Unfortunately I have to put the Gee Bee on temporary hold. A friend contacted me to put together a model of Betty Jane for a shadow box display of her husbands flight we did couple years ago. I gave her a list and she sent me a Tamiya B with all the bells and whistles. I planned on doing one of these for myself at some point so this will serve as a template. Tom Cleaver built a really nice version that is posted here on the Mustang channel as well.

Charles McCorkle was in the 31st FG during WWII, both his Spitfire and Mustang were named Betty Jane, Betty being his wife and Jane being his daughter. I had the pleasure of meeting Jane in Texas a number of years ago. When Collings acquired BJ we had no idea Charles was still with us, and unfortunately passed before we knew or could arrange a meeting. The Hickory Aviation Museum is caretaker of his archives and artifacts. Among the collection are his logbooks, one of his A-11 helmets, his military ID and many photos. Charles flew P-12's during the 30's and noted it was one of his favorite airplanes.

I've got the build moving along pretty good since it has to be done by Christmas. I'm trying to put at least 3 hours a day in to it with the photo etch and resin consuming much of the time. Once the cockpit is completed it will move much faster. I've got 3 shades of metalizer paint and the idea is to build it up as the military airplane, not the Collings TP-51C. I'm going to attempt to pull out all the stops on this one and really do it right. I have some issues with the eduard photo etch but overall it will provide a really nice illusion and fill out the cockpit nice. I'm using the Air Corps Aviation 'build' of Lopes Hope as a reference. Posting here is good motivation 🙂

Jim

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Looking good Jim, I've built Tamiya's P-51D, Passion Wagon, and though considered an old kit by today's standards I found it to a great little kit. Their B model should be as well. So open or closed canopy? The only B's I've completed to date have been AM kits where I cut the canopy to display it in the open position. The Tamiya kit gives you theoption of open or closed, which is really nice. Either way have fun.

back at it! I filled the wing per North American specs...and pictures gleaned from other threads. I started sanding away the Vallejo filler...which is really nice for this as it sands easy and cleans up with water. I used 1000 and 2500 grit sand paper. I also shot a coat of black on the props and found low spots near the tips...so those were re-filled and ready for final painting.

I've never worked with resin parts before and so far it is pretty straight forward. They sand nice and are beautifully molded. The elevator will be positioned in the down and locked position. Fun Mustang fact, with the stick unlocked (as if you are going flying), the tail wheel is semi-locked and limited in travel to 6 degrees left and right. When you are taxiing you can unlock the tail wheel for full swivel by pushing the stick forward of neutral for tighter maneuvering with the brakes. After shutdown at the end of the day the stick is locked full foward with a spring loaded plunger at the base of the stick. The reason the stick is locked in the full down elevator position is for towing or tugging the airplane with tail wheel unlocked. Anyway...here are some photos 🙂

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Looking good so far Jim, as Louis mention Ultracast does provide some nice aftermarket items. They never disappoint. And by the way, may I recommend you jump on the iModeler store site and get yourself a T-shirt. Make it easier to find you at the next model show. Plus you can't beat 15% off and free shipping. Just sayin

Looks good so far, Jim.

That's a novel idea with the floor ! Sometimes the simple things work out the best. I like it ...

I have never built up a 1/48 scale Tamiya Mustang. Hopefully this new year will change this. I have a few scheduled in the pipeline.

From what I have read about them, they're sweet builds.

Thanks for posting this update.

Another milestone...go the wing mated to the fuselage. what a fit! This kit just keeps getting better and better. Absolutely no issues getting it to fit with proper dihedral.

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You know Tom, I can see why these kits haven't changed in 20 years...I can't wait to build the D. I got Betty all assembled and final filler in place, which isn't much. The elevators have been removed from the horizontals and the trim set accordingly. I added some wiring to the antenna mast and radio compartment just for illusion. The wheel wells will get some 'hydraulic tubing' and the accumulator but I'm keeping that simple. The next big hurdle is polishing and painting. Got my gloves out!

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.