MODEL

AIRCRAFT
EXTRA

No.4

BUILDING THE

P-51 Mustang
Compiled by Andy Evans
 1

P-51C of 311 FG, China, July

1945, shows the rarely
fitted dorsal fin fillet 

MA PUBLICATIONS LTD

Model Aircraft Extra #4

Building the P-51 Mustang
Compiled by Andy Evans

Produced under licence by:

MA Publications Ltd
PO Box 1592, Bedford, MK40 9FD | UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 1234 331431
Email: info@modelaircraftmag.com
Website: www.modelaircraftmag.com
© 2019 MA Publications Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any other
information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the
publishers.
ISBN: 978-1-9161005-3-4
Complied by: Andy Evans
Design & Layout: Andy Folds,

The P-51 Mustang

Jonathan Phillips
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom

Contents
Introduction – The P-51 Mustang 2
Yoxford Boys Pony – 1:48 Meng-Model P-51D 10
Buzz Boy Mustang – 1:48 Tamiya P-51D 16
Rovin Rhoda – 1:48 Eduard P-51D 22
A Magnificent Mustang – 1:48 Tamiya RAF Mustang III 26
Shangri-La – 1:32 Revell P-51B 32
Step by Step Stallion – 1:72 Academy P-51B 37
Blue Nose Stallion – 1:32 Tamiya P-51D 44
Middle East Mustang – 1:32 Zoukei-Mura P-51D 48
Mustang from Down Under – 1:32 Tamiya P-51K 54
Detroit Miss - 1:48 Airfix Mustang Mk.IV/P-51K 60
Iron Ass Mustang – 1:48 Tamiya P-51D 66
Swedish Stallion – 1:48 Airfix P-51D 70
A USAAF armourer of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter
Group, 15th Air Force checks ammunition belts of the Browning British Mustang - 1:48 Tamiya P-51D 74
machine guns in the wings of a P-51B in Italy, circa September 1944
2
The P-51 Mustang
T
he North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was
an American-designed long-range, single-
seat fighter and fighter-bomber used
during World War II and the Korean War, among
other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940
by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a
requirement of the British Purchasing Commission,
who approached North American Aviation to
build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal
Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from
another company, North American Aviation proposed
the design and production of a more modern fighter.
The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on
9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was
signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang
was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine (which
had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier
variants). The aircraft was first flown operationally by
the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance
aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk.I). Replacing
the Allison with a Rolls-Royce Merlin resulted in the
INTRODUCTION – P-51 MUSTANG
North American F-51D Mustang fighters of No.2 Squadron of the South African Air Force in Korea, on 1 May 1951
P-51B/C (Mustang Mk.III) model and transformed the
aircraft’s performance at altitudes above 15,000ft
(without sacrificing range),] allowing it to compete
with the Luftwaffe’s fighters. The definitive version,
the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-
7, a license-built version of the two-speed two-
stage-supercharged Merlin 66 and was armed with
six .50 calibre M2/AN Browning machine guns.
From late 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs (supplemented by
P-51Ds from mid-1944) were used by the USAAF’s Eighth
Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany,
while the RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force and the
USAAF’s Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered
Mustangs as fighter-bombers, roles in which the
Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.
The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North
African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theatres.
During World War II, and Mustang pilots claimed to
have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft. At the start of the
Korean War, the Mustang, by then redesignated F-51,
was the main fighter of the United Nations until jet

A Mustang I in British camouflage and outdated American markings on a test flight from the Inglewood, California factory in October 1942
fighters, including North American’s F-86, took over
this role; the Mustang then became a specialised
fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters,
the Mustang remained in service with some air forces
until the early 1980s. After the Korean War, Mustangs
became popular civilian warbirds and air racing aircraft
As notes earlier, the Mustang was initially developed
for the RAF, which was its first user. As the first
Mustangs were built to British requirements, these
aircraft used factory numbers and were not P-51s;
the order comprised 320 NA-73s, followed by 300
NA-83s, all of which were designated North American
Mustang Mark I by the RAF. The first RAF Mustangs
supplied under Lend-Lease were ninety-three P-51s,
designated Mk.IA, followed by fifty P-51As used
as Mustang Mk.IIs. Aircraft supplied to Britain under
Lend-Lease were required for accounting purposes to
be on the USAAC’s books before they could be supplied
to Britain. However, the British Aircraft Purchasing
Commission signed its first contract for the North
American NA-73 on 24 April 1940, before Lend-Lease
was in effect. Thus, the initial order for the P-51 Mustang
(as it was later known) was placed by the British under
the ‘cash and carry’ program, as required by the US
Neutrality Acts of the 1930s. After the arrival of the initial
aircraft in the UK in October 1941, the first Mustang Mk.Is
entered service in January 1942, the first unit being No.26
Squadron RAF. Due to poor high-altitude performance,
the Mustangs were used by Army Co-operation
Command, rather than Fighter Command, and were used
for tactical reconnaissance and ground-attack duties. On
3
10 May 1942, Mustangs first flew over France, near Berck-
sur-Mer. On 27 July 1942, 16 RAF Mustangs undertook
their first long-range reconnaissance mission over
Germany. During the amphibious Dieppe Raid on the
French coast (19 August 1942), four British and Canadian
Mustang squadrons, including No.26 Squadron, saw
action covering the assault on the ground. By 1943–1944,
British Mustangs were used extensively to seek out V-1
flying bomb sites. The last RAF Mustang Mk.I and
Mustang Mk.II aircraft were struck off charge in 1945.
The RAF also operated 308 P-51Bs and 636 P-51Cs,
which were known in RAF service as Mustang Mk.IIIs;
the first units converted to the type in late 1943 and
early 1944. Mustang Mk.III units were operational
until the end of World War II, though many units had
already converted to the Mustang Mk.IV (P-51D) and Mk.
IVa (P-51K) (828 in total, comprising 282 Mk.IV and 600
Mk.IVa).As all except the earliest aircraft were obtained
under Lend-Lease, all Mustang aircraft still on RAF
charge at the end of the War were either returned to the
USAAF ‘on paper’ or retained by the RAF for scrapping.
The last RAF Mustangs were retired from service in 1947.
The 8th Air Force started operations from Britain in
August 1942, and their initial efforts met limited and
unorganised resistance, but with every mission, the
Luftwaffe moved more aircraft to the west and quickly
improved their battle direction. In autumn 1943, the 8th
Air Force’s heavy bombers conducted a series of deep-
penetration raids into Germany, beyond the range of
escort fighters. The Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission in
August lost sixty B-17s of a force of 376, the 14 October
4
attack lost seventy-seven from of a force of 291. Losses
were so severe that long-range missions were called
off for a time until an effective escort could be found.
In early 1943, the USAAF also decided that the P-47
Thunderbolt and P-51B be considered for the role of a
smaller escort fighter. In August, a P-51B was fitted with
an extra internal eighty-five gallon tank, and although
problems with longitudinal stability occurred and some
compromises in performance with the tank full were
made, and because the fuel from the fuselage tank
would be used during the initial stages of a mission,
the fuel tank would be fitted in all Mustangs destined
for VIII Fighter Command. The P-51 Mustang proved
to be a great solution to the need for an effective
bomber escort. It used a common, reliable engine
and had internal space for a larger-than-average fuel
load, and with external fuel tanks, it could accompany
the bombers from England to Germany and back.
However, the Allison engine in the P-51A had a
single-stage supercharger that caused power to drop
off rapidly above 15,000ft. This made it unsuitable
for combat at the altitudes where USAAF bombers
planned to fly. Following the RAF’s initial disappointing
experience with the Mustang I (P-51A), Ronald Harker, a
test pilot for Rolls-Royce, suggested fitting a Merlin 61,
as fitted to the Spitfire Mk.IX. The Merlin 61 had a two-
speed, two-stage, intercooled supercharger, designed
INTRODUCTION – P-51 MUSTANG
North American P-51B ‘Shoo Shoo Baby’
by Stanley Hooker of Rolls-Royce, and this gave an
increase in horsepower from the Allison’s 1,200hp to
1,620hp (1,720hp in War Emergency Power) delivering
an increase of top speed from 390 to 440mph, as
well as raising the service ceiling to almost 42,000ft.
Initial flights of what was known to Rolls-Royce as
the Mustang Mk.X were completed at Rolls-Royce’s
airfield at Hucknall in October 1942. At the same time,
the possibility of combining the P-51 airframe with the
US license-built Packard version of the Merlin engine
was being explored on the other side of the Atlantic.
In July 1942 a contract was let for two prototypes,
briefly designated XP-78 but soon to become the
XP-51B. The first flight of the XP-51B took place in
November 1942, but the USAAF was so interested in
the possibility that an initial contract for 400 aircraft
was placed three months beforehand in August.  The
conversion led to production of the P-51B beginning
at North American’s Inglewood, California, plant in
June 1943, and P-51s started to become available to
the 8th and 9th Air Forces in the winter of 1943–1944.
During the conversion to the two-stage, supercharged
Merlin engine, which was slightly heavier than the
single-stage Allison, so moved the aircraft’s centre-
of-gravity forward, North American’s engineers took
the opportunity to add a large additional fuselage
fuel tank behind the pilot, greatly increasing the

An F-82 in formation with a P-51D
aircraft’s range over that of the earlier P-51A.
By the time the Pointblank offensive resumed in early
1944, matters had changed. Bomber escort defences
were initially layered, using the shorter-range P-38s
and P-47s to escort the bombers during the initial
stages of the raid before handing over to the P-51s
when they were forced to turn for home. This provided
continuous coverage during the raid. The Mustang was
so clearly superior to earlier US designs that the 8th
Air Force began to steadily switch its fighter groups to
the Mustang, first swapping arriving P-47 groups to
the 9th Air Force in exchange for those that were using
P-51s, then gradually converting its Thunderbolt and
Lightning groups. By the end of 1944, fourteen of its
fifteen groups flew the Mustang. The Luftwaffe’s twin-
engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters brought
up to deal with the bombers proved to be easy prey for
the Mustangs and had to be quickly withdrawn from
combat. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190A, already suffering from
poor high-altitude performance, was outperformed
by the Mustang at the B-17’s altitude, and when laden
with heavy bomber-hunting weapons as a replacement
for the more vulnerable twin-engined Zerstörer heavy
fighters, it suffered heavy losses. The Messerschmitt Bf
109 had comparable performance at high altitudes, but
its lightweight airframe was even more greatly affected
by increases in armament. The Mustang’s much lighter
armament, tuned for anti-fighter combat, allowed it
to overcome these single-engined opponents. At the
start of 1944, Major General James Doolittle, the new
5
commander of the 8th Air Force, ordered many fighter
pilots to stop flying in formation with the bombers and
instead attack the Luftwaffe wherever it could be found.
The aim was to achieve air supremacy. Mustang groups
were sent far ahead of the bombers in a ‘fighter sweep’
in order to intercept attacking German fighters. The
Luftwaffe answered with the Gefechtsverband (‘battle
formation’). This consisted of a Sturmgruppe of
heavily armed and armoured Fw 190As escorted
by two Begleitgruppen of Messerschmitt Bf 109s,
whose task was to keep the Mustangs away from
the Fw 190As attacking the bombers. This strategy
proved to be problematic, as the large German
formation took a long time to assemble and was
difficult to manoeuvre. It was often intercepted
by the P-51 ‘fighter sweeps’ before it could attack
the bombers. However, German attacks against
bombers could be effective when they did occur; the
bomber-destroyer Fw 190As swept in from astern
and often pressed their attacks to within 100 yards.
The numerical superiority of the USAAF fighters,
superb flying characteristics of the P-51, and pilot
proficiency helped cripple the Luftwaffe’s fighter force.
As a result, the fighter threat to US, and later British,
bombers were greatly diminished by July 1944. The
RAF, long proponents of night bombing for protection,
were able to reopen daylight bombing in 1944 as a
result of the crippling of the Luftwaffe fighter arm. On
15 April 1944, VIII Fighter Command began Operation
‘Jackpot’ attacks on Luftwaffe fighter airfields. As
6
the efficacy of these missions increased, the number
of fighters at the German airbases fell to the point
where they were no longer considered worthwhile
targets. On 21 May, targets were expanded to include
railways, locomotives, and rolling stock used by the
Germans to transport materiel and troops, in missions
dubbed ‘Chattanooga’. The P-51 excelled at this
mission, although losses were much higher on strafing
missions than in air-to-air combat, partially because
the Mustang’s liquid-cooled engine (particularly its
coolant system) was vulnerable to small-arms fire,
unlike the air-cooled R-2800 radials of its Republic
P-47 Thunderbolt stablemates based in England,
regularly tasked with ground-strafing missions.
Given the overwhelming Allied air superiority,
the Luftwaffe put its effort into the development of
aircraft of such high performance that they could
operate with impunity, but which also made bomber
attack much more difficult, merely from the flight
velocities they achieved. Foremost among these
were the Messerschmitt Me 163B point-defence
rocket interceptors, which started their operations
with JG 400 near the end of July 1944, and the
longer-endurance Messerschmitt Me 262A jet fighter.
Lt. Chuck Yeager of the 357th Fighter Group was one
of the first American pilots to shoot down an Me 262,
which he caught during its landing approach. On 7
October 1944, Lt. Urban L Drew of the 361st Fighter
Group shot down two Me 262s that were taking off,
while on the same day Lt. Col. Hubert Zemke, who had
INTRODUCTION – P-51 MUSTANG
A USAAF North American F-6C from the 111th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in World War II
transferred to the Mustang-equipped 479th Fighter
Group, shot down what he thought was a Bf 109, only
to have his gun camera film reveal that it may have
been an Me 262. On 25 February 1945, Mustangs of
the 55th Fighter Group surprised an entire Staffel of
Me 262As at take-off and destroyed six jets. The
Mustang also proved useful against the V-1s launched
toward London. P-51B/Cs using 150-octane fuel were
fast enough to catch the V-1 and operated in concert
with shorter-range aircraft such as advanced marks of
the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Tempest. By 8
May 1945, the 8th, 9th, and 15th Air Force’s P-51 groups
claimed some 4,950 aircraft shot down (about half of
all USAAF claims in the European theatre, the most
claimed by any Allied fighter in air-to-air combat) and
4,131 destroyed on the ground. Losses were about 2,520
aircraft. The 8th Air Force’s 4th Fighter Group was the
top-scoring fighter group in Europe, with 1,016 enemy
aircraft claimed destroyed. This included 550 claimed
in aerial combat and 466 on the ground. In air combat,
the top-scoring P-51 units (both of which exclusively
flew Mustangs) were the 357th Fighter Group of the
8th Air Force with 565 air-to-air combat victories and
the 9th Air Force’s 354th Fighter Group with 664,
which made it one of the top-scoring fighter groups.
The top Mustang ace was the USAAF’s George Preddy,
whose final tally stood at 26.83 victories (a number
that includes shared one half- and one third victory
credits), twenty-three of which were scored with the
P-51. Preddy was shot down and killed by friendly fire on

