A Very Long Range Mustang from Iwo Jima – Eduard 1/48 P-51D-20
The model originally came from Eduard's 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' kit, but unfortunately I received it with a partly cut-off decal sheet, the german symbols were missing from the victory marks. So rather I decided to build it using one of the many decals of another Eduard kit, 'Tales of Iwojima'. I chose Margaret IV, the personal mount of 79th FS CO, Major James B. Tapp.
Eduard's ProfiPack series kits give beautiful results when built out of the box, but I did some research on the subject this time as well, and made some minor improvements where necessary.
In the cockpit I cut off the thick reflector plate of the gun sight and replaced it with a thinner one. According to my sources, the ring and bead sight was no longer used on the D-20 version, so I didn't install it.
I experienced only two small inaccuracies during the build. A bit of sanding was required when attaching the wheel well to the wing, otherwise the upper wing elements won't fit exactly. The canopy caused another problem: it was too wide, way wider than the fuselage. I replaced it with one from another Eduard Mustang kit (luckily they provide every Mustang kit with three different canopies) and this was already the right size.
Under the characteristic Uncle Dog twin antennas on the left side, it was necessary to scratch in an additional panel. I replaced the AN-95 radio antenna mast in front of the left main gear and the static ground wire behind the tail wheel, too. On real Mustangs the bigger part of the wings was filled and polished, so rivets were invisible and panel lines only barely visible. The Eduard Mustang kits have only panel lines on the wings (and no rivets), but even so I filled most of it.
The only slightly weaker part of the very nice model are the HVAR rockets, and furthermore their attachment is different than the one shown in the pictures of Margaret IV. Therefore, I made new fins and suspension for the rockets.
The VLR Mustangs carried drop tanks way larger than standard, and to balance them, sway braces were installed on both sides of the tank. Based on the sources, these were originally made of plywood plates, so I painted them in this way (instead of the metal color specified in the assembly instructions).
I also prepared the wiring of the wheel well and the main gears, and the fuel pipes of the drop tanks.
I used AK Xtreme Metal for painting, mostly White Aluminium and Polished Aluminium for the large surfaces. The non-metallic colours are from AK Real Colors series. For the weathering, I used Abteilung 502 oil paints, but I didn't want to exaggerate it, because based on the known photos of the machine, its staff kept it in good order.
Very nice looking Mustang, Vilmos, the metal finish is especially realistic, and your extra detailing has raised the level of the already good Eduard kit. Welcome to iModeler.
Thank you very much!
Nice work, but you want to tilt the canopy back so the rear touches the fuselage. P-51s aren't jets. We've all done this boo-boo at one time or another. An easy fix.
Nice work on it otherwise.
Well done, great detail.
Indeed, he really made the most of a well-detailed kit.
Thank you very much!
Hello Tom! Thank you for your help! I know this problem (I forgot to mention in the article), unfortunately the Eduard canopy is not perfect. I was checking reference photos when I installed it. The rear of the canopy should to touch the fuselage, as you mentioned, but in the same time, it should to stay in level with the canopy tracks. If I would tip it, as you advised, an angle will arise between the tracks and the lower part of the canopy. So unfortunately I should choose between two bad options, and I thought this the lesser one. If I look the model from above, it is not so noticeable.
Gorgeous build Sir! Speaking about the canopy… It’s NOT level with the tracks when fully opened. The rear part of it should always ’touch’ the fuselage when slided back though. Once again, a fantastic build and NMF!
Cheers
Thank you very much! 🙂
About the canopy: perhaps I wasn't unambiguous. Please check this photo of the Eduard kit (from Eduard homepage), watch the interface between the rail and the lower part of the canopy! This will happen when the rear of the canopy touch the fuselage.
https://www.eduard.com/out/media/gallery/6956/zoom/KAMO_B_02.jpg
And for reference, here is an another photo from the canopy of a real Mustang:
https://www.worldwarphotos.info/wp-content/gallery/usa/aircrafts/p-51/P-51D-20_44-72505_shomo_3.jpg
So that's it. I dislike more the angled interface between the rail and the canopy than the 'hovering' rear of the canopy.
Great Mustang! natural metal finish and weathering are just right. Beautiful build. Funny that your canopy was too wide, on the Eduard mustang that I just completed it was too narrow!
Thank you very much! Yeah, perhaps the canopy is the weakest part of this nice kit.
Amazing build, Vilmos!
Welcome aboard!
Thank you very much!
Your first post is an excellent one, Vilmos @kosboros
Amazing result on this Mustang, I like the chosen scheme which is beautifully applied.
Welcome to this great community.
Thank you very much!
Beautiful mustang Vilmos !
Thank you very much!
Magnifique rendition, Vilmos, bravo!
That's as nice as any Mustang model I've seen! 👍 Vilmos @kosboros, that's a great scale model! Welcome to iModeler from me as well; it's a wonderful community of great folks. 🍺
@kosboros - Fantastic build Vilmos. The research you put in definitely paid off. The detail work and weathering looks incredibly realistic!
That's a beauty of a Mustang, nice finish.
Top class Modelling Vilmos. Superb 👍
Thank you for everyone, guys, I am really happy for the kind words and greetings! 🙂
Great work, Vilmos. Welcome aboard at IModeler. You have captured the weathered look of a long-range Pacific P-51D perfectly. I really like what you have done with the bare metal staining and panel variation. Finely detailed in every respect.
That is a real beauty! Very realistic finish, and just enough weathering to give it a nice realism.
Vilmos, your P-51 is an amazing build! Great job.
Beauty of a mustang and well done weathering, Vilmos @kosboros. Terrific photos. Canopy looks good enough to me.
Wow, what a great looking Mustang, Vilmos (@kosboros). This is a version of the Mustang that you don't see very often. Your natural metal finish looks perfect. I love using AK Real Colors, but haven't tried their metallic colors yet. Well done.
Vilmos, congratulations for your beautiful build! I wonder if the canopy issue isn't that on the one hand there was some variation is how the canopy styles fit, and on the other if perhaps Eduard has made a slight error is either the inner shape of the canopy frame or the curvature of the fuselage spine. I include photos of several - most admittedly restored and some maybe remade as two-seaters - P-51Ds that show various angles between the retracted canopy frame and the canopy sill. What they all show, however, as I see it, is that the very rear of the canopy frame looks like it is wider than the Eduard interpretation and doesn't sit exactly flat on the spine. Could one or both of these discrepancies account for the mismatch we find, or are many/most restorations using a different frame shape?
8 attached images. Click to enlarge.