R.A.F. Mustang VII

[kitnut617]

There have not been any mainstream kits of the H in any scale before.
I used to have the old Rareplanes conversion for the H in 1/72, but all you got was the two fuselage halves. I think I sold it on to someone else a long time ago.
Jim

What were you supposed to use for the wings Jim ? They're nothing like a P-51D wing

There has been for years an injection kit of the 'H', the much overlooked High Planes kit. I've got three and a bunch of spares from them back in the 90's. High Plane kits build into very nice models, but they are definitely not 'shake & bake' kits.

I still have my Rareplanes vacform H fuselage. They give you instructions how to convert the Hasegawa D wing, gear and fin to an H. It looks reasonably straightforward, although I've never tried it myself.

Whatever anyone does, DON'T get the M News P-51H kit, it's diabolical! 

Thanks Kit   

I forgot there's also the Beechnut injection kit (got a couple of them too) not too bad for a limited run kit but they're not 1/72 scale as advertised, more like 1/75 scale

[NARSES2]

As for those strangely moulded resin bits I think you are meant to sand them free  Tried it a couple of times with the end result being a lack of fingerprints   

That can be useful at times 

Gondor

Don't tell Hank 

[JayBee]

OK, Christmas and New Year are passed and the modelling table is at last getting disturbed again.
Work has restarted on the Mustang VII, and the difficulty with the tail wheel assembly has been (I hope) resolved.
What you get in the kit will give a very close scale representation of the real thing as shown in David McLaren's North Amercian P-51H Mustang (Air Force Legends Number 209).
Apparently the tail wheel assembly was one of the weak points of the H, and the above volume has a good photo of a ground collision between two P-51Hs of the Massachusetts ANG. In both aircraft the tailwheels have collapsed!

My solution was to use a bit of plasticard rather than the resin part given. This gives a sturdier fixing and who the heck is going to see it anyway.





Jim

[Captain Canada]

I'd just toss the fiddly bits nobody is gonna see them anyway lol. I think I have this kit so I'm looking forward to seeing some more !

[JayBee]

Having said earlier  that a problem the P-51H had was a weakness in the tail wheel..........
they were right.
You have to glue the tailwheel assembly into the fuselage before joining the fuselage halves together and this makes it a touch vulnerable should you have to do any tidying up/PSR in that area. OF COURSE you do.
Yes the wheel went PING, however I did manage to fight off the Carpet Monster and it safe for later refitting.

[Gondor]

Might be an idea to put it in a bag and pin it in place when you get to the end of the build Jim, but you have probably already decided to do that.

Gondor

[KiwiZac]

I love me an H whif. Good luck! That tailwheel setup is rather precarious.

[Captain Canada]

Glad you found it !