Accurate Miniatures 1/48 P-51C “By Request”
Summer activities has consumed most of my modeling time but I was able to finally complete another Tuskegee Airman aircraft. The above represents a P-51C piloted by LTC Benjamin O. Davis of the 100th FS, 332nd FG in Ramitelli, Italy 1944/5. Davis would remain in the Army after the war and would rise to the rank of four star general in the newly formed U S Air Force before his retirement.
The kit I used has been around since the 90's and can still be found at modeling shows and on various web sites for sale. I've always liked their various versions of the P-51 as they have nice cockpit detail and the over all fit is quite good. However, their canopies are on the rather thick side. The only aftermarket item I used was a seat with hardness as I prefer them versus working with PE. If you follow some of my builds you know I'm into seats.
Paints used were Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum from a rattle can and I shot the Model Master Insignia Red enamel with an air brush. The cockpit was hand painted with various Model Master acrylics. Again, I enjoy hand painting cockpits. Decals were from Warbird Decals and they performed very well, and I used the kit decals for the stencils and nylon thread was used for the antenna wire. I finished her off with a coat of Future/Pledge to keep her shiny as I like her that way.
This is now my fourth Tuskegee aircraft, the previous built are a P-40F, P-39, and a P-47, all displayed here on iModeler on my blog page. Up next will be a Tamiya P-51D Duchess Arlene which will go well with the Nose Art GB. After that Cooter is in line, another Tamiya P-51D. Side note, "By Request" was named by Davis after several Bomber units specifically asked for the Red Tails to escort them to and from their targets.
Nice job, Tom. Looking forward to building my second Tamiya razorback in the near future.
Nothing like a Red Tail razor back, real nice!
Accurate Miniatures make (made) some top-notch stuff...as is evident here - nice work.
Excellent work as usual Tom.
I had the opportunity to watch Kermit Weeks fly his "red tail" razor back Mustang several years ago.
What a sight to see as he put it through the paces with a few high speed low passes. There's something about hearing a Merlin that you'll never forget.
Your Mustang looks great ! I agree with you about these AM kits. They build into a great model right out of the box. The aftermarket seat was a nice addition.
Well done my friend.
The only Allison engine I ever got to hear was mounted on a tractor during a tractor pull in Kentucky, back in the early 70's I think! I was really pulling for that hot rod tractor because of my affinity for all things aviation, but it didn't perform well in that application!
I have a similar story Greg, but it was with speed boats. My Dad worked at a Marina when I was a kid, after he worked as an offshore fisherman in the 1960's. He took me down to look at the racing boats and told me how they had "airplane engines" in them. I was hooked !
very impressive and inspiring
lovely "red tail" Tom...those belts are sweet and simple...the red looks like maroon...I love it
Love your Mustang! Beautiful B Model. Dont see these as much as other versions so really appreciate your build. You demonstrated some wonderful skills with this build.
Great job here Tom!
Nice Tom. Even though they don’t have dropped flaps, those AM B/C kits are still nice. I have a couple left in the stash that I need to get busy on.
Now you need to do an Alabama ANG red tail F-16 to complete the collection!
Roll Tide!
Absolute beauty, Tom. Well done.
Great looking Mustang, Tom! I sure like your collection of Red Tails.
An excellent Mustang! I have yet to build a red-tailed mount, but every time I see one it seems to be to be a good excuse to add to the stash.
Great job Tom!
Excellent work Tom, always fond of the AM kits. The layout of the box and parts within. So the only issue as you mentioned was the clarity of the canopy. Still not bad enough that I could live with it. Fun builds. Thanks for sharing.
That's quite a beauty, Tom!
Thanks for all the nice comments gentlemen and the pics from Louis were a plus. Never had any real issues with the AM kits unless I created them. They're still fun builds IMHO.