21c Retooled P-51 Reviews??

Website · Post by **Teamski** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 1:41 pm

Can somebody post pictures????? Does the gear bow outward??

-Ski

CW4USARMY · Post by **CW4USARMY** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:38 pm

Ski,

posted some pics at my webshots. props bow inwards towards pilot.
It looks worse in person.....

I didnt put this one together as I am waiting for the undertaker version, so cant really review the rest yet except to say that inside the cockpit looks pretty cool with the woodgrain finish.

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos? ... =548904466

Website · Post by **Teamski** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:07 pm

Thanks for the photos! I want that thing bad!! The prop should be able to be bent with a hair dryer, I think. Other than that, the plane looks good!

-Ski

CW4USARMY · Post by **CW4USARMY** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:20 pm

OK guys, I couldnt wait, so I put together my Ridge runner for comparison.
Let me start by saying I am thankful 21st has started it all and that the F-104 and Me-109Gs are fantastic molds with impeccable paint schemes and I wont be able to buy enough of them. However, this new and improved Mustang is far from it. Improved from their first version? Yes, but it sure doesnt live up to the hype we've been fed for the last year.
Still very toyish and except for the rear wheel, I dont see anything better than the BBi version. The prop blades are bent, minor flaws with the paint, and the rear tail has a problem with one pointing too much up and the other points downward,(yes, I tried flipping them over). Overall Im not impressed. Not sure if it is different factories making different models or not, but I cant beleive that the same company who put out the F-104 could put this out afterwards and appear to take a step backwards. Im hoping the Avenger is made at the same place the Me-109s and F-104 were.
All that being said, it is worth the Walmart price, but I wouldnt pay anymore than that.

scbvideoboy · Post by **scbvideoboy** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:00 pm

To be honest, I haven't really studied the P-51 Ridge runner, I bought mine and took it home looked at it in the box and put it up on the top shelf.

At the time I thought the slot for the canopy was a little too wide. I haven't even looked at the blades since this post.

I'm just wondering if heat from packing and shipping crates are warping the blades during transit.

Only reason I say it, is because during my work our delivery guy left some office equipment out in the sun wrapped in plastic wrap and later on I saw the control panel has warped and the plastic keys for the buttons had a look of being in a oven.

The F104 and me 109 G's are awesome! More like those!

dave

MightyMustang · Post by **MightyMustang** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:49 pm

Boy am I glad I held off on buying the new tool Mustangs from 21st! Bent prop blades, paint smudges, toy like appearances ect have all made me thankful for BBI. BBI's Mustangs may not have the forward rake landing gear, too many rivets, blunt nose cone ect but but at least the reviews aint so scathing. I'm gonna wait for BBI's repaint version of "Old Crow" anyway. Lets just hope 21st's Aveneger gets better reviews because I'm looking forward to that plane more then anything. But just to save money thats what I'm gonna do is wait for others to get their first then I'll see.

But again for those who gave their veiws of the new tool Mustangs? Thanks for saving me money. I appreciate it BIG TIME!

MightyMustang · Post by **MightyMustang** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:29 pm

MightyMustang wrote:Boy am I glad I held off on buying the new tool Mustangs from 21st! Bent prop blades, paint smudges, toy like appearances ect have all made me thankful for BBI. BBI's Mustangs may not have the forward rake landing gear, too many rivets, blunt nose cone ect but but at least the reviews aint so scathing. I'm gonna wait for BBI's repaint version of "Old Crow" anyway. Lets just hope 21st's Aveneger gets better reviews because I'm looking forward to that plane more then anything. But just to save money thats what I'm gonna do is wait for others to get their first then I'll see.

But again for those who gave their veiws of the new tool Mustangs? Thanks for saving me money. I appreciate it BIG TIME!

I forgot to add a thank you to my freind as well.

eddie372 · Post by **eddie372** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:41 pm

I love the Mustang, but I'm getting kind of overwhelm with them. I'm saving my $$$ for newer planes, soldiers, tanks and whatever XD stuff happens to hit the market.

tko211 · Post by **tko211** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:27 pm

I am going to take off my AREA-21 President hat here for a moment and speak purely as a fan of 1:18 scale aircraft.

I would like to offer my personal opinion to the 21st Mustang. I know people are critical of the prop blades. I suspect that due to some of the negative feedback that the prop might be a running change in the future. I also want to stress that my undertaker also has a very slight bend but not to the point of saying it looks bad.

That said, I can totally 100% say that the new P-51 from 21st is a welcomed addition to my collection of 1:18 scale airplanes. It really is a HUGE improvment over the older 21st mustang and even better than the BBi bird as well. - just my opinion.

The more I look at it the more I really like it. The nose is spot on, the moving surfaces are the best. and the gear look better than anything else in 1:18. Everyone has an opinion on the rivet issue , but I personally think the sleeker non-rivet wings on the 21st offering is much more realistic to a high performance fighter plane of the day.

