Tamiya's 1/48 scale
P-51B Mustang

by Ingo Degenhardt

  images by Lutz Degenhardt

Tamiya's 1/48 scale P-51B Mustang is available online from Squadron.com

Here is my P-51B “Mustang” in 1/48. This Tamiya model built was almost ‘out of the box’ except for some minor changes and additions such as etched-metal seat belts.

Furthermore I did not use the Tamiya decals.

This is “Short-Fuse Sallee” from the Superscale sheet No. 48-979, an early P-51B. The sheet also contains complete stencils and national insignia for one aircraft. As usual, the quality is very good and they are a pleasure to work with. (as is the Tamiya model)

Painting was done with Xtracolor X113 Faded Olive Drab and X3 Med. Sea Gray.

The decals were chosen for a purpose as this model was built as a birthday present for a very dear friend of mine by the name of Sally and I wanted it to have some kind of personal relation. The nose-art of this Mustang was the closest match I could find, although the Pilot (Capt. Turner) chose a strange way of spelling for the name.

I found a nice showcase for the model to be displayed in – completely made of acrylic glass.

I cut a mattress of railroad grass to size and attached it to the base plate with double-sided tape. As the showcase is a bit oversized for the Mustang alone I felt the need to create a second point of interest. Instead of the usual ground crew or equipment I went for something completely different – I used the original Emblem of a 286 Ford Mustang; found in some bigger auction house in the www. (as was the showcase)

Together with an explanatory plate for the aircraft these items were arranged and fixed to the base. See photograph with the plate still to be completed and the showcase with the sidewalls and the roof still to be attached.

I consider the completed showcase a nice presentation for the model and last not least it provides good shelter – not only from dust but also from a much bigger threat: to fall prey to her 4-year-old son who is very interested in such ‘rockets’; his name for everything with wings on it.
 

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

P-51 Mustang From the RAF to the Mighty Eighth Special Editions (Aviation) 1 Author: Michael O'Leary US Price: $10.95 UK Price: £6.99 Publisher: Osprey Publishing Publish Date:  September 15, 1997 Details: 128 pages; ISBN: 1855327147 Shop Buy it from Osprey Publishing

Model and Text Copyright © 2005 by Ingo Degenhardt
Images Copyright © 2005 by Lutz Degenhardt
Page Created 13 May, 2005
Last Updated 12 May, 2005

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