Not being a big fan of 1/32 models, I didn't payed much attention last year to the fact that Dragon was about to release a new tool P-51D in that scale. However, the new kit became the most critized model on the web in the past months and curiosity started to seize me to a point that I really wanted to take a closer look inside the box. Fortunately, I received a review sample and now I''m able to make myself my own opinion on the subject.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

The box art rocks !!

Hi Doug!

Yes, the artwork is really nice.

I test fitted the main parts of the kit today...



I don't think a lot of filler will be needed, except maybe on the underside (see red arrow below)



I had to sand the windscreen a little to get it properly in place. I especially sanded in the places marked with the arrows. You don't have to sand a lot, so regular test fitting is necessary.



Below is a picture from the inside of the beast. I hope the cockpit and the engine won't take too much place.



I will start to build the engine and the cockpit and paint the detail parts. I will use the instructions of the 1/48 Tamiya kit for the colors as I only work with acrylic paints from this manufacturer.

By the way, is interior green for the cockpit and the wheel bays the correct color for the plane of the boxart? That's what is written in the instructions I have...

Jean-Luc

Jean -Luc i picked this up in another forum hope this helps
P-51D wheelwells were aluminum in color (bare metal, IIRC) except for the rear spar, which was painted with yellow zinc chromate.

Hi Doug!

Thanks for the info. I've checked in the web and found two picture... on Aeroscale! :-)





I also saw pictures with Interior Green wheel bays and Bare Metal gear doors. I suppose one could even find Bare Metal wheel bays and Interior Green gear doors.

I don't know the exact colors and saw many variations on various scale models of "Petie 2nd". Below are two pictures of the real plane I found on the web:





Difficult to see something... I think I'll go for Interior Green wheel bays and Bare Metal gear doors.

Jean-Luc

Hi all!

I started the kit as per instructions with the engine...



below is a picture with all sub-assemblies before painting. The red arrows shows the areas were I used some filler to get a cleaner finish...



Finally I painted the sub-assemblies in their respective colors: Interior green, Black and silver...



I still have to drybrush, wash and weather all these parts before gluing them together. So far there was no real problem. The only thing I added are the holes in the silver structure (see red arrow) for more realism...

Next update tomorrow!

Jean-Luc

can´t wait for this one any more, has the postman delivered anything Phantom 2(Stefan).
This one is a must have, yes I have the olg Hasegawa and have read all about this kit on the net.Just seeing your build makes me want to see more. Hurry Jean-Luc, get out of the bed and keep building.
I´ll going for an Mustang in the Swedish airforce.

Lars

Hi Jean Luc!

I agree with Lasse, this kit is a real "must have" for me too!

I know this kit has been trashed and mauled to pieces in diverse forums, but I want to make my own opinion when I can see, touch and build the kit by myself!

It doesn´t look too bad on your pics, and I will follow this build very close!
...so Please, get up and build!

Sorry, Lasse no kits so far!

Cheers!

Stefan E

Looks like a classic Dragon kit for sure.

The build writeup is great too, very informational.

Nice job Jean-Luc.

Hi Lars, Stefan and Scott!

Thanks for your comments!

I finished the engine assembly today. I weathered this aera of the aircraft with pastels and washes (future mixed with Tamiya acrylic paints). I also printed some placards to add more realism.



I painted the exhausts with pastels and finished them with powder to give a burnt iron look...



I didn't hollowed the exhausts, they are molded like that in the kit. You can see the placards on this picture. I know the engine would look better with additional wires but since this is a review build I will leave it like that...



Next episode is the cockpit!

Jean-Luc

Goody.......I've got my popcorn right here......awesome work Jean-Luc!

Hi Jean-Luc

Incredible work - and incredibly quick too! I was half-tempted to start the second sample that Dragon sent us, but you'll be finished before I finish examining the sprues! :-)

All the best

Rowan

Lovley, keep it going Jean -Luc.These placards was a nice touch. Did you do them self, please tell me more. I want to have
Lars

Hi all!

Lars, I simply designed the placards with a computer drawing program and printed them on glossy paper with the highest possible quality settings. I think in this big scale you could even print your own instrument dials with a good printer. I used the smallest placards on my sheet and the text is illegible.

I test fitted the engine assembly in the fuselage halves and noticed quite a big gap were the firewall should meet the fuselage...



