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Resin tail for Revell P-51D, pictures and review.


1to1scale

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I got three tails in last night, today I picked one bag at random and decided to check fit and quality. I am just going to comment on the quality and fit of the parts, not any other parts needed to convert early to late.

 

I taped the tail assy to the Revell kit to check overall fit and alignment. There is no way of attaching the tail to the fuselage, other than superglue. I have been thinking about drilling and inserting plastic rod in it, this would give a stronger bond. The tail is square and the lower panel lines match (upper lines are not supposed to match).

d4D7qtC.jpg

 

You will have to do a fair amount of filler work since the whole forward end of the tail is beveled. After attaching, filler and scribing will be needed.

F8okp4m.jpg

 

The top of the fairing where the horizontal tail connects has quite a few bumps and pinholes. The problem is on both sides, but worse on the right. I checked the other tails I have and they have the same issue in the same spot, so it appears to be a mold problem.

C7Q3ggZ.jpg

 

All three tails have these raised lines, again, probably scratches in the mold. Really no big deal, as a swipe or two with a sanding stick will eliminate these completely.

OVn2PFM.jpg

 

The back edge on both sides have these bubbles, which look to be trapped air in the mold. I'm guessing that these bubbles are common to a most large resin pieces. But still a pain to fill.

VDPV4wr.jpg

sFbF9ao.jpg

 

Horizontal tail pieces seam ok, a few pinholes in one elevator, and it looks like a piece of blue mold material is trapped in one part, I will treat this as a pin hole, hog it out and fill it. The balance tabs on both elevators are either too short on one or too long on the other. (I checked all three sets, they are all identical). The rudder is well done, but appears wrong, no rib details. This can be fixed with plastic strips and sanding, but I probably will try to use the kit part instead if it fits. The tail gear doors are attached to the rudder sprue.

DPF5DVx.jpg

SAEWO7l.jpg

 

This is the worst part of the kit. The tail wheel area is rough. There will be a lot of cleanup needed here. Not really sure what to do, this will need studying. Maybe ther is a way to drill out the tail and use the kit parts.

 

Update:

After playing with the kit parts today, I believe I figured out a way to adapt the kit parts by using the sides and tailwheel doors. It will require a bit of drilling and dremeling. I believe I can have the tail wheel installed with about an hour's work. Or you can easily build a wheels up mustang with this kit and tail. That is the simplest.

X7PZwQ1.jpg

5K24bIy.jpg

 

It's easy to pick out all the flaws of the parts, but I am keeping in mind this is an $11 conversion set, so this has to be weighed. A little elbow grease to get rid of pinholes and a few surface flaws is not bad.

 

I have the following recommendations for improvements that these tails need:

 

1. Engineer a plug to fit inside the end of the fuselage, there needs to be some way to attach it positively, I could see bumping it and breaking it off the forward part. Get rid of the bevel that needs to be filled. You made a perfectly squared tail, it would be easier to sand it flush with the Revell parts than to fill, sand, then scribe. I would rather it be a little oversize and sand to fit.

 

2. Fix some of the surface flaws (bumps and pits) around the horizontal tail, this is a hard spot to get in to sand.

 

3. Give us a fabric rudder please. This one looks wrong, I could not find any references of a metal rudder.

 

4. Fix the tail wheel area! This is the single most important revision. At least make it the same size as the Revell tail. Make the inside smooth and give us some side panels to glue inside the tailwheel well, or, just leave it smooth.

 

At $11, all these flaws except the tail wheel well can be overlooked. I would rather pay $20 and have the issues corrected. In the end, I will still use a couple of these, however getting ahold of a Revell kit right now is a bigger issue.

Edited by 1to1scale
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Use the Tamiya leftover tail it fits well and is not as hard to use as resin. I have the resin tail to but I am using the Tamiya late tail instead, guess I will have to let the resin tail go. Tamiya tail is a lot lighter as well. I'm sure Revell releases a late tail very soon while the iron is hot. I think the Tamiya tail actually fits better than the Revell tail made for the kit.

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Thank you for taking the time to do the review.

 

I think now everyone has all the information they need to make an informed decision on this product.

 

The price point issue is interesting, and I think worthy of highlighting.

 

If this was an Eduard set (not really their style but they seem to be kings of the ‘wow' price tags on resin aftermarket right now) it would be 3 times the price.

 

If it was made by Eagle Editions, you'd need to rob a bank (although most of their resin has been surpassed elsewhere, so the sun seems to have set on that line of their business).

 

Thanks again.

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X7PZwQ1.jpg5K24bIy.jpg

.

Am I missing something here? It looks like the underside of the new tail is significantly off from the kit rear fuselage (first picture). The new tail underside is much more rounded off than the kit fuselage, which is flatish for the radiator outlet. I can't see how one can easily smooth out that joint without a ton of bodywork. To me, this tail simply doesn't fit. This, plus the work to get the kit tail wheel well to adapt, as well as figure out a way to mount the tail wheel strut, makes it not worth it in my book.

 

I applaud the effort, but I don't think I would try to make this work even if it were free.

 

Edit: Based on the comment below that that is in the picture is an unmentioned piece of plastic rod used as a spacer to get the right width of the lower fuselage, I'll recind my comment about the fit being horribly off. However, I think we do need to see a picture with the kit radiator duct/lower rear fuselage in place to know how the fit is in that area. All that said, even if it did fit, I'd still pass.

Edited by Dave Williams
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Oh man, thanks for the review - I need to order atleast two of these so I can spend more time fixing the deformaties on the resin parts and to top it off, looks like I'll need to drill a hole in the wheel bay for the tailwheel.... after my order that phone will be “ka-ching-ing†away.... I might need to order some tubs of bondo to flair in the resin tail!! But, man I just hope this resin manufacturer keeps mining away on the kit.... that really should keep the phone “ ka-ching-ing†away as the orders flow in!! :)

To each their own.....

Revell will issue a late version at some point, with all the required updates to make a complete late Mustang! I' ll be waiting for Revell....

Cheers

Alan

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Am I missing something here? It looks like the underside of the new tail is significantly off from the kit rear fuselage. The new tail underside is much more rounded off than the kit fuselage, which is flatish for the radiator outlet. I can't see how one can easily smooth out that joint without a ton of bodywork. To me, this tail simply doesn't fit. This, plus the work to get the kit tail wheel well to adapt, as well as figure out a way to mount the tail wheel strut, makes it not worth it in my book.

Yes, you are missing something, the whole radiator assembly that fits in there. I simply cut a peice of sprue exactly the same width as a spreader bar and taped it in just to test fit. The last picture, the tape loosened and does not accurately represent the fit.

Edited by 1to1scale
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Yes, you are missing something, the whole radiator assembly that fits in there. I simply cut a peice of sprue exactly the same width as a spreader bar and taped it in just to test fit. The last picture, the tape loosened and does not accurately represent the fit.

You may have wanted to mention in the review that you used the spreader bar since the photo gives an extremely misleading impression of the fit. May want to consider taking a new photo with the radiator assembly/ rear fuselage bottom plate installed so we can see the actual fit.

Edited by Dave Williams
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Guest Smitty44

Here's my super set. You can find these sprues often on evil bay....This is the non fileted tail, but you get the point.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/TAMIYA-P-51D-SILVER-PLATE-25151-PARTS-SPRUE-B-C-RUDDER-AILERON-FLAPS-MORE-1-32/292436194045?epid=1737680040&hash=item44168e32fd:g:NKQAAOSwM91adleE

Edited by Smitty44
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