Scale Aviation Modeller International — February 2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1

Meng’s 1/48 P-51D Mustang by Jared Demes


T


he P-51 Mustang is
arguably one of the most
iconic aircraft of all
time. The elegance and power
of the P-51 Mustang are known
throughout the world, but to be
honest, I’ve never really been
that big a fan of the P-51. I’ve
built several models of it over the
years, but it never really got my
attention until last year, when
I had the chance to meet Herb
Spears, a former RCAF P-51 pilot.
To say meeting Herb (93 years
young) was interesting would
be a serious understatement.
I was fascinated by his stories
and experiences with the P-51,
in particular an incident which
required him to bail out of the
aircraft. It turns out that getting
out of an aircraft is far more
dangerous than I imagined. After
our meeting, Herb gifted us with
some literature on the Mustang.
In one of the books was a postcard
of a restored RCAF P-51D from
the Vintage Wings collection, in
the markings of 442 Squadron.

When MENG models first
announced their new 1/48 P-51D,
I admit I never really gave it much
thought, but then it appeared in
my local hobby store. I picked up
the box, studied it, and all sorts
of ideas came to my mind.
I was going to build this kit. It
was going to be Canadian, and I
was going to find out once and for
all what all the fuss was about. You
see, MENG has tried something
new compared to their usual builds.
They decided that their P-51D was
going to be a “FAST CEMENT-FREE
ASSEMBLY DESIGN”. It’s not quite
a snap-kit; more of a pressure-
fit one, like Bandai models.

STANG


RCAF


18 • FEBRUARY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL


BY SACCO DE VRIES


P-51D MUSTANG


BY JARED DEMES
1/

018-25-FEAT-Stang-0218.indd 18 12/01/2018 11:

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