David Glen's remarkable scratch built Mustang P-51D

Since going on display at the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford in 2014, David Glen’s breathtaking 1:5 scale P-51D Mustang has won worldwide acclaim as one of the finest aircraft models ever built – a matchless tribute to a legendary WW2 fighter aircraft.

Warbirds in my Workshop

Mustang in my Workshop

Name: Mustang in my Workshop
Price: 54.99 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: David Glen
ISBN: 978-0-9563498-8-0

by David Glen

£54.99

Limited availability

If ever there was a book to inspire, encourage and empower the enthusiastic model maker to build a masterpiece from scratch, this is it! Hardback with dust jacket, Mustang in my Workshop takes its readers on a model making tour de force, revealing and explaining in minute detail every aspect of the master model maker’s art. A must-have for beginners as well as seasoned modellers and everyone with an interest in the legendary ‘Cadillac of the Sky’.

Mustang in my Workshop is available direct from the publisher. It contains 288 large-format pages (325 x 254mm), weighs 2.3kg and is lavishly illustrated with almost 600 colour photographs covering every aspect of the project.

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About David Glen

The son of an aircraft engineer, David grew through adolescence amid the tumult of the 1960s and the Cold War to embark on a career in journalism and publishing. He has retained a lifelong passion for aviation, and his many happy years as a volunteer conservator at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in Cambridge and his baptism as a private pilot are described with whimsy and more than a touch of nostalgia in Spitfire in my Workshop, his first book

To get in contact with David email davidglen7@icloud.com

The model at Cosford

Mustang `Unveiling’ at the RAF Museum, Cosford

`Unveiling day’ at the RAF Museum, Cosford.

Since its unveiling in 2014, tens of thousands of visitors to the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford in the West Midlands have marvelled at David Glen’s magnificent 1:5 scale P-51D Mustang. Set off to perfection in its giant purpose-built display case, the model bears its builder’s own heartfelt dedication “to all US aircrew who gave their lives in support of their British and European allies through the course of two world wars”.

A closer look at the book

A lavishly illustrated, minutely detailed account of an epic aero-modelling project, with all its frustrations, triumphs and tragedies.

Introduction P-51D Mustang... Cadillac of the Sky – Gallery
It is often said that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, yet rarely is the truth of the homily more apparent than in the world of model making.
Chapter 1 Voyage into the unknown – the vital role of preparation and planning
At one level Preparation is about having the facilities, skills, tools and even the time to build the model; at another it means understanding the subject, and this calls for a great deal of research in pursuit of comprehensive technical drawings, photographs, relevant books and magazines, web references and – if possible – access to the full-sized aircraft.
Chapter 2 Warhorse with a wooden heart – building the ‘flat-pack’ fuselage
Warhorse with a wooden heart – preliminary stages in building the wooden fuselage core and installation of the aluminium main longerons. Ultra-realistic radiator and oil cooler matrices; balsa/ply radiator air scoop and the chin scoop cast in resin.
Chapter 3 More woodwork – the mainplane and tailplane cores take shape
More woodwork – mainplane and tailplane assemblies take shape; ailerons and flaps; gun ports and wheel bays, and early provision for locking the wings and empennage to the fuselage.
Chapter 4 Lining the cockpit and installing its major structural features
Metal lining the cockpit interior and installing its main structural features: fuselage frames, radio rack and seat support assemblies; building and detailing the fuel tank, cockpit floor assembly and instrument panel and centre console.
Chapter 5 Cockpit fittings and furnishings – a plethora of fine detail
Fitting out the cockpit – rudder pedals, switches and switch plates; oxygen regulator, canopy release mechanism, pilot’s main control pedestal, engine control quadrant, joy stick and torque tube, pilot’s seat and armour plate.
Chapter 6 Enclosing the cockpit – the shroud, windscreen and sliding canopy
Enclosing the cockpit – the windshield and armoured glass; a vac-formed instrument panel shroud and the sliding canopy.
Chapter 7 Wheel bays ‘engineered’ – structural fixtures and ancillary fittings
The wheel bays – installing the litho-plate interior skins, internal stringers and rib-lets. A riot of ancillary equipment, hoses, lines and unions – all built directly from the scaled down manufacturer’s drawings.
Chapter 8 Fuselage metamorphosis – the transformative magic of litho-plate
Fuselage metamorphosis – the transformative magic of litho-plate; what is litho-plate; preparing and using it; the preliminary cladding stages, including nose section and cowling panels; round and flush-headed rivets; coping with compound curvatures.
Chapter 9 On silver wings – metal cladding the mainplanes and empennage
Metal cladding the mainplanes and empennage – shell chutes, fuel caps and recognition lights; resin wing tips; polished ailerons and ‘quilted’ flaps; elevator, tailplane and fin skins; litho skin blisters and flutes; gun muzzle blisters – a ‘creative’ solution.
Chapter 10 Piecing it all together – the principal sub-assemblies united at last
The major sub-assemblies united – cladding and fitting the radiator scoop; making and installing the wing root and tailplane fillets; rudder fabric and rib tapes; tail light and other details.
Chapter 11 Building the Mustang’s landing gear – struts, wheels, tyres and doors
Landing gear – struts, wheels, tyres and doors. Shock struts and fork assemblies; machining the main wheels; the wheel bay doors; the tail wheel assembly and its hidden secrets.
Chapter 12 Agony and ecstasy – some ups and downs of model making
Agony and ecstasy – some ups and downs of model making: exhaust manifold assembly; spinning the spinner; prop blades and cuffs; the vhf radio and battery packs.
Chapter 13 Flying colours – polish, paint and the case for compromise
Polish and paint – choosing the right materials; acid etch; custom paint masks; data plates and dry transfer rubdowns.
Afterword Set course for Cosford.
The Mustang model is transported to the RAF Museum at Cosford.