Here is the model, assembled.
I discovered a problem with this kit that also is likely the case with the Cavalier Turboprop (Dart engine) kit I know several people have, so this discussion is likely good for those kits, too.
The Eduard kit features a "ledge" on both fuselage halves, where the cockpit floor fits. When you install the sidewalls, that is a very tight fit, and if you are not careful when assembling the fuselage, you can miss the ledge on the side the cockpit isn't already glued into. Fortunately, since that is all plastic, you can open it up a bit and fix the fit, or even go so far as to pull the fuselage halves apart and start over.
That's not the case with the Halberd fuselage, which is resin and requires C-A glue. This wasn't a problem with the Cavalier II kit, which is just a Merlin-engine Mustang; everything went together easy. However, with the turbo kits, you have an additional thing to worry about - you have the exhaust pipe hanging into its position unglued, while you get the fuselage halves together before you stick the CA bottle (with a long neck) into the open nose and glue it in position once everything else is together.
The result - which I learned the hard way - is that you can easily get the cockpit out of alignment with that ledge on the unglued-in side. And by the time you have the fuselage all together and you discover it's been "widened" by the mistake, it is waaaaaay too late to pull things apart and start over. Which leads to all the nice modifications for fit of the wing sub assembly and the fuselage halves is for naught and you are left to modify all that again with the fuslage assembled. This. Is. Not. Easy. The result is all the putty around the wing/fuselage assembly you see in these photos. It took several days and in the end it's still not quite really right, though it will "pass muster" at two feet viewing distance.
The solution: get rid of the "ledge" on the unglued side. Do not apply glue to the cockpit floor while assembling the fuelage. Once that assembly is done, if necessary push the floor up till it touches the side panel and is level, then apply CA glue from below. You will totally avoid all the problems I came up with. (that's also a good solution for many who are doing the straight Eduard P-51 kit)
I was fortunate to discover when I went pawing around in the Big Box O' Squardon/Falcon canopies to discover a set for the F-82 Twin Mustang - this is for the Hobbycraft kit that is wrongwrongwrong, and incorrect for the rightrightright Modelsvit kit. However, the sliding canopy is the right shape for the Cavalier Mustangs - if you trim the lower canopy frame to be flat. Check the trimming of the forward end of the canopy so it fits to the windscreen, and you can close it as I did here. Closing it will keep everyone from noticing that either the interior is completely wrong for the Cavalier airplanes (if you didn't modify anything) or that you didn't get the modifications spot-on if you did modify it.
Other than the Modeler-Induced Problems with the Halberd conversion, this is a really nice kit. You cannot do the later PA-48 Enforcers Piper made in the 1980s, because the cowling for that airplane was considerably deeper all around for the different turboprop used. But you can do the original Piper/Cavalier Enforcer 1971.
I've decided I am going to do this as one of the "Project Dark Knight" Enforcers secretly used by the Air Force for night ops over the Ho Chi Minh Trail that are now known because of the recent declassification of the final report on the project, under the 50 Year Rule. (And if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale you won't be able to say no to. 🙂 )
5 attached images. Click to enlarge.
