P-51D
Mustang - Corps d'Aviation d'Haiti
Haití,
the first independent nation of
Latin America, has also one of the most turbulent histories of the region.
It was until 1950
when Haití had fighter planes for the first time, acquiring 4 second-hand P-51D
which flew for many years, mostly to protect their Presidents from military
coups and rebels in and out the country.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The
old Hasegawa kit doesn’t need presentation. It is greatly done, nice
surface and interior details. Although it has raised panel lines, they are
crisp, accurate and finely done.
Having
so few references about these Haitian Mustangs, that I relied only in the
pictures and art from the Hagerdorn's book which showed one single example
painted in light gray and equipped with large fuel tanks adapted from a
F-86. So that was the one I chose to represent here.
Construction
went straightforward. The most difficult part was to find the fuel tanks with
the correct shape and to attach them to the wings. The UHF antenna came from an
old T-6G Texan kit, modified in size and shape. Decals are from the
Zotz
Roundels of the World series, which are great but not accurate. However, I gave
myself some historical license to complete this project on time.
I
hope all of you liked this strange bird. I appreciate the help received from
fellow modelers who gave me a hand with the fuel tanks and decals.
Thank
you all and regards from
Monterrey, México.
Fernando I. Moreno Villa
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