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NA-73 Mustang I, best options in 1/72nd


Courageous

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Hi All,

 

I have been researching recently about producing the said topic of a NA-73 Mustang for the RAF in 1/72. I found an article on Internet Modeler that goes into some detail about this guy had done it but done know if it's a recent article and their may be better ways of doing it.

 

Here is my question for the wise ones.

 

With what's available now and without breaking the bank, how would you produce this aircraft to an acceptable example and catch the 'key' features of a Mustang I.

 

Stuart

Edited by Courageous
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Stuart

 

First, read  this thread, 

bear with it, there's an amazing amount of information, especially of pages 4/5

 

Second,  as you have a more specific question,  if you go to 'edit' and then 'full edit'   I'd suggest changing thread topic to 

"NA-73 Mustang  I, best options in 1/72nd"  as the linked thread has mostly information about 1/48th.

 

The only Mustang I I've noticed (but I don't 'do' 72nd) is the Special Hobby kit

 

HTH

T

 

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Thanks Tony. The first thread you mentioned wasn't active when I posted this morning, and now it's live.

Very lively, very informative but as you say, it's mainly 1/48. Nonetheless, a lot of info to go as far as major features are concerned, just need to investigate best kits. As mentioned in #1, Internet Modeler states using the Italeri Alison kit for the fuselage and the Model News wings? And the there is the SH kit?

 

Stuart

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As no other has a direct answer to the question, I'll venture with the little I know of.

 

There has been a myriad of Allison mustangs in 1/72 since Frog produced their first, but the Academy is considered the most recent and best bid for this particular model, even though it really builds as a F-6A.

 

If you are serious about this, you'll need the book "Airframe and Miniature No. 6" P-51 Early Mustangs. This has kit-ology and drawings. The NA-73 has some subtle variations that you need to be aware of.

 

HTH 

Finn

 

Edited by FinnAndersen
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1 hour ago, FinnAndersen said:

The NA-73 has some subtle variations that you need to be aware of.

there is very good  coverage of this in the thread I linked in post #2,   from @ColFord  who has posted many drawings from  the  service manuals,  which really do cover the airframe details.

I don't have the Airframe and Minature book.  

I know the SAM Modellers datafile on Allison Mustangs is not very good on the details of  the early versions though.

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another vote for the Academy kit, far better than the Italeri, Condor, or the SH kits.   And another vote for the Airframe & Miniature book, the SAM  MDF P-51 pt 1, book is a close second.

 

Cheers, Tony

Edited by Tony Edmundson
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1 hour ago, Tony Edmundson said:

And another vote for the Airframe & Miniature book, the SAM  MDF P-51 pt 1, book is a close second.

 

the SAM book has nothing on the Mustang I,  no drawings or information about the differences, under nose guns, gun access panels and underwing ejector slots (due  to  2x0.30 a 1x0.50 ) ,  camera gun,  the 3 different  types of airscoop 

 

On 29/07/2017 at 09:15, ColFord said:

The earlier questions on differences between the early Allison Mustangs used by the RAF, primarily the Mustang Mk.I, Mustang Mk.IA and Mustang Mk.II, prompted me to go back over some of the technical manuals for the early Mustangs to try and find a couple of diagrams that might help illustrate some of the differences.

 

Mustang Mk.I - representative of early AG series.  Note on the port wing the wing tip assembly, the opening for the gun camera and the servicing hatch in the top of that assembly for the gun camera - to get access to the camera and film magazine.  On the subsequent batches of Mustang Mk.Is - AL, AM and AP, the gun camera moved to a location under the nose of the aircraft, between the 'cheek' guns and the opening and hatch in the port wingtip assembly was deleted.

 

36098547401_6a98a16efa_b.jpgMustang Mk1 Major Assembly by Colin Ford, on Flickr

 

 

 

 Mustang I,  in the US before.

mustang1-16.jpg

 

Looks to show many of the features discussed clearly.  The light coloured seat is of interest.  If you click the image it should enlarge.

 

this is a P-51?

p51a-2.jpg

 

long intake,  RAF camo, so taken over from British order?

The wing access hatches show up well.

 

 

There are also some good underside shots of Mustang I up on airwar.ru 

some more as well here http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/mustang1.html

mustang1-8.jpg

 

 

the bare  patches round the ejector ports are  of interest, as well as the radiator shape

mustang1-10.jpg

 

This is NOT in the SAM book...

 

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Academy doesn't do a Mustang 1 in 1/72. They do a 1A/P-51, which is a very different beast (no cowl guns, 4x20mm's). MPM/SH is probably the best Mustang 1 kit, although it might be worth just transplanting the 1-specific bits from that kit to the Academy (that is the wing guns and lower cowl+guns). The MPM/SH kit is actually a 1A wing + resin inserts with an A-36 fuselage (A-36 shares the Mustang 1's nose guns)

That US Mustang 1 is one of the two XP-51's, they were 2 NA-73's (#4 and 10) taken from the line and handed over. The P-51 is a Mk.1A

Edited by Adam Maas
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Thanks guys for the info. I have been through the Mustang topic mentioning @ColFord, very informative but a lot of it revolved around 1/48.  I am beginning to understand the main differences between versions but will rely on you guys to explain the kit options to achieve these early versions.

