SPA Modeler

BIG
BEAUTIFUL
DOLL

Oh! you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll!
Let me put my arms about you,
I could never live without you;
Oh! you beautiful doll,
You great big beautiful doll!
If you ever leave me how my heart will ache,
I want to hug you but I fear you'd break
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, you beautiful doll!







Mustang Madness continues with a cheap, quick-shipped P-51D kit. I am scheduling a five week “basically out of box build” with the 1973 Otaki kit (with a little help from my spares bin), and a new set of Lifelike decals. Gents, I will do my darn-dest not to sidestep this one. Should be fun. Look at the fuselage sprues, then decide. I hope you will follow. I will do my level best to keep you entertained.

SPRUE A



Glorious detail. Glorious.





Five weeks means I will finish around January 15th.

That's some great detail coming from a 1973 kit. Is it just the light angle or is there sink holes and dents around the cockpit area?

Floki wrote:That's some great detail coming from a 1973 kit. Is it just the light angle or is there sink holes and dents around the cockpit area?

These are similar in structure to mold release marks on the AMT Enterprise I am building from the Sixties. Potential candidates for CA fills. I ordered black CA and gel CA from the hobby store earlier today. Getting ready to tackle a few things if need be. I will tell you but eventually I will show you the panel lines are petite and perfectly inset. A marvel of craft, from pattern making to execution. Also the clear canopy is thin and clear. I polished it a little. It looks very good.

Or you can leave as is. Think as if something (birds ) hit them in flight but didn't penatrate her.
It is an old kit after all so it’s no surprise to see some unusual imperfections in the molds.

BlackSheep214 wrote:Or you can leave as is.

We shall see, Tom. My experience with “popping dents” on AMT Enterprise kits should come in handy here. Thanks for looking. I appreciate your advice. Sincerely. Happy Holidays.

Lifelike “Big Beautiful Doll” Decals Special



P-51D, C.O. 78th FG, black and white checked engine cowling, black and white halved spinner (minor variations)



P-51D, C.O. 361st FG, yellow engine cowling, yellow spinner, blue rudder and canopy frame

I am also astonished of the level of detail Bruce in this kit from 1973

Could almost be the Eduard !

I do look forward to this build and will do my outmost, if I can, to support you to reach the final on the 15th of January 2021 !

- Kari

Hmmm... which version are you thinking of doing? Yellow nose or checker nose?

KSaarni wrote:I do look forward to this build and will do my outmost, if I can, to support you to reach the final on the 15th of January 2021.

This means so much to me, Kari. Sincerely. Respect. I, too, pledge to follow along with your hard work on two very differently designed aircraft model builds! You are an inspiration to me.

BlackSheep214 wrote:Hmmm... which version are you thinking of doing? Yellow nose or checker nose?

Tom, I am debating one or the other. Since Lifelike designed the decals for Tamiya’s P-51D, I am leaning towards the yellow nose to avoid a fit issue with the checkers. Interesting how the unit painted the nose over most of the anti-glare. Quite striking. Same aircraft as checkers.

https://sofrep.com/fightersweep/the-big ... oll-story/

Some back story. Tragic loss of a replica in 2016 is mentioned as well.

Great article about the pilot, Lyle! Truly. Thank you for sharing that link.

“No, I don’t carry any kind of luck charm,” Lieutenant Colonel Landers once said. “I don’t know where my luck in finding enemy planes comes from. Some of the other group commanders claim that if they dropped me into a barrel of lard, I’d bump into a Nazi plane.”