Hey guys, I just competed the first of two P-51Cs for a project that I’m working on for my wife, who is a high school history teacher. This is Lt. Lee Archer’s “Ina the Macon Belle,” created from an Academy 1/72 scale P-51B kit. The B and C models were, as I’m sure you know, the same model, but manufactured in different locations, with the B being built in Inglewood CA and the C built in Dallas, TX. My ultimate goal is to build another to represent Wendell Pruitt’s plane, then build a diorama compete with pilots and mechanics for my wife to take to class. She shows the Tuskegee Airman every year and many of her students are African American from lower demographics and do not have many real heroes…
This is also my first attempt at using an airbrush. By the way, a special thanks must go out to BvalloI, who helped tremendously in giving advise and suggestions while I worked on this build. The airbrush took some getting use to, but I think I really like it. This being on the third model I’ve built in near thirty years I was pleased with the way it turned out, though it’s a bit darker than I want. Again, learning curve. Also, I don’t know that I’ll ever do another 1/72 kit again after I finish with Pruitt’s bird. They’re just to dang small and my eyes are to dang old and my hands to shaky… That and I had real problems with the smaller thin pieces such as the control stick… I actually had to make a new one after the original disintegrated. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I hope you enjoy the look… Raymond
Holy hell that’s tiny!! =D You weren’t kidding. You’re a better man than me…I doubt I’ve could’ve stuck with something that small and not thrown it at a wall lol. Come to the dark side and join us at the 1:48 world…lol. I would definitely introduce you to some Alclad paint for a natural metal finish the next time you’re ready to try one. You won’t be able to stop staring at it…hehehe. It goes down beautifully.
Thanks guys. Yeah, bvallot, I came close two or three times to saying to heck with it. I had to just walk away from it several times, my eyes just couldn’t take the strain after a while. I did learn a lot from the build and I’ll pick up one more in order to start the diorama for my wife. Thanks again for all your help… Raymond
Thanks again guys! John, I did like the kit on the whole. I did have a few issues here and there; I had to remake the control stick because the first one came from a piece to apart when I tried taking it off the tree and there was a pretty big gap between the bottom portion of the cowling and the fuselage, but a bit of putty fixed that pretty quick. Really, my only “real” problem with the whole build was just it’s size. 1/72 is just a bit small for me personally to work with. I’ll do one more of these kits for the diorama for my wife, but it’ll be 1/48 or larger from there on out for me.
It’s great to be able to build something with a purpose. I hope they all go that way for you. I always pick my aircraft by the pilot. I hope to keep their story going. =]
Bvallot, yeah, that’s my plan as well. I’ve been scouring the web and books looking for planes I want to build, all based on a certain pilot. I’m planning on doing George H.W. Bushes Avenger pretty soon, and place it on the deck of the Saratoga… So, yeah… we’re eyeball to eyeball on that one!!! Raymond
