Having first appeared in 1973, Mono-gram’s Twin Mustang is considered a “classic.” It has been reissued several times since – and it’s back again, just in time to take on some competition.
No changes have been made to the molds; that means you get raised panel lines, a basic interior, and easy assembly. The kit comes with optional parts for a large underwing radome for the night-fighter/interceptor or with bombs and rockets for the fighter/bomber version. Two drop tanks are also provided. The interiors have a basic seat molded into the floor, a stick, an instrument panel with decals, and decent pilot/radar operator figures. Sidewall detail is lightly raised but too fine to be highlighted with dry-brushing. Each canopy is molded with separate windscreens, and the sliding portions can be allowed to operate. The clear parts are a bit thick for the scale.
The wing features a nicely detailed gun pack and hatch if you want the weapons exposed. Overall, fit is good. Main-gear wells are molded into the wing and have decent detail with robust main-gear-strut sockets. The struts have good detail too, but the strut doors are undersized and should extend to the wing. The tail wheels look tiny and have the struts molded on one side (they should be forked).
I had no problems fitting it all together, and no alignment problems keeping all four wheels on the ground. The propellers were easy to install, but I didn’t bother with allowing them to spin. The blades are molded into the front part of the spinners, so pitch angles are set. They measure out to the proper 11-foot span.
Monogram’s decals provide markings for a black 52nd F(AW)G bird, and a natural-metal/Arctic red aircraft of the 449th F(AW)S. There are some errors: The font used for the night-fighter decals is the standard USAF style, but photos show they should be the rounded “Sabre” lettering. The red looks dark, not as vivid as what photos show. Supposedly, the subject provided had silver and gold stars and stripes. But instead of using metallic inks, Monogram has the designs printed in white and a darkened yellow. National insignias for the night-fighter shouldn’t have blue discs. If you choose the night-fighter, leave off the horizontal stabilizer until after applying the blue-tail decals.
The finished model is a fair representation of the aircraft. But, compared with
photos, Monogram’s noses are too short. The tails look about right, but the center wing section could use more chord. The drop tanks look a bit smaller than those in photos.
Of the 18 hours I spent on the model, more went into painting and decaling than assembly.