Accurate Miniatures A-36 Mustang Dive Bomber 1/48 Full build!

Greetings everyone! Today's episode will showcase Accurate Miniatures A-36 in 1/48 scale. Be sure to watch through to see how I almost got to the point of throwing the kit in the trash, then bring it back from the brink of destruction. The completed vignette features a figure sculped by my friend Mike Evans at StoneHaven Miniatures. His link is below.
Be sure to check out up to date work in progress content on my insta:
instagram: hammerheadmodelmaking
If you are interested in helping support the channel, check out my patreon:
/ hammerheadmodelmaking
Music: Bensound.com
Also be sure to check out Stonehaven Miniatures!
www.stonehavenmini.com/

[@stratonkaratassos3007]

Regardless of the hiccups, it turned out awesome. There are so many of us who would be proud to produce such work. 👏🏻

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@bobholmstrom786]

Wow, nice recovery from that disaster.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you, I'm glad I didn't give up on it!

[@angell328]

I remember that day well! I am so glad you pulled her back down of the shelf of purgatory and had another pun at it. Not often you get to see an A36, let alone one finished to high standard ☺👍

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thanks Matt!

[@PeteCourtier]

I love early Mustangs, Allison powered and B/C Variants. Can’t wait for Eduard new tool😀 Great build.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

I'm very excited for the new Eduard mustangs as well!

[@themodellingmuppet]

Awesome build 👏 especially after all the set backs. Great tip on painting the interior canopy colour on on before the external colour rather that trying to mask the inside 😀

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Glad you like it!

[@joeokabayashi8669]

Great tip regarding replacement blades for prop.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Glad it was helpful!

[@truthhurts9241]

Firstly, BRILLIANT save and lovely end result. Next, thanks for some really good tips. Block of rubber to take of the masking fluid, looks like it's much easier than a brush. Oven cleaner as paint stripper, never heard of that before, should rescue a few future models from becoming air rifle targets. Finally but very importantly, not all varnishes/lacquers appear to be born equal. Disconcerting.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you and I’m glad it could be helpful. Also, it’s not so much that all top coats aren’t created equal (I mean they aren’t), but I think it’s more that certain products don’t mix, in this case Tamiya Gloss and MIG wash. And more importantly I used a new product without testing it first.

[@scaleffect]

Great looking model, now I'd like to try one myself. But I must admit, 22:29 was my favorite part of the video. Black cat cameos always welcome in my world.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you, check out my F9F panther video, he makes an appearance in that one too.

[@BeersyPaints]

Overlord is a very good helper. Nice work, I enjoy your stuff quite a bit!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thanks, I'll pass on your complements!

[@arkbuilder2012]

Very timely. Just pulled the AM A-36 from the stash a couple evenings ago. Following closely.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Excellent!

[@septiccalling8341]

Trials and tribulations..... but what a terrific result in the end. Even if you dont think it was worth the effort (it was!!), it was a great watch..... 👌🏻👏🏻👍🏻

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you for watching! I am happy with the end results and glad I didn't give up on the kit.

[@paulodonovan1142]

Glad you stuck with it, looks great 👍🏻😎

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you, I'm glad I did as well.

[@guilherme8608]

I had VERY similar problems using canned gloss varnishes. Most of them are solvent based, so they react with and stick to oil washes. Fantastic result at the end, good thing you did not give up!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you!

[@ChristianSchroter]

Outstanding piece of art you have created.with sticky greetings. Your modellmate. Christian

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Much appreciated my friend!

[@defdef6230]

Stunning build my friend... cheers from Argentina

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you and thank you for watching!

[@voodoonights1671]

Great model, and despite your issues, it looks very nice. I would maybe have hit the original decals with X20A - I am wary of this method but when I get stuck, I use it. Keep up the great work and terrific video uploads - we know it's a lot of work and appreciate it.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching. Also, thank you for the tip about the X20A, I'll have to give that a try sometime!

[@mattiascavero]

Eventually it turned out amazing, very Nice weathering! I have also used that P-400 kit as propeller donator😁

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Good to know the P-400 is serving propeller needs everywhere!

[@nzdigital]

Beautiful result in the end, a d impressive perseverance. Many would have trashed it and not even put it on the shelf! Inspirational stuff yet again. Always look forward to your build videos 👍

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Not going to lie, I nearly tossed it, but I’m glad I didn’t. Thanks for watching!

[@ManekiNico]

I enjoy watching your builds and quite like your running commentary style, but I gave you a like for Overlord! That's a pretty awesome name for a cat. From an SEO standpoint, you might want to think about adding the model's full name to your titles. "A36" isn't instantly recognizable to casual aviation buffs/vicarious modellers like me. If I was searching for Mustang models, it's not what I would enter into the search bar.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you for the feedback, I've updated the title to include a little more information. Much appreciated!

