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here are a list of good(ish) reference books;

North American P-51 Mustang - Nose Art Gallery

North American P-51 Mustang - Prototype Through P-51C - in Detail & Scale Vol. 50

North American P-51 Mustang - P-51D through F.82H - in Detail & Scale Vol. 51

North American P-51 Mustang - Squadron Signal - Aviation - In Action – 1045

North American P-51 Mustang - Warbird Tech Vol. 5

North American P-51 Mustang in Colour - Fighting Colours – 6505

North American P-51 Mustang vs Fw 190. Europe 1943-45

Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force - Osprey Aircraft of Aces 1

Mustang Aces of the Ninth & Fifteenth Air Forces & the RAF - Osprey Aircraft of Aces 7

Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces of the Pacific and CBI - Osprey Aircraft of Aces 26

Mustang Aces of the 357th Fighter Group - Osprey Aircraft of Aces 69

North American F-51 Mustang Units over Korea - Osprey Frontline Colour 1

North American F-51 Mustangs - Aerofax Datagraph 1- In Latin American Air Force Service

I have these so if anyone is after some info just holla!

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And just to help keep it straight:

Allison powered:

NA-73X: prototype

NA-73: Mustang I (AG___ serials), XP-51 (2)

NA-83: Mustang I

NA-91: Mustang IA, P-51 [no suffix], F-6A

NA-97: A-36 (aka A-36A) (Mustang I (dive bomber)- one sent for trials, returned to USAAF in UK)

NA-99: P-51A, Mustang II, F-6B

Merlin powered (except noted):

NA-101: XP-51B (2)

Mustang X: Rolls-Royce Merlin conversions of Mustang I (5, I think)

(for simplicity, I'm going to drop the NA numbers now)

P-51B, Mustang III, F-6C

P-51C, Mustang III, F-6C (C same as B, Dallas built)

P-51D, Mustang IV

XP-51F (Mustang V): experimental lightweight

XP-51G (Mustang V): experimental lightweight (different Merlin)

P-51H: production form "semi-lightweight"

XP-51J: experimental lightweight, Allison engine

P-51K, Mustang IVa, F-6K: Dallas built, as D but Aeroproducts prop

P-51M: one only, built at Dallas, apparently D with new model Merlin.

That might help a few, and confuse some others!

bob

p.s. I'm unfairly omitting the Commonwealth-built ones...

Edited by gingerbob
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A brief (?) summary of the 1/48 Accurate Miniatures Allison Mustang kits:

The basic boxings are:

1) P-51 / Mustang IA [NOTE: When I refer to "P-51" subsequently, I mean this version!]

2) A-36

3) P-51A / F-6B

(They also did a P-51B/C in several guises)

Sadly, they never got around to doing a Mustang I, but Ultracast has a conversion- see links to Ultracast below, around the prop photo.

There is also an ICM "P-51A", which I'll say something about later.

The wing for each is different, to reflect the differences in the originals, but the wheel wells are "generic" (and have the dreaded "boxed in" walls as do almost all Mustang kits). And flaps are up (and dive brakes on the A-36 are closed). Allison Mustangs tended to rest with flaps up more than Merlin ones did, but examples of both can certainly be found.

The P-51 kit has a different shape of fairing down the centerline, which is correct for this type. I haven't yet checked to see if the A-36/P-51A "sharper" centerline fairing is also correct for these versions. [Edit: I've since seen one photo that seems to indicate that the A-36 still had the "wide" fairing.] The P-51 kit also has a radiator "deflector", which is a small panel running across this fairing. Unfortunately, this is correct ONLY for the NA-73, the first 320 Mustang Is (plus two XP-51s). The deflector was deleted on the NA-83. Fortunately, since I'm doing an NA-73, I get lucky! All others, remember to remove this "thingy" from your kit. (comparison: P-51 is dark, P-51A is grey. A-36 has slightly different holes, different landing light, and dive brakes, but otherwise same as P-51A wing.)

wingunders_zpsda0fad03.jpg

There are a total of three different noses (see photo):

carbintakes_zpsb9550d3c.jpg

The P-51 includes the early non-filtered intake (green in photo)

The P-51A includes the filtered intake (grey in photo)

The A-36 has same filtered shape, but with an external intake for filtered air on the top of the duct. It also has the under-chin guns.

Now, here's where it gets interesting: from what I've been able to deduce, and this is at variance to what you'll read elsewhere, the only type to have the unfiltered "parallel sides" intake is the NA-73. The NA-83 (still Mustang I, remember) introduced an intake that allowed one to fit a filter, or fit an alternate part if no filter was necessary. As far as I can tell, this same filtered intake shape remained consistent from then on. The ability for the pilot to select filtered OR unfiltered (ram) air did not come until the P-51A, and with it the intake on the top of the duct. However, it is possible that this was retro-fitted on A-36s- I haven't figured that out yet.

The upshot is that the nose in every boxing is potentially wrong for the type of Mustang that kit represents! (But remember, I'm still getting to the bottom of this.) I also don't think that they did a particularly good job on the shape of either intake, and I have some reservations about the shape of the nose, too, though that's fairly subtle. I'll report back if I get more certainty, and of course announce it when my super-awesome resin replacements become commercially available! [That's a joke, but who knows- it could just maybe come true...]

