Model Airplane International - June 2018

Issue 155 - http://www.modelairplaneinternational.com 37

some debate over the years as to the colours

it may have been painted, with some believing

that the camoufl age green was actually blue? I

am not going to go down that stony path here,

but suffi ce to say that to this modellers eye it

looks green and so that is what I went with and

followed the Revell painting guide.

The undercarriage is very nicely detailed

and fi ts relatively positively, though it could be

a little less sloppy to ensure the forward rake

of the undercarriage is set correctly. The tail

A real bugbear of mine are solid exhaust stubs. Maybe this is

acceptable in 1:72, possibly in 1:48 scale, but 1:32?! They

really should have hollow tips at the very least. To that end, each

stub was carefully drilled and fi led out.

FAR LEFT: The rear exit ramp

of the radiator and the tail

wheel bay and doors all form

a subassembly. These all

needed painting before being

assembled, I also added some

scratches and a wash to make

them looks used and worn.

LEFT: The air intake mouth and

radiator face were airbrushed

Gun Metal and then received

and oily brown wash to tone

down the brightness of the

metallic paint.

it may have been painted, with some believing

that the camoufl age green was actually blue? I

looks green and so that is what I went with and

really should have hollow tips at the very least. To that end, each

The whole oil cooler, radiator and tail wheel bay subassembly is now

ready for installation. Note the tab and slot locating points, making for

a foolproof assembly.

Here you can see here the correct

orientation for this sub-assembly. The two

radiator faces are simple but effective

slot-in pieces, whilst the oil cooler

intakes is clearly visible here.

These small recessed holes suggest later versions are planned

with underwing rockets, so need fi lling and sanding fl ush

as rockets are not included in this kit. This is noted in the

instructions, though it puzzled me as to why they were not

recessed on the inner sides of the wing out of sight?

With care, the exhausts and shrouds can be assembled and

fi tted after painting. The instructions would have you fi t these

all at the same time, which would make for some complicated

masking when it comes to main painting. They were painted and

set to one side while the backing plates were fi xed in place.

Issue 155 - http://www.modelairplaneinternational.com 37

I found it infi nitely easier to install the lower intake subassembly

before the cockpit unit. It is a positive location and fi ts perfectly

and aligned correctly.

P-51.indd 37 04/05/2018 16:01