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1/48 - North American P-51D/F-51D & Mustang lV/P-51K by Airfix - released


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I suppose this boxart will be the basis for the official unveiling when Airfix post this Friday's 'workbench'. 

 

A Pacific war aircraft rather than 8th AF is a little surprising, however it's nice to see this project coming together. Now who's for a reincarnation of Matchbox's 'Dooleybird' when the Mk. IV box gets released next year? 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Further to the debate on post war Mustang wings

3902300A-F2B7-4A4A-BFC8-630681DFF26E_zps

If you expand this and read the top panel you will see that this applied specifically to the P`51B/C when the camouflage was removed, but I'm sure it would have also applied to the -D. I don't think that post war operators would have ignored the puttying as this was essential to the efficiency of the laminar flow wing.

Panel lines OK but please Airfix don't cover the wings in recessed rivets, well at least not the first 40%.

 

John 

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9 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Panel lines OK but please Airfix don't cover the wings in recessed rivets, well at least not the first 40%.

 

John 

 

NO aircraft should have recessed rivets!  It's a sign of a pulled skin and/or an overstressed airframe!!  No kit should have 'em :angrysoapbox.sml:

Edited by Wez
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1 hour ago, Wez said:

 

NO aircraft should have recessed rivets!  It's a sign of a pulled skin and/or an overstressed airframe!!  No kit should have 'em :angrysoapbox.sml:

 

That's not really the point, it's rivets or no rivets, how there are portrayed is another discussion.

 

Airfix haven't really been adding rivets to their kits, other than the odd strange line of them like on their  Ju87.

Edited by Tbolt
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41 minutes ago, Tbolt said:

 

That's not really the point, it's rivets or no rivets, how there are portrayed is another discussion.

 

Airfix haven't really been adding rivets to their kits, other than the odd strange line of them like on their  Ju87.

 

I'd prefer no rivets thanks.  Isn't it funny how Airfix used to get criticised for employing the Mad Riveter in the 1960/70's yet that depiction of raised, domed headed rivets was far more accurate than the current fashion for recessed rivets which no aircraft has (unless its unserviceable).

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Just wonder...
Where is the landing light that should be under the left wheel bey? Airfix forgot this part on the 1/72 kit albeit the place where it should fit kan be seen in the instructions and on the kit as well...

Cheers / André

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15 minutes ago, Wez said:

 

I'd prefer no rivets thanks.  Isn't it funny how Airfix used to get criticised for employing the Mad Riveter in the 1960/70's yet that depiction of raised, domed headed rivets was far more accurate than the current fashion for recessed rivets which no aircraft has (unless its unserviceable).

 

But they are not "recessed" rivets, they are recessed holes to represent a rivets round flush head - no one actually thinks thats what rivets look like. A lot of the molding technology used at the moment probably can't do fine rings in the smaller scales that well anyway.

 

From a distance on a smaller scale model it's hard to tell the difference between a ring and a hole, when cameras come into it it's a different game. 

 

But anyway I'm with you, I don't like rivets holes on models, especially since some companies do half a job of resprenting them, like those that think all panels are only riveted on the edges!

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1 minute ago, Tbolt said:

But they are not "recessed" rivets, they are recessed holes to represent a rivets round flush head - no one actually thinks thats what rivets look like.

 

Sadly some do :shrug:

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So we're all agreed then, no holes to represent countersunk ( flush ) rivets. I have the Meng kit which has them all over the wings, my intention is to fill them with Mr Surfacer or acrylic primer then rub it all down again.

While we're on the subject, the Spitfire wing was also puttied and sanded from the leading edge to the main spar line but the rivets are still represented on many kits. something which seems to pass by largely unnoticed, or uncommented on.

 

John

Edited by Biggles87
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16 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

So we're all agreed then, no holes to represent countersunk ( flush ) rivets.

 

Yes

 

17 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

While we're on the subject, the Spitfire wing was also puttied and sanded from the leading edge to the main spar line but the rivets are still represented on many kits. something which seems to pass by largely unnoticed, or uncommented on.

 

Not by me it isn't, but it's my soapbox moment.

 

That said, I'd not criticise anyone's model for it.

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3 hours ago, Andre B said:

Just wonder...
Where is the landing light that should be under the left wheel bey? Airfix forgot this part on the 1/72 kit albeit the place where it should fit kan be seen in the instructions and on the kit as well...

 

 

Unless this part is missing in the re-boxed 1/72 8th AF kit (which I doubt), the landing light is definitely there in both 'Red Tail' Series 1 and "Korean War" Series 2 kits.

