[Steve1971]

I have always wanted to do this so last night, since I had alot of time on my hands, I had a chance to compare 21st Centurys 1/18th Mustang to BBI's version. I am a Mustang fanatic and know alot about the Stallion of the Skies. So what I did was break down the 2 to see what I thought was the best. After I'm done here you guys can chime in to give your views and whether you think I'm right or wrong. Here it goes:

First lets start with the landing gear. The landing gear on the 21st Mustang is correct with the forward rake being well done. The BBI Mustang lacks the rake look of the real Mustang and the gear struts are far to thick where as the 21st version is dead on. The landing gear doors on both Mustangs are short in length but that was done because of the re-tracting feature on both models/toys. The rear landing gear on the BBI Mustang sits to low and is to far forward when you snap it into place where as the the 21st Mustang is dead on. The rear gear doors on the BBI Mustang are also too long as well. So advantage goes to 21st.

Wind Dehedral. I will be short on this because BBI's Mustang dont have no wing dehedral. Is this really a big deal? To me when it comes to the Mustang yes. But some of BBI's other planes dont have this as well. But 21st again is on the mark. Advantage 21st.

Cockpit Detail. BBI wins this hands down. Their Mustang cockpit is awsome where as 21st seems to lack in this area. Their first series Mustangs, Ridge Runner 3 and Petie the 3rd, had the wood grain floors but their new series, BBD and Old Crow dont have this. Why? I have no clue. BBI wins hands down on the cockpit.

To Much Rivets? In looking at photos of WW 2 Mustangs there is rivet detail but I think BBI over does it just a tad. I have read many squadrons either painted over rivets or filled them in with putty to give better aerodynamics. Thats just what I've read. Now 21st can be accused of lacking in the rivet dept but I think they got it right. But thats just my view. But some others have said the weathering and rivets have been over done by BBI. You be the judge. Winner: Its a draw in my book.

BBI also seems to be doing 1/24th scale lettering and codes on their Mustangs as well. If you compare them to 21st you can see they are not 1/18th scale but 1/24th scale. Sam Sox of the 352nd FG website was mad when BBI released the Cripes A Mighty The 3rd Mustang because he said the victory markings and ID letters were to small. He gave help to BBI in making this Mustang and couldnt figure how they did that.

Other odds and ends. Some have said the 21st Mustang looks to toyish and and dont back up all the big talk 21st put out about it when it first appeared. Well heres my thoughts on that. Yes the 21st Mustang does not seem as durable as the BBI Mustang and yes it dont have all the details that BBI has on theres and thats what makes it a favorite I think for many collectors. Its a favorite of mine as well but since I aquired a near perfect 21st Century Old Crow it has grown on me to where I have added things like more rivets, wiring to some cockpit areas, brake lines, ect. To me its about as accurate and close to the real thing as you can get.

This all being said....these are toys after all and they both have their flaws. And know matter which one you choose you cant go wrong really. I gues it now comes down to whether you can find a decent paint scheme with the 21st Mustang. They are having their problems on that recently and I say thats due to the product being rushed. So there it is. If there is something I may have missed then let me know or give your own views about the 2 Mustangs and why you may or may not like them and which one is your favorite.


Fire away guys.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Steve1971

The landing gear doors on both Mustangs are short in length but that was done because of the re-tracting feature on both models/toys.

I've heard this stated before as the reason for the "floodwater" gear doors on Mustangs (although I don't know how it explains FM/Armour's pathetic example, as theirs is permanently gear down!), but if that's so, then how was Corgi (of all people) able to accomplish this amazing feat with their 1/32nd line?...

[Steve1971]

Well skunky the answere to your question is maybe that Corgis Mustangs are not considered toys. BBI and the 21st Mustangs are toys with working features where as Corgis Mustangs arent considered toys at all. BBI and 21st may have been gearing their Mustangs towards the collector but they are still what they are and that is toys. The gear doors as I said had to be shortened because of the retracting gear feature. Dont ask me why because it makes no sense to me but it is what it is I guess.

[dragon53]

STEVE1971:

Thanks for the great review. I have the 21st Century Big Beautiful Doll and love it---for the paint scheme. Like you mentioned, in the back of my mind, I still keep thinking it's a well-executed toy and not a serious replica. I haven't seen BBI's Killer, but I downloaded some photo enlargements of it and the detailing is very impressive---particularly the pilot and cockpit. The stitching is visible on the pilot's helmet and what appears to be an 8th Air force patch is painted on his leather flight jacket shoulder. The BBD pilot is one of BBD's weak points---not even an oxygen mask. I wish BBD had weathering, too. I wasn't happy with BBD's lack of rivets (I compared them to the Mustang photo featured in the Breitling watch ads) and was disappointed at the lack of rivets. However, your comment about crews painting over rivets in real life made me feel better about my BBD. Whether 21st Century had less rivets than BBI's Killer may be for accuracy reasons. However, based on the lack of BBD pilot/cockpit details compared to BBI's Killer, I think 21st Century was just being cheap and/or lazy.