P-51D Mustang ‘Lou IV’ of the 361st Fighter Group Little Walden Airfield England
Christmas Day 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.
In early 1945, P-51C, D, and K variants also joined
the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. These Mustangs
were provided to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Fighter Groups
and used to attack Japanese targets in occupied
areas of China. The P-51 became the most capable
fighter in China, while the Imperial Japanese Army Air
Force used the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate against it. The
P-51 was a relative latecomer to the Pacific Theatre, due
largely to the need for the aircraft in Europe, although
the P-38’s twin-engined design was considered a
safety advantage for long, over-water flights. The
first P-51s were deployed in the Far East later in 1944,
operating in close-support and escort missions, as
well as tactical photo reconnaissance. As the war in
Europe wound down, the P-51 became more common;
eventually, with the capture of Iwo Jima, it was able
to be used as a bomber escort during Boeing B-29
Superfortress missions against the Japanese homeland.
The P-51 was often mistaken for the Japanese Kawasaki
Ki-61 Hien in both China and Pacific because of its
similar appearance. In the aftermath of World War II,
the USAAF consolidated much of its wartime combat
force and selected the P-51 as a ‘standard’ piston-
engined fighter, while other types, such as the P-38 and
P-47, were withdrawn or given substantially reduced
roles. As more advanced jet fighters were introduced,
the P-51 was also relegated to secondary duties.
In 1947, the newly formed USAF Strategic Air
7
Command employed Mustangs alongside F-6
Mustangs and F-82 Twin Mustangs, due to their
range capabilities. In 1948, the designation P-51 (P for
pursuit) was changed to F-51 (F for fighter) and the
existing F designator for photographic reconnaissance
aircraft was dropped because of a new designation
scheme throughout the USAF. Aircraft still in service
in the USAF or Air National Guard (ANG) when the
system was changed included: F-51B, F-51D, F-51K, RF-
51D (formerly F-6D), RF-51K (formerly F-6K) and TRF-
51D (two-seat trainer conversions of F-6Ds). They
remained in service from 1946 through 1951. By 1950,
although Mustangs continued in service with the USAF
after the war, the majority of the USAF’s Mustangs
had become surplus to requirements and placed in
storage, while some were transferred to the Air Force
Reserve and the ANG. From the start of the Korean War,
the Mustang once again proved useful. A substantial
number of stored or in-service F-51Ds were shipped, via
aircraft carriers, to the combat zone, and were used by
the USAF, the South African Air Force, and the Republic
of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). The F-51 was used for
ground attack, fitted with rockets and bombs, and
photo reconnaissance, rather than being as interceptors
or pure fighters. After the first North Korean invasion,
USAF units were forced to fly from bases in Japan and
the F-51Ds, with their long range and endurance, could
attack targets in Korea that short-ranged F-80 jets could
not. Because of the vulnerable liquid cooling system,
8
P-51D 44-14888 of the 8th AF/357th FG/363rd FS, named ‘Glamorous Glen III’, is the aircraft in which Chuck Yeager achieved most of his 12.5
kills, including two Me 262s
however, the F-51s sustained heavy losses to ground
fire. Due to its lighter structure and a shortage of spare
parts, the newer, faster F-51H was not used in Korea.
Mustangs continued flying with USAF and ROKAF
fighter-bomber units on close support and interdiction
missions in Korea until 1953, when they were largely
replaced as fighter-bombers by USAF F-84s and by US
Navy Grumman F9F Panthers. Other air forces and
units using the Mustang included the Royal Australian
Air Force’s No.77 Squadron, which flew Australian-
built Mustangs as part of British Commonwealth
Forces Korea. The Mustangs were replaced by Gloster
Meteor F8s in 1951. The South African Air Force’s No.2
Squadron used US-built Mustangs as part of the 18th
Fighter Bomber Wing and suffered heavy losses by 1953,
after which the squadron converted to the F-86 Sabre.
F-51s flew in the Air Force Reserve and ANG
throughout the 1950s. The last American USAF Mustang
was F-51D-30-NA AF serial no. 44-74936, which was
finally withdrawn from service with the West Virginia Air
National Guard’s 167th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in
INTRODUCTION – P-51 MUSTANG
January. The final withdrawal of the Mustang from USAF
dumped hundreds of P-51s onto the civilian market.
The rights to the Mustang design were purchased from
North American by the Cavalier Aircraft Corporation,
which attempted to market the surplus Mustang aircraft
in the US and overseas. In 1967 and again in 1972, the
USAF procured batches of remanufactured Mustangs
from Cavalier, most of them destined for air forces
in South America and Asia that were participating in
the Military Assistance Program (MAP). These aircraft
were remanufactured from existing original F-51D
airframes fitted with new V-1650-7 engines, a new
radio, tall F-51H-type vertical tails, and a stronger wing
that could carry six 13mm machine guns and a total of
eight underwing hardpoints. They all had an original
F-51D-type canopy but carried a second seat for an
observer behind the pilot. One additional Mustang
was a two-seat, dual-control TF-51D (67-14866) with an
enlarged canopy and only four wing guns. Although
these remanufactured Mustangs were intended for
sale to South American and Asian nations through
the MAP, they were delivered to the USAF with full
USAF markings. They were, however, allocated new
serial numbers (67-14862/14866, 67-22579/22582 and
72-1526/1541). The last US military use of the F-51
was in 1968, when the US Army employed a vintage
F-51D (44-72990) as a chase aircraft for the Lockheed
YAH-56 Cheyenne armed helicopter project. The
F-51 was adopted twenty-five foreign air forces and
continued to be an effective fighter into the mid-1980s
with smaller air arms. The last Mustang ever downed
in battle occurred during Operation ‘Power Pack’ in
the Dominican Republic in 1965, with the last aircraft
finally being retired by the Dominican Air Force in 1984.
Various marks of the P-51 were used by the air
forces of Australia, Bolivia, Canada, China, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France,
Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, Italy,
Japan, Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand,
Philippines, Poland, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea,
Sweden, Switzerland, Soviet Union and Uruguay.

Variants
P-51 Variants
NA-73X Mustang Mk.I (NA-73
and NA-83) - The first production
contract was awarded by the British
for 320 NA-73 fighters. A second
British contract for 300 more Mustang
Mk.Is was assigned a model number
of NA-83 by North American. The
RAF mostly used its Allison-engined
Mustangs as tactical-photo reconnaissance
fighters, fitting many of its Mustang Is,
IAs, and IIs with camera equipment.
XP-51 - Two aircraft of the first
production batch, delivered to the USAAF.
P-51 (NA-91) - In September 1940 150 aircraft were ordered by the USAAF.
These were designated by the USAAF as P-51 and initially named the Apache,
although this name was dropped early-on for Mustang. The British designated
this model as Mustang Mk.IA. A-36A Apache (NA-97) - In early 1942, the
USAAF ordered a lot of 500 aircraft modified as dive bombers and designated
A-36A. This model became the first USAAF Mustang to see combat. One
aircraft was passed to the British, who gave it the name Mustang Mk.I
P-51A (NA-99) - Following the A-36A order, the USAAF ordered 310 P-51As,
fifty of which were delivered to the RAF as Mustang IIs. Thirty-five P-51As were
equipped with K-24 cameras and designated F-6B. All these models of the Mustang
were equipped with Allison V-1710 engines except the prototype XP-51B.
XP-51B (NA-101) - Two USAAF ordered P-51s had been allocated to
be fitted and tested with Packard-Merlin’s; these were first called
XP-78s by the USAAF, but were soon re-designated as XP-51Bs.
P-51B (NA-102) - Beginning with this model the Packard V-1650-
3 replaced the Allison, although from the P-51B-10NA series the
V-1650-7 was used. Almost 2,000 P-51Bs were built.
P-51C (NA-103) - In the summer of 1943, Mustang production was begun at a new
plant in Dallas, Texas, as well as at the existing facility in Inglewood, California.
The P-51C version mainly used the medium-altitude rated V-1650-7. The RAF
named these models Mustang Mk.III. 1,750 P-51Cs were built. The RAF also used
P-51Bs and Cs, designating them Mustang IIIs. A number of P-51Bs and Cs were
modified as tactical-photo reconnaissance fighters and re-designated as F-6Cs.
P-51D (NA-106) - A P-51B-1NA (43-12102) was modified and tested
with a cut down rear fuselage and clear-blown canopy structure,
becoming the fore-runner of the production P-51Ds.
P-51D (NA-109) - As well as the modified fuselage and new canopy the
production P-51Ds had modified wings compared with the P-51B/C series
and became the most widely produced variant of the Mustang, with
6,502 being built at Inglewood and 1,600 at Dallas - a combined total of
8,102. 280 were used by the RAF and designated Mustang Mk.IV.
P-51K - A Dallas-built variation of the P-51D equipped with an
Aeroproducts propeller in place of the Hamilton Standard propeller
was designated P-51K; 1,500 of these were built. The RAF received
594 P-51-Ks and assigned them the name Mustang Mk.IVA.
F-6D - 136 Dallas built P-51Ds were completed as photo-
reconnaissance version designated F-6D. 147 Inglewood built P-51Ds
were converted to F-6D standard for a total of 283 F-6Ds.
F-6K - The photo-reconnaissance versions of the P-51K, of
which 163 were built in Dallas, was designated F-6K.
9
P-51D-5-NA, assigned to Lieutenant Abe P. Rosenberger, with the
kinked wing root leading edge and the added fin fillet on the tail
present
P-51F - As the USAAF specifications required airframe design to a higher
load factor than that used by the British for their fighters, consideration
was given to re-designing the Mustang to the lower British requirements
in order to reduce the weight of the aircraft and thus improve performance.
In 1943, North American submitted a proposal to do the re-design as
model NA-105, which was accepted by the USAAF. The designation XP-
51F was assigned for prototypes powered with V-1650 engines. A small
number of P-51Fs were passed to the British as the Mustang Mk.V.
P-51G - XP-51G was assigned to those variants with reverse lend/lease Merlin
14.SM engines. Modifications included changes to the cowling, a simplified
undercarriage with smaller wheels and disk brakes, and a larger canopy.
P-51J - A third prototype was added to the development that was powered
by an Allison V-1710 engine. This aircraft was designated XP-51J
P-51H - The final production Mustang, the P-51H, embodied the experience
gained in the development of the lightweight XP-51F and XP-51G aircraft. This
aircraft, model NA-126, and, with minor differences, NA-129, came too late to
participate in World War II, but it brought the development of the Mustang to a
peak and was one of the fastest production piston-engine fighters to see service.
P-51L - With the cutback in production, the variants of the P-51H with
different versions of the Merlin engine were produced in either limited
numbers or terminated, including the P-51L, similar to the P-51H but
utilizing the 2,270hp V-1650-11 engine, which was never built.
P-51M - The Dallas-built version of the P-51H, the P-51M, or NA-124,
which utilised the V-1650-9A engine lacking water injection and
therefore rated for lower maximum power, of which one was built
out of the original 1629 ordered, AAF Serial Number 45-11743.
TF-51D - Twin seat/dual control version of the F-51 with four versus six guns.
F-82 Twin Mustang - Very long-range (VLR) development of the
Mustang obtained by coupling two highly modified P-51H fuselages to
a single wing. First flown in June 1945, it was to be the last American
piston-engine fighter ordered into production by the USAF, with
272 built, and was subsequently deployed in the Korean War.
10
‘Yoxford Boys’ Pony
Alan Kelley builds the 1:48 Meng-Model P-51D in the colours of Captain Charles
E. ‘Chuck’ Weaver of the 362nd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, Yoxford,
England, 1945.
T
amiya first released their 1:48 P-51D Mustang
back in 1995 and, until 2017 it has remained
the best in this scale. However, we now have
newer examples of the P-51 from Eduard,
Meng-Model and Airfix. I have looked at these kits
very closely and they are equally fantastic, although I
preferred the refinement and detail of the Eduard and
Airfix kits. That said, the Meng-Model offering looked
a great kit and I decided to purchase one. Part of the
reason for this was I wanted to try out their ‘glue-free’
approach on this kit. When most modellers think of
this they immediately think back to the old Revell
BUILD 1 – P-51 MUSTANG
‘Snap-Tite’ kits, however, this kit is nothing like that-
the approach Meng-Model have taken to this makes
the kit an absolute joy to build. They have eliminated
all of the major fuselage seams and the top cowl,
bottom cowl, and rear fuselage insert are all moulded
as a one-piece ‘push in’ part and the fit is sublime.
Most of the major sub-assemblies push together
snugly using large plugs. In some respects there is a
P-51D MUSTANG FIGHTER
MANUFACTURER:
MENG-MODEL
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: LS-006
similarity on fit around the nose similar to the Tamiya
1:32 kit, however, Tamiya made these parts removable
so as to expose the Merlin engine underneath.
The kit comes in 102 injection-moulded pieces and
there are also five clear parts. The decal sheet looks
good and is in perfect register, although I do not intend
to use it on this build. I planned this finish on this project
to be as close to plain bare metal as possible - the only
colour I want to add is the anti-glare strip in front of
the windscreen, and the unit markings on the nose.
I plan to finish the build as the personnel aircraft of

I needed to add
the seat belts,
which Meng-
Model have
omitted from
the kit
Adding the windshield
ready for masking
Captain Charles E ‘Chuck’ Weaver of Detroit, Michigan,
362nd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, Yoxford,
England, 1945, serial no. 44-72199. The aircraft has a
distinctive piece of nose art - a nude lady reclining on
a black sheet. Construction began by removing all the
major parts from the sprues and cleaning them up.
The cockpit is well-detailed straight-from-the-box- the
only thing I needed to add was the seat belts, which
Meng-Model have omitted from the kit, and I also
added a couple of knobs on the starboard side console
punched out of sheet styrene. Both sides of the fuselage
were sprayed using Mr Hobby Aqueous H58 Interior
Green, and the detail was all picked out using Vallejo
acrylics dry brushed initially, before using a 000 brush
to mark all the details in. I also added the wiring to the
battery packs at the rear of the cockpit. Meng-Model
supplies a decal for the instrument panel, but I had a
Sky Decals marking sheet in my ‘spares-box’ that had
a panel on it. I punched the individual instruments out
and with the aid of some Microsol placed these into the
recesses for each dial. I also used some Airscale cockpit
placards for added realism. The K-14 gunsight is a clear
moulded piece that was painted and slotted into place,
with the armoured glass plate pushed into place.
I joined the two parts of the fuselage together and
ran a little Tamiya Extra Thin glue along the joins to
ensure the parts stayed firmly in place. However, when
I went to add the windscreen and forward cowls, I
11
The completed look
of the cockpit
Alclad provided the natural
metal shades for my ‘pony’
noticed there is a fit issue - when all three parts are put
in place, the middle part and windshield will not sit
correctly. I had to do some trimming to get these pieces
to fit, and had to run a little putty under the middle
piece to hide the gap that remained. I then set this
aside and concentrated on painting the tail planes and
rudder, which come as separate parts. This would come
in handy if one is intending to have a painted rudder -
my version will just be painted silver. The parts were all
primed using Alclad Black Primer and Micro Filler that
once dry, was buffed into a shine. I used Alclad Airframe
Aluminium for the metal parts of the tail planes, and
Dull Aluminium for the silver painted elevators. Once
these had dried thoroughly, I used AK Interactive
Gauzy to seal the finish, before weathering using AK
Streaking Grime. I went back to painting the fuselage.
The windshield and cockpit were masked off. I used the
alternative canopy as a mask for the cockpit area. This
was primed in Alclad Black Primer, before being buffed
back to check for any flaws or marks in the fuselage. I
12
I chose to use markings from the Eagle Cals #EC-103 ‘To War with the
Yoxford Boys’ sheet
used several different shades of Alclad to achieve the
finish on the fuselage, highlighting certain panels and
metals on the airframe. I used a combination of Airframe
Aluminium, White Aluminium, Polished Aluminium,
Steel, Stainless Steel and Chrome. Certain panels were
masked off to allow the separate colours to be applied.
I sealed this again using AK Interactive Gauzy. Next in
the process, was to mask the area on the nose for the
anti-glare panel to be added. I sprayed this using Tamiya
XF-62 Olive Drab. Once sealed, I was ready to add the
decals to the fuselage, before working on the wings.
The wings are made up of three principal parts -
the undersection is one continuous spar piece that
incorporates each wing and the central fuselage
section - then you also have the top sections of each
wing. When I built my P-51D Mustang, featured in the
February 2016 issue of Model Aircraft, I added the wings
after the fuselage had been completely finished. A
rationale for doing this was that the wings on the P-51
during World War II were puttied and then painted,
whereas the fuselage was natural metal. I test fitted the
main spar with one wing in place, and it fitted perfectly,
but discovered it is not possible to put both wings in
place, as it will not go on over the bulge in the fuselage
BUILD 1 – P-51 MUSTANG
at the root of the wing. This meant that I would wait to
paint the front of the wing, due to gluing together once
in place and removing the join from the front edge. As
I was trying to recreate an authentic looking World War
II finish I puttied the wing panel lines and rivets using
Milliput, before priming in Alclad Black Primer. These
would be painted using Alclad White Aluminium paint-
this looks paler than the normal paints and shows the
difference between the NMF finish and the painted
wings. The flaps, ailerons and the reinforced panels on
the belly, behind the undercarriage doors, were given
a coat of Alclad Chrome, as these areas were unpainted
metal. These were sealed and added to the wings. The
flaps and ailerons have to be added before the wings
are glued together as they use locating pins that have
quite large tabs at top to hold them in place. The wings
were placed into positions and both halves pushed
together. I ran a very thin line of Tamiya Extra Thin
along the edges to keep these sealed. Once this was
dry, I buffed the edges back, removing the join marks.
I then masked the wing from the gun bays back,
and added a second coat of White Aluminium to
the front third, covering the areas I had previously
sanded. Once this was dry I clear coated the wings in
preparation for decals. Before getting to the decaling I
prepared the remaining parts for paint- this included the
undercarriage, propeller and drop tanks. The drop tanks
were painted chrome that I then buffed into a high shine
before sealing. The propeller assembly was painted
aluminium initially. I sprayed the tips of each blade
yellow, then once dry, masked these off. I put a coat of
 13

