Aftermarket kits question

[ShangriLa]

Hello all. This is my first post here and I just wanted to say that I'm blown away with the amount of talent and knowledgeable people we have on this site.

 

Secondly, I do have a question that might have been discussed about before in previous topics but just wanted to throw it out there real quick.

 

I am trying to build the old 1993 Revell P-51B III (#4740) and I can't seem to find that much AM kits for it. I do however see a few for the Trump and Tamyia kits. Does anyone know how difficult it would be to buy an AM kit like the Aires Cockpit and wheel well kit for the Trump P-51B kit and put it on the old Revell 4740 kit? This isn't the dark brown kit, it's the light grey kit. Any help or shoves in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

P.S. this is my first model I am building after being away from the hobby for 11 years. Glad to be back in the seat again.

 

 

Cheers,

 

BG

[LSP_Kevin]

Welcome aboard, BG!

 

 

And welcome back to the hobby. Just be aware that the Revell P-51B dates back at least as far as the early 1970s, and no matter what box it comes in, from which year, or the colour of the plastic, it's the same antiquated plastic.

 

In terms of what aftermarket items might fit it, that's a very good question! Things like wheels and seats are simple enough as drop-in replacements, but full cockpits or wheel bays are a different proposition altogether. If we're talking Aires, their products are tough enough to shoehorn into the intended kit, let alone one it wasn't even designed for, but if you're keen and patient, anything is possible.

 

I'm sure members who have dealt with this issue more directly than I have will be along shortly with more useful answers than mine!

 

Kev

[LSP_Ray]

The Aires wheel well set is really a P-51A set in detail. I think Grey Matter made one, but I don't see it listed on their eBay page right now. Don't know whose cockpit would fit.

[Thunda]

Dont know whats involved with shoehorning the Aires Trumpeter P51B cockpit into the old Revell kit- seem to remember the are some serious shape issues with the Trumpeter fuselage and aires cockpits arent renowned for being an easy fit at the best of times!

 

Ive just been using parts of the Eduard Interior set for the Trumpeter kit on my Hobbycraft P51A, and much of it works, so that would be an option- It includes a seat and cockpit walls, plus theres also a placard set with lots of bits to busy up the cockpit if you went the semi scratch building root. Its discontinued on the Eduard site, but you see them on Ebay regularly.

 

https://www.eduard.com/store/Eduard/Photo-etched-parts/Zoom-set/Aircraft/1-32/P-51B-interior-S-A-1-32.html?cur=1

 

https://www.eduard.com/store/Aircraft-and-helicopters/1-32/P-51B-placards-S-A-1-32.html?lang=1

 

There used to be an Eduard interior set for the Revell kit, but I think its long out of production

Edited December 4, 2017 by Thunda

[Big Texan]

There are old Eduard photo etch sets available if you can find one on Ebay. That being said, I read an article on another site by a guy who used the Aires Set made for the Trumpy P-51B on the old Revell kit. It actually fit very well, to his surprise and me to! I have a couple of the old Revell kits and have the Aires cockpit sets for them due to the article. I don't know about wheel wells, and I plan to leave them as is. But the pits are a different story as are the wheels! I also have the old Eduard photo sets and plan to use some of those parts as well. So, there you have it. Get the Aires cockpit and some Baracuda Mustang wheels, and you should be good to go!

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Big Texan

[Out2gtcha]

Welcome!!       

[Guest The Southern Bandit]

I bought a Trumpeter P51-B and as much after-market for it as I could, also the ShangriLa decals set as seen on the Tamiya 1/48 kit I once built and enjoyed ... I realise of course there are apparently (undoubtedly in fact) some serious shape issues with the Trumpeter kit, but so long as I don't look at to many real photos's of one (And I'll never see a real one) I can fool myself into thinking it looks like a B to me ... it will go together pretty painlessly too I'm sure

That is my strategy until such time as Tamiya (doubtful now) or Revell (maybe?) produce a new tool accurately shaped one.

Enjoy your Revell build though, pretty sure I did one as a kid too, showing my age here because its quite an old kit too, but build-able obviously.

[ShangriLa]

Thank you all for the helpful replies. I have ordered some books and will gather up as much as I can before I start the surgery on this kit. It's hard not to scratch build with any kit as I am all about be as realistic as possible on models. But I will try out the Aires tub set and the eduard PE sets as well. As for the wheel bay, I will look into this carefully before I start the painful task of scratch building a wheel well. It's definitely doable if I have enough accurate photos and articles as I did a Spirit of Texas Sea Fury with Paul Fishers Fury and it turned out very nice until the whole thing was sent to a landfill somewhere after someone mistakenly thought it was a piece of trash, wth? Still pretty upset about that   

[Out2gtcha]

Pauls kits build up into wonderful models for sure. Id be upset if I lost one of his moded Fb.11s too!  I did his September Fury with the modified Horner tips. Great looking bird.  

[BiggTim]

Good to have you, BG. I have that old kit in progress, too, and am planning to use the Aires pit in it as well. I decided I just couldn't wait until HK puts out their long promised version. 

 

Mine will be wheels up, so no wheel bays to worry about.

 

Tim

[MikeMaben]

Hi B  

 

Good to see you're not afraid of the oldies.

Here's a good site to check for AM https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=Kits&q=Revell+p-51*&fkSCALE[]=%221:32%22

It doesn't always list everything but it's a good source

of info on AM and kit chronology.

Have fun

[Rick Griewski]

Welcome,

There is a build on Aeroscale.net, "1:32 Revell P-51B "BIG MAC Junior". Looks as if it answers your questions about after market. The blog does discuss more corrections to the kits faults than I can shake a stick at. Other info can be found when Google, "build Revell P-51b"

 

I hope this helps.

 

Rick