The Little World

Look ’em up. Admirals Yamaguchi and Spruance – opponents at the Battle of Midway.

Both got an aircraft carrier shot out underneath them. But their subsequent actions when their carriers were unsavable is the point of difference. Yamaguchi stood on his bridge with the sinking ship and he and a number of other Japanese officers committed suicide looking at the moon. Spruance shifted his flag to a cruiser and carried on fighting.

I’ve had similar moments and have just passed through another one – my new paint job on the Mustang I was going perfectly well with the camouflage greys and green all applied and set. Then I decided to embellish it with the yellow leading edge markings that British aircraft carried. Rather than bush it on, I masked the leading edges of the wings and sprayed a thin mixture of Tamiya aqueous acrylic.

The mix was thin enough that it ran in under the masking and ruining the leading edges and about half of the wings. I was left with a plane that was either unsavable bin material or something that would need an extensive repaint. The kit cost $ 13 but also cost several days hard labour. I decided to strip the leading edges with meths and then brush-paint the faulty sections with a self-levelling lacquer. Not perfect, but not dead.

The end result will be contoured surfaces, but this may be the opportunity to try the first weathering job. I’ve read an article that advocates the use of tempera wash to do this so after the decals and varnish go on I’ll give that a go.

One more mistake to never make again…From now on leading edge markings and de-icing boots are a brush job.

There is no need to be Yamaguchi if you can be Spruance.

Heading shot – the Mustang after the repair work and a coat of clear varnish. I grits me teeth and I carries on…