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Jeff Josefsberg, MIDLAND, GA - IPMS #32108 |
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IPMS/ |
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1/48 Tamiya (?) Mustang B |
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Beginning
the Beguine- After
reading a story about converting a Mustang into an air racer
named Beguine, I became intrigued by the idea and figured I
would give it a try. I
have built many WW2 aircraft, but I have never built a racer;
nor have I ever modified anything so drastically. I
dug one of my old 1/48th Mustang
“B” kits out of dead storage (Tamiya, I think),
grabbed my hobby saw and a tube of putty and I was on my way,
well sort of. I
went to the net to gather as much info and as many photos and
drawings as I could of this ill-fated aircraft.
Beguine had two configurations, one in 1948 and one in
1949. I chose to build the ’49 version. The
markings on this plane were unique, in part consisting of a
bar of (sheet) music running along the fuselage (the opening
notes to Begin the Beguine). Fortunately, RED PAGASUS had
these decals in 1/48th for this project. I was also
able to get the radiator pods for the wing tips from the same
source. Decals, pods and plans in-hand, I was ready. The basic airframe assembly and interior painting was straightforward, standard basic Mustang. Once this was accomplished as much panel line detail was removed as possible. A layer of putty was spread over the rear canopy areas as Beguine had a glass smooth finish. It was now time for the surgery. The
radiator assembly was cut along the required lines leaving a
gaping hole in the bottom of the fuselage. This was rebuilt
with sheet styrene, superglue and putty, then properly
contoured. The
tail assembly presented another story. Beguine had a tail
fillet. I decided to graft the tail of a “D” model to the
fuselage instead of add the fillet. I had an old Monogram
“D” in the spares box that was perfect for the job. The
graft was a total success, requiring a minimum of smoothing
and contouring. The wings were then cut the required length to
accommodate the tip pods. There is controversy about
Beguine’s wings. Some sources state that the left wing was
clipped an additional amount, other state the right wing. This
was supposed to allow for greater maneuverability going around
pylons. As I could not find a consensus, I left the wings
equal in span. The prop required another custom assembly. Beguine did not use the cuffed prop found on the Mustang, but
a more rounded type of blade. To the spares box once again for
a Hamilton standard propeller. Following the drawings found at
WARBIRDAEROPRESS, I was able to cut and shape the blades to
the correct shape and length.
The assembly was then “modified” to fit inside the
Mustang’s spinner. The prop and spinner were painted gloss
aluminum, with flat black on the blades’ rear surfaces. Once
the construction and mods were completed, the body was primed
with Floquil gray primer (After masking off the cockpit area)
and allowed to dry for several days before a light sanding
left a smooth surface. The fuselage was painted using Tamiya
British Green from a rattle can.
The exact color was Ditzler #43848, but not having an
airbrush, I opted for the Tamiya color. This was allowed to
dry for a day or so before a second coat was applied. Wheel
wells were painted yellow zinc chromate. The
paint was lightly polished out with model wax and then a coat
of Tamiya clear was put down. Now that I had a nice glossy
finish, I applied the decals. These were wonderful, laid down
beautifully, but one had to be careful. These decals did not
want to move once applied.
After decaling (and another coat of Tamiya Gloss after
24 hrs), the prop, landing gear and canopy were attached, and
there it is, the ill-fated Beguine. This
is not a perfect conversion, but it is close enough for me,
and it is different from anything I have in my collection of
Mustangs. Not an easy task, but well worth it. Summary Kit-Tamiya (?) Mustang BScale
1/48th Highly
modified- 1.removal
of ventral radiator, addition of tip pod radiators 2.
Prop modified Hamilton Standard 3.
Finish smoothed 4.
Rear Cockpit windows covered and blended into fuselage 5.
“D” Tail grafted on to fuselage Paint
was Tamiya rattle can British Green (TS9) Decals
from RED PEGASUS PODS
from RED PEGASUS Net research source: WARBIRD AERO PRESS |
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