Hobby Master USAAF North American P-51D Mustang Fighter - Captain Ted Lines, "Thunder Bird", 335th Fighter Squadron "Chiefs", 4th Fighter Group, Debden, England, 1944 (1:48 Scale)

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USAAF North American P-51D Mustang Fighter - Captain Ted Lines, "Thunder Bird", 335th Fighter Squadron "Chiefs", 4th Fighter Group, Debden, England, 1944 (1:48 Scale)

Hobby Master USAAF North American P-51D Mustang Fighter - Captain Ted Lines, "Thunder Bird", 335th Fighter Squadron "Chiefs", 4th Fighter Group, Debden, England, 1944

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Product Code: HA7750

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Hobby Master HA7750 USAAF North American P-51D Mustang Fighter - Captain Ted Lines, "Thunder Bird", 335th Fighter Squadron "Chiefs", 4th Fighter Group, Debden, England, 1944 (1:48 Scale) "With engine trouble, I was alone, trying to catch up with our Group near Strasbourg. I saw seven 109s pass beneath me, a group of four followed by three, one of which was smoking. I called for help then dove on the one that was smoking, firing from 600 yards to 100 yards when the Hun went into the deck and exploded. I then turned to the one on the left which also exploded as he hit the deck. In the meantime, two got on my tail and I went into a tight orbit. At that time, six P-47s appeared and drove them off. I then turned on the third 109 which tried to do a short landing on an airdrome. He hit the ground with his wing flying off as I ran to avoid the flak. My R/T was out so I headed for home. I soon encountered a Ju-88 and as I fired on it three chutes appeared and the plane exploded."
- Captain Ted Lines, September 10th, 1944

No other aircraft of WWII could fly as high, go as far, or fight as hard as the famed Mustang. Piloted by a record 281 Aces, this agile and ferocious dogfighter tallied more kills than any other Allied airplane. As the bombers of the Eighth Air Force fought their way deep into Hitler's Germany, it was the Mustang that cleared the skies of Luftwaffe fighters. The powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine gave the Mustang a speed of 445 mph. Re-styled with an aerodynamic bubble canopy for greater visibility, and outfitted with 6 fast-firing .50 caliber machine guns, the P-51 became the best fighter of the war.

The P-51K Mustang was essentially a P-51D with a different propeller. With war production at max capacity in Inglewood, NAA added P-51 production at their Dallas Texas plant starting with the P-51B. The new designation of the B models built in Dallas was P-51C.

When the P-51D began production, once again the Dallas plant was needed. Unlike the B models, when the D models were built in Dallas, their designation of "D" was kept. They were identified as built from the Dallas plant with the "NT" suffix. So a -5 block of a D model Mustang built in Dallas would be a P-51D-5NT. These were identical to a P-51D-5NA, built in Inglewood, Ca.

Pictured here is a 1:48 scale replica of a USAAF North American P-51D Mustang fighter nicknamed "Thunder Bird", was piloted by Captain Ted Lines, who was attached to the 335th Fighter Squadron "Chiefs", 4th Fighter Group, then deployed to Debden, England, during 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-1/2-inches
Length: 7-1/2-inches

Release Date: May 2024

Historical Account: "Thunder Bird" - Born and raised in Arizona, Ted Lines joined the U.S. Army Air Forces after his graduation from Mesa Union High School. He trained as a fighter pilot, flying P-40 and P-51 aircraft, arriving at Debden, England in April, 1944 as a part of the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group. He was a double ace, credited with ten enemy aircraft destroyed, and tied for third place in aerial victories. His P-51 Mustang was named "Thunder Bird", in homage to his Arizona heritage. After completing his combat tour, he checked out pilots in their aerobatic capabilities at Luke Field in Glendale, Arizona. Captain Lines died on June 4th, 2005, in Gilbert, Arizona , at the age of 84.