I'm a big air racing geek... Growing up not far from Reno, I started going to the National Championship Air Races in 1986 and was instantly hooked at 8 years old. 
I've been back 16 times since then and have made a hobby out of researching the history of air racing and the airplanes involved.
Ever since I got started with R/C back in the early 1990's I've daydreamed about and planned out converting warbird kits into Reno and Cleveland racers. Small foamy warbirds make that an easy enough proposition that I can finally tackle some of these pent-up projects.
While working on the Galloping Ghost, I was already thinking ahead to other famous race planes that could be bashed out of the great flying Parkzone warbirds. Looking at the K&A models P-51B/C conversion kits it occurred to me that Race #7 Beguine would be a pretty straightforward conversion!
Beguine had an interesting history, aside from being the airplane that ended Air Racing in 1949 when its pilot lost control and crashed into a house during the Thompson Trophy race. A pretty good summary can be found here. This is a very pretty German plastic model, but there are some details slightly different from Taichi's drawings. I'm certainly not a member of the scale police, but I will try to stick close to Taichi's drawings.
My build soundtrack for tonight was Airspeed, a collection of Reno Racing sounds and short interviews - great stuff for hardcore airplane geeks like me. I had some time to get started on this mod tonight after almost 6 months of daydream and collecting parts... Here's where we are after day #1:
Taichi still does nice work.
I've been back 16 times since then and have made a hobby out of researching the history of air racing and the airplanes involved. Ever since I got started with R/C back in the early 1990's I've daydreamed about and planned out converting warbird kits into Reno and Cleveland racers. Small foamy warbirds make that an easy enough proposition that I can finally tackle some of these pent-up projects.
While working on the Galloping Ghost, I was already thinking ahead to other famous race planes that could be bashed out of the great flying Parkzone warbirds. Looking at the K&A models P-51B/C conversion kits it occurred to me that Race #7 Beguine would be a pretty straightforward conversion!
Beguine had an interesting history, aside from being the airplane that ended Air Racing in 1949 when its pilot lost control and crashed into a house during the Thompson Trophy race. A pretty good summary can be found here. This is a very pretty German plastic model, but there are some details slightly different from Taichi's drawings. I'm certainly not a member of the scale police, but I will try to stick close to Taichi's drawings.
My build soundtrack for tonight was Airspeed, a collection of Reno Racing sounds and short interviews - great stuff for hardcore airplane geeks like me. I had some time to get started on this mod tonight after almost 6 months of daydream and collecting parts... Here's where we are after day #1:
Taichi still does nice work.
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Views: 292
Bare PKZ P-51 airframe - a blank canvas. -
Views: 263
Remove/Replace -
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Modified profile - looks promising! The K&A conversion kit is really very nice, easy to work with and a quick way to completely change the character of the model. -
Views: 298
From above. -
![Name: PA010011.jpg
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Description: My soundtrack: [URL="http://www.aircraftrecords.com/airspeed.html"]Airspeed[/URL]](https://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/1/5/0/7/3/t5200894-152-thumb-PA010011.jpg?d=1349151102 "Name: PA010011.jpg
Views: 267
Size: 115.7 KB
Description: My soundtrack: [URL=\"http://www.aircraftrecords.com/airspeed.html\"]Airspeed[/URL]")
Views: 267
My soundtrack: [URL="http://www.aircraftrecords.com/airspeed.html"]Airspeed[/URL]
Comments (3)
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Through I'd consolidate this here, since it's scattered throughout another thread. Put in two more flights on her this morning and am getting more comfortable She's an excellent flyer, but I need to change out the MAS 10x8E prop for an APC to get some better efficiency.
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From 10/18/2011:
Here's my PZ Mustag mod in progress... After the tragedy in Reno this year, I wanted to build a Galloping Ghost in tribute to Jimmy Leward. The aircraft's pedigree was unmatched among air racers, and the modifications made it a beautiful aircraft in my eyes. Follow this link for more details: http://www.leewardairranch.com/racin...ng-ghost-specs
Anyway, I got started cutting on my bare airframe kit tonight. Plans are to fill all panel lines, glass with WBPU and .5oz cloth, and finish with paint and Callie's graphics.
The real ghost before the tragedy.
Taichi does excellent work.
...Continue Reading
************************************************** **********************************
From 10/18/2011:
Here's my PZ Mustag mod in progress... After the tragedy in Reno this year, I wanted to build a Galloping Ghost in tribute to Jimmy Leward. The aircraft's pedigree was unmatched among air racers, and the modifications made it a beautiful aircraft in my eyes. Follow this link for more details: http://www.leewardairranch.com/racin...ng-ghost-specs
Anyway, I got started cutting on my bare airframe kit tonight. Plans are to fill all panel lines, glass with WBPU and .5oz cloth, and finish with paint and Callie's graphics.
The real ghost before the tragedy.
Taichi does excellent work.
...Continue Reading
