More re-scribing
Turning my attention next to the fuselage, re-scribing was a bit more challenging than the wings due to the curves. Again, I made extensive use of 1/16″ Pactra flexible tape. I love this stuff as it conforms to most tricky surfaces and gives a nice edge for the Tamiya scribing tool to follow.
From my scale drawings and photo references, the majority of the work needed to be added was on and around the engine cowling. The fit of the clear parts was not great and much detail was lost during sanding and shaping. This now had to be re-created by scribing, riveting and drilling.
I decided to leave a great deal of the toned down Dragon rivet detail on the fuselage side as most photos of real mustangs show these to be quite visible (especially on dirty and weathered airframes). Extensive use of DZUS fasteners was made on the real P-51 and I have attempted to recreate these using a suitably (#77) sized drill. I know that the real thing is flush, but I could not come up with a suitable scale solution, so drilled holes will have to suffice for this model.
The rear fuselage riveting and panel lines under construction. I would have to say that the stretched sprue technique for filling the panel lines was a fairly big failure on the fuselage as I did not use the correct sizes to fit the panel lines and when scribed, most shattered or came out leaving a bigger mess. Lesson learned for next time.
Not all Dragon rivets were retained (I felt these needed to be toned down) and here you can clearly see the rows of rivets that have been filled and sanded flush. Additional panel lines have also been added in this area as Dragon left a few out.