Issue 170 - http://www.modelairplaneinternational.com 37U.S. P-51D MUSTANG (873010A)
Moulded in pearl-like silver plastic
that is somewhat reminiscent of
the old Matchbox P-51D, FoV’s
Mustang perhaps relects their
earlier efforts in as much as there
are some nice moulding touches
but the shapes just seem off. The
engraved surface detail on the
wings is perhaps a little heavy but
it’s iner on the fuselage.
The kit actually features
some effective cockpit detail
and – perhaps a irst for a 1:72
P-51D – a Packard Merlin engine
complete with intake trunking.
Parts breakdown is as per almost
all other P-51Ds in this scale (left/
right fuselage halves, one-piece
lower wing with separate upper
left and right halves etc...) save
for the separate cowl pieces so
that the engine can be displayed.
The undercarriage has gear-up
and gear-down options, the former
has some nice detail touches,
the latter has some ictional detail
moulded to the interior which
looks odd at irst until you realise
it’s designed to key into the details
inside the wheel wells. The latter
are shallow, but again this is a
common fault with Mustang kits
in this scale. The main intake
lip is separate and aside from a
shallow recess is moulded solid.
The tail wheel drops into place in
its own little box that features pre-
moulded doors. The wheels have
some nice tread detail even if the
rims are little too pronounced. The
pilot igure is like something from
a 1950s kit and appears to look
more like a WW1 German soldier
in a gasmask!
Where the kit really falls
down is at the front and back
ends. The prop features oddly
truncated and shaped blades
that also have a twist to them.
I wasn’t able to assess the
cowl panels as the entire sprue
containing them appeared to be
missing in my sample. Finally,
the thickness of the in-illet and
tail is about double what it should
be, lending the model the look of
one of those inlatables used as
decoys during WW2. Again thecanopy is separately bagged and
packed but the shape looks too
tall. Finally, there are a pair of
108 Gallon paper tanks that are
actually not too bad.
The detail sheet has a single
option for “Petie 2nd’ of the
487th Fighter Squadron, 352
Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force
in overall natural metal with a
blue nose. Despite being neatly
printed, the sheet is something
of a disaster, the most egregious
error being the US star-and-bars
that are misshapen and oddly
proportioned. The box art shows
a row of (surprisingly) uncensored
yellow Swastika kill-markings but
(unsurprisingly) no decals are
provided in the kit. Some muddy
nose art, serial numbers, data
placard and prop markings round
out the sheet.
All told this kit’s value to
the enthusiast is limited but as
something for a younger, less
discerning modeller to get stuck
into, it’s neatly moulded and goes
together very well.