[bsmith13]

Thanks for the comparison! I always wondered what the differences were. I had managed to keep only one 1/18 plane in my collection (a Spit) until I saw 21st Century's Old Crow at Wal-Mart for only $15.

Does anyone have the guts to cut up a BBI Mustang and put the BBI cockpit in a 21st Century bird?

[dragon53]

I've been to Wal-Mart, ToysRus and Target looking for an M1 tank----and a BBI pilot for my BBD. No luck with the pilot.

[trex0770]

I have both and really like both (especially since I used to own 21CT first Mustang.....yeesh). Considering, IIRC, BBI's Mustang came out a full year before 21CT's revamped Mustang, 21CT's plane didn't live up to the hype. I would have thought 21CT would have at least made gun lockers or removable engine coverings. I'm not knocking 21CT's plane, because it is really nice, but it just wasn't that big of an improvement over BBI's IMHO.

[Steve1971]

I agree the 21st Mustang did not live up to all the hype that 21st put upon it. To me the only thing that 21st did do well was the wing dehedral and the forward rake of the Mustang. I again looked over both Mustangs last night and again for me there is really no clear cut winner. Both have their negatives and pluses. Thats why I own both Old Crow and HHH.

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by Steve1971

Well skunky the answere to your question is maybe that Corgis Mustangs are not considered toys. BBI and the 21st Mustangs are toys with working features where as Corgis Mustangs arent considered toys at all. BBI and 21st may have been gearing their Mustangs towards the collector but they are still what they are and that is toys. The gear doors as I said had to be shortened because of the retracting gear feature. Dont ask me why because it makes no sense to me but it is what it is I guess.

Actually, it seems to me that the problem is less short gear doors as the fact that he gear struts are represented in the fully extended ("decompressed") position, which is accurate for an airplane with the gear down in the air (such as on approach for landing), with weight off the wheels, but not accurate once the airplane is on the ground. However, to make the gear retract properly, it has to be that way (on the real thing, when the gear retracts, weight is off wheels and therefore struts fully extended).

On the Corgi 1/32 Mustangs, they did a masterful job doing two things: 1) letting the gear door slide on the strut when retracting and 2) slightly playing around with the gear, gear well, and gear door proportions just enough to make it retractable but not really noticeably off from the real thing to the naked eye. A compromise, but very well executed. GMP has gear doors fixed to the strut, but cheats a little bit more on gear well dimentions and other proportions to make it work. Either solution works, in the sense that it's not noticeably "off" (though if you got a precision ruler out to measure, you'd see that it is).

To me, the gear on the BBI P-51 looks wrong when extended because is is just too tall (struts not compressed). Plus the tires are too thin anyway. Otherwise, pretty nice models I must say. I can't comment on the 21st version as I have not examined one closely (unlike the BBI).

FVD

[Steve1971]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

Actually, it seems to me that the problem is less short gear doors as the fact that he gear struts are represented in the fully extended ("decompressed") position, which is accurate for an airplane with the gear down in the air (such as on approach for landing), with weight off the wheels, but not accurate once the airplane is on the ground. However, to make the gear retract properly, it has to be that way (on the real thing, when the gear retracts, weight is off wheels and therefore struts fully extended).

On the Corgi 1/32 Mustangs, they did a masterful job doing two things: 1) letting the gear door slide on the strut when retracting and 2) slightly playing around with the gear, gear well, and gear door proportions just enough to make it retractable but not really noticeably off from the real thing to the naked eye. A compromise, but very well executed. GMP has gear doors fixed to the strut, but cheats a little bit more on gear well dimentions and other proportions to make it work. Either solution works, in the sense that it's not noticeably "off" (though if you got a precision ruler out to measure, you'd see that it is).

To me, the gear on the BBI P-51 looks wrong when extended because is is just too tall (struts not compressed). Plus the tires are too thin anyway. Otherwise, pretty nice models I must say. I can't comment on the 21st version as I have not examined one closely (unlike the BBI).

FVD

Viper you hit it right on the head about the gear struts on the 1/18th Mustangs. What I did to solve that problem on both HHH and Old Crow was shorten the gear legs to the compressed position. They look great.