One more racer for the start line!
As modelers know, there is no lack of choice of Mustang kits out there. We can provide for them -as it happened in real life- a second, more colorful and uplifting life. I have lost count of how many Mustang racers I have converted so far, a little bunch surely, as it is undoubtedly a beautiful plane. I really enjoy these relatively easy conversions, as they are much rewarding and present to us these beautiful machines in brightly colorful guises that really enhance their lines.
The Academy kit chosen, although not being the most accurate among Mustang kits, offers some advantages: very low price, availability and the bonus of an easy and quick build. I used Draw Decals (see important notes on them in the building article) for the vivid scheme. Due to a glitch I ended up having to use the Hasegawa kit wing regs, which by the way are VASTLY inferior to the Draw Decals ones, being rigid, thick, brittle and silvering, and never really settling into panel lines and such, no matter how much setting solution. That a prestigious firm like Hasegawa has such poor decals is beyond forgiveness. A part of an Eduard P.E. set was used as well as their masks set, plus a resin prop from Quick Boost. The model has to be of course demilitarized, the LE and nav lights deleted, besides changing the prop, adding the antenna fairing under the belly. Many surface details should also be removed. The exhausts deserve a look. Although I worked to hide most of the panel lines with putty and sanding, some resurfaced during priming and painting, as the putty shrunk, I guess.
You can see online various models of this racer built to different degrees of accuracy, with some unfortunately falling in the pit holes created by misleading kit/decal instructions, without checking against references. “rabbit_vibes”, who sometimes post comments on this blog, is building a very accurate model of this plane. My approach in this case has been simpler, dealing with the most visible changes. There is some controversy regarding the black -or blue- and yellow rudder, this has been discussed in the building article (link provided below). As you may know there is a Hasegawa double boxing including this racer. It pays to study references as there are several inaccuracies to correct if you go that way. This racer appears in some photos with no rudder decoration, and the Pitot under the right wing is seen changing positions too.
For the step-by-step build you can go to this post:
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/11/mustang-thunderbird-racer-modified.html
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