This all started innocently enough with the P-51 kit from the 1/72 Accurate Miniatures Air Combat Legends P-40/P-51 Bonus Pack kit.
Isn't that box art something? Really hits you where you live, don't it?
The P-51 kit is pretty basic, but one can make a very respectable model out of it. One with patience, talent & skill that is. Mine, well it has wings and a propeller. Speaking of wings, this P-51 kit is an oddball because it has elements of both a P-51 Mustang and an A-36 Apache in it. Most is pure Mustang, but the wing armament is four large holes which to me mean 20 m.m. cannons, typically found on the A-36. If one was masochistic enough to scratch dive brakes in 1/72, they could end up with a believable Apache out of it.
Right off the bat, I knew this one wasn't going to be OOB by a long shot. First off, I had to get rid of that ugly, drag-inducing belly scoop.
Yikes! Just look at that gaping hole! Fortunately, some card stock came to the rescue.
Next, time to amputate the now useless Packard Merlin. What good would it be with defective crankshaft timing rocker joints anyway? Mr Razor-saw, front and center!
Now, what to replace it with? An Amiot cowl & prop looked nice and a spare engine shaved down a little was a decent fit.
Wow that prop really looks winky! No help found in the bag of loose props, so I need to dress this one up a little. I found some styrene nubs that looked a little like counter-weights if you've had a few too many martinis and I added a new prop tip made from sprue.
Looks passable with a little paint.
Speaking of paint, here's the P-51R Stopgap all painted up, before decals. It was brush-painted by hand with acrylics, Model Masters OD and Dark Ghost Gray mostly. Poly-Scale Soviet Green was substituted for zinc chromate on the inside of the cowl.
Decals were leftovers from the decal dungeon. Those neat 1943 red-surround stars-and-bars come from a diminishing sheet by Eagle Strike.
Oh hey, did I mention that this kit comes with all the bells and whistles? No, not really, but there was a stand.
And here's a few shots of the P-51R Stopgap on that stand. You can practically feel the propwash, can't you?
I had a lot of fun on this project which took me three days to build. Don't get me wrong, while this kit is pretty simple, it builds up nice and no putty was needed. I did use a little white glue around the canopy, but that's it.
I hope you enjoyed the P-51R and reading a little more forgotten history.
Brian da Basher