You can see the effects of

different shades of Alclad here

AK Interactive Chipping Fluid over the top half of the

blades and then sprayed them Tyre Black. I then chipped
off the black to show the metal underneath. This was
only done on the top half of each blade, as the Hamilton
Standard propeller used on the P-51D had a rubber cuff
on the bottom half of each blade. The 357th FG wore
distinctive markings on the nose of their aircraft- a red
and yellow checkerboard on the nose, behind
the propeller, and the spinner had 2
red bands separated by a yellow
band. The spinner was sprayed
yellow, masked in the middle and
then the two red bands added. This
was all clear coated for the decals to be
added to the propeller blades. I chose to use
markings from the Eagle Cals #EC-103 ‘To War with
the Yoxford Boys’ sheet, as previously explained. The
artwork for the nose art is beautiful, and I used these
14

perpendicular when in place. I had to cut approximately

Working on the one third of the locating lug off and that gave the gear
propeller legs the correct angle. The hubs push into place in
the tyre, and the assembled wheel then pushes onto
a locating pin on the gear leg. The approach Meng-
Model have made makes the kit very simple to paint,
and so I painted all the smaller assemblies separate
before slotting them into place. The P-51D Mustang
and all the unit and national insignia but I chose to use from Meng-Model is a very welcome arrival on the
a lot of the stencils from the kit, as they appear clearer. market. Their approach to the kit make it rather easy
I had no issues whatsoever getting the decals to to build, but it does not sacrifice anywhere in detail.
conform to the surface of the aircraft, with no silvering. If the modeller chooses to super-detail his build and
Once all the markings were on, the airframe was yet add engines and such there will be a bit of extra work
again clear coated for weathering. I use two steps for required to remove the internal structures of the
weathering- the first is to put a panel line wash over the kit. However, in pure kit form it builds up beautifully
entire model. For this I use Ammo by MIG Dark Brown and creates a great replica of this iconic fighter.
panel wash. I let that dry, then wipe clear with a clean
sheet of kitchen towel. I prefer to do this rather than
use thinner, as the residue left from the wash leaves
a dirt appearance to the paintwork. The second step
is to further enhance the dirt with streaking grime. I
run this around recesses and areas where you would Adding staining and
expect a build-up of dirt. I let this sit for a moment, weathering to the tail…….
before using a rounded brush to blend this in. I
added the exhaust staining using Alclad Hot Metal
shades- namely Sepia, Red and Blue. The sepia
worked to show the dirt from the exhaust whilst the
red and blue worked to show the heat discolouration
on the metal. The next stage was to flatten the
BUILD 1 – P-51 MUSTANG

anti-glare strip, propeller and national markings.

For this I used Tamiya XF-22 Flat Clear.
The final steps to the model were to
add the undercarriage and main
canopy. The main gear legs slot
into place and two lugs hold
them in place. The angle
they legs sit at are far too
 15

…and the fuselage

16

‘Buzz Boy’
Mustang
Nik Wielbo builds a 1:48 P-51D using the Tamiya kit
NORTH AMERICAN P-51D MUSTANG

T
his is the second Tamiya Mustang kit I’ve built, the
first being their P-51B Mustang III in the markings MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
of No.315 (Polish) Squadron RAF, so I knew SCALE: 1:48
before I started that this should be a relatively KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
quick, simple build. Tamiya’s P-51D kit first appeared INJECTION MOULDED
BUILD 2 – P-51 MUSTANG

in 1995 and until very recently was undoubtedly one
of the best Mustang kits available in this scale. The
levels of detail out of the box are overall very good,
although there are a couple of well-known issues such
as the boxed-in wheel wells, the Hamilton Propellers
supplied have cuffs that are too broad, and the join
between the clear plastic element of the canopy and
the canopy frame leave a very noticeable gap. These
KIT NUMBER: 40
issues can be corrected if one desires with after-market
products, except for an Eduard Zoom set for the
cockpit and some replacement decals, my plan was
for this to be a quick, straight-from-the-box build.

Construction began with the cockpit, and having
decided to use the Eduard set, I began by sanding and
scraping off most of the raised details to prepare the
parts for the etched brass replacements. I don’t often
use pre-painted etch for kits, but the level of detail
available with these is light-years ahead of my ability
with a brush, so I was happy to let this one slide. The
interior was painted Interior Green, and washed with
17
some heavily thinned Black oil paint to give the aircraft a
more worn appearance, rather than being factory fresh.
The remaining instrument boxes I hadn’t scraped away
were painted in Tamiya’s NATO Black, and highlighted
with varying shades of Grey to make them pop a bit
more. The etched seatbelts and detailing parts were
all then added, and the fuselage closed. Although
this model is over twenty years old the fit is superb as
is typical of most Tamiya kits. The fuselage required
hardly any clean-up of seam lines and the wing to
fuselage joint which on a lot of kits can be problematic
was as near to perfect as I’ve ever encountered. The
wheel wells were sprayed a custom mix of Zinc-
Chromate Green, based on reference images I found
online, and after another heavily thinned Black oil
wash added more depth to the colour, the appropriate
details were picked out with Tamiya Aluminium.
Before I knew it, the main construction was
complete, and it was time for painting. I’d
decided by this point that I’d build
Captain William G Burlingame’s
‘Buzz Boy IV’ from a Superscale
Decal sheet, with the full-colour
post-war roundels and a green and
white nose as worn by the
41st Fighter Squadron,
35th Fighter Group,
based in Japan in
1947. So, I primed the
model with Alclad Gloss Black Primer in preparation
for the natural metal finish. The wings were then
sprayed Alclad Aluminium to represent a lacquered
finish, and then masked-off so I could focus on the
bare metal finish found on wartime Mustangs. A base
coat of Alclad Airframe Aluminium provided the base,
18

from which to build the higher shine finish.

The numerous panels were masked-off and
sprayed with varying shades, including White
Aluminium, Dark Aluminium, Duraluminium,
with Titanium for the areas around the exhausts.
The Superscale decals reacted beautifully with
Microsol and Microset and even the large green nose
markings conformed perfectly to the difficult curves
they had to wrap around. One element that did
worry me was matching the green of the decals to
the propeller spinner which had to be masked and
BUILD 2 – P-51 MUSTANG
 19

painted. As luck would have it though Superscale have

used a green which is practically identical to Citadel
paints ‘Warpstone Glow’ and in my eyes at least I can’t
see a difference. The decals were sealed under a coat
of Alclad Aqua Gloss, which had the added benefit of
sealing and protecting the high shine, which although
stunning are somewhat fragile and susceptible to
finger marks. Weathering on this model was kept to a
minimum as although they were well-worked machines,
they were also well looked after. Exhaust staining was
applied with Lifecolor Tensocrom Smoke and White
Oxide through my airbrush, along with some extra
smoke around the gun-barrels. The undersides of the
wing around the main undercarriage and fuel tanks
along with the walkway area on the port wing were
stippled using an old brush and a very dilute mixture of
Tamiya Acrylic Thinners and Ammo by MiG Europe Dust
pigments to simulate the dirt that accumulated in these
areas. At this point, I thought I’d finished the model and
proudly posted some images on a Facebook forum.
The most interesting response came from one ‘Burl’
Burlingame – the son of Captain William Burlingame.
20

After the exchange of a few emails, Burl incredibly kindly

agreed to send me high-quality scans of the images he
had of his father from his time in Japan and Korea
immediately after the war. Captain Burlingame’s
squadron had been rotated to Japan late in 1945
to become part of the American occupying forces,
but at weekends they would take four aircraft to Korea
to be the ‘Korean Air Force’ for a few days at a time!
These images highlighted a couple of small issues
for me. Firstly, the Superscale decal instructions had
missed off the green trim around the bottom of the
canopy frame. This was easily fixed as the paint was
straight from the pot. There was also another issue
which cropped up because of Burl’s images, as the
green which Superscale used on their decals is quite
vivid in comparison to the green in the photographs.
Unfortunately, as the decals were already on the
model at this stage I had no option but to accept the
difference. The final issue being the dual wooden aerials
behind the cockpit. I debated whether to address
this, but as I’d already achieved a natural metal finish
I was happy with I was too scared I’d ruin it in trying
to correct the aerials, so this is one inaccuracy I’m
happy to live with. The most rewarding part of this
build though for me was being able to make contact
with the son of Captain Burlingame, and to make
my model far more representative of the real
aircraft. Special thanks go to Burl Burlingame
for very kindly giving me permission to use
his father’s pictures along with my own.
BUILD 2 – P-51 MUSTANG
 21

‘Buzz Boy IV’

in Korea
Photographs courtesy of Burl Burlingame
22
‘Rovin Rhoda’
James Ashton builds the 1:48 Eduard P-51D
G
iven the number of P-51D Mustang kits in this
scale on the market it was a surprise to see
that Eduard have joined the fray. My initial
reaction was ‘not another P-51 kit’? Then I
had second thoughts when I considered what Eduard
have done with previous home-produced kits and
not just re-boxings of other manufacturer’s releases.
It all began with their superb Fw190 range and has
been followed by the Hellcat, Bf109 and what must
be the ultimate Spitfire model, certainly in 1:48. All
these kits have had beautiful levels of surface and
interior detailing. This is complemented by Eduard’s
excellent etch and super-quality decals and a number
of well-chosen attractive options. Upon opening
BUILD 3 – P-51 MUSTANG
the box, you are greeted with the usual high-quality
booklet style glossy instruction sheet and a number
of heavily populated sprues. As I suspected, upon
closer inspection of the main airframe parts the
quality of the detailing is astonishing. Finely recessed
panel lines are complemented by fastener details and
amazingly discreet riveting as seen on the Spitfire kit.
The attention to detail continues to leap out as you
EDUARD P-51D MUSTANG
MANUFACTURER: EDUARD
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 11134
cast your eyes over the cockpit and wheel well parts.
It seems that Eduard have also provided a number
of interior parts for different P-51 variants that will no
doubt follow in times to come. All good so far, but
how does it all go together was the next question to
be answered. As I carefully removed and cleaned up
all the parts for the cockpit it became evident what a
masterpiece this area is. With the addition of etched
placards, instrument panel and seat belts you are left
in no doubt that this is the best detailed P-51 on the
market. The attention to detail continues not only in
the main gear bay but also the rear wheel bay and the
radiator sections. As much as I was enjoying this part
 23

of the construction, I could not help but wonder if the heart in mouth moment was the fit of the wings. I did
fuselage and wings would all go together without any find that I had to squeeze the leading edges together at
hiccoughs. I am happy to report that it does, with care, the wing root to get a nice tight fit. A little light sanding
go together very well indeed. You will need to work of the front edge of the wheel bays made it a lot easier.
along the fuselage a step at a time so as to get good
alignment. Pay attention to the nose and radiator seams
so as to avoid any stepping misalignment. The next big
24
Certainly, this is nothing like the problem in this
area that I encountered with their old tool Fw 190
series. When this assembly is offered up to
the main fuselage, I was very impressed
with the satisfying click as it slotted
nicely into position. With a little sight
adjustment, the wing roots produced
a seamless join along the whole length
of the connection with the fuselage. I had
chosen option D on the instruction sheet
which is the only non-natural metal finished
aircraft. The main reason for this was that I have
seen all the other options already modelled. The
BUILD 3 – P-51 MUSTANG

second was that I had another Olive Drab and Neutral
grey kit I was painting at the time. Not to mention I
quite like the Yellow and Red pattern on the nose and
spinner. The decals are of the highest of quality and
have fine carrier film and are in perfect register. The
checkerboard pattern around the nose is provided in
two parts and they did require a bit of manoeuvring
and setting solution to get them to conform.
I nearly forgot to mention another bonus
of Eduard kits is the provision of their
high quality die cut masking tape. These
make it so much easier to achieve a sharp
finish to your canopies especially when
dealing with curves and rounded edges.
Without a doubt Eduard have produced
the best detailed P-51D on the market in 1:48.
Because of the complexity and the etched
parts I would not say it is the easiest kit to
build for a beginner. However, if you are
25
used to working with these mediums it is a straight
forward build for the intermediate modeller. So, is
this the best P-51D kit on the market? When it comes
to levels of detailing both surface and internal by a
country mile it is! The overall ease of construction is
relative to its complexity as a kit, so it would not be
fair to mark it down against some of the other ‘shake
and bake’ kits available. This is a stunningly good kit
and at a very reasonable price. If you are a fan of the
P-51 you will want more than a few of these kits in
your stash. Nice one Eduard you have done it again.
26
A Magnificent
Mustang
Jay Blakemore builds the Tamiya 1:48 RAF Mustang III
F
ollowing hot on the heels of their highly acclaimed
P-51D, Tamiya’s P-51B first appeared in 1995,
and the RAF Mustang III package appeared the
following year. Further releases of the basic Merlin
powered Mustang ‘B’ kit continued up until 2010,
when a limited edition ‘Blue Nose’ issue complete with
a standing pilot figure, brought the production run
BUILD 4 – P-51 MUSTANG
to an end, for the time being at least. As far as quality
of engineering and over-all accuracy goes, even after
twenty-years, the vintage Mustang is still pretty good.
The Tamiya kit is hard to fault, though with a single
caveat - the cockpit floor is noticeably curved, which
was a feature of the earlier Allison powered Mustangs
NORTH AMERICAN RAF MUSTANG III
MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 47

