Sunday 12 August 2012

new tool 1:72nd Airfix P-51D Mustang- first one finished






This is " Lollipoop II " a 100 FS machine of the 332nd FG flown by Lt. Spurgeon Ellington out of Ramitelli, Italy in late 1944. Click on the images to get in close...

Difficult to go to far wrong with a nice new tool Mustang! Careful with the canopy though as it is definitely the weak point of the model in my opinion, that is, when you've finished wrestling with the wing fit. It is very easy to spoil the model by marking the clear part of the hood when you remove it from the sprue and it still looks rather thick when attached to the `solid’ canopy rail. In addition the windscreen on my model was very tight and hard to fit to the fuselage. It might be an idea to use a spare canopy out of the spares box if you have one, but the rest of the kit is great and the dropped flaps are excellent.  The drop tanks are the only other 'weak' point - they lack the very characteristic 'seam'. The decals are went on perfectly, although I didn't use the yellow bands or the red trim, preferring to mask and paint. I still have some small stencils to put on but otherwise this one is finished. Tamiya quality at half the price. Now to start on the 'starter set' of this kit with RAF markings for 112 Squadron complete with `sharks mouth’. 









2 comments:

  1. As an admirer of the 332nd FG I was looking forward to this build. You've done an excellent job!

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  2. thanks...I always feel a little guilty about devoting so much time and space to 'quick' builds and 'easy' subjects on here, but I guess I'm a sucker for a nice new tool and after all - as you point out yourself - its about having fun ...and getting stuff finished!

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