Fuselage Coming Together
Made a bit more progress on the P-51D today. I finished up the sidewalls of the cockpit. The starboard (right) side of the cockpit contains more instrumentation than the port (left) side. Ultimately, this meant an opportunity to add a few wire bundles to a few black boxes, and I scratch built a new oxygen hose by winding fine copper wire around a brass wire core. The port side features throttle controls, flight controls, bomb release, map holder, signal gun, etc. In addition to the standard details in the kit, I replaced the bomb release lever, a wire bundle, and two rods coming out of the throttle control., Finally, both sides were distressed by simulating chipped paint, grime, and dirt.
I then fused the cockpit-engine assembly into the port side fuselage half. The Tamiya kit is so well engineered that this process was uneventful. I was worried about engine fit, because I added a lot of additional details, like hoses and pipes, and these could have affected fit. Fortunately, it appears this was not an issue.
The next step is to build the radiator and oil cooler assembly, elements that fit behind the main air scoop that contributes to the P-51 characteristic lines.