but not of the Merlin powered Mk.III, which had a flat
cockpit floor. Luckily there are plenty of after-market
detail sets still widely available which means that an
inaccurate cockpit floor is a minor inconvenience.
Moulded in Tamiya’s familiar mid-grey plastic, the kit
parts feature recessed panel lines, which although
wonderfully sharp-edged, might appear a little deep
to modern eyes. The detailing though, in the form of
access panels, grilles and rivets, is wonderfully and
subtly done, and is easily comparable to that of today’s
top kit manufacturers. Both the blown ‘Malcolm Hood’
27
and the heavily framed ‘bird cage’ type canopy are
included in the kit, though the overall parts count is
small at around fifty pieces, and straight from the box
Tamiya’s Mustang III appeared to be a simple build.
Of course, I intended to make things more difficult for
myself by adding some resin detail sets, and indeed,
the large number of after-market accessories available
for the Tamiya kit are in of themselves confirmation if
confirmation were needed, of the kit’s classic status.
I began work on the Tamiya kit by getting the ‘dirty
jobs’ out of the way first. These included removing
the interior fuselage detail from the cockpit side-walls,
and removing the wheel-bays in their entirety to make
way for the after-market sets. Not for the first
time however, I found myself questioning
the logic of my decisions as the kit
detailing, especially that of the
main wheel bays, proved to be
more than adequate straight
from the colourful Tamiya box.
Once I had fitted the Aires items though,
I was glad once again that I had gone to
the trouble. The Czech manufacturer,
Aires produce many exquisite detail sets,
and the Mustang III cockpit and wheel bay sets are
amongst them. On the down side, the Aires detail
sets often require a lot of work to make them fit and
the instructions are usually rather vague and only of
limited use when it comes to positioning some of the
smaller resin and etched brass parts. But the sense
of achievement one feels once they are installed and
painted, more than compensates for the extra research
28
Working on the wheel well detail set…
one may have to do to make up for their shortcomings.
Thankfully the Mustang III Cockpit Set offered no
problems, though the single piece wheel bay was a
different matter entirely. Removing the kit wheel-bay
from the one-piece lower wing was a demanding job
that required the use of drills, chisel blades, sanding
burrs, wet and dry sandpaper and needle files. Because
of the depth of the resin insert, it was necessary to
greatly reduce the thickness of the plastic on the
interior surfaces of both the upper and lower wing
halves before the insert would fit comfortably within
the wing-space. The resin insert too needs reducing
in size, and the reverse side of the wheel-bay roof
was tracing-paper thin before the wings would finally
and grudgingly close around it. I did have to do some
ALSO USED
ARIES 4186 - MUSTANG WHEEL BAY
ARIES 4223 – P-51 B/C COCKPIT SET
ARIES 4243 – P-51B/C GUN BAY
MONTEX – P-51B MASKS
TRUE DETAILS 48025 – P-51
WHEEL SET
TECHMOD DECAL SHEET 48002
BUILD 4 – P-51 MUSTANG
…and installing it into the wing section
patching-up work on the wing leading edges once
the wings were finally cemented together, especially
around the gun-ports, which had been chewed to a
ragged appearance. Despite there being a pair of resin
gun bays and four resin and etched machine guns
included in the Aires detail set, I decided to open-up just
one of the wing-mounted gun bays. More drilling and
cutting was therefore required to remove the plastic
maintenance hatches in the upper starboard wing-half.
I had actually intended to open-up the port wing, so
both the cockpit and the gun bay would be open to
view on the same side of the airframe, but started work
on the wrong one by mistake. The wonderfully detailed,
one-piece resin wing insert, fitted comfortably against
the underside of the upper wing with only a little
thinning of the plastic required, though short lengths
of plastic strip were needed to
fill some noticeable gaps
along its edges once it was
glued in place. Otherwise
the fit was perfect. I also
felt it necessary at this stage
to hollow-out the exhaust
 29

I also decided to open up one of the machine gun panels

stubs – there are two styles of exhaust supplied

in the kit, which was achieved using the point of a
new scalpel blade. I decided too to replace the kit
wheels with resin replacements from the True Details I used an Aires Cockpit Set….
range of accessories. The latter items are noticeably
superior to the kit items and benefit from weighted ….which painted
tyres, but they too are rather simplistic in design and up very well
feature solid hubs rather than the hollow hubs of the
real aircraft. Eduard do now offer far superior, multi
part resin alternatives that realistically replicate the
hollow nature of the hub centres, but as I had already
had the True Details items, I naturally used them.
Perhaps typically for a kit of the Mustang’s vintage,
there are no internal bulkheads or structural details
beyond the cockpit. The fuselage remains just a
hollow shell therefore, as the cockpit is open to the
rear, and dry-fitting revealed that daylight was clearly
visible filtering through the open tail-wheel bay and
the gaping belly intake beyond the cockpit. Some
form of internal structure was needed, therefore, and
so I created a mid-fuselage bulk-head onto which I
built a tail wheel bay using plastic card and plastic
strip. I also enclosed the under-belly air intake by the
simple expedient of adding a plastic card ‘roof’ above
the intake grille. With those simple modifications of that colour throughout the cockpit and tail wheel
completed, I could turn my attention to painting the bay to add highlights. The large fuel tank and battery
interior. I began the painting process by airbrushing combination that occupies the rear area of the cockpit
the fuselage interior in Alclad grey primer followed by were airbrushed in a Grey/Black mix, while the cockpit
Alclad Aluminium. Having allowed the Alclad lacquer floor was sprayed in a pale Tan enamel. As far as I am
to dry overnight, I masked-off the lower portion of the aware, the Mustang III had a green-painted wooden
fuselage, including the intake and radiator, and sprayed floor, and so that was what I intended to replicate. Once
a coat of darkened Colourcoats Interior Green enamel the Tan enamel had dried therefore, I over-sprayed the
over the resin cockpit-sides and the interior of the floor area with Interior Green, and to replicated a worn
paint effect, I ‘scrubbed’ patches of the green enamel
off with a soft, stipple brush dampened with white
spirit, to reveal the Tan beneath. Various electrical boxes
were picked out using a Black/Grey/Brown mix, and
later highlighted with lighter shades of Grey/Brown.
With the cockpit painted and varnished it was time
to cement the fuselage halves together, and once the
cement had hardened, the Aires resin cockpit floor
was offered up to the cockpit side-walls and glued into
tail wheel bay. Before the darkened green had dried place. It was now time to complete the airframe. The
thoroughly, I wiped some of the enamel off the edges wings slotted into position with little effort, though
of the raised cockpit detail to reveal the silver base-coat there were noticeable gaps along the nose-joint that
beneath to replicate wear. Once the Interior Green was needed filling. A smear of filler was also required along
thoroughly dry, I dry-brushed increasingly lighter shades the length of both wing-roots and various places along
30
Here we see work being done on the
exterior paintwork…..
the wing leading edges where I had inadvertently
sanded away the plastic during the cleaning-up of the
wheel-bay walls as describe above. The machine gun
ports also seemed overly large, so these too were filled
with Milliput and when the filler was hard, new holes
were drilled into the wing leading edges and sanded to
shape. Finally, I cemented the flaps to the wing trailing
edges in their lowered position, and the one-piece tail
planes were slotted into place, and the airframe was
complete. After a little corrective work on the wings,
and to achieve a flat surface, I used 3,200 grit Micro
Mesh sanding cloths wrapped around a sanding block
made from the dense, foam packing material to be
found inside airbrush cases. Once sanded, the airframe
was wiped clean, and a heavy coat of Alclad Grey Pimer
was airbrushed over the entire airframe. Once dry the
primer too was wet-sanded until smooth, ready for an
application of colour. I now airbrushed a shadow-coat
of Dark Brown enamel over the entire airframe, followed
by a localised Black coat in the areas to be painted with
invasion stripes. Once the shadow-coat was completely
dry, I utilised pre-measured lengths of masking tape
to mark-out the stripes, removing the tape from those
areas to be painted white. I used an off-white mix of
enamel with which to paint the invasion stripes and
identification panels on the nose and tail-planes,
leaving the shadow-coat partially visible at the panel
edges and in areas of wear on the actual aircraft. With
the enamel thoroughly dry, the invasion stripes could
now be masked-over entirely and forgotten. Before
utilising Blu-Tack ‘sausages’ to mark-out the soft edges
of the camouflage, I airbrushed a free-hand pattern
of RAF Dark Green across the wings and around the
fuselage, using Colourcoats ACRN09, filling the panels
BUILD 4 – P-51 MUSTANG
one by one as I had done with the white invasion stripes.
Having left the green enamel to dry over night, I next
rolled-out long, thin ‘sausages’ of Blu-Tack, which were
cut to length and positioned across the airframe to
follow the camouflage pattern of the particular aircraft
I was modelling. These meandering sausages were
secured in place with small off-cuts of masking tape,
before yet more tape was used to completely mask
….and using Blu-Tac ‘sausages’ to
mask off the camouflage colours
the green-painted areas of the wings and fuselage.
I airbrushed a mix of RAF Ocean Grey and RAF Dark
Sea Grey to complete the upper surface camouflage
pattern, and lighter grey filters were randomly applied
to add highlights to both the grey and the green once
the masking had been completely removed. The
airframe camouflage was finished with an application
of Medium Sea Grey on the lower surfaces, once again
utilising Blu-Tack sausages to help create the soft
demarcation line between the upper and lower colours.
I then set it aside for a few days to allow the
camouflage colours to fully cure, before proceeding
with the weathering process. To weather a model, I
rely on localised applications of enamel – generally
utilising mixes of Black, Grey, Dark Earth and Red-Brown
enamels – blended directly onto the painted surface
of the model, using a soft brush dampened with White
Spirit to create streaks and shadows. This technique is
particularly effective on a surface painted with matt
enamels but it works too on a glossy surface, though
the effect is harder to achieve. What is essential is that
the enamel base colours have been allowed the time to
thoroughly harden, otherwise the repeated blending
washes can lift-off previously applied layers, resulting
in a horrible mess. Having studied my photographic
references, I decided to apply a heavily weathered finish
to my Mustang, and the invasion stripes in particular
benefited from several dark blending washes. The Black
invasion stripes were weathered using lighter shades
of Black/Grey, dry brushed around hatches and filler
caps and in areas that might appear worn on the real
aircraft. Finally, I used a Black/Brown enamel wash to
add depth to the hinge-lines on the rudder, ailerons
and elevators, the various inspection hatches, and on
the wings and fuselage. Once the weathering process
was complete, several coats of gloss, Humbrol enamel
varnish were applied, and before decaling, these areas
were polished to a high shine using Micro Mesh cloths.
For the decals I used the Techmod decal sheet
#48002, containing four options, all of which feature
aircraft from No.315 ‘Polish’ Squadron. Three of the
aircraft featured have the blown ‘Malcolm Hood’,

but I chose to model the single option featuring the
earlier style ‘bird-cage’ canopy, which I feel adds to the
vintage character of the high-backed Mustang. I had
some issues with the Techmod roundels, which saw
me resorting to my ‘spares-box’ for replacements,
And the found the remainder of the decals were
easily torn when chivvied into place on the models’
surface. It was, however, my intention to heavily weather
these, that really didn’t matter too much. In particular
I intended to over-paint the RAF codes once they had
been applied so as to more closely match the shade
of Duck Egg Green that I had used to paint the wrap
around tail band. Painting over the codes would also
allow me to weather them to match their surroundings
more closely. Every reference picture I had of these early
RAF Mustangs showed them to be heavily weathered
and exceedingly shabby, and I wanted my Mustang
to look suitably shabby too. With the somewhat
protracted weathering process almost complete, I
proceeded to airbrush a couple of coats of Matt over
the entire model. I used Matt here as my next, and final
weathering process involved the use of watercolour
pencils, and these work best on a matted surface.
31
Using a sharpened, Silver watercolour pencil on the dry
varnish, I now randomly scribbled a patchwork of lines
along the wing-roots, paying particular attention to the
edges of panels, to replicate a worn and scratched area
of bare metal adjacent to the cockpit. This method of
replicating scratches works best on larger scale models,
but subtly done, it can look effective in 1:48 also. I now
built up several coats of Gloss over the entire airframe,
which when thoroughly dry were gently and carefully
wet-sanded, paying particular attention to the markings
and flatting any ridges caused by my brush-painting
over the decals – another heart-in-mouth process.
I proceeded now to attach those items that were best
left off a model until the very end of the building and
paint flatting process, followed by a dusting of quick
drying Satin varnish thinned with roughly 80% White
Spirit for speedy evaporation, so as to minimise the risks
of dust settling onto the tacky surface. The very last jobs
involved removing the canopy masks and fitting the
remainder of the transparencies, before the propeller
was pressed home, and my Mustang III was finished.
32

‘Shangri-La’
A Classic Mustang
Mario Serelle builds the 1:32 Revell P-51B
NORTH AMERICAN P-51B MUSTANG

W
ith so many modern P-51 Mustang models
available in every scale, for this project I MANUFACTURER: REVELL
chose the pretty old 1:32 Revell kit, a model SCALE: 1:32
which was first released in 1969! The kit KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
also includes a good Merlin engine, which can be INJECTION MOULDED]
exposed if you choose not to glue the engine hood, a KIT NUMBER: H-295
BUILD 5 – P-51 MUSTANG

crude (by today’s standards) pilot figure, and a canopy

that can be posed opened or closed. The cockpit is
nicely detailed considering its age, and has details on
the sidewalls, a wooden texture on the floor and a
good instrument panel. Mr Hobby Interior Green was
used here, with Tyre Black being applied to the floor,
radio boxes, instrument panel and engine block.
After receiving a Deep Brown wash followed by some
dry brushing to highlight all raised details, small details
were brush painted mainly in White, Silver and Yellow.
Instrument panel dials received a coat of Kristal Klear to
simulate their glass. Dark Yellow was then dry brushed
over the cockpit floor to replicate the wood showing
 33
The engine compartment was painted in
Yellow-Green to replicate the Yellow-Zinc
Chromate used in these areas, and the
cockpit is nearly complete

Kristal Klear was used

to simulate the glass
over the instrument
panel dials

The interior
parts ready for
assembly

A little tape was used to Mr. Surfacer was

keep the wings at the correct used to check any fit
dihedral while gluing, assuring problems and to act as
an almost perfect fit a primer for painting
as well

through the Black anti-skid coat, and
Silver and Black watercolour pencils helped
to create some general scratches and marks. The
engine compartment was airbrushed with Yellow-
Green to represent the primer used in this area. The
Merlin engine then received a subtle Silver dry brushing.
Gluing all the interior components inside the fuselage
was not an easy task, and a
lot of dry fitting was necessary
to properly align all parts, especially the
engine block. Moving onto the wings, they had
some glue seams that needed to be scraped, but
surprisingly the wing attachment to the fuselage was
almost perfect. I did use some tape to hold the wings at
34

Neutral Grey was first airbrushed over

the rivet and panel lines, and then a
misty coat of the same colour followed

The upper surfaces were

painted in Olive Drab

The wings and tail were

masked off and White applied
for the stripes
BUILD 5 – P-51 MUSTANG

The propellor
being detailed
 35

the correct dihedral while the glue cured.