[@lesthiele4921]

A truly excellent build, that weathering was absolutely fantastic, congratulations on a great job well done, best regards from Australia 👍👍👍👍

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Much appreciated! Thank you for watching!

[@Bene_Factum]

I just had this problem too. Sprayed the gloss coat on and it had a weird reaction with the paint. Back to square one on the painting again. Good call on the oven cleaner.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Yeah, it can be a pain to strip and repaint, but it can be salvaged!

[@jamesvozar1]

Great channel mate, BTW you can shoot that chrome pen through the air brush with a drop of leveling thinner. It works well, but may need a clear coat if being handled a lot. I did a test recently, which is why i mention it.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

I didn't know that about the chrome, thats good to know! Thanks for sharing!

[@jamesvozar1]

@@HammerheadModelMaking No worries mate

[@catalin-oprea]

I used Mig paints and got the same result after panel line wash, so I only use those paints for brush painting from that moment on. Lacquer paints are my choice.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

I'm not convinced it was the MIG paints, I've been using them for years now without issue, rather, the Tamiya Gloss coat I used I didn't test with the enamel wash. But I'm glad you've found what works for you!

[@savvasvarsamidis1307]

Great effort! nice result! I would prime first the model because of this old shiny plastic..mayde that coused troubles..however great result! Happy you didn t quit..i ve been in your shoes it is very frustrating

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

funny thing is I did prime, I'm still convinced it was a reaction between the enamel wash and whatever the Tamiya gloss is. But, yeah, I'm happy I got it worked out in the end. Thanks for watching!

[@countmacula530]

This is such a great video. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!

[@kacperg5880]

Just wow. I'm very impressive of your job. Fantastic weathering.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you, I really enjoyed the weathering process on this kit.

[@samec88]

A trick I found for gluing flat PE parts together (like your dive brakes) was to use Tamiya clear coat (X22), it gives time to position the parts and is also pretty strong

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thats really interesting, thanks for sharing! I'll have to try that out sometime.

[@kiwiruna9077]

A great save there Brett, and great words of wisdom however as a male it went in one ear and out the other 😆 This may be of use to you, instead of oven cleaner try bleach it's a little more skin friendly and so far it works well, however I don;t know how it will react to clear coats, paints it works a treat.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Lol, true enough! Thanks for the tip about the bleach, in the unfortunate event I have to strip a kit again, I'll give it a try.

[@kevinhedrich6026]

I love heavily weathered models! That looks fantastic! Couldn't help but notice the masks lifting though lol!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thanks Kevin, I would have reached out for masks for this kit, but I was on such a tight deadline on this one that there just wouldn't have been time, both sets of masks I had for this weren't the best. I did eduard first and Montex second, neither worked great, I'm sure yours would have been better.

[@kevinhedrich6026]

@Hammerhead Model Making I have the AM B kit on my shelf, wonder if the clear sprues are the same?

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

@@kevinhedrich6026 I think it might be close, email a picture and maybe I can see.

[@WhiteGloveModels]

I literally could feel your pain. I've had so many problems when I steer away from my norm. I love Alclad and it too is my go to for finishing. I have the Accurate Miniatures A-36 Apache I'll be building soon, so I'm so happy I stumbled on your video. I love the extras you did and the dive brakes really made a huge difference. Outstanding work and thanks for sharing!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thanks man, I'm glad I didn't give up on this kit. Good luck with your build. In spite of its age, it really is a good kit!

[@GhostRider247]

this is absoulutley amazing !!!! and the problems you had tbh i would have binned it !! but my god !! what a job lad fan bloody tastic !!!!!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

I was very close to tossing it and I'm glad I didn't! Thanks for watching!

[@GhostRider247]

@@HammerheadModelMaking amazing job after that !! absolutely amazing !! all the best to ya .. Shaun.

[@goforitpainting]

Cool details.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Glad you like them!

[@organicpaul]

Well it looks great!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you!

[@tonygary7611]

Nicely done

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@tonygary7611]

@@HammerheadModelMaking very welcome

[@rutgaurxi7314]

Fantastic job. Just a slight shame it didn't turn out how you envisioned it the first time around. I do think however it looks a lot better, slightly "fictionalized" as it were. Having returned from my holiday, your work and quite a lot of what I saw at Bamburgh has really inspired me, especially in terms of super detailing models.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thanks for the kind words! In reality it didn't turn out much different than my original vision, just with slightly altered markings, so in the end, I'm still quite pleased with it. Glad to be one source of your inspiration, and I wish you the best of luck in your model making efforts!

[@briankirwan6958]

Great result despite the wall. You are being hard on yourself with regard to the chemical reactions . It happens . Beautiful oil work in those panels. I am gonna have to buy me one of thise Mustangs.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

I appreciate that, its true, we are our own worst critics! I do recommend these mustangs though!

