1/48 Tamiya P-51B by Greg Wise

I know what your going to say if you know me 'man this guy is ate up with mustangs' well maybe thats true.

The North American P-51B Mustang was the first production built Mustang featuring the Packard built Rolls Royce Merlin powerplant it was slightly faster than the later D model but there were give and takes with each version that the Mustang came in.

P-51B-7-NA (NA,104) 43-6833 Beantown Banshee of Capt Felix M Rogers, 353rd FS/354th FG, Ninth AAF

This bird was one of two similarly-named P-51s commonly assigned to Capt Rogers, himself a seven-victory ace with the 353rd, and today the highest -ranking surviving Mustang ace. This aircraft is a rare P-51B-7-NA, with a extra 75 gallon fuel tank in fuselage and was one of the first 769 delivered in olive drab and grey. Modifications were made in the field that included the installation of a Malcom hood and Sutton harness along with the factory paint being striped off and a striking combination of squadron colors and ETO D-Day strips. Other pilots also flew this particular aircraft, such as Capt Ken Dahlberg (SHELLELAGH) who scored some of his kills in it.

It's a Tamiya minor modifications were made to the cockpit and canopy pretty much straight out of the box build the fit was good but Tamiya would be well advised to include a opened Malcom hood as to expose a well detail OOB cockpit I think its just as good a after market one( at least the ones I seen)

Testors Model Masters enamels were used for all the colors and a combo of Snj and Testors metalizers for the NMF, Future was used on the canopy and the Decals are Super Scale 48-590 they went on great and settled down with a little micro-sol a slight wash of umber colored oils to pick out the lines was used.

I would like to thank Chuck and the gang at Stallion 51 for the subjects they would to see in 1/48 here's another for their display case, and references from ' Mustang Aces of the Ninth & Fifteenth Air Forces & the RAF ' by Jerry Scutts Osprey Aviation.

See information below on "Stallion 51" and how you can fly a real P-51!!!

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Lee Lauderback at the controls of "Crazy Horse"...... a TF-51 from "Stallion 51". When Lee lets you have the controls, you are over an old bombing range.

"Stallion 51"

.............ORIENTATION FLIGHTS....................

This is a "Once in a Lifetime" chance to fly a Mustang! Weather you come to us with no flight experience or thousands of hours. we promise you a rare and exhilarating experience. During the pre-flight briefing, you and your instructor will customize your flight to maximize each minute of the experience. You'll be invited to do the majority of the flying yourself, from basic maneuvering to high performance aerobatics.

"Crazy Horse" is a dual cockpit/dual control Mustang built in 1944 as a P-51D and later converted to North American/Cavalier standards as a TF-51. It wears the authentic colors of the 48th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, 8th air force at Asche, Belgium, 1945. "crazy Horse" is one of only twelve dual control Mustangs existing in the world. and its Rolls Royce design Merlin engine delivers the heart stopping performance expected in a Mustang. The clean lines allow the Mustang exceptional horizontal and vertical capabilities - it's truly a fighter pilots dream! This fantastic aircraft is operated by Stallion51 Corporation of Kissimmee FL.

Greg Wise in the front seat and Lee Lauderback in the rear seat of "Crazy Horse"...... a TF-51 from "Stallion 51".