1/18 Scale P-51B 3D Print Build

[CraigH]

On 6/27/2025 at 3:52 AM, JayW said:

 

Grumman - wonder why you prefer that.....    Actually, the F6F is a possibility.  If it came down to the F4F or the F6F, I think I'd do the F6F.  Whatever I do, the subject must be supported by the engineering drawings.  A full set preferably.  Aircorp Library has alot of F6F drawings - perhaps all of them.  They also have FM-2 drawings but it looks only partial and many are very poor print quality.  The P-38, P-39, P-40, P-47 and P-51 all appear to have drawings, some are full sets.  I think that is about it for single engine fighters on Aircorp Library.  Oh - and the F4U has a full set. 

Hi Jay, first of all stunning work. Out of this world. If you do go down the F6F route in the distant future, you're right, the manuals etc are poor and grainy and the diagrams unclear. Aircorp Lib were a great source of help on my 1:24 build.       I had a particular discussion with @chuck540z3 who was building the same aircraft at the same time regarding the position of the oil filter (in front of or behind the bulkhead). With the help of said Aircorp Library I was able to prove it was, indeed , behind the air filter. Thank God!

Anyway, if you do go down the road, all my accumulated literary crap is completely at your disposal LOL.

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/88510-airfix-124-grumman-f6f-5-one-hell-of-a-cat/

 

[JayW]

Last evening and today is when I got to enjoy the fruits of my two-year labor.  Buckle up - I have many pictures to show.

 

First, before I proceeded to fuselage join, there was the exterior rear-view mirror, and the pitot mast.  These items were easy to Rhino design, and printing was straight forward.  Take a look:

 

 

 

 

I am pleased with the mirror, and it is not as wimpy as the mirrors I made for Miss Velma quite a while back.  Never-the-less it is just one more item that begs to be broken off.  This model is just "festooned" with fragile parts that are easily broken off.  Handling it presents the constant risk of breaking something.  It's nerve-racking.  When done, I will display it and leave it alone!  BTW, you are going to see in all these pictures that the Malcolm hood is in various positions.  I do that just to show off.  I am so proud that the hood can move, I just have to show that it can. 🥰

 

And speaking of fragile parts that beg to be broken off - the pitot mast:

 

 

 

3D printed of course.  The early P-51's had a long mast like you see here.  The -D has a much shorter mast.  Why?  

 

And then - I just flat ran out of things to do before fuselage join.  So fuselage join:

 

 

What a huge Mustang!  Look how it dominates my messy modeling table.  It bumps up against everything - my foam wing tip protectors were vital!  My heart was racing.  I was careful as a heart surgeon doing this join, and my 3D printed round support tool was helpful maintaining a (fairly stable at best) upright stance.  It was just such a position where the landing gear post breakage catastrophe occurred a month or so ago.  Perilous moments for sure, but no problem this time.  

 

Once joined, I could bond on the main gear wheels/tires with flats properly oriented.  And then it was on to the MLG strut fairings, or strut gear doors, which I have been patiently waiting for for a very long time.   They are part of the signature look of the P-51.  This is what I wanted:

 

  

 

My Rhino MLG door layout, with deadly accurate kinematic geometry, taken directly from the engineering drawings.  Needed to assure the gear doors are hanging as they should.  Here are the parts (for the LH side), which have been waiting a long time:

 

 

Installation of the RH door was straight forward, although very delicate work.  But the LH door - I had long ago broken off one of the clevis lugs inside the wing which position the top of the door.  So I had to jury-rig a couple of crude locator tools to help.  And here are the results:

 

 

 

 

The above picture includes the uber-scary repair of the LH gear strut, broken off last month in the most calamitous mistake of the entire build - a build that had plenty of calamities.  I can make out the repair, but I hope nobody else can.

 

 

I am happy with the gear strut fairings.  And for new-comers, this Mustang has mismatched tires.  On purpose.  Also - that last picture shows the results of the big rake angle adventure, which took up lots of oxygen in this thread, and was a many-days-long hand-wringing affair.  I think we have a correct rake angle here; let's hope it stays that way....  

 

Once those doors were installed, this model was 99% complete.  Lacking only these:

 

 

 

Those bomb racks are from Model Monkey - I ordered them along with the rudder pedals and WM seat quite a while back.  These racks are beautiful, and appear quite dimensionally accurate - I think I am going to use them, and you will see them installed next post.  I am undecided whether or not to make 75 gallon tanks for this kite.  

 

But for now - let me flood the zone shamelessly with Cripes a' Mighty pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a 3D printed 1/18 scale P-51B - a two-year effort.  She is not perfect by any means, but by god she is dimensionally correct in all respects.  Hope you like what you see.

 

Next post will be about the bomb racks, and then I think it will be time for an RFI.  Thanks all of you for supporting my effort on Cripes A Mighty.  

Edited July 4 by JayW

[geedubelyer]

Cripes a'mighty!! 

 

What an absolutely magnificent achievement Jay. 

 

She's a beaut and you should indeed be rightfully proud of your accomplishment. 

 

Bravo that man 

 

Before you get started on your next epic adventure I would dearly love to see some photos taken outdoors in the sunshine with a suitably uncluttered backdrop if at all possible. I'll wager your model will be utterly indistinguishable from the full sized aircraft. 

[wunwinglow]

Words fail me! So I'll have to make one up!

 

Fablus! Just Fablus!

 

Tim

[Landrotten Highlander]

She surely does her name honour...

[Oldbaldguy]

If you didn’t know, you’d think….  At least, I would.

[Neo]

wow amazing work loved following this wip.

[LSP_Kevin]

Congrats on finishing the build, Jay! It's a stunning achievement, and one of the great milestone threads here on LSP. Can't wait for your next project!

 

Kev

[chuck540z3]

So many details, so many parts to create, so many challenges to face and then overcome, so long to build and so very much WORTH IT!  Congrat's Jay!  This is the epitome of what LSP is all about and you are truly one of the very top masters of this website.  We are all very proud of you.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[Hubert Boillot]

She certainly looks like a Mustang, in every aspect!

And I have achieved far less in far longer time  …

So, con gratulations are definitely the order of the day 👏🍾🎉

Hubert

[mozart]

Simply magnificent! 

[MikeMaben]

Looks like alotta hard work payed off Jay. Looking forward to your RFI.

[tomprobert]

Modelling magic on a different level. This has been a pleasure to follow. 
 

Tom

[Tolga ULGUR]

Fantastic  

[Troy Molitor]

A wonderful journey to follow along.  Thanks for sharing this with us Jay.