That's a little annoying if you want to display the model with the cowlings removed. But if you put them on the engine, it won't be noticable anymore... like most of the details unfortunately!



You can note the fit is good as the engine assembly is probably a little undersized in the kit. I don't think the engineers would have left that much space on the real thing.

Conclusion for the engine assembly:
Out of the box it's a nice representation of the Rolls Royce Merlin. If you choose to display it without the cowlings, I would suggest you to add some more details (wires) and scratchbuild a more convincing firewall. However, if build as per instructions with the "half-transparent" cowlings, it will do the part. I must say I don't like the latter solution (but its' a personnal opinion) and I will probably glue the cowlings in place and overpaint them.

Jean-Luc

Nice work love it.

What's the plan for the skin? BMF, Buffable rattle can paint, straight acrylics, kitchen foil?

I am working on 're-chroming' parts and can toss out a few early opinions - if you want?

Wow Jean-Luc you work fast!!
Looks like that could build into a really nice kit in the right hands. Not mine sadly

Just slightly off topic, I guess I'm going to have to repaint the u/c bay in my ICM mustang III as I did it by the paint chart and it's all that chromate colour

Poo, I did a wash and everything on it and was really happy until I saw those pics.

Ha ha

H

yaayaa, you MAC-man :-)
The placards is a gem, I love them. Keep up the good work mate.I´ll have the P-38 all over the workbench, so there isn´t much space left for the moment.I wish I could squize in an eraly bird on the bench too but there is no space.
Seen your build here makes me want the P-51 more and more.

Lars

Hi all!

Here I am with my daily Mustang update...

I started to work on the cockpit. Below are some pictures of the instrument panel (sandwich assembly), the gunsight (wonderful little "kit in the kit"), the seat (nice) and the rudder pedals (with small pin marks, doh!)...



Below is a picture with all the parts for the interior. I decided to paint alll the tiny pieces separately because they are mainly black over the green cockpit sidewalls. The cockpit floor is made of four pieces...



I also completed the big radiator. If you want to use the PE parts (looks better!) just cut the corners of the two grills (see red arrow) and fold them around the plastic part...



Tomorrow I will start to paint the cockpit area...

Jean-Luc

Looking fabulous Jean Luc
Could you explain a bit more about how you apply the pastel chalks?
You building so fast it reminds me of your speed build on the P40 last year!
Nige

Jean - Luc

This is looking good. Here is a figure to go with it, which is just about to be released by Eagle Editions.



It is Major John Preddy and is sculpted by John Rosengrant. Would look nice in the cockpit.

Ross

Whats the hardest?
Building a real nice P-51, or paint the figure?

The figure is real nice, and would like to se it in Mustang yeah
Lars Q

Jean-Luc,
You are doing a really nice job. I have to admit, I would love to sit in a room with you and watch you build - I guess this is a nice substitute . Thanks for sharing your skills...
Leon

Hi all!

Thanks again for your kind comments!

Wow Ross! That figure looks indeed terrific! Is it 1/32 scale? The mustang below looks pretty good too! Do you have more pictures?

I didn't managed to do much today (holidays are over and I have to go to work again... doh!). I only painted the various cockpit parts in their basic colors: Interior Green, Black, Wood and Silver. I also decaled the instrument panel wich was painted Gloss Black...



I also painted the interior of the fuselage and the wheel bay...






Scott, I too thought about the kitchen foil. Since the surface detail is a little heavy, it could well be an option for those who know how to work with that technique. However, since this is a review build, I will use simple painting techniques and simple Tamiya acrylic paints (XF-16 Flat Aluminium, X-11 Chrome Silver, X-31 Titanium Gold, X-32 Titanium Silver etc...) and maybe Humbrol Metal Cote for a little variation in the shades of the panels. I won't use Alcad or Metalizer.




Nigel, it's the first time I use pastel chalks with other colors than the brown and black I use for weathering. I'm still experimenting but as soon as I get something interesting I'll write a feature about it.

I hope I can work on the cockpit tomorrow...

Jean-Luc

HOT DAMN!!! And other expressions too.... Looking great Jean-Luc!

Jean - Luc

It is indeed 1/32. John originally sculpted it 1/24 for the Trumpeter P - 51, which was a one off, and then was asked to re - sculpt it in 1/32 for the Dragon kit.

Ross