but from what I've heard they have some pretty nasty adverse torque due to the massive prop and engine.  What's amazing is, thanks to the fat 4-blade prop, my little Flite Test Mustang actually has very noticable adverse torque!  Why am I excited about this? It makes the darn thing HARDER to fly!  Well, I think it's a neat added scale-feature of the build, but some may disagree.  It's pretty clear on the first takeoff, you can see me trying to quickly correct for the torque right away.  My wife told me later she was praying when she saw that, "please don't crash, not on the first takeoff!"  I love my wife!

So not only does it want to fly faster, it also needs a considerable amount of aileron-trim to hold it level at full throttle.  Who knew this would be such a scale bird?!

Once I got it trimmed and set, it was smooth as butter.  Tracked true and solid.  It actually wasn't all that fast on the runway passes, but the wind was pretty stiff, so that could be a little bit of an illusion.  I have two batteries for it, each lasting about 6 or 7 minutes at full throttle, and it balanced so nicely with them.  I don't even think I had to dial in any elevator trim.  All the electronics were well within their comfy-range; the motor and battery were barely even warm after.  I might think about a bigger 4S in the future (and bigger speed controller), because the motor and prop can definitely handle it, but for now what I have is more than adequate.

The flight itself was a little boring, as far as exhibitions go; I was playing it pretty (ok, really) safe, but can you blame me?!  ;)  I wanted to make for darn sure that I came back with a whole airplane in one piece.

I flew pretty much the whole time on low rates, aileron AND elevator, except for once or twice I flipped the High Rates on just to see...And then flipped it back to Low immediately!  :P  It definitely came alive, but I wasn't ready to handle a twitchy Mustang.  I know it’s got a lot more to offer, I just wasn’t ready to test the envelope on the Maiden flight.  Maybe I just need more aggressive expo.  ;)

Overall, it was AWESOME!  She flew great and looked great, I got tons of great comments, I couldn't have asked for a better Maiden Morning.  I can't wait to go back out, although I definitely need to remember my field charger or get more than two batteries (or both)!!

Feels good to have dirt on the tires now.  :)

I can’t thank the guys and gals at Flite Test enough for providing us with such awesome jumping-off points, from which we can all build the planes WE want to fly!  THANKS!!!

        - Ben