Flat out I am thrilled that 21st re-tooled the P-51 and I think they did a GREAT job on this newest offering.

I just wanted to give you guys one fans perspective in contrast to some of the others who might see it differently.

One more airplane to choose from is not exactly a bad thing in my book.

Sabrefan · Post by **Sabrefan** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:38 pm

Can someone tell me how to post a picture here on the forum? I redid the prop on my new 21st Century P-51, and it looks great. If I can figure out how to post a picture, I would love to show all of you how good this model can look with the right prop.

MightyMustang · Post by **MightyMustang** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:49 pm

tko211 wrote:I am going to take off my AREA-21 President hat here for a moment and speak purely as a fan of 1:18 scale aircraft.

I would like to offer my personal opinion to the 21st Mustang. I know people are critical of the prop blades. I suspect that due to some of the negative feedback that the prop might be a running change in the future. I also want to stress that my undertaker also has a very slight bend but not to the point of saying it looks bad.

That said, I can totally 100% say that the new P-51 from 21st is a welcomed addition to my collection of 1:18 scale airplanes. It really is a HUGE improvment over the older 21st mustang and even better than the BBi bird as well. - just my opinion.

The more I look at it the more I really like it. The nose is spot on, the
moving surfaces are the best. and the gear look better than anything else in 1:18. Everyone has an opinion on the rivet issue , but I personally think the sleeker non-rivet wings on the 21st offering is much more realistic to a high performance fighter plane of the day.

Flat out I am thrilled that 21st re-tooled the P-51 and I think they did a GREAT job on this newest offering.

I just wanted to give you guys one fans perspective in contrast to some of the others who might see it differently.

One more airplane to choose from is not exactly a bad thing in my book.

Hey tko. I like your post and your giving an honest opinion. I have problems with the bent prop but thats about it and nothing more. But for some reason it just looks to damn toyish to me and maybe thats because of the smooth clean appearance. I dont know maybe if I buy one and look at it day after day it would grow on me, I dont know. That being said though if I see one at Walmart I might change my mind and pick one up. But if not I will save my money for an Avenger. Oh yes that long lost Avenger who might be joined by an F6F Hellcat by BBI. As Mike would say "wait and see!"

digger · Post by **digger** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:39 am

Sabrefan wrote:Can someone tell me how to post a picture here on the forum? I redid the prop on my new 21st Century P-51, and it looks great. If I can figure out how to post a picture, I would love to show all of you how good this model can look with the right prop.

Sign up for "photobucket" (you need somewhere to host the pics). Then load your pics and you will see they will give you an ImG URL and you can paste that in the text here. Use the "Preview" button on this site to see how your images will appear. You could also take the regular URL and sandwich it with the Img button this site offers - same thing.

I'm sure people would love to see the prop fix.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 12:46 pm

Still waiting for my plane to arrive from a small retailer, which it should in the next few days

I have the origional 21c P-51 and the S1 BBI P-51 and am still very pleased with it. However, bent prop or not, I ordered the new 21c plane as I wanted another P-51D (that wasn't the origional 21c version) since this is my favorite WWII fighter. Also, I really like the paintscheme for "The Flying Undertaker" so that was another reason for ordering. So, unless something catastrophic happens with the plane, I think I'm going to be pleased!

Sabrefan · Post by **Sabrefan** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:09 pm

One real nice looking feature of the new 21st Century P-51 is the tailwheel. I know it is a small detail, but it sure captures the look of the real one.

Website · Post by **Teamski** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:32 am

The toyish look on the 21st P-51 might simply be from a lack of weathering. Any model without weathering will tend to look like a toy, no matter what the detailing is. If you look at the suttle weathering on the Zero or the Galland 109, you will see what I mean.

I wish I could review Ridge Runner. But, since the plane hasn't showed up yet, I can't.......

-Ski

MightyMustang · Post by **MightyMustang** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:25 pm

Teamski wrote:The toyish look on the 21st P-51 might simply be from a lack of weathering. Any model without weathering will tend to look like a toy, no matter what the detailing is. If you look at the suttle weathering on the Zero or the Galland 109, you will see what I mean.

I wish I could review Ridge Runner. But, since the plane hasn't showed up yet, I can't.......

-Ski

You are probably right on the weather thing Ski but none the less it is almost identicle to the BBI Mustang except for a very few different things and they aint enough to make me go out and buy one. If I could find one that is. Plus my not buying one is because I saw my freinds "Undertaker" up close and personal and I wasnt impressed and the bent prop blades really turned me off. That being said though I will wait for BBI to release their Mustang repaint of "Old Crow" and wait for the impending Avenger release. But for everyone else that is buying the 21st retool Mustangs, I say enjoy!