The fuselage bottom required some putty
and sanding work and some of the raised detail
was lost. The panel lines were restored with very thin
stretched sprue and tiny drops of CA glue gave me new
rivets. After attaching the windscreen and rear windows,
these parts were masked and sprayed Interior Green
and then the model was primed with Mr Surfacer
and was ready for painting. I didn’t want to
go too heavy on weathering on this one,
and painting started directly with
the underside Neutral Grey, first
airbrushed only over rivets and
panel lines, and then followed
by a mist coat of the same
Despite their age, the colour. This technique allowed a
decals conformed nicely

Silver was applied with a sponge to simulate

paint chipping on the flying surfaces and
leading edges…

subtle tonal variation with no need for pre-shading. The

same sequence was used to paint the Olive Drab upper
surface colour, using ‘Blu Tack’ for a soft demarcation
line between the lower and upper camouflage
colours. After some post-shading the model received
a couple of gloss coats. Before painting the White
ID stripes and Red nose, these areas were properly
masked, and a Light Grey base colour was applied.
There was only one decal option, USAAF ace
Don Gentile’s famous ‘Shangri-La’. The decals
were as old as the kit, and took some
work to get them to conform to
the model. After another gloss
coat to seal the decals, the
subtle weathering started
with a Blue Black Wash
on all landing gear parts,
including their wells. To add a
little more contrast Deep Brown
36

…and the same

technique was used to
chip the wing roots

(upper surfaces)
and Deep Grey
(lower surfaces) washes
were applied over the raised
details with an interesting result.
Then using a piece of sponge, some
Silver paint was dry-brushed on the wing
roots and all leading edges to represent
chipping. Mr Hobby Soot paint was then airbrushed
on to create some subtle exhaust stains.
I must confess I did not know what to
expect when I opened this Mustang
box as I hadn’t built a kit like this since
I was a kid. But building
a classic (or vintage
if you prefer) kit was
a very interesting
project, and a great
modelling exercise.

A look at the the completed and

BUILD 5 – P-51 MUSTANG

weathered undersides
 37

Stallion
Step-By-Step
Angel Exposito builds the 1:72 Academy P-51B Mustang
P-51B MUSTANG

T
he P-51 is one of the most famous aircraft in
history, and is well represented by a multitude MANUFACTURER:
of manufacturers and in all scales. In 1:72 ACADEMY
Academy has produced a very nice kit with lots SCALE: 1:72
of detail in all areas. However, if you want to show KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
the canopy open you will need to source a new one
KIT NUMBER: 1667
as the kit supplied ítem is one-piece and very thick.
I used a vacformed one I had in my ‘spares-box’. For
this build I used Gunze colours, these being H78 and
H304 for the Olive Drab, and H53 for the Neutral Grey.
The kit depicts the aircraft piloted by Bud Anderson
of the 363rd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group
‘Yoxford Boys’, based in England during 1944.
38
I added some wiring to
the battery area and the
cockpit radio The cockpit is well
represented with a
wood effect

For the cockpit I started painting this

with Black H12, and then with H312

Add some dark brown oil paint and then

some Ammo by MIG Chipping solution to
recreate the wooden floor look

The rest of cockpit details

were painted with various
Vallejo shades

Work been done on

the wheel bays
BUILD 6 – P-51 MUSTANG
 39
The painted and
assembled cockpit
now in-situ

I decided to hand paint the

checkerboard on the nose, and
Firstly I painted this White H11
and then Yellow H413…..

I then applied some

masking and added
Red H327…..

….and touched
up any areas as
neccessary
40 For the invasion stripes I decided to
paint these, despite the fact that
the kit includes decals for them.
First I applied Black H12……

…..then some 6mm

Tamiya tape and then
applied White H11 and
removed the masking for
a very nice result

The same procedure was

followed on the undersides

On the upper surfaces

I added Olive Drab H78
along with H304
BUILD 6 – P-51 MUSTANG

The lower surfaces with the

masks removed…..
…..and the upper
surfaces with the
masks removed
 41

I added some
hydraulic lines to the
undercarriage

Next I added some oil paint

drops to act as filters and
blended these in
42

After adding a Gloss coat and the

decals, I began to add some Ammo
by MIG panel line washes

Ready for final assembly

BUILD 6 – P-51 MUSTANG
 43

Adding some chips

and scratches with
Prismacolour pencils
and Ammo by MIG
metallics
44
Blue Nose Stallion
Alan Kelley takes a look at the fantastic 1:32 Tamiya P-51D
T
o most, this is one of the most iconic and
important aircraft of all time - the North American
P-51 Mustang. Most modellers have built at least
one in their time and I have built several of Tamiya’s
1:48 offerings as well as the 1:72 Airfix ‘Red Tail’. So when
I got the chance to get my hands on one of the fantastic
1:32 Tamiya kits, I just couldn’t resist. For so long there
was a gap in the market for a top class 1:32 Mustang; now
the Hasegawa version is not bad, but is showing its age
and suffers from a lack of detail in places and raised panel
lines. Many people thought the problem had been solved
when Dragon announced their version - but this kit
disappointed so many when released. Then along came
two top class kits within a relative short space of time - the
BUILD 7 – P-51 MUSTANG
Zoukei Mura offering then this masterpiece from Tamiya.
I have modelled her as 414906 ‘Cripes a Mighty’, the
P-51D, of Major George E. Preddy, of the 328th Fighter
Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, the famous ‘Blue-
Nosed Bastards’ of Bodney, and this is how she looked in
October 1944. The Tamiya kit is beautiful straight-from-
the-box and comes with three decal options and a choice
of three versions of the Mustang - an early NA-5 without
North American P-51D Mustang
MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 60322
the fin fillet, an NA-10 and NA-15, with the only visible
differences between the -10 and -15 being the cockpit.
There are a lot of modular components in this kit - the
landing gear can be swapped to allow you to model
the aircraft with landing gear up or down. You can also
display the engine area and the gun bays open or closed,
and all these areas are held in place using a system of
tiny magnets, a fantastic innovation, in my opinion.
Construction began with the Merlin powerplant. The
kit’s engine is a very good representation straight-from-
the-box, although it does leave a lot of the wiring and
piping out. I chose to leave it as is, the intention being
to have the cowls in place most of the time. Be careful
 45

when building the supercharger though, as there are

two included, one for the P-51, but also one for a Spitfire
Mk IX. The engine was painted with Tamiya XF-69 NATO
Black, with all highlights being dry brushed with XF-69
lightened with XF-52 Buff. I then used AK Interactive
Steel Pigment on the exposed edges for a metal
effect. As good as the Tamiya kit is, there are still some
opportunities to super detail, starting in the cockpit.
I wanted to use as much of the kit as possible, adding
only the Barracuda Cockpit Upgrade Set and Cockpit
Stencil Set, together with HGW Seat Belts and Dinghy.
You can replace both sidewalls with Barracuda resin
replacements, but I chose to stick with the kit parts. The
Barracuda Cockpit Upgrade Set I used replaces the radio,
batteries and wiring harnesses, the throttle quadrant,
control column and K-14 gunsight, and I have to say
46
the stencil set is a must, as it really brings the cockpit
to life. I used Mr Hobby H58 Interior Green highlighted
with other Vallejo shades. This was one area of the build
where I really emphasised the contrast between the dark
shadows and highlight areas. The instrument panel was
painted XF-69 and the raised areas dry brushed again
with some homemade wash to darken the shadow areas.
I also chose not to use the floor decals, instead painting
the floor with XF-64 with a touch of yellow added to it,
and applied some streaking effects with Vallejo acrylics
to simulate the wood grain. Once dry and after a coat of
Johnson’s ‘Future’, I added some AK Interactive Chipping
Fluid. Next I sprayed the floor black, then chipped
away at the colour to reveal the wood effect below.
Now it was then time to join the fuselage up, and as
always from Tamiya, the engineering of the kit meant
there were very few
seam lines to sand.
The engine and
cockpit are one
complete assembly, and
it all had to be aligned
within the fuselage
BUILD 7 – P-51 MUSTANG
sides before gluing together. One thing to note at this
stage - if you do add any extra detailing to the engine
make sure the engine framework fits snugly around it
as if there are any bulges then the frame is not correctly
aligned and you will have issues later with the upper
cowling. The rudder and elevators are held in place with
metal hinges, and once in place do not detach easily.
The instructions have you adding the wings at this
stage but I made the decision not to attach them until
much later in the build. The panel detail on the wings
is beautiful, but most P-51Ds left the North
American factories with the wings puttied
and painted silver. This was known as a
laminar flow wing, and increased the
top speed of the aircraft. So I made the
painful decision to fill in all the panel
detail, with the exception of the plates
underneath covering the fuel tanks. For
this I used a liberal coat of Mr Dissolved
Putty, which was sanded back flush using
wet and dry once it had hardened. I really
wanted to achieve a perfect metal
finish, and purchased the newly
released AK Interactive Xtreme
Metal colours. These paints
are a new formulation
- once sprayed on
they give a finish
very similar to Alclad,

but do not give off the same fumes during
application. These are designed to be
used straight from the bottle, with no
thinning required for airbrushing.
For the base I used Tamiya X-1
thinned with Mr Color self-levelling
thinner, after which the wings were
painted in ‘Duraluminium’. I used
‘Chrome’ for the unpainted flaps and
the reinforced plates on the bottom
of the wing. The fuselage was also
undercoated in Tamiya X-1 before giving it
a coat of ‘Airframe Aluminium’. To emphasise
the rivet lines I went over them in ‘Chrome’. The fit
between the fuselage and wing was absolutely perfect
with no filler needed whatsoever. For the propeller,
I like to paint the blades silver first. I then give them
a coat of AK Interactive ‘Chipping Fluid’ followed by
XF-69 NATO black as a base coat, before adding XF-
52 to the mix, and fading the paint from the leading
edge back. This is then weathered using the Lifecolor
Black Set in a stippling effect using a sponge. I then
take a cocktail stick and chip away at the leading edge,
before sealing it with Johnson’s Klear ready for decaling.
The propeller boss was given a coat of ‘Aluminium’,
then a wash with my homemade black.
For decalling I use the Micro Set/Sol
system to get the decals to snuggle down,
in conjunction with a hairdryer to speed
47
up this process - but you do this entirely at
your own risk, and the Superscale decals
I used here conformed perfectly,
although I had to cut the ‘barber’s
pole’ on the nose and one on the
stars and bars on the wing over
the gun bays. Another coat of Klear
was then applied over the entire
aircraft. This is an absolutely vital
stage as the new AK Interactive paints
wipe off during weathering process
if thinner is applied onto them. I tried
not to go overboard on the weathering,
however, remembering I was modelling an aircraft
as it would have appeared in October I used Tamiya
Weathering Pigments and restrained AK Interactive
washes. The gun staining was a fine spray of Tamiya
XF-64, darkened down with a touch of black before
spraying the inside of the stains. I recreated dirt on the
wing walk areas using Vallejo acrylics stippled on using
a barely damp sponge, followed by a light dusting of
MIG Productions Mud pigment. The fuel spills on the
drop tanks were AK Interactive ‘Fuel Stains’. I replaced
the kit’s vinyl tyres with Barracuda resin items, and when
setting the aircraft on its wheels, I found the tail wheel
leg quite weak and flexing under its own weight.
From start to finish this project took four months
to complete. There are certainly things I could do
differently in future but all in all I am satisfied with
the way this has turned out. Tamiya have over-
engineered this kit to a degree, but is certainly
worth the effort in getting it all together.
48
Middle
Eastern Mustang
Mario Serelle adds and IDF/AF finish to the 1:32 Zoukei-Mura P-51D
I
n September 1948 Israel received their first two
P-51D’s, which were quickly assembled and rushed
into action to fight in the War of Independence.
These aircraft were the most modern combat
aircraft in service at the Middle East at the time, and
were extensively used for tactical reconnaissance, strike
BUILD 8 – P-51 MUSTANG
and interception duties. In October, a second pair of
Mustang’s were received, but too late see any action
during the war. In the early 1950’s the IAF/DF started
receiving more P-51s from different sources, including
USA, Sweden and Italy giving them seventy-nine
operational aircraft, with twenty-six airframes used
to supply spare parts. These formed the backbone of
the Israeli air defences until mid-1950’s when the jet-
powered fighters were introduced in large numbers.
I’m basically a 1:72 modeller, but have built some
1:48 kits in recent years, and I expected this 1:32 build
to be my biggest challenge so far. I was right, yet this
project turned out as one of the most enjoyable builds
I’ve done. The Zoukei-Mura Mustang is an old friend
to large-scale modellers, extremely well detailed and
full of nice options. Everything you need is in the large
box, including engine cables and pipes. There is some
flash on most of the parts, but if you take care you
won’t have problems during the assembly, and you
will enjoy the opportunity this great kit provides.
There’s a nicely rendered Packard Merlin engine in
the box, so why not to leave if exposed? Trying to make

things easier I built all the engine components
and primed them in Grey. The engine block and
its accessories were then painted in Rubber Black and
the frames and oil tank in Yellow Zinc Chromate, with
some metallic parts being coated in Aluminium. A
Black wash was used to accent the details and using a
Steel acrylic paint I highlighted all raised parts of the
engine, and then painted the spark plug cables as well.
A Dark Brown wash helped to show up the engine
mounts and oil tank details and this also served to add
dirt to these components. Some chips were simulated
with Rubber and Tires paint, carefully applied with a
sponge. Everything was then sealed with a matt coat.
The engine was secured on its mounts using Slow
Dry CA glue and then the smaller details that had been
left aside were attached. Some Engine Grime was
used to add more dirt to the engine itself, and a Silver
pencil was used to create some small chips on the
cylinder covers. A lead pencil then gave a metallic
sheen to the supports, and oil leaks were
replicated with Ammo by MIG Fresh
Engine Oil. Now I turned my
attention to the twelve exhaust
pipes supplied individually.
To add a worn look here
also, I started painting them
with a coat of Steel, which
was followed by a very thin
translucent Red Brown. These
were sealed Matt varnish
ready for some pigments.
First I used Track Rust, which
49
was followed by Black, and these were applied to the
stacks with small brushes in a very irregular way and
sealed with Pigment Fixer. Next, a Light Dust pigment
was used on the tip of each exhaust, and the rears
were painted Black for a better depth effect. A Silver
pencil again added a metallic sheen to the stacks.
After assembling some small items of the cockpit,
the major components were painted in Interior
Green, Yellow Zinc Chromate and Black. To represent
the Mustang’s wooden floor, I started with a coat of
Old Wood which was then covered with Streaking
Grime. I used a sponge moistened with enamel
thinner to work the product, and create
the wood veins. Next I added a
coat of Chipping Effects, and
after this has dried, a thin layer
of Crystal Orange was added,
and later using a toothpick I revealed
the original wood colour underneath. A second Crystal
Orange coat gave the wood its final and weathered
appearance. I know the Mustang floor was
usually covered with a Black anti-
skid coat but I liked the wood
effect so much that I decided
to leave it all exposed. Back
to other parts, and all the details like
hoses, boxes and levers were carefully brush painted
their appropriate colours, and everything was then
sealed with a coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss. A Dark Brown
wash was then applied to enhance all the various details
North American P-51D Mustang
MANUFACTURER: ZOUKEI-
MURA
SCALE: 1:32
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: SWS 04
ISRADECAL #IAF-92 ISRAELI
AIR FORCE P-51D MUSTANG
HGW MODELS #132805 P-51D MUSTANG MICROTEXTILE SEATBELTS AND
MASKS
The Zoukei-Mura Mustang is an old
friend to large scale modellers,
extremely well detailed and full of
nice options
50
and Light Green was then used to highlight all edges
and rivets. To give a worn look to the interior I added
‘old’ and ‘new’ paint chips using Chipping and
Steel acrylic respectively, applied with a
sponge. The last details to be added
were the paper and etched parts
for the HGW Models seat belts.
Now with all components
painted and weathered the
cockpit was put together,
and it looked great!
From now on, pay The completed
attention to every item you engine was fitted to its
supports and linked to the fire
attach to get perfectly aligned wall and oil tank using slow dry CA glue
parts, as any flaws here can create
problems in future steps. I started the airframe by
the tail unit that includes a detailed wheel well which used in the cockpit, a Dark Brown wash followed by
was painted in Yellow Zinc Chromate and weathered Light Green highlights. The gun compartment also
with a Dark Brown wash. Next the radiator and oil received the same wash, but some chips were added
cooler parts were painted, assembled and carefully with a sponge to represent some wear caused by
attached to the engine/ cockpit sub-assembly. The the regular maintenance and rearming process. The
fuselage was quickly put together but some attention guns were painted with a mix of Gun Metal and Black,
was needed to ensure a precise alignment of all parts. with edges and raised details being highlighted with
Then I turned my attention to the wings, and started pure Gun Metal. The ammunition belts were brush
painting the structures accordingly, using Interior Green painted using Brass as the main colour for the .50 cal
for the wheel wells and Yellow Zinc Chromate for the projectiles. The wings components were finally glued
gun compartment. I decided to pose only the right- together with some filling required on the leading
wing guns open, and keep the left wing closed. The edge insert, but nothing to really worry about, and
wheel wells received the same weathering sequence I really liked how the machine gun bay looked.