[@tonyde6423]

Nice recovery mate cheers ✌

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@SinQueenSix]

Gonna watch this while painting my f16 lmao

[@SinQueenSix]

Update, was able to finish the painting on my f16, absolutely loved the video, I'm glad you were able to finish it anyway, even with all the problems in the beginning half

[@coachscreations6293]

Great build.. love the video and seeing how you overcame the mishap.. also love the little diorama setup.. where did you get the pilot figure from? Would love to see your figure painting techniques! Keep up the inspiring work!

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you and thank you for watching. I'm really glad I didn't give up on this kit. As for the figure, This figure was sculpted exclusively for Hammerhead Model Making and is available through my Patreon. As for my figure painting techniques, I find it difficult to really film figure painting, but you can get an idea of what it looks like from these videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKrdc4uvobtge80 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWK3ppake52ka6s kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4rKdWmtorufq9E (starts around the 12 minute mark) -Brett

[@coachscreations6293]

Very cool, thank you!

[@FlokisModels]

That had to be hard to scrub all that work and start over. Did the oven cleaner affect the clear parts in anyway? In the end the results are excellent, love all the weathering.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

It was tough! The oven cleaner didn't effect the clear parts at all. Thanks for watching.

[@the-creech4790]

👍👍👍

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thanks!

[@chrissakal532]

Ok, I see what went wrong. Tamiya's clear gloss is a lacquer. I typically hated lacquer paints but I found that Tamiya's work really well. You typically use acrylic paints from what I gather. Tamiya's gloss would be 'hot' compared to your base paint. That's why it had such a bad reaction to your paint. To spray any of the gloss Tamiya lacquers, I warm them up for about 10 minutes in a cup of warm water. They do work beautifully.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Interesting, thanks for the additional info! It will help prevent future SANFUs!

[@chrissakal532]

You're welcome! I pretty much grew up with Model Master but they kind of went 'Tango-Uniform' so I had to find a replacement that I like. You've said it in a few videos: do what works for you. I found that Tamiya's acrylics work well for detail painting. They brush very nicely. The lacquers do spray well and they cure pretty fast. You also don't really need a gloss coat over the gloss colors. But, to avoid problems, I stick with Tamiya. The reason is that their products are designed to work with each other (like Tamiya paints with Tamiya washes, and Tamiya thinner for example). I'm still trying to get the hang of the Tamiya putty. Most times it wants to just flake off.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

@@chrissakal532 I love the Tamiya acrylic stuff, they're great, my only issue is their limited color range, and I just don't like mixing colors. If they offered the range that like Vallejo or Mig offer, I'd probably use Tamiya exclusively!

[@chrissakal532]

@HammerheadModelMaking That is true. I use the acrylics for detail painting so the limited selection is ok for me. I might have to try some of the paints you use. I actually think I can pull off some of the oil painting. Part of the reason I like older kits is A: They're nostalgia builds for me. and B: They're cheap and I can try out different supplies (paint, glue, etc.) and techniques. If it doesn't quite work then at least I didn't mess up an expensive Hasegawa/Tamiya/Eduard kit.

[@michaelleesmith5903]

Great video. Is that a rubber eraser you’re using to remove the masking material on the interior? Thanks

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Its not quite an eraser, its a bit of rubber gum I got at a local art store, but its purpose is for lifting liquid mask off of water color paper, if that helps. Thanks for watching.

[@travnickis1]

Now do a shelf queen. We all have them.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

I’ve have one or two I’ve been considering being down to work on.

[@skcoleman1150]

Another great build as it turns out, I'm having a hiccup with my paint, I have a 1960 Chevy pickup I have stripped the paint three times. I prime it sand it and when I go to paint, it wrinkles up and I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thats a tough one, what paint and primer are you using?

[@skcoleman1150]

@HammerheadModelMaking with model cars I use Rustoleum primer and paint, this is the first time I've have had to strip it 3 times, I even used a cheap can of paint and just sprayed the hood of the truck and it did the same thing. So I don't know what to, I might try and go to using an air brush.

[@blacknass1943]

your amazing astonisching work is hard underratet. wer ar you model fahn guys :) ? watch Hammerhead model making.

[@arnijonbaldursson2183]

I need to point out that the name of the plane is wrong. it's actually North American P 51 Mustang. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang

[@HammerheadModelMaking]

Thank you for your comment, and yes its true, this is a version of the Mustang, the name however is not wrong. The A-36 is a variation of the P-51A. It had structural modifications to its wing and fuselage as well as the inclusion of Dive Brakes, not standard for the P-51A. As a result, the Army Air Force redesignated it the "A-36" to reflect its ground attack and dive bombing profile: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_A-36