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1/24 P-51: Airfix v. Bandai - Opinion as to which is better and why?


GVINCENT

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I've built both - neither are Tamiya/Hasegawa quality in terms of construction, but both can be turned into a nice model.

 

If I remember correctly, the gear on the Airfix kit were too tall and required some trimming down, but otherwise, I enjoyed it.

p51d_002.jpg

 

p51d_001.jpg

p51d_003.jpg

I built this model for a friend of mine, former Tuskegee pilot Lt. Calvin Spann. This was "his" aircraft. When I presented the model
he refused it, saying it was too much for him to accept. I wish he had...if I'd had a brain, I'd had him sign the wing...

 

Jeff

Edited by Jeff Herne
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Guest Colin M

 

 

If I remember correctly, the gear on the Airfix kit were too tall and required some trimming down, but otherwise, I enjoyed it.

 

 

Very nice indeed.

 

not wishing to be too pedantic, but if the Airfix gear legs on the kit are too long and had to be trimmed down (dont doubt your research BTW) then surely the kit wheel bays will still be too long and near impossible to fix and the legs too far out in the wing ... not that you'd see the wheel bays with kit posed on its undercarriage of course and there was no stock detail in there anyway :)

 

I guess we're talking scale inches though.

 

Its just that I remember building one as a kid and remember it had retractable undercarriage that fitted inside the wheel wells fairly well.

 

Disclaimer: The above is not a whinge, just an observation :innocent:

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The issue with the gear legs is purely that the oleo's are in the extended, unweighted position. The gear bays are fine dimension-ally as the oleo's would be fully dropped and extended when the aircraft takes off and the gear retracts. That's my take anyhoo.

 

Regards;

Steve 

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Correct - it was just enough to make it obvious. In fact, when I built this model, I made two measurements that I based my decision on, the distance from the rudder hinge line to the ground, and the distance from the prop tip to the ground. I scaled them up to real life size and measured a buddy's 1:1 scale P-51D and found that the model sat (if I remember correctly) about 8-10 scale inches too high. The change came in the oleos as Steve mentioned. I cut the oleo section out and replaced with the brass rod covered by aluminum tubing for added strength.

Edited by Jeff Herne
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