After painting the cockpit floor with a wood colour, Streaking Grime A coat of Chipping Effects was airbrushed over the wooden floor to
was spread over it with a flat brush help creating some worn effects
BUILD 8 – P-51 MUSTANG

After moistening the surface with some water, the Crystal Orange
Thin layers of Crystal Orange were applied over the Chipping Effects paint was scratched in some areas to reveal the lighter wood shade
coat underneath
 51
The cockpit parts received their
appropriate colours, including
the wooden floor

The cockpit is now completed. The only

addition to the kit parts were some
superb HGW seatbelts

Before any metallic

paint was added a
Gloss Black coat was
airbrushed on

The gun compartment

looks nice in the
complete wing

Four metallic shades from

Ammo/Alclad were used to
create the metallic finish

Painting now
completed

After a coat of Aqua Gloss,

the model was ready to
receive the IsraDecal decals
52

A Deep Grey wash was applied to specific panels where I wanted a Streaking products were used to create most of the leaking fluids on
more dramatic contrast the underside of the aircraft

To weather the Israeli insignias, I added …. and to make the oil paint effect more …. and to seal the oil paint and give a flat
small drops of White and Light Blue oil subtle, a clean and stiff brush was used for a finish to the markings, a thin coat of Matt
paint…. final blending…. was airbrushed carefully over the roundels

Time to add some colour to this pony! First I painted
the canopy frames in Interior Green to match the
interior, and a coat of Gloss Black was sprayed on to
prepare the model for the Alclad metallic colours to
follow. To represent the Mustang’s painted on wings I
choose White Aluminium, and the fuselage received a
Polished Aluminium coat. Then selected panels around
the wings and fuselage were masked and painted with
different Alclad shades to add more interest. Finally,
the anti-glare panel was painted with Rubber Black
BUILD 8 – P-51 MUSTANG
and the rudder was painted White. The landing gear
legs were painted in Steel, and the brake lines brush
painted with Rubber and Tires. This same colour was
used on the tyres, and then a bit of White was mixed in
and sprayed on the tread for a worn effect. Everything
was then sealed with Alclad Aqua Gloss, ready for
decaling. Here I used a very comprehensive decal sheet
from IsraDecal, with numerous options for IAF aircraft,
and my choice was for Mustang #53, one of the aircraft
received from Sweden. It’s interesting to note that this
 53
Grime, Dark Streaking Grime and Streaking Grime for
Panzer Grey. I also added some dust to represent wear
from the runways, and finally I had to weather the
national insignias and choose oil paints to do it. First
I airbrushed on a thin coat of Matt over the roundels,
and started adding small drops of White and Light Blue
oil paint. These were then blended with a round tip
brush moistened with enamel thinners, and then a stiff
brush was used to tone down the effect. To preserve the

specific aircraft had national insignias outlined with a

thin Blue line, making them stand out over the metallic
finish. These decals were designed for Tamiya kits
and the Red stripes on the rudder did not match the
shape of Zoukei-Mura kit, so I had to mask and touch
up some stripes, mainly on the top and bottom.
The Swedish-supplied Mustangs were received after
the War of Independence, so and I decided to keep any metallic sheen, I airbrushed a final Matt coat over certain
weathering on the subtle side, to represent a post-war the spots like the insignias, anti-glare panel and rudder.
Mustang. So, starting with the propellers, I added some Black pigment was then used to add subtle gun stains
paint chips on the tip of the blades using a Black colour on the muzzles and cartridge ejector holes,and finally
applied with a sponge. To add some more wear to the thin exhaust stains were airbrushed using highly
propellers I painted thin lines of diluted Grey and Red Brown. Fuel stains around
Rainmarks Effects which were the refuelling caps were then carefully painted in
then blended to the Black colour using Fuel Stains and a fine tip brush. The position
with a flat brush. The airframe and ID lights were all then brush painted using Ammo
then received a Blue Grey wash by MIG Crystal colours, and the Israeli
and then a Deep Grey wash Mustang was finally done!
was used on selected panels
for a deeper effect. Then I
‘splashed’ some Streaking
Grime over the wing roots
and blended this in with round
brush moistened with thinner, and then
with a flat and clean brush. On the
undersides, I added some fluid
leakings using Streaking
54

Mustang From
Down Under
Mark Casiglia builds the 1:32 Tamiya P-51K Mustang in RAAF service
North American P-51D/K Mustang

W
hen I decided to tackle Tamiya’s 1:32 P-51D/K,
the decision was mostly driven by my desire MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
to seek shelter in the quality of a Tamiya kit! SCALE: 1:32
The first step, as with any new build, was to KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
decide what scheme to present. Now, I have to admit, INJECTION MOULDED
I put way more priority on choosing a subject that KIT NUMBER: 60323
BUILD 9 – P-51 MUSTANG

captures my eye and imagination than on subjects that

perhaps have more historical or deeper significance.
Also, I always try to steer towards something from my
little corner of the world. In the past, other Tamiya 1:32
kits I’ve done in a local scheme have been an RAAF
Spitfire VIII and a RNZAF F4U-1A Corsair. The modelling
world doesn’t see too many of these variants so it’s
also nice to build something that isn’t generally seen.
With this in mind, I searched around and found a decal
set for an RAAF P-51K, showing a mid-blue tail and
red propeller framing an all-over camouflage pattern.
Apart from looking interesting as presented, I also
relished the idea of a Mustang without the typical

bare metal and invasion stripes. Although lacking in
some of the striking nose art of these variants, I saw
this one as something refreshingly different, with the
iconic Southern Cross depicted on the tail. The subject
of my build, serial number KH677, which was original
coded CV-P until 11th December 1944. The aircraft
was part of the RAAF’s No.3 Squadron, stationed in
Fano, Italy. Unfortunately, the aircraft was lost as No.3
Squadron’s last fatality of the War, on 11th April 1945.
The process began with construction of both the
engine and cockpit assemblies, which join together
as a single unit for insertion into the fuselage. Not
enough can ever be said for the quality of detail that
55
these Tamiya kits provide. Whilst there is room for
aftermarket, there’s really no need. Once again Tamiya
uses a very sensible approach with engineering and
making sure everything fits together flawlessly. The
cockpit dials are the typical reverse decal laid over the
clear dials, inserted into the instrument panel. A great
system which allows detail to come through neatly
and authentically. The harnesses come as etched parts,
and once formed and painted they come across as
quite authentic. One change I decided to make was to
replace the kit’s seat cushion with one I made up with
light-cured dental composite resin filling material. You
can use epoxy, but being a dentist by trade, I found
this easier to access and more familiar to use! Making
my own cushion resulted in something more
realistic. The engine and cockpit went
together perfectly. All of the surfaces,
including the inner fuselage, were
primed with black Stynylrez and
painted using Tamiya Acrylics
thinned with Tamiya X-20A. I used
the instruction’s suggested paint mix for the interior
green, the colour of which is always in contention. It
looked a little bright at first, but after a weathering
wash with Tamiya’s brown panel line wash, it was
dulled down nicely to what I saw as a realistic shade.
Paint chipping around the cockpit was done after
painting and clear coating, using Tamiya X-11 enamel.
I like using enamel for post-painted chipping because
it can be easily removed with odourless solvents if
not happy, or the effect can be softened up by using
less solvent. Dry brushing was done with my new
favourite method, using oil paint on a very dry brush.
In most cases, especially around the engine, silver
oil paint works best, but the colour can be changed
around according to whatever is being dry-brushed.
The advantage, as with the chipping, is that odourless
solvents can again be used to reduce the effect if you
find you’ve overdone it. The only care that needs to be
Cockpit, engine
and fusealge
parts ready for
assembly….
56
…and here you can
see the parts in-situ
taken is to give a light clear coat
between chipping and dry brushing, to
prevent the solvents from removing the previous steps.
The next step saw the fuselage buttoned up
around the cockpit and engine assembly. The fit again
was flawless of course, and once the final elements
around the engine and cowling framework were
complete, it was time to add the tail stabilisers and
wing assemblies. Once again, Tamiya uses etched parts
skillfully to allow movement of flaps and flight control
surfaces. The system of rods and hooks is simple and
most importantly, works well. At this stage, for ease
of painting, I deviated from the order of construction
suggested by the instructions, which will have the
windscreen and canopy towards the end of the build.
I added those components at this stage and tacked
the movable canopy down with a little Mr Masking
Sol Neo. It provides great adhesion yet is able to be
removed later when needed. I used the same method
to anchor down the removable cowling covers to keep
Masking off the canopy
BUILD 9 – P-51 MUSTANG
The wheel wells and landing gear are very well detailed
them firmly in place for the
painting process. Whilst working
on the main body of the model, I constructed
and painted the spinner and propeller, the landing gear,
gear bay doors and bombs. I used a combination of
Tamiya and Mr Hobby acrylic paints according to what
I needed and what I had on hand. Metallic surfaces
were painted with Vallejo Metal Color, which gives a
great finish free of visible metallic particles. Tamiya
provides the ability to convert this plane from parked
to in-flight mode, however, I chose to show the landing
gear into position and the gear bay cover that would
normally be placed for in-flight made an excellent
mask for painting. Also, because there is more than one
propeller variant, I was able to use the spare spinner
The smaller parts ready to be fixed
After a base coat…..

…to get the look I was after
hub to help hold the cowling covers firmly in place for
painting, again using Mr Masking Sol to keep everything
in place. The painting procedure followed my usual
method of black primer and mottled sequential paint
layers. With the entire plan covered in black primer, I
started by tracing out the camouflage pattern with light
pencil lines and I then laid down the Olive Drab. Next,
I carefully outlined the camouflage edges with Tamiya
vinyl tape which work well for all but the tightest of
curves. Once I masked the gaps between the vinyl tape,
I proceeded to lay down the Sea Grey. I then masked-
off the entire upper surface to prepare for painting the
undersides of the model in Light Grey. To complete
57
…I began masking off the
camouflage using Tamiya tape to
define the curves…..
…then filling in with
masking tape…..
Appling the roundels
using Montex Masks
the main paintwork, the tail was painted in a Medium
Blue and the sky band was painted Sky Blue. I then
clear-coated the entire model with Alclad Aqua Gloss.
Next came the decals. Interesting. I took a gamble
with Novascale and lost, so I decided to find a way to
paint as many as I could. So, I rummaged through my
‘spares-box’ and found some unused Montex masks
with the exact roundels I needed in the exact size. I
decided to paint the roundels and use decals for the
serial numbers, codes and the southern cross insignia.
The painted roundels turned out well but only served
to make the decals look poor! The serial numbers and
codes were small enough not to matter, but the CV-<>
codes just looked drab, so I masked around the edge
of each letter, section by section, carefully scraping the
decal away and painting until each letter was complete.
The result was much better and whilst the process was
a little painstaking, the result was worthwhile. I then
used Tamiya’s decals for stencils and minor decals. Of
course, these decals were very thick as expected and
I used several clear coats around the individual decals
in an effort to disguise the thickness. The next step
was to manually apply all the chips. Once again, I used
BUILD 9 – P-51 MUSTANG
58

Tamiya X-11 enamel and odourless thinners to control
and modify the result. I varied the amount of chipping
according to location and tried to keep it subtle since
this aircraft didn’t have a long working life. Once this
was complete, I applied another
coat of Aqua Gloss before an overall
highly diluted wash of oil paint
was applied. In this case, I opted
for quite a dark mixture of Black and
Burnt Umber. This was wiped away with
59
absorbent kitchen towels followed by an old cotton rag,
revealing the crisp panel lines I was after. Once this was
fully set, I used a mix of White and transparent oil paint
to reproduce paint fading on the upper facing surfaces. I
then used various oil paints to reproduce exhaust stains,
oil streaks, dirt streaks and gun stains. Again, once fully
set, I sealed all the oils in with another clear coat. Finally,
using an Artool stencil, I sprayed a very thin mix
of Tamiya Buff acrylic to further mimic fading
and dust on all the upward facing surfaces.
The final steps involved assembly of
small breakable parts which were held
aside for the end. A final clear coat of
Testor’s Dullcote was applied, before
masks were removed from the canopy,
windshield and navigation lights. The clear
parts were then cleaned up and polished again to
remove any oil wash which may have crept through.
An antenna was rigged from the tail, through a hole
made in the canopy and onto the back of
the pilot’s headrest. With a final minor
retouch of chips with a Prismacolour
silver pencil, I took the model off
the bench and onto the shelf!
60
Detroit Miss
Alan Price builds the 1:48 Airfix Mustang Mk.IV/P-51K Mustang
T
he Airfix P-51D Mustang is a lovely kit, and I have
already built two of them to a specific remit, so when
the editor said I could ‘build what I wanted’, I armed
myself with another kit, and that’s exactly what I
did! The Airfix Mustang is very nicely detailed, the cockpit
in particular is a real gem and I decided the only upgrade
I would make was to add some Eduard seat belts and add
the wiring to the radio behind the pilot’s seat. I wasn’t even
going to replace the instrument panel, just use the kit decal.
Now for the colour scheme, I wanted something colourful
and with invasion stripes, and as you can imagine there
are a lot of decals available for 1:48 Mustangs, so it took
me quite a while to settle on a colour scheme. Eventually, I
decided to use Lifelike Decals set 48-052 covering a number
of interesting Mustangs including the markings for ‘Detroit
BUILD 10 – P-51 MUSTANG
Miss’, Lt. Urban Drew’s aircraft in which he shot down two
Me 262s during one mission. Lifelike have done a lot of
research for these decals and the instructions provide some
excellent analysis of the available photographs. This aircraft
is usually shown with red wing tips but Lifelike made a
convincing case for blue. I went with their colours for this
model, some may not agree but I have to say that reviewing
the images with their analysis makes a convincing case.
Airfix North American Mustang Mk.IV/P-51K Mustang
MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: A05137
EDUARD #FE854 - P-51D
SEATBELTS
LIFELIKE DECALS #48-052 - NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG PT.6
The first job I decided to tackle was to correct the cockpit
opening. The kit has this squared-off towards the back of
the cockpit when it should follow the shape of the fuselage.
The area was sometimes covered by a plate (as in the new
Eduard kit). This was quickly modified with a scalpel blade.
Having opened this up, it was now possible to see the top of
the fuel tank, so a filler pipe was added leading to the port
side filler cap. For this, some 3mm plastic rod was used, bent
to an appropriate shape. A beading tool was used to add the
missing fastener detail around the seals on the top of the fuel
tank. The kit has quite a complex interior and it pays to check
the instructions carefully in order to get everything fitting

