pucciManuli - A Remarkable Collection

The North American P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the midst of World War II and became one of the wars most successful and recognizable aircraft.  The P-51 flew most of its wartime missions as a bomber escort in raids over Germany, helping ensure Allied air superiority from early 1944.  It also saw service against the Japanese in the Pacific War.  The Mustang began the Korean War as the United Nations' main fighter but was supplanted as a fighter by jets early in the conflict, being relegated to a ground attack role.  Nevertheless, it remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980s.

Despite being economical to produce, the Mustang was a well-made and rugged aircraft. The definitive version of the single-seat fighter was powered by the Packard V-1650-3, a two-stage two-speed supercharged 12-cylinder Packard-built version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and armed with six aircraft versions of the .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns. Like most other fighters that used a liquid-cooled engine, its weakness was a coolant system that could be punctured by a single bullet. 

In April 1942, the RAF's Air Fighter Development Unit tested the Mustang at higher altitudes and found its performance inadequate, but the commanding officer was so impressed with its maneuverability and low-altitude speeds that he invited Ronnie Harker from Rolls Royce to fly it.  Rolls-Royce engineers rapidly realized that equipping the Mustang with a Merlin 61 would substantially improve performance and started converting five aircraft as the Mustang X. 

The result was astonishing: the Mustang X AM208 reached 433 mph at 22,000 ft and AL975 tested at an absolute ceiling of 40,600 ft.  After sustained lobbying at the highest level, American production of a North American-designed Mustang, with the Packard Merlin V-1650 engine was started in early 1943.  The pairing of the P-51 airframe and Merlin engine was designated P-51B or P-51C.  The RAF named these models Mustang III.  In performance tests, the P-51B reached 441 mph/709.7 km/h at 25,000 ft (7.600 m) and the subsequent extended range made possible by the use of drop tanks enabled the Merlin-powered Mustang to be introduced as a bomber escort.

P-51Bs and Cs started to arrive in England in August and October 1943.  Allied strategists quickly exploited the long-range fighter as a bomber escort.  It was largely due to the P-51 that daylight bombing raids deep into German territory became possible without prohibitive bomber losses in late 1943.  One of the few remaining complaints with the Merlin-powered aircraft was a poor rearward view. This was a common problem in most fighter designs of the era, which had only been recognized by the British after the Battle of Britain proved the value of an all-around view. 

The "bubble" canopy was introduced and led to the production P-51D (NA-109), considered the definitive Mustang.  Among other modifications, armament was increased with the addition of another two M2 machine guns.  In previous P-51s, the M2s were mounted at angles that led to frequent complaints of jamming during combat maneuvers. The new arrangement allowed the M2s to be mounted in a more standard manner that remedied most of the jamming problems.  Later models had under-wing rocket pylons added to carry up to ten rockets per plane.  The P-51D became the most widely produced variant of the Mustang.  The P-51D/K started arriving in Europe in mid-1944 and quickly became the primary USAAF fighter in the theater.  While it was produced in larger numbers than any other Mustang variant, roughly half of all operational Mustangs were still B or C models by the end of the war.

About the Model…
Fine Art Models has produced this limited edition, North American P-51D Mustang aircraft model in a scale of 1:15 with exacting detail.  Considered one of the finest limited edition models ever produced, regardless of subject matter, it quickly becomes the center of attention, regardless of the environment it’s introduced to.

This model of the P51 Mustang is an exact replication of the full-size aircraft in every detail; including aluminum construction, flush rivets on the fuselage, complete plumbing in each wheel well, the instrument panel and glass on the instrument bezels, and a fully functional canopy.  In addition, every placard is present and can actually be read with a magnifying glass.

The control surfaces and flaps function with the use of the control stick and foot peddles and miniature latches on the gun bays allow the doors to be opened to reveal the 50 cal. guns, with a full compliment of ammunition.  The radio units found behind the pilot seat are wired, just as they were on the real plane.  The Mustang’s engine cover and side panels are removable to reveal the exact replica of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine in complete detail, including more than 600 .2mm nuts and bolts.  And, as with all Fine Art Models, each P-51D Mustang scale model comes complete with its own Black Walnut display base and leaded glass case.

Models, or rather miniatures, have been made by man since he learned to stand upright – in the very beginning as objects of religion, and then as presents or for decoration.  In those early days, materials used were bone, stone, or rock and wood – materials readily available.  Tools were crude in the extreme, so the results were crude. 

Accuracy of representation developed as man’s skill to invent and use tools and new materials grew, and this trend continues to the present day.
 By the 14th and 15th centuries, these skills had developed to an extraordinary degree as can be seen in full size artifacts and miniatures made by armorers and instrument makers.  The majority of models, however, were still rather crude – mostly ships, the “votif” models made to hang in churches by way of thanksgiving for journey’s end and a safe return.  As they were intended to be hung and, therefore, seen only from underneath, guns are exaggerated, hull shapes simple, deck fittings almost nonexistent and rigging inaccurate.


By the 17th and 18th centuries, standards and faithfulness to prototype had changed dramatically as, for example, the model ships built for the Navy Board.  These were built by the finest craftsmen, mostly of box and fruitwood as three-dimensional pictures of proposals for future ships so that My Lords of the Admiralty were better able to judge design.  These models were incredibly accurate in shape and detail, and many have survived, located in museums and private collections around the world.  They are important, not only as a record of ship design of the period, but as the first truly accurate models.


During the 19th century, with the coming of the Industrial Revolution, three-dimensional miniatures were made for different reasons.  Steam, the motif power at that time is very powerful and, logically, a small machine, if it is going to explode, will make less of a bang than the full size machine.  Many development models were made, mainly by instrument makers and then by that rapidly developing genre – the engineer.  As the 19th century progressed, on the one hand the making of a model became part of an apprentice engineer’s life – his test piece had to be of a very high standard to pass.  On the other hand the salesman needed a model for the same practical reason as did my Lords of Admiralty, all those years before. 


About this time, miniatures began to be made, originally by those same self-same apprentices, now full-fledged engineers, for fun, in their leisure hours – and thus was born amateur model-making as we know it today.  In parallel, there were commercial organizations making models, kits and toys, as for example, Stevens Model Dockyard, Bassett-Lowke and many others, all trying to satisfy an insatiable desire by man to own miniatures of things he wished to remember for one reason or another.
 Models have, however, been made for entirely different and particular purposes; e.g. the bone model ships made by French prisoners of war in England between about 1775 and 1815 (they were made to supplement their rations), or Patent Models made as part of the inventive process.  These fall outside the mainstream of model making, but are historically important in their own right.



Now, at the end of the 20th Century, a different problem has arisen.  The commercially trained skills of apprenticed engineers are gradually dying out as man’s quest toward computerization develops, and discerning collectors, who understand and seek quality, generally have neither the time nor the skill to make aesthetically pleasing and ever more accurate miniatures themselves. 

Long may serious and discerning collectors exist who demand the best; satisfying their demands will preserve and continue the necessary skills, which will otherwise, gradually, be lost forever.