butlern

My Feedback: (15)

Has anybody purchased, started building or currently flying one of these kits?

Curious to learn more about this model. Just a larger version of the Comp-ARF P-51, or a wholly different and more troublesome beast?

Easy enough to call Goetz about it... but thought I might probe for owner/operator/builder information first.

bre901

My Feedback: (5)

Although I haven't yet purchased this kit. I did correspond with Dr. Gotz Vogelsang of Vogelsang Aeroscale, who didn't necessarily convince me that this will be an easy build. That being said, I was very curious if you had made the purchase and built this particular kit? Try as I may, I cannot find anyone who has. If you haven't yet built this, has your due diligence informed you as to how difficult this build will be?

Any information you've discovered and would care to share would be most appreciated.

Barry

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

I just recieved one of these kits. The quality & workmanship is incredible. It's like nothing I've ever seen in a model before. I have spent a few weeks just looking at the plane and admiring all the details.

This will not be an easy build though. Think of it as an egg shell. The exterior detail is beyond belief, but the interior is entirely up to the builder. There are no formers, hinges, structure for servos, control horns, etc... There isn't even a CG, a couple of pictures or instruction manual.

Im extremely exited about the possibilities of this kit though. Think of it as a blank canvas & the possibilities are endless. I can post a few pictures of the build progress if there is any interest.

mark IX

My Feedback: (9)

I'm interested.....What size is the model? Website?

Thanx, Mark

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

It's between 1/4 & 1/3. 120 inch wing I think. Look up Vogelsang Aeroscale. Great website for everything from Germany!

bre901

My Feedback: (5)

Absolutely interested in your build...so yes, please post photos as you progress. Have you decided upon an engine?

Barry

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

I will be using a Kolm inline. I am still deciding on the 3 or 4 cylinder version. I still have a lot of work before I need to buy that. I am spending quite a bit of time dry fitting pieces together before I cut or glue anything as there are no instructions.
Here's a picture of the tail retract dry assembled on the bench. It is in the retracted position. Once this is glued into the airframe- access will be very difficult.

Here it is in the down and locked position. The tail wheel is temporary until I find the right scale wheel, but it worked for getting everything located in the airplane.

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

Here's a shot of the tail retract assembly dry fit into the airplane. I will be using Aeropoxy glue (from BVM) for that purpose. I am going slow and pre-planning all of the installations (airlines, steering & rudder cables, tail post, etc.) as permanently gluing something in will block access to future installations.

bre901

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks for the photos! I assume all fabrication is of your own design and making? Awaiting your next installment!

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

This is a good sample of the exterior detail that comes molded into this kit. This is a bottom view of the belly scoop.

This is a view of the tail wheel taken through the belly scoop. The black is carbon and i believe the greenish must be Kevlar. Cutting out the tail wheel doors was a real chore with a dremel cut off wheel. This skin is very tough!

langerl

My Feedback: (5)

Hi Geebee,
I considered a Fischer P51, also with Kolm power, but from looking at various pictures of the completed model, I couldn't determine if it had the proper scale outline for wings and especially the fuse. To me something just doesn't look quite right. If you have the time and get a chance, a few dead-on side pictures of the fuse and overhead wing pics would be most appreciated. I could then overlay them with scale line drawing and see whether its just distortion in the available pictures of completed Fischer P51s or whether the kit is ready for Top Gun scrutiny.
Thanks,
langerl

Chris Nicastro

My Feedback: (3)

I thought the same thing and hopefully it's just the camera or something like that that's causing the illusion.

Its nice to hear the quality is good though. Im looking forward to watching the build.

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

Here's a side view as best I could manage. I think the outline is very good. I never put it over a 3 view, but see what you can do with this picture. Let me know how that turns out if you can. I did look for panels & rivit lines and they look quite authentic. I think some of the pictures out there do distort things a bit.

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

Here's the top view. Hard to tell if I was dead on or not.

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

Here's a close up of the nose. Spinner would be on the right.

Chris Nicastro

My Feedback: (3)

Hmm, to me right off I notice not enough volume behind the canopy frame. Typically you see more of a curvy reflection just under the canopy frame trailing edge.