together properly. Having built the kit before I knew how
things worked so I first painted all the interior parts for
the complex intake trunking inside the fuselage. The
parts were all airbrushed with a coat of Alclad II ALC-101
Aluminium. The cockpit area was then masked, and the
centre section airbrushed with Mr. Hobby H58 Interior
Green. A black wash was then applied over all the parts
and left to dry. The cockpit floor, being wood, was painted
with H79 Sandy Yellow, oils were then used to create the
wood grain effect before a coat of Tamiya X-26 Clear Orange
was applied. The seat was prepared by first removing the
moulded-on seat belts and then engraving the seat back
As the kit cockpit is well
detailed, I only added
the radio wiring and fuel
filler pipe. Oils created the
wood grain effect on the
plywood floor
61
detail where the belts had been. The seat was fixed to the
armoured seat back and the assembly was then airbrushed
with H330 Dark Green, to simulate the Bronze Green colour
often used on the seats. A black wash was again used to help
bring out the details. Various Humbrol enamels were used
to pick out the detail on the cockpit parts before applying
the decals. Finally, a matt varnish was airbrushed over all the
parts before gluing the fuselage interior parts into
one major assembly ready to be fixed in place.
While the fit of the fuselage is very good,
closing around the complex interior with no
problem, the tail has a few problems. I have found
that it seems to have a noticeable twist, this is visible in the
prominent step in the seams aft of the tail wheel bay and
it seems to be caused by the fit of the tail wheel bay inside
the fuselage. This is made more difficult by the separate fin
parts and the offset to the fin, which was a feature of the
Mustang, to help combat swing
caused by the propeller. Try as I
did, I was still unable to achieve
While the kit’s moulded
seatbelts are quite good,
however, the Eduard ones
really make a big difference
a perfect alignment of the tail, and this meant that the
horizontal tail surfaces were difficult to align. Fortunately,
this is not easy to see on the completed model but it’s still a
source of annoyance to me. The tail is the only area where
there is any filling and sanding to do, the seems around the
tail gear bay needed fixing and some attention was required
around the insert which ties the interior ducting to the
fuselage just forward of the tail wheel bay. Other than that,
this is a kit that needs little attention to the seams.
One extra filling job was to fill
in the holes in the carburettor
intakes on either side of the
nose as on this aircraft they
were covered over to prevent
icing. These were filled then
sanded back and due to the
depth of the holes in the parts,
it took a few rounds of filling
and sanding to eliminate them completely.
With the fuselage now mostly built up, I
62

This is the completed cockpit interior, the extra details added just
help to complete the picture The cockpit looks very busy once installed into the fuselage. The fit
is excellent, and everything lines up perfectly

The fuselage closed up easily around the

interior parts, and the tail wheel has to be
fitted at this stage, sadly leaving it open to
damage wile handling the model later

The cockpit sides received the same painting effects as the rest of
the cockpit. The cockpit is not quire finished here; the oxygen pipe
has not been fitted to the starboard side

Wingtip identification lamps here receive their correct colours, the

inside of the upper wing was painted silver to act as a reflector

The undercarriage bay needs to be painted and finished before

gluing in place as its not possible to reach the outer areas after it
has been installed
BUILD 10 – P-51 MUSTANG

After assembling the wings, these were quickly attached, again Attaching the windscreen needs some careful work to get it to sit
the fit is very good with little if any work being needed around the correctly otherwise a noticeable step can be left on the starboard
seams side. The canopy was masked once it was attached, ready for painting

Ready to paint. The model was
given a thorough clean up,
making sure all the panel lines
were cleaned of sanding residue
and removing any grease from
finger prints
Black is an excellent
undercoat for metallic paint,
so the model received an
overall coat of gloss black
The painting process began with a
coat of Mr. Surfacer, sprayed from
an aerosol can
Alclad Aluminium was used for all the metal painted
areas of the model. These were then masked, and
the rest of the model painted with a normal metallic
silver to represent the ‘painted’ areas of the airframe
moved on to the wings. The first job here was to paint the
undercarriage bay. This was first airbrushed with Alclad
ALC-103 Dark Aluminium before picking out the details
with Humbrol enamels. A black wash completed this part
and it could then be glued in place on the wing. Its worth
noting that generally the undercarriage bays were not
painted though some early P51s did have them painted
Interior Green. RAF Mustangs had the spar at the back of the
undercarriage bay painted with yellow Zinc Chromate Primer
and the rest of it either unpainted, or painted Aluminium.
Before closing the wings, the wingtip lamps were fitted and
painted with the correct clear colours and the holes opened
up for the wing hard points. The assembled wing fits
extremely well into the fuselage location, but its important
to check the front to rear alignment with the wing though
before committing to glue. The wing on this kit seemed
to fit differently to the last two I had built, being slightly
loose at the wing root, for reasons I couldn’t work out. A
length of off-cut sprue was used to widen the fuselage
63
The cockpit needed to be well
protected during painting so after
covering it with Tamiya Masking
Tape, Mr. Hobby Mr. Masking Sol Neo
was painted over the tape to ensure
nothing came undone
Painting the invasion stripes on the fuselage was a tricky job, here
the area is being masked prior to painting the white
slightly, removing the slight gap. The tail surfaces were
then attached, the rudder needed a bit of attention with a
sink mark near the bottom being filled with Mr. Surfacer.
The nose of the model was built up next, attaching
the wing to fuselage fillet and then checking the fit of
the windscreen and engine cowling. The windscreen
tends to sit over to the port side so a little cutting and
trimming then carefully gluing the part in place saw this
fitting somewhat better. This in turn meant the cowling
fitted up against the windscreen much better, almost
eliminating the slight step on the starboard side. At this
point the airframe was essentially complete and the next
stage was to give the whole model a clean up, using
Micromesh to sand and polish the surfaces. Any defects
found were repaired and then I masked the undercarriage
bays, cockpit and canopy ready to start painting.
‘Miss Detroit’ was typical of many late-War Mustangs,
colourfully painted and well maintained. Photographs
show mustangs of this period to be generally quite
64
With the invasion stripes done,
the wing identification stripes
were next, as were the darker
metallic areas around the
exhausts
With the colours all
applied, the paintwork
was sealed with a coat of
gloss and it was time for
the decals
Almost there- the final finish
has been applied and the
model is nearly complete
A dark wash helped to bring out the detail, note that now the serial
number is on the rudder, the blue has been painted up to the edge of it
clean even showing little in the way of exhaust staining.
The aircraft had the standard bare alloy fuselage with
filled/painted wings. The way the wings were filled and
painted did vary, some had the entire upper wing done,
and others were only done from the leading edge to the
chord mid-point. The underside was generally filled and
painted from the leading edge to at least the chord mid
BUILD 10 – P-51 MUSTANG
point, but this didn’t encroach on the wing fuel tanks aft
of the undercarriage bays. Unless you can find photos of a
particular aircraft, it’s not really possible to work out how the
wings were finished so it’s up to the modeller to decide.
Painting began with an overall coat of Mr. Surfacer,
applied from an aerosol. Once dry I flatted this with a piece
of 3600 grit Micromesh then the model was given a coat of
Tamiya X-1 Gloss Black. This is the perfect base for metallic
Here the invasion stripes can be seen in the underside, it was not
clear how these were painted around the opening radiator door, so
the area was left aluminium
The Cartograf decals
were excellent and
went on with no issues
paints and applying these began by painting the fuselage
with Alclad II ALC-101 Aluminium. The unpainted parts of
the wings were next given a coat of the same paint. Next
these areas were masked and the ‘painted’ areas of the
wings were given a coat of Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver.
This was immediately airbrushed with a coat of Microscale
Gloss to protect the delicate paint. After the masking was
removed, I had the entire model in its basic metallic finish.
On the fuselage, a few panels were masked and airbrushed
with Alclad II ALC-103 Dark Aluminium to break up the
finish a bit. Next came the difficult part – masking and
painting the colourful markings. I started by masking the
fuselage invasion stripes and this was not an easy job due
to the complex curves over the wing roots and around the
radiator ducts. The outline of the area was masked and then
airbrushed with white. The white stripes were then marked
out and masked, and the black stripes were airbrushed with

a very dark grey mix. The wing identification
stripes were masked and airbrushed with
the same dark grey used for the invasion
stripes. The Lifelike markings guide
said the presence of a fin stripe would
not be confirmed so I left this off.
The blue for the wing tips, canopy
and rudder came next, for these
I used Tamiya XF_8 Flat Blue. The
gun ports were also masked and
airbrushed with Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red.
Work moved on to the nose with the
windscreen area receiving a coat of Mr. Hobby
H52 Olive Drab before masking the yellow area for
the nose and airbrushing this with Mr. Hobby H329 Yellow.
The last job was to mask the carburettor blanking plates, and
these were airbrushed black. While this may have sounded
like just a series of mask-and-paint sessions, it seemed
like every time I did something, I affected something else.
Despite covering the model in masking, I kept getting
overspray, something which I hardly ever have issues with.
I had some paint lifting on the wing stripes too, again
something which I have rarely had a problem with. Perhaps
this was just ‘one of those builds’ where things just seem to
go wrong! Finally, after what seemed like weeks, the painting
was finished, sealed with gloss and it was time for the decals.
Fortunately, the decal process was nice and simple. The
Lifelike decals were printed by Cartograf so I knew these
should be excellent and they were. The process took two
evenings, the main markings being applied on the first, the
remaining ones (stencils etc) on the next with Microscale
setting solutions being used. After giving the model a
quick post-decal clean-up, the decals were sealed with a
coat of Klear. A wash was applied next to help bring out
the moulded details and I used Flory Models Dark Dirt for
this job. This was sealed with a further coat of Klear. I had
prepared most of the remaining parts that were left to
65
attach, the undercarriage was all finished as
was the propeller, so these were next glued
into place. The undercarriage fits securely
into sockets in the wing ensuring the
undercarriage is at the correct angle
to the wings. This is important on a
Mustang as getting the angle wrong
can make the model look very odd.
The undercarriage doors attached
to the undercarriage legs locate into
cut-outs in the wing so when the doors
were glued to the undercarriage legs, I
dry fitted the undercarriage to the model
to ensure the doors set in the correct position.
With the real aircraft being fairly clean I decided to limit
weathering to exhaust stains and these were applied with
a mid-grey mix which I mixed from black & white in the
airbrush cup. The real aircraft showed a distinct pattern
around the flare port on the port side of the cockpit, to
replicate this I applied a small square of Tamiya Masking tape
over the port then misted a light coat of the exhaust stain
paint over the area. After removing the tape, the resulting
effect was similar that seen in the photographs. The model
was now almost complete, so I decided it was time to apply
the final finish. For this I used MR Paint MRP-126 Super Clear
Semimatt. Several light coats were applied which toned
down the gloss finish. The cockpit and canopy masking
was then removed and the open section of the canopy
test-fitted. On the real aircraft, as the canopy opened it sat
down onto the fuselage. The kit part won’t do this without
some modification. The inside edges need to be scraped
with a blade to thin them until the canopy will sit lower.
To help this, the lower corners of the canopy brace need
to be cut off square. The modified canopy can then be
glued in place using the squared-off brace to glue it to the
cockpit sides. I had assembled and painted the paper drop
tanks commonly used at this point in the War, so these
were attached to the hardpoints. The final job was to add
the wingtip navigation lights using drops of Microscale
Kristal Klear which were painted with the appropriated
clear colours once dry. The Airfix Mustang is a very good
kit and I really enjoyed
this build despite the
painting problems!
The finished model
looks great and really
captures the look I was after.
66

Iron Ass Mustang

James Ashton builds the 1:48 Tamiya P-51D
P-51D Mustang

A
s the saying goes ‘you can never have too much of
BUILD 11 – P-51 MUSTANG

a good thing’, and for me this certainly holds true SCALE: 1:32
when it comes to Tamiya 1:32 aircraft kits. They are KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
an absolute joy and delight to work with straight- INJECTION MOULDED
from-the-box, and the attention to detail and clever KIT NUMBER: 60322
engineering make you light-headed with anticipation. I
know this kit has been on release now since 2011 so it has
been built and reviewed numerous times. Meaning that
there is very little I can say about this kit that is not already

known by most if not
all modellers who have built
one. With that in mind I am approaching
this article with the idea that if you have too much of
the same good thing you get sick of it. This is where the
aftermarket producers come into their own, and in this
case its ‘Kits World’ decals. Even a casual glance into the
many and varied markings and colour schemes that the
P-51 sported during its wartime and post-war life, could
keep the most ardent Mustang enthusiast from ever
67
becoming sick of the same old thing.
The aircraft that caught my attention due
to its humorous nose art was ‘Iron Ass’ piloted by Lt.
Col. Jack Oberhansly 334th FS 4th FG. I wanted to make
this model as interesting as I could so I added D-Day stripes
for further interest, although I could not find a specific
picture of this aircraft with them on I did find a picture
of the rest of the squadron sporting this scheme,
with half banding on the fuselage and
full stripes on the wings. With this
research spurring me on, and
the excellent quality decals
from ‘Kits World’ awaiting
application I threw myself
into this stunning kit. Although
it is inevitable that I will talk about
the stunning features of these kits
from Tamiya, I thought I would also mention some of the
potential pitfalls. Often the expression ‘shake and bake’
is applied to these kits and indeed they are a constant
source of amazement as each beautifully crafted piece, no
matter how complex, fits into place. This does not mean
that you cannot get caught-out by thinking you know
better than Tamiya (speaking of myself) when it comes
to the best method of construction. Not that
I messed anything up, however, as the
more experienced modellers among
us are aware some kit instructions do
require work arounds. Not Tamiya, these
people know what they are doing. The
one area I did differently was the fuselage
insert behind the canopy; this would
require you to fit the canopy before
painting. I chose to fit the insert
and then trim the tabs off the
canopy shaft after painting.
As I am not bothered
68

about the canopy sliding this was not a

problem and meant that the fuselage could be
painted without the danger of the canopy being
broken off while spraying. Even the complex
engine bay and magnetic cowls fit perfectly
as long as you fit all the parts together exactly
as described there will be no misalignment.
There was a time when the mere thought
of doing a Natural Metal finish had me running
from the workbench. In fact I would usually either
look for a camouflaged option or just not by the kit.
Then I discovered the Airbrush and Alclad II metallic
Lacquers and although it has taken lots of practice and
some disasters, this has now become an enjoyable and
rewarding part of modelling. The key to getting a good
finish is in the preparation and correct application of
metallic paints. There are numerous articles and ‘how
to’ videos on the internet as to how you should do this
and I would encourage you to persevere and practice.
One thing more about these type of paints is that they
make an ideal surface for the decals to be applied
upon. A gloss coat is always recommended
and the surface is already super smooth. Kits
BUILD 11 – P-51 MUSTANG
 69

