If I had to sum up 2011 in a single word, I’d probably go with “grinding”. This has been a year. Two job switches. A layoff and a month and a half of unemployment. Building a house. A move (which we’re still recovering from!). A November of aggravating ailments and injuries. The hottest summer ever…
Category: Tamiya P-51D Mustang
The Pipeline
With the Tamiya Fw 190A-3 well into the painting stages, I’ve already started casting furtive glances at the stash and planning my builds for the next several months. These are obviously subject to change at the slightest provocation or whim, but right now, here’s where I’m at:
Future Build Preview – P-51D-5-NA Mustang – “Hun Hunter ~ Texas”
If you look through my stash, it’s fairly obvious that most of my modeling interests are focused on World War II. Sure, there’s a biplane or two in there, and a few early jets, but the Second World War dominates the list. Part of the reason is the machinery…which to me just has far more…
Aftermarket – Grey Matter 1/32 P-51D Tires
As I’ve written before, Tamiya’s 1/32 P-51D Mustang is an astonishing kit on most every level. But no kit is perfect, and the big Tamiyastang’s biggest flaw is easily its rubber tires. Actually not the tires themselves, but the thin mold seam than runs the circumference. From experience with the Spitfire Mk.VIII, this seam is…
Tamiya P-51D Build Report 4: Markings, Weathering, and Final Details
Now that the Mustang finally has the distinctive blue nose of the 352nd fighter group, it’s time to move into the home stretch. Markings Tamiya’s kit actually includes markings for Meyer’s “Petie 2nd”. There’s just one problem: they’re Tamiya decals. That is, they’re thick, they don’t like to settle into panel lines, and they have…
Tamiya P-51D Build Report 3: Blue-Nosed Bastard
I’ve had something of a man-crush on John C. Meyer, the CO of the 352nd fighter group, ever since watching the Dogfights episode “The Legend of Y-29”. If you’ve never seen it, or Dogfights, well… You can also see the rest of the episode (YouTube divides it into 8 parts) HERE. When I got…
Initial Thoughts on Tamiya’s 1/32 P-51D Mustang
So now that I’ve had a chance to look through the sprues and peruse the instructions for Tamiya’s new 1/32 P-51, I have a load of initial thoughts to share. First – I can’t imagine anyone but Tamiya making this kit and actually pulling it off. Several areas of the build depend absolutely on a…
Tamiya P-51D Mustang Build Report 2: Natural Metal Finish
I got an alert this morning that my big 1/32 P-51 is currently en route to Mesquite, TX, and should be reaching Austin and my doorstep sometime tomorrow! As excited as I am to behold Tamiya’s latest achievement in all its glory, there’s still that matter of its smaller sibling. Oh, and that big Spitfire…
Two Big Mustangs. One Old. One New.
I’ve got my hands full right now, with three fantastic kits on the bench – Tamiya’s 1/48 P-51D Mustang and 1/32 Spitfire Mk.VIII, and Cyber-Hobby’s Panzer III Ausf.L Vorpanzer. But that doesn’t mean I can’t look ahead, right? And, looking ahead, I’m seeing something big. Okay, two somethings. Two 1/32 scale Mustangs. One old. One…
Tamiya P-51D Mustang Build Report 1: Cockpit and Main Assembly
My original intention – to use Tamiya’s 1/48 P-51D as something of a decompression build between the Sopwith Pup and Spitfire Mk.VIII – has foundered somewhat on the twin rocks of advanced modeler’s syndrome and the sheer epicness of Tamiya’s big Spit. However, with the failure of willpower that culminated in my pre-order of Tamiya’s…
Doogs Models 