Meikraft 1/72 scale Midget Mustang

This tiny model is apparently one of the rarest Meikraft kits and is in the running for the smallest 1/72 scale aircraft ever kitted. It's typical of the marque, being crudely molded and basic in the extreme.

The kit consists of 10 parts molded in medium gray plastic and a clear canopy. There are a few recessed panel lines on the cowl but they're so fine that they'll disappear under the first coat of primer; the control surfaces are also indicated by recessed engraving that's a little deeper but will still need to be scribed much more prominently. The main landing gear is a one piece unit including the legs, pants, and very poor flattened tires, the prop is molded with a spinner that's too small in diameter, and cockpit detail consists of a seat pan molded into the top of the wing section and a control stick that would be virtually impossible to separate from the flash surrounding all three of the small parts (the other two being the pitot tube and tail skid). The clear canopy is ill-fitting and thick, apparently the better to disguise the lack of internal details!

My example suffers from massive amounts of flash and some really bad sink marks opposite the rear bulkhead molded into the fuselage halves. Building the kit would call for some very careful work removing the excessive flash, truing up mating surfaces, opening up the engine intakes, and adding much missing detail. The wheels molded in to the landing gear part need to be removed and replaced and the trailing edges of all the flying surfaces need to be thinned quite a bit. There is no decal sheet included nor are there any illustrations showing marking options, presenting both a research challenge and the daunting task of providing one's own markings on such a tiny kit - no mean feat!

The instructions consist of an exploded view of the parts and a plea for photos of the real thing! Without even a three-view drawing of the aircraft the need for good references, not readily available for this type of aircraft, is yet another drawback to this kit. Not especially helpful....

Despite all its faults this is an interesting little kit and provides the basis for an unusual and very attractive model. I paid $12 for mine many years ago and would recommend it to any 1/72 racing plane enthusiast, the only problem being finding one of the little rascals.

See you all again next month. Till then, model on and "Build what YOU like, the way YOU want to."

Be sure to visit Al's Place while you're surfing the 'Net!