P-51D Mustang Wheels

Eduard BRASSIN, 1/48 & 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eduard's 1/32 scale Heinkel He 219 Wheels are available online from Squadron.com

These two Brassin sets offer replacement P-51 mainwheels in 1/32 and 1/48 scales.  The sets are very similar, but not identical.  The 1/32 wheels come with separate inner and outer hubs, while the 1/48 wheels are cast with the inner hubs attached and only the outer hubs provided separately.

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The tyres in both sets have diamond block tread.  My references suggest that tyres with at least six other tread patterns were also fitted to P-51s, and there may have been more, so consult your references for the aircraft you are modeling. 

According to reference sources, the style of hubs seems to be a mix of 10-slot Mustang wheels on the brake side and eight-slot P-63 wheels on the outside face, as often seen on warbirds flying today.  If you are modelling an operational wartime Mustang, you might consider using the kit outer hub face instead of the resin part. Again, however, I’d recommend checking your references in relation to your specific subject.

Legible “Good Year” logos are cast on both sides of each tyre; if you don’t want these on your wheels, they will be easy to sand off.

Production quality is excellent on both review sets, with no casting imperfections apparent.  The wheels and hubs are attached to their casting blocks via rebates that should make their removal and cleanup very straightforward.  The only slightly tricky bit of preparing the wheels will be cleaning up the spoke holes on the outer hubs, which in both sets are flashed over with a film of resin.  The instructions suggest using a toothpick to “gently” remove the flash from the holes; I tried this technique and while it worked perfectly, I had to apply more pressure than I was really comfortable with using on delicate resin parts.  I’d also recommend removing the flash before you separate the hubs from their casting blocks, because the blocks give you something to hold on to while you’re pushing the toothpick.

Kabuki tape masks are supplied with each set to ease painting of the hubs and tyres.

These sets will be very straightforward to use, and offer an easy way to upgrade the tyres of your 1/48 and 1/32 P-51 models. 

Thanks to Eduard for the samples.

Review Text Copyright © 2013 by Brad Fallen
Page Created 3 October, 2013
Last updated 7 October, 2013

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