Trumpy P_51B

[Night Hog]

Happy New Year!!! Just notified by Sprue Brothers that my P-51B has shipped!!

[Texas]

HI Sounds great I hope it turns out to be a great model kit and accurate as well. I am waiting to see what everyone has to say about this kit before I spend my bucks.

 

Texas

[Rob Colvin]

Picked it up on the way to work. i have it in the car, but I am still at work...O the humanity.

[tourist]

It'd be nice to see what Hog's got to say about it.

 

Based on sprue shots and the instructions I can already tell you that the kit is plagued with serious inaccuracies (not just a few).

The overall shape may be good, it's too early to tell.

[Rob Colvin]

2 things that I noticed right off the bat was ...... The ejection chutes for the spent shell casings are covered over. Now a museum bird may have had that plated so the kiddies would keep thier hands out. The other thing is the field mounts for the bazooka tubes.Those are molded to the wing, not a lot of work to remove them, but what only 2% of the missions by stangs had bazzoka tubes??

S!

[CharlesMetz]

2 things that I noticed right off the bat was ...... The ejection chutes for the spent shell casings are covered over. Now a museum bird may have had that plated so the kiddies would keep thier hands out. The other thing is the field mounts for the bazooka tubes.Those are molded to the wing, not a lot of work to remove them, but what only 2% of the missions by stangs had bazzoka tubes??

I hope that I'm not being overconfident when I say that I expect to be able to deal with both of those problems.

 

The blunder that annoys me most is the kit's curved floor. I can deal with that, too, but the effort won't be trivial, and even cursory research on P-51 B/C cockpits should have prevented Trumpeter from committing it.

 

Charles Metz

[tourist]

Not unless the research's subject is Tamiya's p-51B.

[LSP_Matt]

I hope that I'm not being overconfident when I say that I expect to be able to deal with both of those problems.

Charles Metz

 

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[ironman1945]

Guys

 

This just up on Cyberhobby.

 

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/tru..._tru_2274.shtml

 

I think I'll buy one. Dont know if I will be able to deal with the previously mentioned issues as well as Charles , but I'll give it a go... thats half the fun!

 

Dave/Ironman1945

[Rob Colvin]

2 easy fixes for sure I just noticed them right away through the bag.

S!

[tourist]

If these were the only two issues the kit would be great!

 

Here are some of the main inaccuracies:

 

-There are no underwing port holes for the spent shells/links.

-Wrong curved cockpit floor (as well as ill equipped).

-The engine may indeed be too small (for those who care).

-They didn't get the wheel wells right, the front looks OK but the back part has the usual wrong shape.

-The ammo bay doors are too big, they look like the ones on a P-51D.

-The wingtip lights are the wrong ones (good for a P-51D).

-The propeller cuffs have a wrong shape commonly seen on Mustang kits.

-The underwing pylons are also the wrong type (D type)

-The instructions direct you to add small actuators on top of the flaps (were no moving surface exists)!??!!

-The cockpit layout is all wrong, they invented a separation wall behind the seat and another further aft behind the fuel cell.

-The fuselage fuel cell and above frame are wrongly shaped.

-More than half of the equipment that should be seen behind the seat is missing, at the same time "invisible" parts are provided.

 

Once better pics are available more mistakes should appear.

 

Trumpeter didn't do any research for this kit.

Anyone researching P-51Bs for about a week would have noticed all the errors, not Trumpeter.

After their excellent P-47D I had high hopes but now I dread the upcoming P-51D.

These kits will probably sell well (they are very detailed something easily mistaken for accuracy), meaning Trumpeter will never correct them.

I for one won't touch this kit.

Hasegawa Help!

[Dave Williams]

Well, since some of the issues with the B kit seems to be the presence of some D model details, maybe the -D will be a little better. Here's hoping that their -D will be better than the DML kit.

 

Still, warts and all, the Trumpy B looks a cut above the old Revell woofer.

[LSP_Matt]

Trumpeter didn't do any research for this kit.

Anyone researching P-51Bs for about a week would have noticed all the errors, not Trumpeter.

 

Groan ...just because you can identify discrepancies in a model kit compared to real life examples or data at your disposal does not...in any way...lead to these conclusions. Not on planet earth anyway Christian. Bottom line is you are assuming, drawing conclusions and offering your opinion without providing some evidence to validate your 'statements'.