3rd Pursuit · Post by **3rd Pursuit** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 2:31 am

Just picked up a Ridge Runner III at my local WM. Definitely a huge improvement over the original 21st release. I especially like the improvements made to the overall profile of the aircraft, especially the nose and chin scoop. REALLY like the improvements made to the wing dihedral...finally looks like someone got it right. Things I don't like: the panel detail, wing attachment points, cockpit detail and the retooled pilot figure still don't match BBI's release no matter how you cut it. Any modeler will tell you that a lack of detail in larger scale aircraft really is noticeable...the case is especially true here(e.g. stencil detail in the BBI cockpit). I know this is really supposed to be a 'toy' but I don't feel 21st upped the ente like I really expected them to. The lack of any kind of weathering is especially noticeable sitting next to the BBI version. Just MHO.

digger · Post by **digger** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:43 pm

Cybermodeler has a good review and some nice pics. Here is their pic of the profile where they note the prop bend:

Otherwise the review is rather favorable - he too is impressed with the wing dihedral.

Website · Post by **Teamski** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 3:36 am

I'm sure those blades could be heated back into shape! the plane looks great from what I can see. The gear looks spot on!

It's neat that they did reviews of some of the other planes as well:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/miscreview.shtml

-Ski

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:06 pm

I was just thinking we should have a specific section where we can post reviews on all the 1:18 aircraft, vehicles, and figures made to date. We sort of have similar threads already in the various scale forums, but a seperate section where members (especially the new ones) could go look up a specific type of plane, etc and get varried reviews would be quite helpful!

hworth18 · Post by **hworth18** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:16 pm

Teamski wrote:I'm sure those blades could be heated back into shape! the plane looks great from what I can see. The gear looks spot on!

It's neat that they did reviews of some of the other planes as well:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/miscreview.shtml

-Ski

Good reviews... Too bad he totally missed the 109Gs gear being wrong...

GooglyDoogly · Post by **GooglyDoogly** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:31 am

It's not the lack of weathering or rivets that makes this Mustang look toyish. It's those deep, extemely visible panel lines. It makes the model look like a lego building block mustang.

Pass.

supersonicfifi · Post by **supersonicfifi** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:00 am

i was really looking for a different kind of proppeller : this is exactly the same as the bbi one, but wrong !
i am waiting for the others vesrions from 21st century toys _ do you know more about the others versions ? do they have another proppeler ?

MightyMustang · Post by **MightyMustang** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:49 pm

I'm holding out for "Old Crow" because I feel that the BBI Mustang has yet to be beat and besides it will look good sitting next to "Hurry Home Honey". Two Mustangs from the same Group and thats cool for me.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:04 pm

Well, I finally recieved my 21c retooled P-51 this past Tuesday, and after having spent time with it for a few days, will contribute my own review to this thread

I got "The Flying Undertaker" scheme. I really like the paintscheme and its nice to see a P-51 that doesn't have the invasion stripes and that is from the Pacific theater. I like the use of fewer rivets as it makes the plane look "faster" in a way. The riveting on actual P-51s was not as visible as on the BBI version. The bent props do not bother me and are not nearly as extreme as they have been made out to be, IMHO. There was alot more stenciling on the exterior than I would have thought, though it doesn't approach the amount seen on the 21c F-104, let alone the BBI P-51. The aircraft looks good sitting on its forward-raked main gear and correct tail wheel. The wing dihedral is also the best I've seen on a 1:18 P-51. The moving control surfaces are a plus and are not too loose.

I was disappointed with the cockpit detail, however. While it is a vast improvement over the origional 21c P-51, the BBI version exceeds it by far! I was quite shocked to see that the instruments went unpainted and that the gunsight was silver instead of clear plastic as on the BBI plane. The seat, side controls, and radio were done well, however, and I also liked the larger controlstick. When the radiator flap under the cockpit is opened, there is no radiator grill as seen on the BBI P-51 (and the radiators of other 21c WWII aircraft). The figure was decent and can sit on its parachute, though the BBI P-51 pilot (as usual) is better. The doors for the main landing gear were also a little loose, though I fixed that problem. A little weathering, especially around the exhaust pipes, guns, and ammo chutes would have been nice.

In the end, this is a good renditioning of the P-51 Mustang, though it does not offer any significant improvement over the BBI P-51 - save only with the landing gear. Its detail, while good, is not up to par with other current 21c aircraft such as the BF-109G or F-104. I am sincerely hoping the Avenger will not follow the lead of this 21c release and keep with the pattern set by the above aircraft. Nonetheless, I will enjoy this P-51 and it looks quite good hanging from my ceiling (chasing the BBI Zero) or sitting on my display table

Small Scale Military Headquarters

21c Retooled P-51 Reviews??

tm

pics

review

Meh.