Small Scale Military Headquarters

They do look nice but I bet they will be hard pressed to beat the BBI P-51. That thing is incredible. I'm glad they are improving the older model though...Thanks for the update.

Ordered up one of each. Getting them early @ $45 each sure helps with off-setting the shipping.

It is fun to hunt & kill @ Wal-Mart but... but not this time!

Very nice. I wonder if the pilot will be a new sculpt, with the improved articulation, or the same-ole. Any info, TKO???

Haven't purchased much of any of the aircraft repaints since I'm saving $$ and space for the upcoming Avenger and any other new 1/18th armor that happens to come out. It may be awhile for both but still hoping to see them in the near future.

I'm not a Mustang expert nor a rivet counter, but the pics of the new 21st century mustang's wings look toyish. They look almost to smooth and glossy like a cheap toy compared to BBi's Mustang which has the weathering and rivets. Which is more accurate to a real Mustang?
I'm not rying to start a who's better BBi or 21st, just asking which is more accurate to a real Mustang. I know there are some Mustang enthusiasts here who can hopefully chime in.

As far as I'm concerned all previous P-51 paint versions don't count as I consider the 21C Mustang a crude representation of a P-51.So many say they don't want P-51 repaints.Now that we finally have some good P-51's out, I say bring on the repaints.

I saw the prototype in person in February and it looks a lot better in the flesh. The real P-51 doesn't show rivets as most of them were flush with the skin, so the 21st P-51 is pretty much spot-on. I really liked the shape of the new 21st P-51 a lot better than the bbi version. The nose and spinner are perfect (for once!) One thing that REALLY bothered me of all of the P-51s so far released was the landing gear and the lack of forward rake. On this one, it looks like it finally got fixed. That alone is enough for me to dole out $$ to get a pair. Add the fact that for the first time, a 4th FG P-51, McKinnon's, is featured. That's a winner in my book......

-Ski

Thanks Ski, I'll go ahead an order one and look forward to seeing it up close.

I will wait for my P-51 from the Aces contest and save up for the AVENGER! It's a holly, jolly XD Christmas this year!!!

F-104
+
BBI Corsair
+
BBI Zero
= priceless XD magic

Merry Christmas to all!

i ve just checked the badcat website and noticed that both 21st Preorder P 51 are using differents proppeler ( ridge runner looks like the bbi one ! ) i was thinking that the other one give another look at this beautyfull aircraft; i can t wait to have a nice comparaison on this site by our experts !

Just saw the pre-orders of the new 21st Mustangs on the Bad Cat webpage and they look nice but I'll pass on them and I have my own reasons. What are they? I'll keep them to myself. As a die hard Mustang enthusiast there is some things that I dont like and I know those photos arent the final production pics but as I said I'll keep my opinions to myself. I will say this though that in MY opinion only, the BBI Mustang and Corsair is the best until the Avenger is released. NOW THAT IS ONLY MY OPINION mind you so guys dont kill me!!!!

MightyMustang wrote:Just saw the pre-orders of the new 21st Mustangs on the Bad Cat webpage and they look nice but I'll pass on them and I have my own reasons. What are they? I'll keep them to myself. As a die hard Mustang enthusiast there is some things that I dont like and I know those photos arent the final production pics but as I said I'll keep my opinions to myself. I will say this though that in MY opinion only, the BBI Mustang and Corsair is the best until the Avenger is released. NOW THAT IS ONLY MY OPINION mind you so guys dont kill me!!!!

I have to agree with you on the Corsair. It is my all-time favorite 1:18 plane, so I won't kill you this time, hehehehehe......

-Ski

Put in my pre-order for the red-nose plane - between that and the 4 for victory "Aces" P-51 prize, I should be pretty well set with the new 21C Mustangs - they look sweet!

The new 21C blue-nose looked too much like the Laura Michelle and the BBI Cripes A-Mighty (both of which I already have) for my tastes. If you don't already have a blue-nose, then I'm guessing the new one will be right up your alley.

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays everyone!

Ski's review and knowledge of Mustang is pretty much right on the money. Many P-51D's had a smooth wing surface. In fact the one on display at Hill AFB only has flush mount screws on the gun bay doors and that is about it. The later model higher perfomance wings of WWII were smooth for speed and to reduce drag.

The Rake on the gear was also a big issue for me personally. I think you guys will really be impressed with them in person!

I have a better shot of the Petie 2nd that I will post up on AREA-21 on monday. The photo is not as distorted and will reveal a better look at the lines of the airplane.

One huge thing to me is also the counter ballance points on the moving tail sections
(rudder and elevators) This will also be a first for any P-51 in 1:18 scale as far as accuracy goes.

While most of these were already posted on the 21st site... thought I might throw in a few shots of the prototype I saw

That is a good looking P-51 (especially considering its XD ancestor ) The forward rake in the landing gear and the correct placement of the tail wheel to the rear of the landing gear bay are nice touches. The cockpit looks a little plain, but this is the prototype. Nonetheless, I am still very much content with the BBI P-51 and will probably pass up this release. Then again, I always seem to say that...

Tail wheel looks good so far, but the pics are at an angle, so I can't be sure. Main landing gear looks great! The cockpit is bleh, unacceptable, and I hope they fix those DEEP panel lines. They make the P-51 look like a Transformers robot toy.

They upside about this P-51 over the BBI version is the canopy doesn't have a hole on it.

I hope they fix this Mustang. Guess I won't pre-order it until I see the final product.

I preordered them, hopefully they GOT that order. Preordered the green Zero a month ago with receipt to prove it, yet, not down for a green Zero. Anyone else had preorder problems?

I guess it's a first come, first serve basis when it comes to pre-order.

GooglyDoogly wrote:I guess it's a first come, first serve basis when it comes to pre-order.

Right, but they shouldn't sell more pre-orders than they plan to get planes.
Then people don't pre-order elsewhere because they think they are locked in. Turns out your not, then you wake up one day and all the other stores are out of business

You're right. I guess BCA could take some lesson from another internet shop, HLJ. At HLJ, they state in some of their products that you must pre-order by so-and-so date to guarantee your order. They state that if you don't pre-order by the given date, then you have to wait until they get another batch in.

And if the product is extremely limited, they would actually stop people from pre-ordering, once they filled their pre-order quota.

PS: I'm not trying to knock BCA and pumping up HLJ. I don't think HLJ even sell 1/18 stuff, just Japanese toys and stuff.

But I'm not gonna pre-order this mustang. 21st has a habit of bait-and-switch. I want to see the final product first. I hope they improve those deep, wide San Andreas cracks they call panel lines.

Hey GooglyDoogly, I think you hit the nail on the head. I was trying to think of why the new Mustang looked toyish to me and when you mentioned the San Andreas cracks, it dawned on me. Those panel lines are extrmemly thick!!!!! kind of like a Mustang jigsaw puzzle put together

I don't know about you guys, but as I look at all the P-51s I have, I think the Laura Michelle has the most beautiful, true to reality lines. It's too bad that there are so many other problems with these first generation Mustangs.

Personally, I fly all of my airplanes in battle scenes, with gears up and clean (flaps up) configurations. The Laura Michelle has gorgeous lines, although my BBi Mustang wins the prize for overall detail.

As for the new 21C P-51s, I'll probably pass unless they come out with some great nose art or paint jobs. What was the name of the one with the gorgeous blonde on the nose, which was being advertized months ago as a future release?