 

I think you've got to move on past the idea that research and data = good kit. Why can't you see there are a host of variables ( business and technical) involved in the construction of a model kit that may suffer quality constraints and have less than desirable outcomes on the end product that is released? Unless you understand all these variables and their impact on the end product your statements just become insults without substance.

[tourist]

Matt,

maybe the "they didn't do any research" part is a bit rough, but the bottom line is the same.

I didn't expect Trumpeter to know there was a periscope under the windshield or some other obscure fact but the inaccuracies seen on this kit have to do with basic Mustang appearance.

For example, all you need to do is take a look at ONE cockpit picture to know there was no separation wall behind the pilot's seat.

Shouldn't we expect them to at least do that when real p-51's, detail photos and cheap technical manuals are readily available?

 

I'm aware of the potential business or technical constraints involved in producing a kit but I cannot see how this has any impact on the issues I mentioned.

There is NO such reason for choosing the wrong underwing pylons or adding imaginary actuators on the flaps, if you find one let me know.

It's the same for the other issues, it comes down to poor choices.

 

Whoever was in charge of their Mustang project didn't do as good a job as the guy who did their P-47 and no reason other than sloppiness withstands close scrutiny.

 

Finally, let's be very clear, I have NOT insulted anyone.

I'm not telling anyone how they should feel about this, just voicing and explaining my opinion.

Yours is different, enjoy your kit.

[LSP_Matt]

I'm not going to argue with you. I think you want to believe that its incompetence/sloppiness/lack of research that leads to the issues you identify in P51's. You'll continue to believe that it's these inadequacies which directly result in what you describe as a product below your expectations. I think you'd like to believe that complaining on an internet forum will motivate a manufacturer to modify their kit. Here's not really the place. Not becasue we can't identify the issues you've described. Its more that the average builder either doesn't care or sees your issue as an area of potential fun in the making of the model. Its just a different way of looking at it...glass half empty/full kind of thing. Besides I seriously doubt how effective any efforts would be.

 

I think differently about the reasons behind the list you developed. Perhaps I do because I've had contact with various members involved in test shots, production, distribution and design of model kits/resin accesories. I come to understand that compromises often have to be made for a whole host of reasons. My mind is open to the possibility that there is a plausible explanation or scenario. I work on the basis that because I'm not a Trumpeter executive I can't comment on why certain decisions were made. Sure, it would be great if every item on your list wasn't there...but I don't know why its not that way and I can't say without having been there.

 

Let me make an assumption...you're also not an executive at Trumpeter but you know poor choices were made becasue of sloppiness, poor research.

 

Oh..one last thing. Let me assure you that I don't have problems with English comprehension. I'm not asking you to apologise to anyone and I'm not censoring you...as you can see by the quotes from a previous thread. I'm not trying to defend Trumpeter, nor give you personally a hard time, just introduce the potential for real life plausible explanations that don't end in some guy being told he was incompetent or sloppy.

 

I really think we should complain as loudly as possible, on all the forums, if we want some adjustments made on the upcoming P-51D!

You may like to ask DavidJayMason about the F100 and how effective communications were in making changes to the kit. Bear in mind he had a much closer relationship to Trumpeter than our little forum does.

 

Trumpeter didn't do any research for this kit they instead looked at Tamiya's kits, probably trusting people's opinion that these were great kits.

The truth is that Tamiya's Mustangs have a good overall shape but are otherwise full of inaccuracies.

Anyone researching P-51Bs for about a week would have noticed all the errors, not Trumpeter.

 

What bugs me isn't so much that there are mistakes (most of which can be fixed) but the fact that these mistakes could have been avoided if Trumpeter had done it's job seriously.

We're not talking about a secret aircraft for which just one out of focus photo exists.

It's a sloppy job any way you look at it, reading through any Mustang book would allow someone to spot all the mistakes.

I for one don't feel like rewarding sloppiness, especially when the reason behind it is a greedy aggressive attempt at drowning the market.

 

Do we buy everything they throw at us just because it's there, even when they clearly didn't do as good a job as they could have?

Or, do we let them know we expect a good effort for our money?

Believe me, if enough people show they're unhappy with this kit it will be retooled, it has happened before.