Mustang: F-51, A-36, F-82, Cavalier, and Piper PA-48 Enforcer

[PR19_Kit]

Was there ever a kit, or a conversion, for the lightweight NA-105 P-51Fs, Gs or Js?

In theory using a P-51H fuselage would be a good start but the more 'horizontal' sliding canopy of the lightweights is quite difficult to reproduce, I've tried it once with a shortened P-82 fuselage without much success.

[kitnut617]

Something I've been wanting to do for a while, make a P-82B out of the Revell F-82G kit.  Started with the nose, now to make a mould and some castings.





I'll then change this nose to do some other versions, specifically a C & D, then an E

[PR19_Kit]

Someone somewhere did a resin nose for the F-82B a while back, not sure who though. I did the singular RF-82B with two of them and I've got quite a few cloned copies of the moulding too, it's very nicely moulded.

[kitbasher]

Has anyone come up with a whiffed Twin Mustang based on P-51As?  No change to the canopy.

[PR19_Kit]

Has anyone come up with a whiffed Twin Mustang based on P-51As?  No change to the canopy.

Twin Allisons as well? That would be different, as would one made from two P-51Bs. 

[kitnut617]

Someone somewhere did a resin nose for the F-82B a while back, not sure who though. I did the singular RF-82B with two of them and I've got quite a few cloned copies of the moulding too, it's very nicely moulded.

Nice one Kit ?

I think the Merlin nose really makes the F-82 look better ----

I've got another idea for the nose which doesn't involve a Mustang     

[PR19_Kit]

I think the Merlin nose really makes the F-82 look better ----

I've got another idea for the nose which doesn't involve a Mustang     

I agree 100% about the B nose, the later E, F and G noses as depicted in the Monogram and Hobbycraft kits (maybe even the FROG one of they ever surface...) are just plain ugly by comparison. And the exhausts on the G look diabolical to my mind, although I grant they may have been better for a night fighter.

My mind is trying to work around what could fit on the noses of an F-82 that AREN'T Mustangs......

[rickshaw]

My mind is trying to work around what could fit on the noses of an F-82 that AREN'T Mustangs......

Griffin/Sabre/Centaurus/Vulture/Peregrine/Dagger/Taurus/Hercules?

[kitnut617]

My mind is trying to work around what could fit on the noses of an F-82 that AREN'T Mustangs......

My plans involve using the P-51H nose on something else, not really the other way around, I'll post something once I see that it'll work


--- but ---

Griffin/Sabre

I'm working on these two at the moment though, but considering the size of the P-82 the Griffon cowling won't be from a Spitfire and the Sabre will be the Mk.VII and/or VIII variant.  What I have built seems to work quite well, pics to follow.

Peregrine/Dagger/Taurus/Hercules?

Considering the Merlin's that were installed in the P-82 were the same as the Merlin in the P-51H which in turn were Packard built versions of the Merlin's in the DH Hornet, I think we can dispense with those one Brian

[kitnut617]

Here's a pic of a Griffon nose on the F-82, still working on it though, changing the top nose line a bit but because the thrust-line is a bit higher than the Merlin's, the top line doesn't quite so slope down as much.  But it fits quite well --

[jcf]

Here's a Norm Avery drawing that shows the fuselage changes from D to H.



- from North American Aircraft 1934 - 1998, Vol. 1, Norm Avery, Narkiewicz//Thompson 1998

Norm started at NAA in the '40s as a drafter, he later became a design engineer and retired from
aerospace in the early '80s, and was directly involved with the P-51H and P-82, amongst other
designs.

The H wing came from the XP-51F and it was a new design with a thinner airfoil, the use of
smaller diameter wheels enabled the elimination of the expanded wing root. The F and G led
to the H. A 5-blade Rotol was tested on the G, but it was found to be less efficient than the 3-blade
Aeroproducts also tested. With the Aeroproducts prop the XP-51Gs attained 498mph, making
them the fastest of all Mustangs. The J model used an Allison V-1710-119 but it never attained
the desired performance.

For the P-82 the wing chord was increased from 104 to 112 inches at the root, and from 50
to 65 inches at the tip.

[kitnut617]

For the P-82 the wing chord was increased from 104 to 112 inches at the root, and from 50
to 65 inches at the tip.

Funny you should post this Jon, I was going to PM you today to see if you had any info about the wing difference between the P-51H and the P-82. I had read the outer wing panels for the P-82 came from the P-51H but there's a substantial difference between the kit parts I've been comparing. But your numbers measure out on both kits.  I've also noticed that the P-51H wing has a longer root chord than the P-51D if you take the LERX out of the D's wing. Do you have a length for that " or the wing tip length for the D so I can check ?

What I find really interesting is how much weight they saved when they re-designed the H, and how much larger it is compared to the D.

[jcf]

All Mustangs from NA-73 through D/K had wing root chord of 104", wingtip chord of 50".

Incan't find specifics on chord lengths for H model, but it used the same airfoil as the lightweight
fighters and the P-82, so I'd imagine it was dimensionally similar. 

Bear in the mind that neither the expanded wingroot for the landing gear (not actually a LERX, BTW  ),
nor the wing to fuselage fairings are included in the wingroot measurement. Something that has caused
all kinds of confusion for folks, ditto the changes in material thickness during the Mustang's
production life which some have confused with wing thickness.

[kitnut617]

Thanks Jon,  those dimensions work quite well with the new tool Airfix P-51D, but the High Planes P-51H has a broader chord. High Planes kits are known to be really accurate so lining up the spar line on both wings I find the trailing edge matches exactly. However, the whole leading edge of the H wing is 4" further forward than what the Airfix D wing is.  So that is 108" at the root and 54" at the wing tip.

Something that should be noted, measuring from behind the spinner to the bottom edge of the windshield, and to the lip of the radiator air intake, all the various variants (including the P-82) are the same dimensions.  The H fuselage is about 12" longer but also the whole wing was moved back 12". And on the P-82 the wing was moved back even further, another 12" plus it had the increased chord length (these 12" inches I've measured from one leading edge to another)

[pyro-manic]

My mind is trying to work around what could fit on the noses of an F-82 that AREN'T Mustangs......

R-2800s?