Hello all,
I have a question that maybe somebody else might be able to answer. So far, all my references have been inconclusive.
On Tamiya’s 1/48 P-51D, on the bottom of the belly there is a small (about 2mm) raised round nubbin. Is this supposed to represent a navigation light? I just want to know, as I’d like to replace it with a lens if that is the purpose, but if not, then I will leave it alone.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Shaun
I am working the same kit and have searched a bit on the P-51D online. Best I can tell the nubbin you mention I can’t find in any pictures. The navigation lights I DO know of are the wingtip and then the three formation lights under the starboard wing. I would be interested in knowing the conclusive answer on this one though.
Brian
Yeah, I’m running into the same problem. On some photos of the P-51, I see what looks like a circular recess that could theoretically hold a nav light, but as the angle is wrong on all of them, I can’t tell for certain. Any other photos with the correct angle are either of older vintage, or they are simply taken from too far away to be clear…
Sigh…I’m getting ready to finish the filling stage, and am getting ready to prime, and as I assumed that it was a nav light, I drilled it out for an MV lens. Now I just want to know what it is as I need to know if I have to fill it in or what.
Um, I just got out my kit because I didn’t remember anything like you are talking about. I don’t see the nubbin you are talking about on the bottom of the wing or the fuse. Got a pic?
Ah. I think I see it now. Don’t know what it is.
ANd of course the directions do not help. They don’t even mention what colors to paint the wingtip nav lights and the three Starboard formation lights, which is no big deal as I found references for those. But the simple fact is the instructions you figure would at least mention the proper color like many other kits of this quality class do.
Brian
I just went through 33 pages of google images, a few other pages, my own ref pics, and nver found out what that is on the bottom of the fuse. Knowing what’s inside I don’t think it’s a light though. Probably some sort of access for a radiator drain or line drain of some sort. All mine are painted fuse color. I know a guy in the warbird buisness I could ask but it may be a few days. I don’t talk to him very often.
I think the only thing that nubbin might represent is a formation light for night formation flying, but I have never seen it in any photo of any version of the Mustang, or in any of my references. On my Tamiya P-51D it is going to be filed off and forgotten. If you choose to leave it there, it would most likely be best painted white, as the lense cover on a lower formation light on other aircraft types I have seen was generally painted on the inside surface.
Thanks for the help folks…I might just fill it and leave it be. I can’t find any conclusive evidence that it’s a nav light or something of that sort, so it’ll stick out like a sore thumb if I’m wrong and make it one. Pity…I figured that would have been a strobe or something, and would have looked good with a lens in it.
According to my refs; the starboard underwing formation lights are: Red, Green & Yellow in that order. Comes from pics of Tom Cheever’s ‘P-51D, 101’ as seen on “Site Map” builds.
Hope this helps![tup]
Hmm, interesting. The picture I found has them as Yellow, white and red:
This comes from this site: http://www.grubby-fingers-aircraft-illustration.com/mustang_walkaround.html
Brian
Thanks for the input guys. I got a few responses on this over on ARC, and the consensus is that the nubbin IS meant to represent some sort of light. The problem is, Tamiya modeled their P-51D after a restored bird, and the bump represents a modern nav light, not something that would appear on an actual period aircraft; this explains why I was having trouble finding something from period photos that confirmed it, and why it appears in some modern photos of restored birds.
For those that thought I was talking about the ID lights, I know that those were present on the P-51D during wartime, though every reference I have shows them as amber, green and red. I’ve never seen that photo NH, so maybe I’ll poke around and see if I can find some more backing for that. Most likely they’ll get painted in the traditional amber, blue-green and red colors.
Thanks for all the help.
Shaun
To be fair the picture above is from a restored P-51 also, so this may not be as accurate as your references are.
Brian
My modeling area is interest is WW II fighters from all involved. I have many ref books and I’ve noticed that 95% of all the profiles of a/c are from the ‘port’ side![BG]
Maybe because all the ‘nose art’ & 'kills" were on the ‘Port’ side?[swg]
Jane’s WW II A/C thru dedicated a/c types.[2c]
Looking for ‘Port’ side underwing pics of a P-51D I found (“Aces of the Mighty Eight” pg 200) and it shows the formation lights.[2c]
Sorry, not color designations other than those sited![:)]