just picked up the 1/72 academy p-51, i wanted just a little thing to put on my desk at work. does anybody have any words of warning reguarding this kit?
Depends on which kit. I’m building the P-51A right now and it is taking a lot of work. I also have the P-51B and P-51D kits and they are much better shape-wise and detail-wise. The A has the wrong shape on the wing leading edge fillets and the inner gear doors are shaped wrong. The D is different from the earlier P-51’s there and Academy missed that on the A. The B and D are totally different kits and have the correct wing and gear door shapes. Fit is pretty good on the A except for the wing, which fits too far back on the fuselage so the flaps sit too far aft of the fillets on the fuselage. I trimmed off the front of the wing where it fits the fuselage and reworked the wing fillets on the wing and fuselage at the front. I have only test fit the other kits but they look pretty good. The other thing about the A kit that is a pain is that there is no framing on the canopy except for the rear quarter windows. It took awhile to get it masked off, and I’m wondering how it’s going to look after I paint it.
its the D kit, and from the sound of it im kinda glad I chose the d
John, are you sure your describing the Academy A kit ? Your description of the kits woes sounds like the Italeri kit. The Academy A is a little jewel of a kit & the canopy/windscreen have well engraved frames. The Academy B kit is also very nice & a joy to build. The Academy D kit builds OK, but the nose/spinner are noticeably the wrong shape (too pointed). For an A or B the Academy kits are top dog. For an accurate D, go with Tamiya or Hasegawa, IMHO.
Regards, Rick
Uh, can I plead “Senior Moment”? I started the A kit a year ago, and don’t know where I came into thinking it was an Academy kit. It is the Italeri kit and I highly don’t recommend it. No wonder the Academy B and D are so different…
Don’t feel bad John, I have my share of Senior Moments every day [:D].
One other word of caution on almost all Academy kits… “Beware the Decals”. Use AM if at all possible.
Regards, Rick