Wings of Intent: Mustang N13Y Anson Johnson racer 1949 - Airfix 1/72nd kit conversion + Draw Decals

(Photo from the Net, don't remember from where exactly, let me know if I am stepping on someone's (C) toes)

The completed models is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/12/anson-johnson-1949-mustang-racer-airfix.html

Yet another war bird conversion to racer, this time using the relatively new Airfix kit and some aftermarket items. Lately I dedicated most of my modeling time to this type of endeavor, giving those types a second, more colorful life.

Anson Johnson won the 1948 Bendix Trophy winner, with this very plane in other guise and with minimum changes to the original, and decided to further modify it, radically, for the 1949 event, but technical difficulties prevented it from finishing. Those deep modifications, as described in this build, involve elimination of the characteristic belly radiator and the lip air intake on the nose, the modification of the wing leading edges adding air intakes for the radiators -now located in the wings-, openings on top of the wing to let the air out, clipped prop blades, different exhaust stacks, a new carb air intake further back below the nose, and clipped wings.

This presents a bit of a challenge for the modeler, but I have done two “Beguine” Mustangs that also involved drastic modifications, so let’s see how this one pans out.

An easily available Draw Decals sheet will be used. You may have a look online at the museum example, but it has a few differences with the original plane as flown.

The Airfix kit (released 2012 according to Scalemates) has a very soft plastic which should be good to perform all the drastic cutting and patching required for this modification. It may not be as detailed as the Arma Models kit, but it’s easier to build (and I am already in for all the complication I can take because of the extensive kit surgery needed). The interior is rather simplistic, but again little detail is really seen once the model is built. Still, some aftermarket items are planned to be used to add a bit of interest and as replacements for the kit parts that are discarded as they don’t match the racer (i.e. prop and spinner, exhaust stacks). This is the second Airfix Mustang I build and I have found the same molding problems, rather unusual in a relatively new kit: flash in a few parts (belly air intake lip, prop retainer, unusable antenna converted into a blob of plastic). The Landing gear legs look a tad weak, but had no problems on my previous build. As with all these conversion-to-racer projects, all military gear and surface detail must be discarded/deleted.

The guns are removed:

Radio removed:

Base color airbrushed:

The characteristic radiator belly volume has been already removed from both fuselage sides. Eduard inst.pan. and belts are added. The radio position has been blanked:

I cut a bit too close removing the belly, so a styrene strip is glued, later to be matched with the surface:

The first wing radiator vent is carved. Here is where the softness of the plastic of the Airfix kit starts to come very handy. The wing tips need trimming back:

The carving of the intake on the leading edge begins:

The three vents are now carved (the arranged was asymmetric):

One wing tip is off. The headrest of the seat needs removal (I just realized this looking again at photos):

All the radiator system is now carved on the wing, but more parts are needed for it:

Headrest off. The wing is still a dry fit until the radiator arrangement is completed:

The air vents were actually ducts, so some material is added:

Then the part of the wing skin that "opened" a gap controlled by the pilot will be added:

Once the wing halves are glued, new wingtips will be added.

The small lip part* is added to the nose. In fact, all that area has to be redone. The idea is to pack Milliput from inside before installing the wing, to provide some thickness in the area and not risk sanding through, as the lip has to be deleted and the profile re-contoured:

* That little lip was mistakenly discarded early on, and I had forgotten in which spares bin I had put it. Half an hour of meticulous search into several drawers ensued until I found it. One more of the delights in the Life of a Modeler:

The transparencies are already prepared. Besides the windshield, there are two clear canopies to one normal plastic supporting frame, not sure why:

I have read that some modelers do not like this approach, and would rather mask a one-part affair. I encountered no issues in my previous build of this kit, so to me it's the same.

I have been advised by the Greek Tragedy Chorus, lead by non other than Mr. Christos of Atlantis, that indeed the Mustang had two different styles of blown canopies, so chose wisely (as in eeny meeny miny moe).

The wing has been assembled. As mentioned, still to be added are the home-made wingtips, and the upper lip of the vents over the wing:

Painting the LG and priming the aftermarket resin Quickboost prop:

As explained, before adding the wing, Milliput is pressed inside the lower nose to create a thicker wall, as this section needs some carving and re-contouring, given that the original plane deleted the small lip under the spinner:

Some reorganization of one of the many storage boxes to make room for the recently-completed Boeing:

The area to be dealt with is masked. The lip has to go and those "grills" have to be filled in:

Wing tips are pre-carved and finished in situ:

The wing and fuselage are glued together. The major surgery is completed, and besides the vent "flaps" on top of the wing, the different exhausts, the new home-made carb intake and the different spinner and prop, the rest should proceed normally:

The new carb air intake is in progress, carved from styrene stick:

The after-market spinner, previously painted red, is masked to paint the tip yellow. using a "negative" mask once the circle was removed from the backing paper:

A few more parts are readied (what you see here are the aftermarket metal landing gear components They are so feeble that I will be using the kit's plastic ones instead):

And now hopefully on the final leg. Flaps, rudder and horizontal tail are glued. The kit offers the option of lowered flaps, which I have used before, they are a great fit, but all the photos I have of this plane in racing guise show the flaps up. The kit's part for the flaps-up option are not a good fit, but that's easily corrected removing the tabs and with a little sanding of their leading edge:

Belly showing the work to delete the fore air intake lip under the spinner, the characteristic ventral radiator shape, the addition of the new carb air intake, the clipped wings and new wing tips. It's quite a bit of surgery, but in general I am pleased with the results:

Now a word regarding the exhausts. The museum restoration shows (surprise!) the wrong type for the race. The plane as raced actually used a variation of the fishtail ones, which was seemingly part of its failure to end the race. The kit's exhausts are the wrong ones, as were the aftermarket items that came with the kit as a freebie when bought. To adapt the Quickboost fishtail items you have to modify just a little bit the kit's opening for them, adding a fingernail-shaped bit at the front and a rectangular, angled little piece at the end. As you can see the mods necessary for this conversion are numerous, but not terribly difficult for a modeler with experience:

A coat of primer, some touch-ups, and addition of the covers for the wing vents:

Do not forget to scribe the leading edge of the elevator mass balances, something Airfix forgot to do.

Adapting now the aftermarket fishtail exhausts:

Preparing the line-up:

A coat of gloss white as a base for the yellow:

Yellow color applied:

The exhaust metal panels are painted steel (there is a slight asymmetry accounting for a little register on the left side) and the model is now ready for final assembly and decaling:

Application of the Draw Decals begins. They are very nice, but beware that some subjects on the sheet only apply to the museum restored plane, that like most restorations does not faithfully replicate the plane as originally flown (the racer originally didn't have some of the small lettering, and the style of the numbers was changed, plus the wrong exhaust was employed by the museum):