Tamiya 1:32 Mustang

Moon Puppy

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Joined
Apr 4, 2011
Messages
278
This is a big ol' dang box man, and it's stuffed.

Magnets?? Looked over the instructions, first 6 steps are the engine alone. Magnets are used to hold in place removable panels and landing gear components so you can swap out up or down scheme.. to me, this has no value. I don't want to build a toy, I can see losing one part or another some time in the future. I may seal it up to prevent that.

P51D012.jpg
P51D013.jpg
Open the box and you get a really nice little clear plastic folder with color poster of the Mustang and other offerings (I didn't even study the other side. One thing that caught my eye was the Boeing Officially Licensed Product logo.
P51D014.jpg
All these engine parts!

P51D015.jpg
Nuts, screws and even a little screwdriver!
P51D016.jpg
Also included are some color posters, a nice little reference book, I haven't looked over it closely yet but at least it would be a nice keepsake. Two sheets of PE, canopy mask and a pretty cool metal nameplate for the base. Like all these plastic bases, I would have liked to see something more substantial, I think the completed aircraft will be heavier than the stand making it top heavy, though it does have a wide stance.

Looking over the instructions I see call outs on even where to apply glue and what type of glue. Tamiya has really put forth a great effort on this kit. One thing that pops out at me about the right hand panel in the cockpit. there's no IFF panel there. Now I'll admit my own ignorance and say that I do not know when the IFF panel was first used, never looked into it. But a lot of the reference stuff I have on the Mustang cites it on the right hand side towards the rear of that panel. Maybe someone can set me straight if it should be there or not. Guess all that depends on the variant you're doing.

But what I can see, you can do any variant of the D model Mustang out of this kit. What I didn't see is weapons. only the 75gal tank and 108 gal tank. No hard bombs, no rockets. Maybe later? I also see a list of parts not used according to the instructions. Future use maybe?

Well that's my initial report, I'm digging right in to this as I'm in a Mustang mood. Thanks for reading and indulging.
 
Bombs and bazookas tended to be the exception. Most Mustangs only sported tanks. They stuck pretty true to fighter role while there was still a threat from enemy fighters.
 
the mustang could carry by what i understand, NOT ALL AT ONCE! :)

2 75 gallon drop tanks

2 108 gallon drop tanks, (which all internal tanks full would extend its range over 2,000 miles.)

i think... 2 100LB Bombs

2 250LB Bombs

2 500LB Bombs

2 1,000LB Bombs

8 HVAR Rockets

or Bazookas

you could also mix up ordanances, add some rockets with drop tanks, or a set of bombs with rockets... yada yada ya....

as Gundamhead stated, the mustang was most commonly equipped with the 75 or 108 gallon drop tanks, beacuse its primary role during the war was Bomber escort deep into enemy territory, taking out other fighters was its typical business, and Bombs and rockets are pretty much useless for that. although beacuse of its excellent low level speed, and decent payload, it was used well as a ground attack fighter.
 
Don't forget about Korea.

18th~FBG~12th~FBS~P-51D~$28Prevosti$29.jpg
 
woooooa. Xmas came early.
I feel (and I trust that i'm speaking on behalf of all the Herd), that it is your duty to post every step of your build. Purely for selfish reasons you understand. Please feel free to limit your photos to 100 per posting.

That kit is so sweet! You'll make a monster out of it. Have fun with it MP!!
 
no... i would not say it would be like hauling lumber with a farrari, the Mustang was heavier than most fighters, though it could out perform most fighters. the P-51 weighed in at about 11,000 all bombs rockets loaded on full internal load, about 9,500 with full internal load. about 8,700 with a reduced load. it could take hits from 30MM cannon and still fight... as long as it did not get hit somewhere super vital. it was a durable fighter, and fast at low level with a top speed of about 367MPH at sea level, faster than most fighters at low altitudes, and had good agility. it was actually most agile and easiest to fly at lower altitudes, beacuse of its laminar flow wings liked the thicker air.

however it could take on 109s and 190s... at more than equal terms...
 
Moon Puppy said:
Gundamhead said:
That's like using your Ferrari to haul lumber. ;)

Or bunches of hardbombs on a F15? ;D

Exactly. There was a reason for the 'F' designation. Air supremacy. You lose it's intended purpose trying to be a Jack of All Trades. The F-15E is more like a "A"-15E. The same happened to the F-14 and F-18. Shortsighted politicians trying to get one plane to do it all.