Cheers.. Dave  

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1 hour ago, Rabbit Leader said:

 

Unless this part is missing in the re-boxed 1/72 8th AF kit (which I doubt), the landing light is definitely there in both 'Red Tail' Series 1 and "Korean War" Series 2 kits.

Cheers.. Dave  

 

Thanks Dave,..

 

At last I've found that missing part. It is numbered 3D and mentioned in step 14. I've been building to many P-51D's and do not read the instructions enough these days. But I had to say that i prefere the landing light from the Italeri P-51D kit. But maybe because that lamp looks more like the ones fitted on Swedish Mustangs...

Cheers / André

 

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Glad you've found it, I've built a few of these kits so know it's there.

I did however find that if placed in it's intended location, the light does not seem to sit low enough (to me anyway)

I resorted to adding it last in a spot that I thought was more approriate.

 

Cheers.. Dave

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7 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

So we're all agreed then, no holes to represent countersunk ( flush ) rivets. I have the Meng kit which has them all over the wings, my intention is to fill them with Mr Surfacer or acrylic primer then rub it all down again.

While we're on the subject, the Spitfire wing was also puttied and sanded from the leading edge to the main spar line but the rivets are still represented on many kits. something which seems to pass by largely unnoticed, or uncommented on.

 

John

 

Well thanks to Edgar a reasonable number of people were aware of it. I guess it stood out more on the  P-51 with  a lot of them being NMF with painted wings.

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7 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Glad you've found it, I've built a few of these kits so know it's there.

I did however find that if placed in it's intended location, the light does not seem to sit low enough (to me anyway)

I resorted to adding it last in a spot that I thought was more approriate.

 

Cheers.. Dave


That thing that it doesn't sit low enough and is rather small is probably the reason that I missed it or forgotten it. The fact is that I used the Italeri landing light on the first Airfix kit I've made and I think that lamp is an better lamp...

Concerning "recessed rivets" one can fill those holes with an paint in different silver/steelshade after painting and with that make "flush rivets". I've tried it on 1/72 aircraft and I think it goes better on to 1/48 scale aircrafts....

Cheers / André

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On 5/24/2017 at 1:04 AM, Rabbit Leader said:

A Pacific war aircraft rather than 8th AF is a little surprising, however it's nice to see this project coming together. Now who's for a reincarnation of Matchbox's 'Dooleybird' when the Mk. IV box gets released next year? 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

To be needlessly pedantic it's the CBI (China Burma India) theatre, as the Americans called it, not the Pacific. But quite an interesting choice of decals from Airfix. 

 

Yes, and I'm up for a RAF Mk IV bomber escort. ;)

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Nice choice of markings. Though as I mentioned before it's a shame there's no 110 gal teardrop tanks in the kit, even more so that here's a picture of "Little Indian" with them under the wings! Lets hope Eduard produce some.

 

5fab9797bec8f1e73d42c607f3d5b959.jpg

 

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38 minutes ago, occa said:

In 3D design it is easy to import an existing STP file and alter it accordingly, dunno why Airfix doesn't use that approach.

Up-/downscaling is even easier

 

That's not difficult, the hard bit is making it accurate and then there's the point of whether they want to do it or not.

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23 minutes ago, occa said:

If they create an accurate wing shape for every Spitfire kit they have to design the relevant elements only once, then copy them into the next design.

 

 

You've lost me now on what you are talking about.

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Except the parts aren't directly transferable.  Detail that will resolve in 1/48 can't be tooled in 1/72.  Panel lines that look decent in 1/72 would look terrible blown up to 1/48.

 

They can, and will. preserve the raw point-cloud data.  But they can't just print it at 150% and call it a day.

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49 minutes ago, ICMF said:

Except the parts aren't directly transferable.  Detail that will resolve in 1/48 can't be tooled in 1/72.  Panel lines that look decent in 1/72 would look terrible blown up to 1/48.

 

They can, and will. preserve the raw point-cloud data.  But they can't just print it at 150% and call it a day.

exactly what one of the CAD guys said at Airfix when on a visit there, its not just a case of up/down scaling exisiting CAD.

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On 25/05/2017 at 4:14 AM, Tbolt said:

Airfix haven't really been adding rivets to their kits, other than the odd strange line of them like on their  Ju87.

 

Nw. We have fixed that!

lol lol lol

Edited by DIO
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On 2016-10-21 at 10:29 AM, snapper_city said:

What's wrong with the other 1/48 Mustang options? Why cant we have a new tool Vulcan, Hunter, Buccaneer,  Vampire, Jaguar,  Sea Fury, Comet etc etc...

 

Because Airfix doesn't make a single penny when the other Mustang kits sell?

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