WormWoodTheStar on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/wormwoodthestar/art/P-51B-Mustang-1-72-369219940WormWoodTheStar

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P-51B Mustang [1:72]

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Description

The kit
I already had Revell's Mustang once, the P-51D version, and God, it was awful :stare: The parts did not fit at all, and it was covered with rivets like an Interbellum tank. I didn't finish it, it went to spare parts and painting experiment section. Then I saw a P-51B version in a model shop in Poznan, in a ground attack version. I always prefered low-level fighter-bombers, sacrificing speed and manouverability for the sake of powerful armament, over fast and nimble escort fighters.

What was supposed to be a quick stress-reliever turned into a month-and-a-half project that was sitting on my desk since February :roll: I didn't have time nor willpower to finish this model. Therefore, some small pieces are missing, such as pitot tube. Also, at some point when I was not at home someone struck the aircraft off my desk and one of the wings broke off - and since it was already painted, I didn't want to spoil it with putty, so there is a prominent gap between the wing and the hull. Moreover, the fit of the cabin is poor, but I didn't realise that until when I was taking photos :upset:

However, the model as such is rather nicely moulded and the fit (except canopy) is fine. The cockpit is finely detailed, for such a small scale; the same goes for the hull and the wings of the Mustang. When I compared the superb P-51B and tragic P-51D, it was hard to believe they come from the same manufacturer :roll: One thing which annoyed me, though, was the propeller - its blades are all moulded separately and it takes a lot of job to align them properly (the instruction is not very helpful in that matter). I'm more than sure that I have misaligned them on my model.

If you are wondering how did I make that chipping paint effect - yes, the paint really is chipping off :XD: I covered the hull and wings with silver Humbrol (which makes a great base coat, by the way), then used RAF Dark Green. Before it settled completely, I took a blunt knife and chipped paint where I'd expect it to come off on real plane. In some places I also managed to damage the base paint, so I covered it back. I'm not quite satisfied with how the flight controls on wings look like, though, because it looks as if paint was coming off in X axis rather than Y axis.

All in all, I can recommend this kit to every aviation fan. With a bit more time and patience than I had, this model offers superb quality for such a low price and such a small scale. A great add to every 1/72 collection.

Model: Revell
Paints: Pactra, except the silver Humbrol
Scale: 1/72
Image size
1283x963px 286.09 KB
© 2013 - 2024 WormWoodTheStar
Comments2
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BlueFox284's avatar
For something you wanted to look beat up and dirty, not bad. But remember when you wanna go that far with the weathering, don't forget the leading edge of the wings, and lil' bit on the props.