[YankeeBoy]

The subject of visible flush-riveting on scale models has a long history of debate in the modeling community. In the case of the Mustang the volume and intensity sometimes "pegs the meter." The Mustang's laminar flow airfoil was so sensitive to surface irregularities that nearly the leading half of the wing was coated with a filler, sanded smooth and painted with an aluminum colored paint. A factory-fresh Mustang would show no rivets on the wings because of this treatment. The coating deteriorated in service and did not lend itself to resurfacing in the field.

Flush rivets in 1:32 scale would have a head diameter of about .008 inches - smaller than the preceding decimal point. If you consider a viewing distance of one real foot to the model (32 feet away from the real thing) then flush rivets just aren't going to be visible. The much larger Dzus fasteners as seen on the cowling maintenance panels, yes, but flush rivets, no.

Having said that, I do not expect to change anyone's mind about "rivets vs. rivets" on scale models. It really boils down to a matter of "artistic" preference. Does one like the look of hundreds of little dots or does one prefer to limit the amount of surface structural detail to that which might be visible at the equivalent scale viewing distance? It is a matter of personal taste.

Regarding bare metal surfaces, I have always preferred the solid, pale grey (with a hint of blue) for my bare metal (similar to that on the XP-72 test build I am doing for Will Aldridge.) I prefer to let natural lighting make shadows/reflections on the model for me rather that have them applied artificially. Again, this is a matter of personal taste and the designer-artist's preference of style.

My advice to all (including myself) is to let the designer-artists do it their way and, if we don't like it, either don't purchase/build the model or repaint it yourself. Bottom line - Dave, keep on keeping on! This looks like a very interesting project and I look forward to comparing it to the previous Halinski, Marek and Zarkov designs.