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A model I´ve been wanting to build for quite some time, Yeager´s last Mustang. This was my second Mustang, but my first one painted in an overall natural metal finish. It´s the Italeri rebox of the Hasegawa 1:48 P-51D. The model was first coated with white, and then the metallic colour was brushpainted over it, so it could have a nice grip on the surface. Many thanks to @stevehnz, @Giorgio N and Scott van Aken from Modeling Madness for their help regarding the Repliscale decals. They were an absolute joy to work with, being thin but not fragile, and sticking permanently once I pressed firmly over them with a kitchen roll. The only exception were the checkerboards, which were too big and had to be painted. I also had to add a spreader sprue just in front of the cockpit, otherwise there would be a gap between the wings and the fuselage.

Hi all, This is my build of the Bell X-1 "Glamorous Glennis" aircraft used by "Chuck" Yeager to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. It was my entry to the Prototypes, Experimentals, World Firsts & Record Breakers GB. I used the Hobby Craft 1/72 Bell X-1, which I bought second hand in eBay and built it completely OOB. I didn't apply any weathering as the aircraft, being an experimental machine, was constantly taken care of. It can also be seen as representing the aircraft as displayed in the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., which is clean (though hanging from the ceiling). The kit is old (1991), has fit problems in the cockpit and the assembly of the main landing gear legs is very fiddly. However, it is well detailed for the scale and the decals behaved acceptably after about 26 years in the box. The build thread can be found here and my entry to the GB's gallery is here. Here are the general view pictures: IMAG4759 IMAG4760 IMAG4761 IMAG4762 IMAG4763 IMAG4764 IMAG4765 IMAG4766 IMAG4767 IMAG4768 IMAG4769 IMAG4770 IMAG4771 Detailing of the control column, side console of the cockpit and instrument panel (from left to right) : IMAG4688 Cockpit before closing the fuselage (control column not installed): IMAG4692 IMAG4693 Details of the main landing gear and nose gear: IMAG4747 IMAG4748 IMAG4750 Exhausts: IMAG4751 Wing probes: IMAG4752 IMAG4753 Closed canopy IMAG4754 Thanks for looking. All comments are very welcome. Cheers Jaime

X-1 Mach Buster (8079) 1:48 Eduard Bell built the X-1 as their attempt at breaking the elusive sound barrier as it was known then, although it was having problems with control at high mach numbers due to the lack of surface area on the elevators. After agreeing to share data with the Miles company that were developing the superior Miles M.52, the US reneged on the deal after Miles had naively given their data over, after which the Bell engineers fitted an all moving elevator to their design, while the British government cancelled the Miles project. This left the Americans free to break the sound barrier without any competition, reaching 1,000mph in 1948 with the well-known Chuck Yeager along for the ride. The rocket propulsion system was later improved with added fuel tank capacity and achieved 1,450mph. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 1998 plastic with some additions and subtractions from the original Profipack boxing. Inside the box are two sprues of dark grey styrene, a single clear part, a sheet of nickel plated and pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE), a bag of resin wheels, a small sheet of pre-cut masking material, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed on glossy paper in full colour at A5 size. This is one of Eduard's early kits and as such it has a "Classic Airframes shine" to the parts, and they aren't of the same detail and quality of their modern uberkits, and as such they should be considered as somewhere between short run and mainstream – "long run" maybe? This is a simple kit however, and the lack of locating pins on the fuselage halves shouldn't worry any but the most cautious novice. Construction begins in the cockpit, and with the choice of three different instrument panels, all of which are pre-painted, and a set of seatbelts that are also pre-painted, this part of the build shouldn't take long. You will need to add a bit of nose weight behind the cockpit to make it sit on its nose wheel, but after that, you can close up the fuselage and add the wings. A choice of either the original ineffective elevators or the later Miles inspired units are included, which depends on which decal option you choose. Before you put on the canopy, your choice of instrument panel is added along with the rudder pedals, which looks like it could be a bit fiddly, although you do also have the escape hatch to peer through during fitting of this assembly. With that done, the faceted windscreen can be applied, and this is where those masks come in handy, saving you the tedium of cutting individual masks for each pane. The escape hatch can be added closed if you wish, hiding away the little PE handles on the inside, or you can leave it off, but as it is not tethered, you'll have to come up with some way of keeping it with the model, such as a base, or gluing it to a wing. The landing gear on the original was simple, which is replicated by the kit parts, with the addition of some very nicely 3D mastered resin wheels to replace the soft detail of the original parts. The gear bay doors however are a little agricultural, but this can be remedied by either applying a little modelling skill, or getting the PE Upgrade set that is now available under the code 48908. Markings The decal sheet is printed in-house, and the quality has improved since they began this practice. The sheet is in good register, sharp, and with adequate colour density, having a closely-cropped glossy carrier film. From the box you can build one of the following two airframes at different points in their careers: 46-062 Muroc Dry Lake Base, 2nd half of 1947. 46-602 Edwards AFB, 1950. 46-063, Muroc Dry Lake Base, late 1946. 46-063, Edwards AFB, October 1947. Conclusion It may be a little old-skool, but it is still a welcome re-release of this important little aircraft. With a little care it should build up into a creditable replica of the real thing, ably demonstrated recently by our member Orangesherbert, or Simon as we prefer to call him. You can see some more pictures here. Recommended. X-1 Overtrees (8079X) If you don't need the decals, resin and PE parts for what you have planned, the Overtrees offer you the option of purchasing just the two grey sprues and the windscreen without the expense of the handsome box, instruction booklet etc. It comes in a plain white box, as below: X-1 Photo-Etch (8079-LEPT) If you change your mind about the PE, or you have an older boxing that you'd like to get the pre-painted instrument panels for, this little set is just ziplok bagged on a white card to keep it safe, as below: NOTE: Overtrees are available only from Eduard's website, so please bear this in mind when ordering. Review sample courtesy of

X-1 Updgrade Set (48908) 1:48 Eduard If you feel that the detail on your X-1 could be improved, Eduard have thought of that and released this handy upgrade set that will do just that. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. The set contains parts for the cockpit in the form of additional panels behind the pilot, rudder pedals, and a complete replacement for the aft section of the left side console, control column details, plus a replacement access door with an improvement to the locking and handling details. Both main gear bays receive neat inserts to add a detailed skin within the bays, plus new in-scale door parts that will improve the look substantially. The nose gear doors are also replaced, although the bay is so small that no added detail is needed. Review sample courtesy of