Mustang Madness!!! An Aurora P-51 “Classic Build”

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By Eric Freese

 After posting Eric’s article on how to do a Classic Build (using a Monogram P-40), I asked if he could make an Aurora kit look that good.  Well, he did.  I was blown away by the results.  And better yet, all of this without excess effort – a true build-up for pleasure and decompression only! I hope you enjoy this build as much as I do. – AB

Aurora models never cease to amaze me.  Perhaps I took them for granted as a kid in my early teens.  But they got into subjects that nobody else would tackle, especially the Sci-Fi and movie figures.  They were also putting forth a wide array of WW I and WW II kits as well.  Several Aurora WW I planes sit proudly beside newer kits on my shelves.  I make no apologies.  Various friends and guests have commented they LIKED the old kits displayed in the cases.

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Some of Eric’s Classic Builds alongside newer kits (click either thumbnail to enlarge)

When Alan Bussie asked me to put forth a simple “decompression” kit, I couldn’t resist the Aurora 1/48 scale P-51H.  The last time I built one, I was about 13 years old.  My dad and I were sitting on the couch watching the television series “12 O’clock High.”  I was escorting B-17’s to Berlin, in hot pursuit of the 109’s, etc…and I built the fighter straight from the box in one hour.  The challenge (and pure joy) of recreating that all over again was too tempting to pass up.  This time I would add a little bit of painting detail.  I would create my own markings from existing supplies and I would NOT use putty or aftermarket parts.  What you see is what you get!

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Aurora’s 1/48 scale P-51 Mustang 

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Aurora Russian Nuclear Powered Bomber (M-50/M-52 Bounder) Kit Review and History

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By Fred Boucher and with Kit History by Alan Bussie

Introduction

From the horrible yet exciting depths of the Cold War came the Myasishchev M-50 / M-52 ‘Bounder,’ a Soviet supersonic bomber.  From ‘Bounder’ leapt the bogeyman M-60, a Soviet design for a nuclear-powered bomber.  From the M-60 radiated this Aurora model of the terrible and amazing Russian Nuclear Powered Bomber.

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The one and only USA issue of the Russian Nuclear Bomber from 1959 

Myasishchev M-50/M-52 ‘Bounder’

An enormous four-jet bomber first ripped the sky over the Soviet Union in 1957.  A long sleek fuselage on a delta wing, ‘Bounder’ publicly roared over in the 1961 Aviation Day flyby.  Though intended to be a supersonic strategic bomber the big beast would more accurately have been code-named “Blunder” as one aviation wag put it.  The big bomber was devoid of high-speed flight understanding.  Not long after ‘Bounder’ was flown in the presence of Westerners, the Myasishchev Bureau was disbanded.  ‘Bounder’s’ engines were used on the Tupolev Tu-22 ‘Blinder,’ which shares similar fuselage lines with ‘Bounder.’

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Aurora Halberstadt CL.II Kit Review and History

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By Fred Boucher and with Kit History by Alan Bussie

Kit History

In 1959 Aurora released two more 1/48 World War I ‘Famous Fighter’ aircraft kits.  The first was number 135-69, the Fokker D-VIII ‘Flying Razor.’   The second kit, and the subject of this review, was the Halberstadt CLII,  #136-98.  As with all Aurora kits of this period, the logo is oval with the sunburst in the center background and the words ‘Famous Fighters’ written in the oval border.  Jo Kotula, who took over for Jim Cox in about 1957, did the box artwork.  The parts were molded in black and gray plastic.

 

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First release Halberstadt, #136-98

The kit proved successful, as were the vast majority of the WWI series.  When Aurora was associated with Parent’s Magazine, the box top had their seal of approval.  The model inside remained identical.  The artwork remains dated 1959, but this issue may have extended into 1960.

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