WiP +++ 1:72 Vultee P-52B Vanquisher USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), 1944

[Dizzyfugu]

That said, here's the next painting steps. The 336th FS markings were a red spinner and nose band, that grew ever larger over time and had become by 1944 a bib around the unit's P-51 engines. Another marking was a blue fin/rudder, even though I found contradictive information concerning the actual tone, ranging from a dark insignia blue to a kind of light baby blue and even PRU Blue! I went for a (mixed) medium tone, matching the decals that would later be added as cheatlines to the anti-glare panel.
The camouflage consists of Tamiya XF-62, IMHO the best tone out there for USAAF aircraft, and it was unevenly applied over the silver base. Areas on the wings' upper surface were left bare, because these will be "filled" with overpainted invasion stripes. The anti-glare panel was painted in a slightly different, darker tone, Revell 46 (NATO Oliv), even though that's hardly recognizable, to convey the idea of a field-camouflaged aircraft.


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Then the model received a light black ink washing:


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[kerick]

That looks so real!

[Dizzyfugu]

Now things become more colorful - invasion stripes! On the undersides I use decals, leftover from IIRC an Academy Spitfire Mk. XIV, and they just fit onto the lower wings as well as around the lower fuselage. I also added black ID stripes under the stabilizers.


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

On the upper surfaces the stripes are supposed appear painted-over, so I just use, well, paint on the wings for rough black and white foundations. That was later overpainted with Tamiya XF-82, RAF Dark Green (post-war, though), for a slightly different shade of olive drab. Here, the right wing and the fuselage have already been finished, the left one still waits for cammo treatment.


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[kerick]

Picking up a real P-47 vibe now!  I like it!

[DeeBob]

Goodness that's looking attractive Dizzy!

[Rick Lowe]

Nice. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks, gents, glad you like the P-52. The thing looks pretty sleek, and with the landing gear attached there's actually a strong P-66 vibe thorugh the stance!

And here are final WiP shots, we're catching up with reality!

With the stripes and the basic paint applied I did some post-shading on the camoflage, for weathering but also to simulate the stripes that shine through here in there. The bare metal areas were treted with graphite and also received some panel shading with metallizer. Wet sanding was used to reveal some metal underneath the paint here and here, esp. on leading edges.


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...and finally, some markings. For an unusal look I decided to use 1943-style Stars-And-Bars with a thin red border, becuse I wanted more contrast to the surroundings. But the red edge is so thin, it's pretty subtle - but looks good!
The tactical code VF-Q was created with letters from a Matchboc P-51 sheet, the serian number on the tail belongs to a P-47. The whole thing looks pretty shaggy, but not bad at all! 


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-Q' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Varnish and small details like position lights next, and then the photo shooting "in action".