On 9/23/2017 at 4:24 AM, Adam Maas said:

Academy doesn't do a Mustang 1 in 1/72. They do a 1A/P-51, which is a very different beast (no cowl guns, 4x20mm's). MPM/SH is probably the best Mustang 1 kit, although it might be worth just transplanting the 1-specific bits from that kit to the Academy (that is the wing guns and lower cowl+guns). The MPM/SH kit is actually a 1A wing + resin inserts with an A-36 fuselage (A-36 shares the Mustang 1's nose guns)

That US Mustang 1 is one of the two XP-51's, they were 2 NA-73's (#4 and 10) taken from the line and handed over. The P-51 is a Mk.1A

Looks like this is an option but do I really want to buy an SH kit for the chin guns?

 

On 9/23/2017 at 5:23 AM, Tony Edmundson said:

I figure the Academy kit is the best base to start with, for a NA-73.  The SH wing has 'D' style L/E extensions, a hard defect to correct.

 

Of course, your mileage and modelling skills may vary.

Can you expand on the SH wing as it means nothing to me at the moment ? 

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3 minutes ago, Chuck1945 said:

There is a quite noticeable difference in the wing leading edge between the P-51B and P-51D. On the 'D', the forward kink towards the fuselage is much more pronounced than on the 'B' (or earlier) versions. 

So, has the SH kit got a 'D' wing?

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How much work would it take to correct the Special Hobby kit? Just today I was looking at one thinking I'd like to do the Soviet version (the Soviets tested a few of the early P-51s).

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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On these early Mustangs the kink should also droop, i.e. go downwards as well are forward, something missing in most if not all of the kits I've seen.  The kink also begins at a different place on the wing - from memory the D kink is larger and so begins slightly further outboard, but I can't confirm that at the moment.  To correct it would be a matter of reducing it in size and bending it downwards, along a line that is the continuation of the outer leading edge.  There is a picture around taken from behind and slightly above the aircraft: it appears to have a simple straight leading edge all the way to the root because the drooped part cannot be seen from the angle from which the photo was taken.

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5 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

On these early Mustangs the kink should also droop, i.e. go downwards as well are forward, something missing in most if not all of the kits I've seen.  The kink also begins at a different place on the wing - from memory the D kink is larger and so begins slightly further outboard, but I can't confirm that at the moment.

 

3 hours ago, Courageous said:

Also, can anybody produce side-by-side images of the early and later wings as a comparison?

 

p51a-2.jpg

 

amazingly after 30 mins of searching I've not turned up a plan view of a P-51D! 

airliners net hence link

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/1e/f5/b0/1ef5b0c06b0ca0bbbacc3eb1b34b84eb.jpg

 

P51%20Mustang-001.JPG

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/72671-north-american-p-51d-mustang/

dcb119353a8b026875f9f15dc46d876f--the--l

mustang1-5.jpg

 

mustang4-3.jpg

 

 

p51a-6.jpg

 

mustang4-2.jpg

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

On these early Mustangs the kink should also droop, i.e. go downwards as well are forward, something missing in most if not all of the kits I've seen.  The kink also begins at a different place on the wing - from memory the D kink is larger and so begins slightly further outboard, but I can't confirm that at the moment.  To correct it would be a matter of reducing it in size and bending it downwards, along a line that is the continuation of the outer leading edge.  There is a picture around taken from behind and slightly above the aircraft: it appears to have a simple straight leading edge all the way to the root because the drooped part cannot be seen from the angle from which the photo was taken.

Graham is correct on the 'droop' of the leading edge of the kink; IIRC, the only 1/72 kit to get this feature correct for an Allison-engined Mustang or P-51B/C is the old Monogram P-51B.

Mike

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I asked about the best Allison-engined 1/72 kit in another thread last week but I didn't get any responses, maybe I should've posted a new one like this! I also posted at ARC where I was recommended the Academy kit, which is stupidly scarce considering how common their other kits are.

 

If nothing else hopefully my post, repeated below, can inspire some more Allison chat and builds!

 

***

Apologies if this has been covered but I've only skimmed as I'm on my phone and could only see reference to the 1/48 kits.

 

What is the most accurate option OOB, shape-wise and especially around the leading edge wing root, for a gun-armed Allison P-51 (not RAF Mustang) in 1/72? So far I've found Academy, Frog, High Planes, Italeri and MPM.

 

I'd like to build this A recently completed by Pacific Fighters in the markings of an XP-51, which competed at the Reno air races last week and I am now in love with (snipped from someone else's post at WIX):

Quote

These are from John Muszala II's Facebook page. 

21559055_10210768470908153_5479123055952

21430492_10210768470948154_1590729501865

21557917_10210768471668172_5169275734212

Edited by k5054nz
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Very informative guys, thanks.

 

Looking at the plan shots between the early and late wings, the kink looks like it starts in exactly the same place but the angle is different, the 'D' seems to join the fuselage further forward?

The underside shots of the undercarriage doors suggest that their is less clearance between door and leading edge on the early, where as the 'D' has more clearance?

If my assumptions are correct and the 'D' joins a little forward, how much are talking; 6" is only 2mm in 72nd, and as the for the 'droop' in this scale...maybe for the purists? 

 

Stuart

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32 minutes ago, k5054nz said:

How bad is the Frog kit, shape-wise? I’m having a heck of a time finding an Academy one for a reasonable price.

Basic shape, as I recall, is not bad, but it's almost a ½ century old, with raised panel lines and a canopy more like a lump of semi clear glue. Also, you will have to add chin guns to the Frog kit.

 

If the choice is between the Special Hobby and Frog, I'd go for the SH kit and try to modify the leading edge extenstion.

 

HTH

Finn

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