Popular Post airscale Posted March 30, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted March 30, 2022 Hi everyone, 4 years after I started this build, I have only just got around to adding the finishing touches and calling it done.. A bit of background: Lopes Hope is a P51C-5-NT that Aircorps Aviation in Minnesota have put back in the air. I was so blown away by the photographic records they kept and the absolute commitment to accuracy they employ that I wrote to them asking for more info about the airframe. I was stunned when their VP wrote back offering to share info, permission to use their photo's in my build log and any support I needed - starting a relationship that flourishes to this day. They are the same guys that host the Aircorps Library which is an incredible online resource offering for a nominal membership fee access to all the factory drawings and manuals for a range of seminal aircraft. Their notes on this P51 and why they chose it echo my own: "Lope's Hope 3rd was a P-51C flown by Lt. Donald Lopez. Donald and Lope's Hope 3rd served in the China-Burma-India theater with the 14th Air Force, 23rd Fighter Group, 75th Squadron. The 23rd Fighter Group was the descendent of the famous American Volunteer Group or Flying Tigers after the US entered the war. Lt. Lopez had 5 victories in China and went on to become a test pilot in the early years of the jet age. Later he was the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum until his death in 2008. Donald Lopez was instrumental in the construction and opening of the National Air and Space Museum. The original wartime Lope's Hope 3rd was a P51C-5-NT, Army Air Force Serial Number: 42-103585. The serial number information was just acquired through the generous contribution of pages from Lt. Lopez's war time log book by his granddaughter Laura Lopez. Normally a WWII fighter's serial number is easily determined by just looking at the tail number. Squadrons in almost every theater of operations number planes this way, but not in China. In China the 23rd Fighter Group's squadrons were assigned a block of numbers for differentiating their aircraft. The 75th squadron's block was 150- 199 (or to 200 depending on source). Lt. Lopez used 194 on both his P-40N s and on his P-51C , Lope's Hope 3rd. Without his log book it might have been impossible to figure out his Mustang's AAF serial number. Our restoration airframe is a P-51C-10NT Army Air Force Serial Number: 43-24907 , that remained in the continental US during WWII and was used for training purposes during and immediately after the war. The decision to paint her in Lt. Lopez's color scheme is intended to honor him and his service to his country in WWII and to aviation all his life." The model started as a 1/18 HpH Desktop GRP shell.. and 1,230 pictures and a lot of work later, it looks like this.. I really enjoyed this one... it spoilt me though, having every drawing of every part and great references from the restoration meant i could just build everything i saw in front of me - that collection of hundreds, if not thousands of parts resulted in I think my best model. It is certainly a more complex aeroplane than the Spitfire I made, for example the gear bays on this were about 3 - 4 months work, on the Spit a week or two, there is virtually nothing in it's bays I hope you enjoy it and all my thanks to Aircorps and everyone who chipped in with encouragement in my build thread until next time Peter Cicciuzzo, williamj, geedubelyer and 56 others 57 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Beautifully done Pete, a true work of art. Barry airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I thought I'd missed the RFI! . So impressive to see another masterpiece added to the stable. Well done Peter!! Craig airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Utterly astounding my friend! Im not sure I could imaging a scale model of a P-51 getting much better in any way. Well done, and another work of art completed! airscale and Panzerwomble 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Peter the whole build was a joy to watch. None of us could ever come close to recreating this masterpiece, but I'm grateful that I got to enjoy it along the way. A tremendous effort and one of which you should be rightfully proud of! Now back to the P-40. Peter JayW and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elftone Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 What a beautiful result! airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Impossibly good. This has been a remarkable journey to follow so thank you for sharing the adventure. Honestly Peter, this model must be in the top 5% of models in the world. Bravo sir, well done. airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Awesome, just awesome! airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Fantastically good on all levels! Truly a masterpiece that represents the pinnacle of scale model building, IMO. airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolga ULGUR Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Fantastic Awesome Masterpiece. airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Absolutely stunning, Peter! One of the best scale models I've ever seen - along with everything else you build. Kev airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrzemoL Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 This is amazing, I have no words to describe this. Artistry, engineering, detailing... I could watch these photos for hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I’m in love. Sincerely, Mark airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adameliclem Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Peter, you sly dog, I thought you’d finished this one. It’s a great work of art, period. Cheers, Adam airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiZac Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Another beauty, congratulations Peter. I imagine if you posed and photographed them right you could fool a few folk into thinking they're looking at an airshow's static park! airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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