She's a big buggy looks like your going to use all the trailer on this one!

langerl

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks for the quick response, Geebee. Here's my initial take when comparing the fuse side view you sent with Squadron line art.
1. I had a bit of a problem nailing down the exact fuse outline. Though the picture was OK, the centering of the shot on the cockpit tended to introduce some parallax distortion of the image at it approached the nose and tail of the model. Also, the reflection of the silver fuse off the gloss black trailer side kinda' left a fuzzy edge to the image so I couldn't get better than a rough approximation of its limits. That said, I compared my line art image separated sized to each 1/3 section of the fuse; tail to cockpit, cockpit, and cockpit to nose.
2. The angles at the tail strake and rudder line looks pretty good; properly sized in proportion to fuse. The cockpit windscreen aft rake angle was almost spot on. Since I had to guess at the canopy size, my only complaint is that the trailing edge of the canopy frame is a bit too vertical. It should be raked more forward. This could be a problem if the canopy is sized to match the rake--which would seem to produce an overly large bubble (clear canopy area). The cockpit to fuse sides looks about right but I tend to think the lower air intake is a bit undersized in the vertical dimension. The windscreen to nose of the model looks near scale, but the parallax here was particularly difficult to overcome as the nose rounding made it difficult to determine where the vertical limit of the nose began.
3. This was the best view I've had to compare the fuse outline-- which was my major concern on the model. I'd say the Fischer model P51D was pretty close, on casual comparison to line art. As to spot-on dimensions....I'd have to get a better, undistorted image, and see what the canopy looks like installed. I've known a number of models whose overall looks in airframe were spoiled by a poorly modeled, over or underscale canopy.
4. From the Fischer website pics, I think the wing and horizontal stabs look pretty good, but I haven't done even a cursory comparison of them to line art.
5. Overall, with the exception of my canopy reservations, I'd consider this model a pretty good scale representation of real-deal. I'll be interested in your impressions of the rest of the model components, fit and construction. Also, this big of a model would just HAVE to be equipped with some motor that could turn the iconic, cuffed, 4-bladed prop!

Good luck on the build!! I'm subscribed.

Thanks, Geebee

plmcdonnell

My Feedback: (10)

Hi Geebee,
I was wondering about the tail wheel unit. Is that part of the kit? And is it the one that Dr.Gotz offers through Vogelsang-aeroscale.com?

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

It was an extra that I bought through Gotz at Vogelsang. Looks like it will work very well and looks perfect in the airplane. I'm still collecting parts and finishing a few other projects- but this is going to be an awesome airplane when it's done.

mark IX

My Feedback: (9)

If you want a really scale P-51D look at the Brian Taylor model. Currently it is offered in a 69" ws version. But I have seen pics of it enlarged to 86". It's quite impressive. It has a laminar airfoil and the nose section is spot on if you ask me. The scoop under the wing is accurate as welI. The only thing is it is a scratchbuilt kit, although a foam wing is available for it. You would have to have the plans enlarged and a kit made from them to start the build.

plmcdonnell

My Feedback: (10)

That is the only tail wheel that I've ever seen that looks scale. Thanks for the info. I've contacted Gotz and he's going to shoot me a price for one.

butlern

My Feedback: (15)

Whats happening with the build, geebeeman?

I've been away from flying for several years, but I remain interested in this mustang.

tahustvedt

You can 3D print a scale tail wheel. Rubber is 3D-printable. Here's one I designed and printed for my ESM P-51D. It's quite scale and can be scaled up to any size.

geebeeman

My Feedback: (21)

Progress has been kinda slow, but definitely moving forward. This is one of those projects I work on- then stop and let my mind work on the design for the next step. I've purchased the three cylinder Kolm 310 to power it. That is a real beauty. I don't have a spinner yet so I haven't mounted the engine yet. My main focus has been the control surface hinging and servo mounting for the control surfaces. I've settled on phenolic hinges that I am designing. All the surfaces are going to be mounted basically the same way. They look like they will spread the load nicely. I lost a 3W bearcat to flutter so I learned that lesson the hard way. Again, this airplane is like an eggshell where you have to figure out how to get structure/ strength spread inside without screwing up the beatiful outside. I'll get a few photos in the next day or so.

butlern

My Feedback: (15)

Great to hear!

I look forward to seeing the progress continue.

Noah