History

This is another superb kit from the guys at Wingnut Wings. According to the detailed history on the instruction booklet, the Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 was allegedly designed by Ernst Heinkel on the back of a cabaret wine list and was basically a W.12 biplane with the top wing removed. This advanced monoplane had markedly improved performance due to the reduction of drag afforded by the loss of the upper wing as well as the lack of guy wires. The solid construction was achieved because of the rigid strut arrangement for the floats. Three prototypes were constructed in January 1917 and each was powered by a different engine for the comparison purposes. When production began in April of 1917 it was decided to use the 150hp Benz Bz. III. A total of 199 W.29s were produced in two versions. 156 planes were built with 3 machine guns (C3MG) and another 43 were built with 2 machine guns (C2MGHFT) and a wireless radio.

To briefly describe the aircraft, it was a single sweater pusher, bi-plane, powered by a 100 HP Gnome rotary engine. The lack of synchronizing mechanism made this necessary to have a forward firing machine gun allowing the pilot to "aim" with the aircraft and gun at the same time.

The kit is composed of 62 plastic parts, 36 photo-etched parts, a clear acetate sheet with a choice of two windscreens, depending on which version of the aircraft you choose to build; painting masks are also provided plus a decal sheet for four different aircraft. The detailing on the plastic parts is up to the usual superb Eduards standard.

The Aircraft

The P-51 was the ultimate propeller driven fighter for the US in World War II. Fast, maneuverable, excellent range, plenty of punch, good load carrying ability, and it could be used for any mission the higher ups thought of. While it was superseded by jets, the P-51D was used for tactical bombing in Korea, and some air forces didn’t retire their Mustangs until the 1980s. There was much excitement in the Warbird community when the Dominican Republic decided to sell their P-51Ds in 1984.

The Kit

I thought I had built this kit before, but I was wrong. The older Minicraft/Hasegawa P-51 has raised panel lines; this one has recessed panel lines. It’s a new mold. This kit is issued with new markings for 44-64076, “Jumpin’ Jacques” of the 3rdFG and 44-14606 “Jan” of the 4thFG. There are 4 gray sprues and one clear. Everything is flash-free and clean.