The Royal Canadian Air Force ordered 30 Mustangs from the USAAF in 1947
followed by a further 100 order in 1950. The Mustang was used primarily by
the Auxiliary squadrons until 1956. 443 (Aux) City of New Westminster
Squadron was formed in 1951 and given the code GY*(X). The colour of the
lightning bolt came into question during this build and after lengthy
investigation of museum and squadron archives, I went with what may or may not
be the correct trim colour, Light Blue
Patrick Martin, in his book, RCAF Finish and Markings 1947-1968,
writes that it was Light Blue. I had breakfast with Jim
McInnis, a 443 Sqn pilot who flew this aircraft on many
occasions and confirms the trim was Light Blue..wing and tail tips
and canopy skirt
I started the build with the engine followed by the cockpit but
the photos were not good enough for this article
The cockpit side wall detailing is very good requiring nothing more
than paint and decals.
The fuselage interior was completed including the radiator
The engine with about 100 bits (no ignition harness) was attach to
the firewall and cockpit section
All of the interior was installed in the fuselage then it was glued
together
With wing and tail assembly glued to the fuselage it was time to
think about other bits
The propeller on GY*B was a Hamilton-Standard incuffed unit supplied
by Richard ... another P51 Nut!
Minor modifications needed to the rear plate were all that was
required to mate the Monogram prop to the Tamiya spinner
The fuselage , flaps and ailerons primed with Tamiya TS-14 Gloss
Black and sprayed with Alclad II Airframe Aluminum.
The wings, rudder and elevator primed with Alclad Grey then
sprayed with Alclad Duraluminum and Guards Red
The Leading Edge Decals proved to be very difficult and that is when
I decided on the controversial Light Blue trim
I made drawings of the required decals and had them printed by Big
Jon at Modeldecaldepot.com
Note the white square ahead of the "G" which was overlayed on the
Red Leaf
This kit is extremely well engineered and manufactured to very high
standards. There are many tiny Rare Earth magnets holding the
pieces of the model together and at times I had difficulty seeing
the wee things but it is now finished and is a great addition to the
collection.
The Hornet Badge was salvaged from the LEM sheet as were the upper
wing roundels but the rest came from various sheets
This may or may not be an accurate representation of the 443 (Aux)
Sqn aircraft but until a colour photo is produced ... You be
the judge.