World decals are of a high

quality and are in perfect
register with good colour saturation
and a fine carrier film, which means no
silvering. All these factors mean that they have a painted
on appearance. If you really want to go to town on this
kit, and indeed any Mustang then the two excellent
Modellers Datafiles on this subject are a must have
companion. Once again I cannot praise Tamiya enough
for their superb engineering skills, it is obvious that every
part has been designed with the modeller in mind. Given
the number of options and aftermarket parts that are
being produced for these kits it may be true to say you
could build them forever and never, ever, get bored?
70
Swedish Stallion
Bri Wakeman gives a Nordic look to the 1:48 Airfix P-51D
M
any may sigh at the sight of another P-51, but
believe me, this offering from Airfix is beautifully
detailed, and comes at a price most can afford,
and therefore must be commended. It is not
often that your author walks indoors with a new kit and
starts making it the same day...but this was one such
occasion! The Airfix breakdown and engineering approach
is conventional, and you can see that they will produce other
versions later with two re-boxing destined for 2018 (Korean
F-51D/late war P-51K). The cockpit detail was pleasing with
no real need for any aftermarket parts at all. The Airfix
designers have presented the wooden floor as one section
leading aft, to include the tail wheel well. The radio box/
BUILD 12 – P-51 MUSTANG
battery and fuel tank are nice and only a few lengths of Plus
Models lead wire were needed to enhance this area. The
base colours for this area were Lifecolor UA735 Deep Cockpit
and Xtracolor X117 FS34151 Matt Interior Green, with details
being picked out with various colours, along and a good
dry brushing to add a few metallic scuffs here and there.
Turning to the all-metal laminar flow wing area, and on
inspection, the six small covered openings for the rocket
North American P-51D Mustang
MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: AO5131
equipped aircraft are there. Other nice touches are the
optional flap arrangement with the full span lower wing
section, including the two-part separate detailed main
wheel bay that runs into the forward engine cowl, and there
is a separate panel for the six .50 calibre M2/AN Browning
machine guns. Within a day, most the fuselage was
complete with a minimum of putty required, even though
a few slivers of Plasticard were used on the underside! You
have a choice of exhaust stacks and the ram-air breather
ducts are an option too, and a pair of tail sections are also
included again pointing towards various Mustangs on
the horizon, and on closer inspection they have captured
the off-set to port tailfin layout (as on the real aircraft) to

Everything you could need for a detailed cockpit
This is the first time I had seen this approach to a P-51 tail fillet
assembly, and points to more P-51s on the horizon
Airfix include a choice of ordnance, with the five-part Bazooka
rocket tubes a pleasant surprise
compensate for the propellor torque - nice touch Airfix!
Airfix gives you two sets of fuel tanks, these being 75 US
gallon (330 litre) steel tanks and 110 US gal (484 litre) paper
renditions, alongside a brace of 500lb (226kg) bombs and
Bazooka-style M10 triple rocket tubes. As mentioned, a
Korean War option is coming, as the location holes for the
six-inch HVAR rocket launch rails are clearly marked. The
overview of the framework looks superb with just the
right amount of riveting and fasteners incorporated into
the softish grey plastic. Airfix has also made the exhaust
manifolds to fit into a recessed slot from the outside of the
fuselage, meaning you can add them after painting, and
again, they include shrouded or un-shrouded options.
Soon I was ready to paint and the first job was to mask
71
Airfix must be commended for the super side walls
A sublime level of detail is included in the cockpit
The snug fit of the one-piece interior can be seen, along with the
super-charger/radiator section
off crystal-clear canopy and hand Lifecolor UA004 FS34151
Interior Green onto its frames. Now, many may think it
sacrilege to camouflage such an aircraft, and who can blame
them. But with the new Xtradecal sheet 48-177 to hand,
a wonderful Swedish Air Force/Flygvapnet J26 (Swedish
designation) 26031/N (16) F16 Wing Uppsala AB 1945-46
could be accomplished. Sweden purchased 165 (including
four –B models) P-51B/Ds and painted six of their P-51Ds in a
temporary Olive Green/Blue-Grey pattern for trials work, and
these made for a very different and interesting aircraft. They
operated Mustangs until 1954, in turn being replaced by
the SAAB J-29 Tunnan from 1952 onwards. Before any major
colour was applied the complete airframe was primed,
followed with a light coat of Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver,
72
Wilders Quick Mask is highly recommended
Armed with only a worn fine sanding stick and a sharp 10A blade, it
was amazing how the chipping turned out
Attaching the replacement undercarriage with brushed on activator
and medium superglue
applied over the upper frame of the model. To simulate wear
and tear Wilders new Quick Mask QM04 Yellow was dabbed
on with a small piece of sponge, and left to dry. Next, the
nose boss, the hub and the four-bladed cuffed propeller
BUILD 12 – P-51 MUSTANG
were painted. Xtracolor X318 West Pac Security Services
Blue is a perfect foil for the Swedish roundel/code letter N,
and looked ideal. Underside wise the base colour used was
Xtracolor X157 FS16176 F-15 Mod Eagle Dark Grey, with many
panels picked out in UA524 FS36173 US Neutral Grey. For the
upper surface, I went with Xtracolor X778 Mork Gron (Olive
Green) 325H, intertwined with shades of Lifecolor UA219
FS33070 Lustreless Olive Drab, and UA220 Lustreless Olive
I was lucky enough to have a tin of the now defunct Xtracolor X778
Olive Green 325H that is believed to be the correct topside colour
Scale Aircraft Conversions P-51D #48-344 replacement gear, was
used and the details were picked out with Lifecolor UA733 Tyre Black
and Citadel Mithral Silver
Liquid pigments are a dream to mix and apply
Drab 319. This combination essentially worked fine as the
harsh climate would have taken its toll on these aircraft.
Once a good coating of Johnson’s ‘Klear’ had covered
the entire airframe, the Xtradecal sheet came into its own.
The decals performed as expected, and the final stage was
the weathering. For this Lifecolor Liquid Pigment LPW02
Black Umber, LPW04 Black-Grey, LPW21 Smoke and LPW22
Carriage Grime made up most of the staining. This in turn
was supplemented with Vallejo Model Wash 76-505 Light
Rust and 76-507 Dark Rust. Both products complement
each other so well, that if a mistake is made, you simply
remove with Lifecolor remover. The faint exhaust staining

The gear doors also had slight weathering added to them for extra depth
The AN104A VHF mast now attached, and you also have a choice of
the old style ADF Navigational System Loop Antenna
73
With a fine acrylic paint brush I added a various streaking marks
looked perfect with a brushing of LPW15 Soot, and once I
was satisfied with the finish required, the entire model was
sealed with a 50:50 mix of Lifecolor LC27 Matt and LC77
Satin. No form of ordnance was included, as few pictures
exist of Swedish J26/S26 fighter/reconnaissance aircraft
carrying them. As range and endurance was far more than
needed, the external drop-tanks were seldom used, and
some were converted into transport containers, potentially
air droppable with rescue equipment. In 1950 trials were
made arming the Mustangs with rockets and bombs, but
they were found to be unsuitable for the role. The brace
of faired bomb-racks with the sway-braces were picked
out with Citadel Bolt Gun Metal 61-57, The canopy had a
small hole drilled for the radio wire, which was attached
to the rear of the pilot’s seat, and with the addition of the
AN104A VHF antenna mast, the project was finished.
74

British Mustang
Mario Serelle uses Ammo by MIG Products on the 1:48 Tamiya P-51D
North American P-51D Mustang

B
uilding a P-51D Mustang ‘dressed-up’ in Grey/
Green camouflage has long been in my plans, MANUFACTURER: TAMIYA
BUILD 13 – P-51 MUSTANG

not only because it’s different from the familiar SCALE: 1:48
metal finished aircraft, but the RAF camouflage KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
with US paint should look nice! Yes, Mustang IVs were INJECTION MOULDED
painted in factory with US made colours ‘similar’ to those KIT NUMBER: 25147
used in England. That information really caught my EDUARD #FE216 P-51D
attention and I had to see just what this would look like! AEROMASTER #48670 RAF
P-51 MUSTANG PART II
So, armed with a Tamiya kit, an Eduard Zoom etched
fret and Aeromaster decals, the fun began. Before

With all the etched parts in place,
the cockpit detail is taken to
another level
spraying any paint onto the cockpit
parts, some raised details had to
be sanded off in preparation
for the etched items to come.
I also added the side frames
missing on the seat using thin
plastic strip. The interior was
airbrushed Interior Green,
Black and Rubber Black
before the etched details
were added. These parts were
a considerable improvement
over the original ones especially the
instrument panel, which really makes a
difference. After brush painting various
75
details with acrylic colours and coating the interior with
a gloss varnish, Ammo by MIG Dark Brown wash was
used to add depth to the structural details and a Neutral
Grey dry brushing helped to ‘illuminate’ the black areas.
Ammo by MIG Rubber and Tires and Aluminium was
applied with a sponge to give some chipping effects
to the seat and side walls. The cockpit of this over
twenty-year old kit still holds up nicely when finished!
The gun muzzles and exhaust stacks
were drilled with a manual tool for a
better representation of the real thing
and soon I was ready for painting.
After filling the wheel wells
with Silly Putty and securing
the canopy in place with Pritt-Tak, the whole
model was coated with Black primer. As mentioned,
camouflaged Mustang IVs were painted in US with
American colours, these reported to be ANA 602 Light
Grey for the underside and ANA 603 Sea Grey and ANA
613 Olive Drab for the upper surfaces. Using lighter
shades of these colours I applied the ‘marbling’ coat,
playing with tonal variation to add some interest to the
incoming camouflage. To make masking work easier I
decided to paint the Sky fuselage band first and then
proceed with the camouflage colours. I started on the
underside, followed the upper surfaces, always
working slowly in thin layers to make the
‘marbling’ effect subtly show through
the camouflage. With the first layer
applied, Off-White was then ‘dabbed’
with a sponge on the wing roots
and then blended with another thin
layer of the camouflage colours.
A very thin coat of Off-White was
sprayed over the rudder for a faded
effect, as the fabric covered surface
tends to fade faster than the rest of the
airframe. To represent the stressed fabric over
the rudder ribs, each frame was carefully
The Eduard etched instrument
panel is a huge improvement
over the original part
76

Weathering the seat started

with a Rubber and Tires
applied with a sponge to
simulate paint chipping

A Dark Brown
wash gave depth
to the cockpit
The cockpit was easily
installed in the fuselage

The painting process

started with Black
Primer

A manual drilling tool was used to carefully open the gun barrels

masked and clear Smoke paint airbrushed on the edges

of the masks creating a shadow effect. The Yellow
leading edges, nose and spinner were then masked and on the blades, perpendicular lines
painted, with the spinner receiving its Black stripes. of Ammo by MIG Rainmarks were
Painting completed, the Aeromaster decals were painted on the propellers and then blended
applied over a coat of Gloss varnish, but even using with a flat brush moistened with Mineral Spirits.
setting solution some of them refused to conform in After adding some Aluminium chips on the wing roots
the recessed details. I then used a sharp knife to cut the using the same sponge technique I moved to accenting
decals along the panel lines and a second application of the panel lines. I used different wash colours according
setting solution solved my problem. Weathering started to the desired effect. A Blue Grey wash was used on
by the propellers with some paint chipping being the underside and a Deep Brown
represented by Black on the upper camouflage. The
and Aluminium moveable surfaces received a
colours being stronger contrast with Deep
applied with Grey on the underside and
a sponge on the Black on the upper side. A
leading edges of the Dark Wash was used in the
blades. The same technique wheel wells for depth and dirt effect.
BUILD 13 – P-51 MUSTANG

was used on the spinner as I then moved onto Ammo by MIG

well, but this time using Ammo Streaking products for different
by MIG Yellow and Rubber and Tires effects. First some leaking fluids
colours. To create subtle dirt marks were represented on the
underside with Streaking
Light Grey was used on Grime for Panzer Grey, a
the underside to create a very dark tone. These
‘marbling’ coat
were applied mainly
 77
A Medium Grey shade was used Medium Grey and Dark Earth shades
on the ‘marbling’ coat for the were used on the upper surfaces
upper surfaces

The RAF’s Ocean Grey was

replaced by Sea Grey

Light Grey was used to

match RAF’s Medium
Sea Grey

With all the post-

shading now applied,
it was time to blend-
in the effects

After masking the rudder ribs with thin strips of masking tape, clear
After careful masking Smoke was airbrushed on close to the ribs to create a light effect
work, the wing leading over them
edges and nose were
painted in Yellow

Some decals refused to conform into the panel lines, and had to be
persuaded with a sharp knife
78

The Green/Grey camouflaged areas received a Deep Brown wash

to accent the panel lines, and Black was used around the control
surfaces and air scoops
For a deeper effect around the movable surfaces I choose the darker
Deep Grey panel line wash

A paste of Dark Earth pigments diluted and mixed with Mineral

Leaking fluids and grime were represented Spirits was applied to the tyre treads
on the underside with a very Dark Streaking
Grime from Ammo by MIG range
BUILD 13 – P-51 MUSTANG
 79

The finished Mustang,

ready for assembly

Light Dust pigment was used to represent exhaust soot, being first
applied with a small brush to create the peculiar curve of the soot

on the centreline of the aircraft, close to the landing

gear. Ammo by MIG Streaking Grime and Ammo by
MIG Dark Streaking Grime were used to add some dirt
aspect to the wing roots and some panels around the
engine. The technique was basically the same, first the
product was applied with a fine brush where desired
and once it was dry to touch, the effect was blended
and softened with a clean brush. The same method
was used to fade the roundels, but this time using Light
Blue and Light Red shades of oil paints. These aircraft
usually operated from un-paved runways in England,
and to represent some mud splattered by the landing
gear on the underside I used the Ammo by MIG Earth
Effects, just flicking a moistened brush with a toothpick
where I wanted. This was also applied to the gear
covers, and then complemented by some Ammo by
MIG Dark Earth pigments. To give the tyres the look of
being used on unprepared runways, I mixed the Dark
80

Earth pigments with Mineral Spirits and the resulting

paste was applied to the treads. Once dried, the excess
was removed with a cotton swab. More Ammo by
MIG Earth coloured pigments were added to the wing
roots as well and some Rust and Black products were
used on the exhausts to give them a rusty and worn
appearance. The exhaust soot was also created with
pigments, first using the Light Dust colour followed
by some Black powder close to the stacks. This was
easy, and effective. The final touch on the airframe
was done with watercolour Silver pencil, adding small
scratches to the many bolts around the engine panels.
Before gathering all parts together, the drop tanks
fuel lines were made with cooper wire and bended
according to my references. The tanks were then
glued in place with the new lines being inserted in
the previously drilled holes on the wing. The Mustang
is one of the most built subjects all around the globe
and I just love building the P-51. Natural metal finishes
are great and eye-catching but when you dress it
up with a camouflage she still looks beautiful. The
darker shades of the US colours and the Black and
Yellow details really contributed to make this build
special to me and I’m really pleased with my choice!
BUILD 13 – P-51 MUSTANG
 PRINTED IN THE UK PRICE £14.99
MA PUBLICATIONS LTD