WIP Hasegawa 1/32 P-51D Tuskegee Airmen

[dgassie]

I'll start by saying that I don't know how to do reviews; I'm not a very good modeler and have never had much luck with a WIP post, so please take all that into account as you read on.

 

Whew! That said…I bought this kit online. Since it's a Hasegawa, a Mustang with a naked girl on the fuselage and 1/32, I thought it would probably be a great kit. It's not. I think it'll look like a Mustang when done but it's not an easy build.

 

 

The plastic is brittle, there's a lot of flash and parts location is very vague. The pilot figure comes in two parts that don't fit together well. There isn't even a step in the instructions to locate the engine.

I've finished the cockpit and pilot and have glued them into position. I've finished the engine as well but am still fiddling with the correct placement. I added wiring to the radio but I think it's out of scale so I'll be removing it.

 

 

 

The gentleman in the pilot's seat is Lt. Charles White, one of the Tuskegee airmen.

 

 

I'll post more as I progress.

 

 

 

[Wolf Buddee]

Looks good to me so far. Just keep at it and it'll look great when done. I look forward to seeing more progress.

 

Cheers,

Wolf

[Thunda]

Yeah, like Wolf said, just keep at it. The Hasegawa P51 is a good kit- its not a Tamiya or a ZM, as its quite an old design, but they can still look good when built.

[dgassie]

Thanks guys, I'll most definetly keep a it.

[Guest Peterpools]

Please keep in mind this Mustang is a gem from the late '70's and in it's day, was the cutting edge in kit design and detail. The Hasegawa kit will build into a nice replica of the Mustang so just give her a chance. Strange as it's sounds, Hasegawa plastic has always been my favorite.

Looking good and keep 'em coming

Peter

[dgassie]

Thanks Peter.

 

I think my initial impression has a lot to do with just having finished a Tamiya 1/48 P-51 before starting this new project and of course, my limited skills.Those Tamiya kits are very easy to build, so I noticed a big difference.

 

But as they say, there are no bad kits...just bad modelers, so I think I'll finesse and learn my way through this one! = )

[Out2gtcha]

Looks terrif so far.  I used this kit as a base for building a customer a P-51(Dixieboy) built by a friend of his in GA.   As you said, its not a great kit, but as others have said, keep at it, and it will look great when done.

 

I DO think the shape/outline of the Has P-51 is pretty good, but the details as you noted, can be vague and soft looking. 

 

Keep goin! 

[dgassie]

Thanks Maru!

[Out2gtcha]

Are you re-scribing this one?

[dgassie]

Are you re-scribing this one?

No sir, re-scribing is still well beyond my abilities. I'll just try to build it out of the box and end up with a good looking model. Right now I'm even struggling to get the fuselage halls together.

[Out2gtcha]

I think it would be well within your abilities!   Its definitely NOT a requirement, and as you said, you can have fun with an OOB build only.   If at any time you want to try a re-scribe, get yourself some of the hard "Dymo" tape for the old school labelers, and a needle and pin vice and just start in. 

[dgassie]

...the fuselage is NOT cooperating!

 

= (

[dgassie]

I AM beating it into submission, the bad thing is that it shows!

 

I'm trying a little rescribing as Out suggested.

[dgassie]

Here's a bit of an advance.

 

I managed to get the fuselage halves together. I sort of “convinced†it together a little at a time, the most difficult being the front, engine area. The motor is in there but the top won't be coming off to show the engine.

 

As Out2gtcha suggested, I tried my hand at re scribing. Not by choice but by necessity. Straight lines weren't that difficult but curves were a nightmare!  Some of the lines turned out very sharp, others not so much but I think I'll get better with practice and it's a technique I'll keep working at it.

 

I ran into a problem with the underside air scoop. I had a huuuge dip or valley on the bottom and as you'll see in the photos, it took a big dab of Tamiyas' Light Curing Putty. Nasty stuff but it dries hard as nails, really fast and will fill ANY thing.  You can see the results in the before and after photos.

It took me a while but I'm happy with the results so far and now ready to continue with the kit.

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tomv87]

Keep 'em coming! Looking good so far.