Mustang F51D Model Kits:

Mustang F51D Modelling Notes:

(General comments by Marc Cilliers, additional Brian Stockland, IPMS Cape Town, A. Dyason).

Although there are many models of the Mustang available in every popular scale, it seems best to concentrate on the most accurate models available. In 1/24th scale the lovely Airfix kit is a must, and few additions are needed. Be careful to maintain the dihedral angle of the wings: a plasticard spar is a good idea. Markings are a problem; painting with stencils is the only way out.  In 1/32 scale the Hasegawa kit is ideal.  Again few additions are needed. Markings could possibly come from the 1/32 Hasegawa F-86 which had SAAF markings at one stage. In 1/48 scale the new Hasegawa kit is a must. The kit is beautiful in outline and has superb detail. The wheel wells are a bit too shallow (difficult to correct but not the end of the world) and the inside of the nose intake needs extending to avoid the hollow look. Markings can be found on Ken Smy's SAAF roundel sheet. Use the 54 inch roundels, and the huge fin flash will just do. The serial numbers can be found on Modeldecal sheet No.36, an exceptionally useful sheet. Paint the squadron marking! The Monogram or Fujimi kits are both perfectly acceptable. But currently the best 48 kit to use is the Tamiya F51D, which have the correct armament and propeller blades. Kits at War makes a beautiful decal sheet in 48, but is nowadays difficult to obtain.

In 1/72 scale the best kit to use is again the Hasegawa one. The outline is good, but note that NO production P51D had fabric weave (sack cloth type) on the control surfaces. Sand it all very smooth. The cockpit and seat could do with some attention, but the kit looks good. Again Ken Smy `s excellent decals finish it off. You will need to add the rocket launching rails. The next best kit to use is the Academy Minicraft one. Kits at War makes a beautiful decal sheet in 72, which is still generally available.

Colour Schemes.

By N. Scheltema. Additional A. Dyason.

The Mustangs were natural metal overall, the panels showing a definite variety of natural metal, shades according to the thickness of metal used. Propeller blades were black with yellow tips and stencilling, and spinner colour varied, different colours probably being used for different flights. Red, blue and yellow spinners are recorded. The Commanding Officer flew an aircraft (335) with the spinner in four different coloured bands. Often the panel around the carburettor chin intake was the same colour as the propeller. Springbok roundels were carried in six positions, 36 inches in diameter, the outside circle in blue, the orange springbok on a white background. The fin flash, 18 inches by  18 inches, was divided into three vertical bars of blue, white and orange. The serial number on the rear fuselage and the undercarriage doors was black and 8 inches high.

The antiglare panel in front of the windscreen appears to be black and sometimes the windscreen framing was painted black as well. Inside structures would have been the usual zinc chromate primer. Many of the Mustangs had names applied, on the nose just below the exhausts, usually painted black. This was by no means universal and seems to have been more common during the later years of the war. The bombs were usually olive drab, and had a varying number of yellow rings around the nose and sometimes the tail. The 5 inch rockets usually had black heads and silver-grey bodies, with a bright sliver tip. Drop tanks were natural metal, but it must be noted that these were often improvised napalm bombs, and bright yellow and olive-drab tanks have been noted. The 2 Squadron badge was often but not always applied to the fuselage just below the windscreen. The black outline appears to have been applied with a stencil, the wings were filled in insignia blue and the cheetah was yellow. Their badge was sometimes applied to the front of the white flying helmet.

Armament:

All the above mentioned kits contain possible armament options for a SAAF Mustang, but it's worth mentioning the more popular options used.   The bomb racks were always fitted, together with three sets of zero length rocket launching rails per wing. Both 1000 pound and 500 pound bombs were used, the 1000 pound much more commonly. There is mention of a single 500 pound bomb being carried, but no photograph showing this has come to light. Two 75 gallon drop tanks could be carried in place of the bombs, but these were invariably makeshift napalm bombs.  The usual load was two 1OOO pound bombs or the makeshift napalm bombs, and six 5 inch rockets. Most kits include 75 gallon drop tanks, but have 2.75 inch rockets with rails. A good source of l/48 scale 5 inch rockets is the Monogram F9F Panther. Note that the 5 inch rockets do not have rails, being carried instead on the so-called zero length fore and aft rocket pylons. The rather heavy load carried by the Mustangs reduced their range considerably, but with a system of patrols from forward airstrips, the Mustangs were very efficient.

Undercarriage Doors:

Note that the main undercarriage doors were opened only while the undercarriage was lowered, and then closed again. After the engine was shut down, hydraulic pressure slowly dropped and the doors gradually opened. They can often be seen dangling at strange angles. The inside of the undercarriage doors was natural metal. As far as models go, glue those undercarriage doors at any angle you like when the engine is not running.

Serial Numbers:

The serial numbers of the Mustangs ran consecutively from 301 to 395. No. 325 was lost on a delivery flight from Japan, and hence was never placed on SAAF strength. When the ground crews volunteered to rebuild a complete airframe from three partial wrecks, the serial number 325 was used again. Today the sole flying example of a Mustang in service with the SAAF, is painted as 325 with the SAAF Museum. Not many of the Mustangs carried names on the nose: recorded names include 318 SHY TALK, 326 PAPASAN (also the longest serving Mustang with the Sqdn in Korea - later transferred to the Republic of Korea Air Force), 369 MY BOY ALAN CUCKOO II, 377 MAUREENS JOY, 385 BONNIE PAM, 388 AMANDIE, 395 SHERDANA. Two others were named ROSALIE and BUGS. See also Dave Cooke's excellent Schematic Drawings for artwork on all the known names and colour scheme configurations.

Propellers:

Photographs show that many SAAF Mustangs had propellers without the blade cuffs near the spinner. These do not appear to be the same shape as the Aeroprop airscrew fitted to the P51lK, but appears instead to be a variant of the Hamilton Standard airscrew as fitted to the P-51D, judging by the blade shape. As far as models go, this means that the cuffed blade often has to have its cuffs removed by careful scraping, rather than using the alternative K blades (as supplied in the Hasegawa kit). I must admit that this difference is subtle. The use of non-metric measurements throughout is intentional, as most research articles are in Imperial measurements and to convert to metric standards leads to confusion.