Tamiya P-51C Mustang Engine

The engine starts out as a basic kit build, but you have to keep a few things in mind. Like all kits, they tell you to paint the parts as you build them. Well, us modelers know that there are other things to worry about before paint is involved. Seams needs to be cleaned and filled, injection molding marks need to be filled, and parts need to be test fitted. Also, if you've ever tried to glue painted parts, I'm sure you've found that the paint tends to run and look bad. Therefore, I've decided to build the engine in sub assemblies and paint it all at once. The reason I didn't just slap the entire engine together and paint it as a whole (because all the parts are semi-gloss black) is because there would be some areas where my airbrush would not reach well. All the little nooks and crannies of the engine would be blocked by something else, resulting in an odd-looking paint job. Plus there are some things that will be easier to detail before they are attached to the engine. So here we go...

The crankcase and cylinders fit together nicely without much seam smoothing. Before you put the cylinder halves together, be sure to drill out the two holes needed to attach parts H2 and H3. I will leave H2 and H3 off until the engine is painted because I want to cover the 2 long bars with aluminum foil to give it a steel appearance.


I handed painted some areas that would be covered by another part so after I airbrush the engine, there aren't some areas deep inside that are still gray.


Good example as to why you assemble the engine before painting it. This pushrod should make contact with the bottom of cylinder. I believe this is the linkage between crankshaft and camshaft. I filled this gap with a piece of .010" plastic.


With the engine subassemblies built, there were a few components either missing or could be made better. This little beauty is the oil relief valve molded onto the side of the engine. Although it looks pretty detailed, a quick gaze at a real Rolls Royce Merlin and the Merlin Overhaul Manual shows that this is very inaccurate. So off it will come and a new relief valve will be constructed. These molded on details looks good if you are just starting out with models or if you're not too concerned with accuracy or a realistic looking appearance. But for those with a discerning eye, details like this look so much better when they are scratchbuilt. That is coming up next...