The P-51 was designed as a Pursuit air supremacy fighter. Not an attack or bomber craft. There were just better planes for those roles. Just sayin' Keep mine in the fighter role. ;D
 
13aceofspades13 said:
no... i would not say it would be like hauling lumber with a farrari, the Mustang was heavier than most fighters, though it could out perform most fighters. the P-51 weighed in at about 11,000 all bombs rockets loaded on full internal load, about 9,500 with full internal load. about 8,700 with a reduced load. it could take hits from 30MM cannon and still fight... as long as it did not get hit somewhere super vital. it was a durable fighter, and fast at low level with a top speed of about 367MPH at sea level, faster than most fighters at low altitudes, and had good agility. it was actually most agile and easiest to fly at lower altitudes, beacuse of its laminar flow wings liked the thicker air.

however it could take on 109s and 190s... at more than equal terms...

It's exactly like stuffing lumber in your Ferrari. You really think 2 identical P-51s but one weighed down with all that extra ordinance is gonna be as good a fighting plane as the naked one? Weights aren't the issue, the affect of the weight on performance is.
The unloded Ferrari is gonna clean the clock of the one hauling lumber.
 
Gundamhead said:
Moon Puppy said:
Gundamhead said:
That's like using your Ferrari to haul lumber. ;)

Or bunches of hardbombs on a F15? ;D

Exactly. There was a reason for the 'F' designation. Air supremacy. You lose it's intended purpose trying to be a Jack of All Trades. The F-15E is more like a "A"-15E. The same happened to the F-14 and F-18. Shortsighted politicians trying to get one plane to do it all.


The P-51 was designed as a Pursuit air supremacy fighter. Not an attack or bomber craft. There were just better planes for those roles. Just sayin' Keep mine in the fighter role. ;D

true... true... but its also referred to as a Fighter Bomber, yet again P in P-51... stands for Pursuit, and yes there are aircraft better at the ground attack role, like the P-47 Thunderbolt with its faster dive speeds, great payload and more durable air frame and construction. however in my opinion, if it can perform the roll as is why not have it do so if needed or desired? the P-51 was naturally a very Versatile fighter capable of performing these roles.
 
Gundamhead said:
13aceofspades13 said:
no... i would not say it would be like hauling lumber with a farrari, the Mustang was heavier than most fighters, though it could out perform most fighters. the P-51 weighed in at about 11,000 all bombs rockets loaded on full internal load, about 9,500 with full internal load. about 8,700 with a reduced load. it could take hits from 30MM cannon and still fight... as long as it did not get hit somewhere super vital. it was a durable fighter, and fast at low level with a top speed of about 367MPH at sea level, faster than most fighters at low altitudes, and had good agility. it was actually most agile and easiest to fly at lower altitudes, beacuse of its laminar flow wings liked the thicker air.

however it could take on 109s and 190s... at more than equal terms...

It's exactly like stuffing lumber in your Ferrari. You really think 2 identical P-51s but one weighed down with all that extra ordinance is gonna be as good a fighting plane as the naked one? Weights aren't the issue, the affect of the weight on performance is.
The unloded Ferrari is gonna clean the clock of the one hauling lumber.

i know this, and this is why if Mustangs where escorting bombers, they would not be mounted with bombs and rockets, and if they needed to engage an enemy, they could drop and or launch there ordnances... and engage. bombs where pretty much kept on hard points like drop tanks, bombs could be dropped like drop tanks. and the mustang had a range of 1,300 miles with all the internal tanks full, and the distance from London to Berlin and back is only about 1,200 miles and when a mustang would perform a attack role its target was typically closer then that!

i guess the benefit of attacking a smaller target with fighters is the aircraft does not need escort, it can defend itself. and you don't need a group of bombers to perform something like air support, at the time it was easier to use fighters for air support rather than designing a attack aircraft. a fighters primary role in the ground attack role was typically air support, destroying tank columns (Tank Busters Squadron.) destroying truck convoys, locomotives, using a B-17 or even a B-26 for this would be over kill...

now in my opinion if he wants to put bombs and rockets on his P-51 all the power too him.
 
13aceofspades13 said:
Gundamhead said:
13aceofspades13 said:
no... i would not say it would be like hauling lumber with a farrari, the Mustang was heavier than most fighters, though it could out perform most fighters. the P-51 weighed in at about 11,000 all bombs rockets loaded on full internal load, about 9,500 with full internal load. about 8,700 with a reduced load. it could take hits from 30MM cannon and still fight... as long as it did not get hit somewhere super vital. it was a durable fighter, and fast at low level with a top speed of about 367MPH at sea level, faster than most fighters at low altitudes, and had good agility. it was actually most agile and easiest to fly at lower altitudes, beacuse of its laminar flow wings liked the thicker air.

however it could take on 109s and 190s... at more than equal terms...