Each of the three boxings also includes some additional parts specific to that version, such as drop tanks for P-51A, bombs for A-36, stores racks for either. Another notable "custom part" is the intake for the radiator duct: (sorry about the "fuzzies"- P-51 part above, A-36 part below)

intakes_zpsb6d2c710.jpg

HOWEVER: the rest of the kit, including core fuselage, cockpit, etc, is common to all, and this is where they goofed. Ignoring some skin (panel line) differences from one type to another, the P-51A had a noticeably slimmer radiator fairing (I think with a different cross-section as well) than the previous types, so that'll require some work. [EDIT: Or does it? Subsequent checking of photos failed to reveal what I thought I'd seen before!] The intake shape may have been the same as the A-36's, but the radiator itself and the rest of the duct is different. The Mustang I/IA had a hinged intake (what I like to call "crocodile jaws") and that, too, has been glossed over.

[EDIT: I'm now looking into the radiator fairing shape. Structurally it IS very different between A-36 and P-51A, but the outline may not be, after all...]

The prop provided is a relatively "paddle" blade that was introduced with the A-36. Furthermore, it is dreadful, with very chunky tips that, to me, really stand out on a finished kit. Ultracast has a replacement, and look at the difference (from their page):

Ultracast_48032_Comparison.jpg

They also have the early type prop, as well as lots of other nice Mustang bits, such as seats, wheels, etc. Some similar props can be had from other kits, also- the Eduard Airacobra is one I've seen cited- but I don't know what's the closest offhand. Be sure to get the right diameter!

While I'm not obsessive about cockpits, there are some noticeable differences between variants, which Acc Min's generic cockpit fails to address. Some accuratizing may be desired- I'll leave that up to you.

The clear parts sprue is also common to all kits, with one significant exception: the ONLY ones that gives you a camera and side-glass with camera port are the Mustang IA (NOT "P-51") and F-6B. All kits include two windscreens, with and without the "clear vision panel" on the port side. This panel was only found on the P-51A and a few early P-51C (not 51B, though some A-36s had a different field-mod (I think) style. There is also a Malcolm hood, which is found on the F-6B and rarely on some late-war RAF Mustangs (Allison ones, that is). I seem to remember some dissatisfaction with the shape of the windscreen, but I'll have to look at it more closely before I can comment with any conviction.

**The ICM P-51A. Here's a review on Hyperscale (of a variation) that includes some good sprue shots. I don't have the kit myself, but I'll summarize what I can see:

Unlike the Acc Min, the nose is integral with the fuselage halves. It is the unfiltered type intake (problem number one!)

Flaps are separate, but the wing is really that of a P-51B. Not a big deal, since that basically means removing the stiffeners in front of the ailerons- or swapping wings with an Acc Min P-51B/C, which omits the stiffeners. Gear wells are done differently than Acc Min. In fact, now that I look more closely, the whole wing looks, umm, "rather like" Tamiya's. It might be a good source of parts, but I think I'd stay away if I wanted a P-51A.

So, that's it, in a (rather large) nutshell. Note that this introduction was not meant to cover details in any careful way, just look at the basics. I'll supplement this if I learn more, and welcome any corrections/ additional comments. Hope it was helpful to somebody!

Captain Ginger-nutt

Edited by gingerbob
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The ICM wing looks like Tamiya's because it's from their P-51B kit, which was a direct clone of Tamiya's kit. The fuselage is also incorrect, it's fundamentally a P-51B fuselage with an Allison nose stuck on, which is noticeably incorrect (the Merlin fuselage for B/C/D/K's is taller than the Allison versions). IIRC there's a difference in the wing/fuselage fairing on the B/C vs the Allison's and ICM again has the B/C style fairing (this is on the subtle side)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Quick question about panel lines, I know they are puttied over on the wings, is that true for all mustangs, including post war? Also I'm guessing the gun access panel aren't puttied over, just the main ones?

Thanks

Phil

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, first reference, as given in the "future" thread:

http://p51sig.com/index.php

If you're serious, this is a worthy place to go. You do have to "join".

bob (aka Captain Ginger-nutt)

Bob/CG-N, I did look into this a while ago but I note that on the site (under "New Members") it says "Registration for the P51SIG is currently restricted to invitation or current member recommendation only." They do go on to say "If you are a modeler looking for information, send an email stating that, we will help you out." Unfortunately I tried emailing the sigadmin and got the message "You are not permitted to send e-mail to this user."! Do you know a way of contacting the group, as there is a question I would very much like to ask.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think I mentioned it somewhere else, but I'll say it again. One of the best Mustang books I have is " Building the P-51 Mustang" by Michael O'Leary. It is full of period 'photos and informative text, the 'photos are all in black and white but of extremely high quality, and it covers all marks of the P/F-51.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some very nice page, showing the mustang´s wing in nice close ups, you can clearly see the difference between NMF and aluminium, i wish i knew all i learned in this gb about the mf/aluminium combo before i went on with my mustangs :) hopefuly i can use it on my next ones and hopefuly this ll be helfpul for anyone else yet :)

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2005/12/stuff_eng_detail_p51d_02.htm

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  • 2 weeks later...

thanks for that Bob, but it really doesn't help my build as the second seat in the Turbo (gee sounds cool when you call it that! :P ) was a non-flying position and the instrument shroud/instruments are completely different.

Though knowing my luck they were painted grey inside as well as the wheel wells :doh: , oh well too late now!

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