Accurate Miniatures

1/48 P-51C Mustang Bendix Transcontinental Racer

Kit Number: 0013

Reviewed by  Perry Downen, IPMS# 44000

MSRP: $39.99 Website: www.accurate-miniatures.com The Bendix Transcontinental Race was sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation. It began in 1931 with the last race being flown in 1962. Some notable participants over the years included James H. (Jimmy) Doolittle - Laird Super Solution, Roscoe Tuner - Wedell-Williams Model 44, Jacqueline Cochran - Seversky P-35 and P-51C, and Paul Mantz – North American P-51C. The subject of this review is the Paul Mantz's P-51C. Beginning The Bendix racer is very similar to several other kits in Accurate Miniatures' P-51 series. In fact, it is essentially the same kit as the P-51B Tuskegee Airman kit. The only difference I can tell is in the color scheme and the decals. Mantz modified his P-51 by stripping out all military issue equipment and modifying the wings with "wet" fuel cells. However, no modifications have been made to the kit. It's left to the modeler to research and make the necessary changes. The first look reveals a very nice kit. It comes in a cellophane wrapped box, 12"X 7"X 3". Inside the box are four cellophane bags containing light gray sprues, a dark gray sprue, and a clear sprue. There are approximately 85 parts in total, but not all are used. The moldings have finely recessed panel lines. The propeller blades have some small sink marks near the hub. The decals are from Cartograph. The decal sheet contains decals for two different aircraft, Paul Mantz's #46 and Jackie Cochran's # 13. Finally, there are the building instructions and a set of painting instructions for the two planes. The instructions are in a 6-page pamphlet and are presented in the narrative style with exploded view drawings accompanying the text. Painting instructions are included at each step for every part except the fuselage exterior. In the instruction pamphlet only generic color names are used. The exterior painting and decaling instructions are found on a separate 4-page pamphlet. There is a list of ten paint manufacturers, the FS number, a color patch and generic names for the fuselage colors. The instructions are clearly written, well illustrated and follow a logical assembly sequence. The Build The instructions begin with a short dialogue about the differences in the various P-51 models. One of the differences is the addition of a fillet at the base of the vertical stabilizer. Since both Mantz's and Cochran's planes had the fillet this section is of no use in this build. It's something left over from previously issued kits. Accurate Miniatures designed and provided parts to build a plane with or without the stabilizer fillet. Therefore, the fuselage consists of four pieces - left and right forward fuselage parts and left and right aft fuselage parts. The best way for me to ensure a trouble free alignment and minimum gap filling was to glue the left and right aft fuselage parts to the left and right forward fuselage parts and tape them to a flat surface to dry. This approach differs somewhat from the instructions, as explained later. With the fuselage parts pieced together for each side, the cockpit is now constructed. The side consoles are added to the fuselage sides. These parts contain some nice details. Various cockpit parts and the instrument panel are added to the cockpit floor. I built the interior per the instructions, not knowing how Mantz modified the interior. I did omit placing the gun sight. Carefully applying the instrument panel decal results in a very nice look. The instructions call for the right vertical stabilizer part (54) to be joined to the right fuselage part (2). Don't be confused here. Step 2a.2 text refers to the left side, but the drawing shows the work done on the right side. Once the right side of the fuselage is done, the completed cockpit floor is glued in place. Now the left fuselage part (1) is glued to the completed right side. With the fuselage halves joined, the left vertical stabilizer part (53) in placed. This sequence seems a little awkward and could result in some misalignment and unwanted gaps. I believe by building the complete right and left fuselage halves as described earlier, I achieved a much better overall fit. Very little filler was needed along the fuselage join line. I was also able to add the tail wheel and radiator door between the fuselage halves with no problem. The seat is added after the fuselage is joined. Speaking of the seat, there are no seatbelts in the kit - either decals, molded-in or PE. I added some home made belts. The wings and horizontal stabilizers are now added to the fuselage. I deviated from the instructions a little at this step too. I believe better results are achieved if the bottom half of the wing is added to the fuselage and then fit the upper wing halves to the fuselage/bottom wing. The join line between the upper wings and fuselage is very good. However, the bottom wing was warped. A little gentle persuasion and glue remedied that problem. Once the wings are complete the landing gear and wheels are added. There are two sets of tires, weighted and unweighted. The main LG joint appears to be a weak point due to the strut-wing interface design and small strut diameter. The strut fits into a socket in the wing, but does not fit very deeply. Regardless, the wheel and strut detail is very nice, but there was a problem. On one strut, the pins to hold the landing gear door are missing. I'm not sure if it's a mold problem or faulty injection. The wheel door actuators (42) and cables (35) are very delicate, so handle them with care. The final construction steps call for placing the exhaust stacks, guns, gun sight, propeller, cockpit canopy, antenna, etc. Since this is a racer, the gun ports and shell ejector shoots must be closed and the gun sight and antenna omitted. None of this is mentioned in the instructions. The kit comes with two style canopies - the framed design and the Malclom hood. Both Mantz's and Cochran's Mustang used the framed design. At this point in the instructions there is one last small error. The landing light lens is called out as part # 56. On the clear sprue it is actually part #65. There are two lenses, #65 and #66. I suspect that #66 is for the starboard side. On this kit, the light is on the port side. Finishing The painting and decaling instructions are easy to follow. A top, bottom, and left side views are provided. The entire plane is painted either red (Mantz's) or green (Cochran's). Internet research indicated that the finish was waxed and polished. To this end I tried to make the finish as polished as possible without going the route of a show car. The Cartograph decals are excellent and laid down with no problem. With the rich red color I used, I was pleasantly surprised to see that none of the red showed through the white decals. That may explain why I also thought the decals were a wee bit thick for Cartograph decals. This did not present a problem, however, as they settled down nicely with a little Solvaset. Assessment Even with the small errors this is an easy kit to build. The parts had very little or no flash and the parts fit is very good despite the warped lower wing. The wing warp looked bad, but came together with no problem. Other than the few propeller sink marks, the surfaces of the parts are blemish free. The decals are top notch. I would like to see a stronger landing gear attachment point. The Bendix racers certainly were an interesting bunch and have a place in history. This kit adds another great plane to the list of air racers. Either the red (Mantz) or green (Cochran) paint scheme will brighten up a display shelf and generate looks and comments. This will be a handsome addition to my stable of Mustangs. Because of its historical significance and ease of build, I can easily recommend this kit to modelers of any skill level. Thanks again to Accurate Miniatures for making this kit available for review.