ironman1945 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 (edited) Been awhile since I have posted anything here. Mainly because of the change in Photobucket's policy. Finally got around to signing up for another image hosting site. Seems like we have been waiting forever for a new P-51B. With 3 Revell 51Ds, and old Revell 1/32 P-51b, and a Trumpeter51B in the stash, I finally decided "what the hell lets give a conversion a shot". Of course as soon as I finish this, a new 1/32 51B will come out... you can thank me now.... So, first issue to deal with is the fuselage. After cutting off the Revell 51D rear deck, I thought I would rebuild it with rib profiles and plank on frame plastic stringers, followed by endless filling and sanding. Edited November 8, 2020 by ironman1945 update Fanes, MikeC, Derek B and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 But the thought of all that filling and sanding.... I've scratch build something using this method before (you may remember my Whirlwind posted here years ago)... there must be a better and faster way. And I'm lazy by nature. So after taking a lot of measurements, I decided to slice off the spine from my old Revell P-51B, modify it as needed... had to shim it at the bottom.. and graft it onto the new Revell 51D. This also involved building up the rear spine area with some plastic strip and epoxy putty. All in all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. red baron, Fanes, easixpedro and 28 others 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 I also started dealing with differences in the wing between the B and D models. There were a number if ideas I had on this, in the end I thought I would try grafting the section near the wing root from the Trumpeter 51B kit onto the Revell 51D wing. KiwiZac, Derek B, Landrotten Highlander and 16 others 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Great to see this one here, Dave! I’m tempted to follow in your footsteps. Kev Sakai, Rockie Yarwood and Derek B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Hey Kev, finally managed to get off my butt and get on flickr. Now trying to figure out how I'm going to modify forward wing root for the fuselage. Thats all for now, cheers, and GO SAINTS! Dave/Ironman1945 nmayhew, Antonio Argudo, D.B. Andrus and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Brilliant start and great to see you post your Mustang madness again! Derek B, Sakai and Rockie Yarwood 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Following for sure! I've been toying with the idea of doing this with the Tamiya offering..... Glad to see you back at it Craig Rockie Yarwood, Derek B and Sakai 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 Hey Craig I also considered using the Tamiya kit for this conversion, as I have a few of those in the stash.... as well as 3 of Hobbycraft's early Mustangs... love the Mustang! But the cost of the Tamiya kit... couldn't bring myself to do it! HA! Dave/Ironman1945 brahman104, Derek B, KiwiZac and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Hi Dave, I totally understand! Although I don't mind doing something crazy and reckless like that (check out my B-17 build if you want proof ) so I'll definitely have a crack at it one day! Craig Rockie Yarwood and Sakai 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 3 hours ago, ironman1945 said: Hey Craig I also considered using the Tamiya kit for this conversion, as I have a few of those in the stash.... as well as 3 of Hobbycraft's early Mustangs... love the Mustang! But the cost of the Tamiya kit... couldn't bring myself to do it! HA! Dave/Ironman1945 I think the Revell kit is an ideal candidate for this kind of project, with a perfect mix of existing detail, moderate complexity, and price point. Kev R Palimaka, KiwiZac, thierry laurent and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockie Yarwood Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Excellent! Have thought about trying something similar with one of the HobbyCraft kits. Will follow along for sure! Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Rockie Yarwood said: Excellent! Have thought about trying something similar with one of the HobbyCraft kits. Will follow along for sure! Hi Rockie. Glad you like it! I have 3 of the Hobbycraft kits myself, and I took a look at possibly converting one of them. Initially you would think "Hey just change the front end" but its not that simple. From what I researched, when NA made the 51B they dropped the wing ... cant remember how much exactly, but it was enough for me to think "that would be a lot of work". Also the 51A intake under the fuselage is a totally different shape, but its the same for the 51B and 51D...and not only did NA drop the wing, they had to drop the intake below the wing as well. There are other smaller differences as well. Finally, the Hobbycraft kits are pretty rare. Back in 09 I converted the Mk1a into a Mk1 , you can see the build here : Seems a shame to cut one of them up for a conversion. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945 Rockie Yarwood, Greg W, Sakai and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockie Yarwood Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Good points Dave, I've got four of the HC kits myself (does that make me a model kit hog?), but really only two Allison variants that I'd like to build. I was thinking about using only the spine and wing leading edges of one grafted to the Revell D-5 lower fuselage to try for a decent B model. I have the Revell B model too, but my kit has a short-shot canopy and I think I like the HC kit has a a little bit better profile? ... Anyway, I think you have made a good start, and look forward to following the rest of your build! Best, Rockie Sakai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Good show, Dave. Nice tie-in. Sincerely, Mark Brett M, Sakai, Kaeone57 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyChris Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 On 11/8/2020 at 10:37 PM, ironman1945 said: Hey Kev, finally managed to get off my butt and get on flickr. Now trying to figure out how I'm going to modify forward wing root for the fuselage. Thats all for now, cheers, and GO SAINTS! Dave/Ironman1945 Drew Brees was on FIRE Sunday night, great game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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