The inspiration for this ship came from a site with lots of great kit-bashed spaceship models on it. However, I do not remember the exact name of the site. The inspiring model appeared to be made from an unidentified WW2 aircraft. My model is created from a 1/72 scale P-51 Mustang. I had originally built it as a demonstration model for my son’s Cub Scout den. I thought I could put the mustang to better use, so I set out to build my version of the ship I had been inspired by.

After lots of paint stripping and deconstruction I was ready to reassemble, scratch-build and kit-bash. After the basic shape was finalized I gathered parts from the parts box and started adding detail. It still needed something. I added the small forward wings. It still needed something. So, I added detail to the pilot’s pod. I was satisfied with the overall model at this point and was ready for painting. The paint job started out as a subtle antique beat-up look with lots of chipped paint and faded markings. I wasn’t really knocked out about it but couldn’t think of anything else. While looking through a notebook with sketches of paint schemes for armored suits I found the inspiration I needed. I drew an approximate representation of the fighter in my G4 and experimented with a few new paint schemes. Finally arriving at the one you see here. Decals are from the spares box. Aging and weathering and chipped paint are the finishing touches.

I won the theme award with this model at the 2004 Virginia Shootout, a local IPMS contest. I didn’t plan the model to go with the theme of “what if?” but it seemed to fit. What if the P-51 remained in production until we needed a space fighter? Well, maybe this is what it would have looked like.

Image:Top view

Image: Bottom view

Image: Left side

Image: Right side

Image: Tail from above