It's exactly like stuffing lumber in your Ferrari. You really think 2 identical P-51s but one weighed down with all that extra ordinance is gonna be as good a fighting plane as the naked one? Weights aren't the issue, the affect of the weight on performance is.
The unloded Ferrari is gonna clean the clock of the one hauling lumber.

i know this, and this is why if Mustangs where escorting bombers, they would not be mounted with bombs and rockets, and if they needed to engage an enemy, they could drop and or launch there ordnances... and engage. bombs where pretty much kept on hard points like drop tanks, bombs could be dropped like drop tanks. and the mustang had a range of 1,300 miles with all the internal tanks full, and the distance from London to Berlin and back is only about 1,200 miles and when a mustang would perform a attack role its target was typically closer then that!

i guess the benefit of attacking a smaller target with fighters is the aircraft does not need escort, it can defend itself. and you don't need a group of bombers to perform something like air support, at the time it was easier to use fighters for air support rather than designing a attack aircraft. a fighters primary role in the ground attack role was typically air support, destroying tank columns (Tank Busters Squadron.) destroying truck convoys, locomotives, using a B-17 or even a B-26 for this would be over kill...

now in my opinion if he wants to put bombs and rockets on his P-51 all the power too him.


Ummm....no....if a P-51 was escorting bombers, ANYWHERE, it didn't have anything under the wings besides fuel tanks. You would not see a P-51 escorting bombers with rockets or bombs strapped under the wings, especially going to Berlin because it wouldn't make it back.

Range on a P-51D without tanks is only about 1000miles. Add on a pair of 75gal tanks and you increase that to about 1300miles, replace the 75gal with 150gal tanks and it increases to about 1650miles. Most of the time P-51s going to Berlin with the bombers would carry 150gal tanks, so they had enough fuel to mix it up with the Luftwaffe they would meet, and still have enough fuel to get back to base.

They don't burn as much fuel just flying along with the bombers (as they were much faster than the B-17s), but would eat up the fuel very quickly in a dog fight, so any stangs going to Berlin would carry the largest tanks and keep them on as long as they could before combat, or until they were empty and then would jettison them.

Once the allies invaded Normandy, and got a foot hold on the Europe mainland, they could start basing the escorting fighters in France, and later in Belgium and the Netherlands, they would then meet up with the bombers on their way into Germany, and escort them into the target and back.

The reason they started using the P-51 for ground attack was because by the end of '44, the Luftwaffe was a mere shadow of it's former self, and thus they couldn't throw as many aircraft at the Allies, keeping most of them back to defend against the bomber formations. This freed up alot of other aircraft to go after ground targets.

Not so sure about P-51s surviving many 30mm hits, smaller caliber MGs yes....but not 30mm. Not much could survive a couple of rounds from a 30mm strike, even in non-essential areas, it would put a hole in your wing about 3 times the size of your head. If it hit a fuel tank, you wouldn't be talking about a small leak, but the sudden loss of all the fuel in that tank, which would throw off the balance of the aircraft enough to probably put you into a spin, that is if it didn't explode instantly. Not saying a P-51 couldn't survive a hit from a 30mm, but it would have to be a really, really luck shot for a round that powerful not to hit anything vital to knock you out of the air.

Yes distance from London to Berlin was about 577miles one way, or about 1150miles, however most bases that houses the B17s and escorting fighters were more to the west side of the United Kingdom far enough away so pretty much any German air attack couldn't reach them, or at the very least not make it through the defensive aircraft from bases on the eastern part of the island.

So you can see, a P51 flying from England, even with 75gal tanks...would have enough fuel to get to Berlin and back, but just barely, and not much fuel for dogfighting, which is why they usually flew with 150gal tanks.
 
They also flew bomber escort in sections. One squadron would cover them from point a to point b, another squadron would pick them up around point b (hopefully) and go to point c...and so one. The same squadron would not cover them all the way because of the fact that if engaged in combat their range is reduced dramatically because the loss of the extra fuel, if they still had it.

If fighters are flying CAS, Combat Air Support they are not going to mix it up with another fighter. The mission would be planned with another flight to fly CAP, Combat Air Patrol to protect the CAS fighters.

But it did become standard doctrine that fighters returning from protection flights, if they had the fuel and ammo, to harass targets of opportunity in route. But only with the .50s, they would not carry rockets or bombs to cover a bomber.

But still, the New Tamiya kit still doesn't have rockets or bombs! Not sure what scheme I'm doing yet, likely ETO and without ground weapons so it's no big deal but I would like to see the option because the P51 and variants did carry them.
 

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