Of the theaters and conflicts fought by the famous North American P-51D, probably its least well-known — and maybe most difficult — assignment was as a long-range escort flying out of Iwo Jima at the end of World War II. These Very Long Range (VLR) missions taxed man and machine to their limits.
Thankfully, Arma Hobby has not forgotten adding a 1/72 scale P-51D Mustang Very Long Range plastic model kit to its stable of pony planes. The standard sprues from the other Arma P-51D kits are included, with an additional new sprue dedicated to the VLR parts. This consists of optional underwing drop tanks, including the massive teardrop 310-gallon version as well as 5-inch HVAR rockets and stub mounts. The stub mounts are tied together by a small connector designed to be removed after installation — an example of the kit’s clever engineering.
Constructing the comprehensive cockpit includes numerous stencils and instrument panel decals. Seat belt decals are included; not my favorite, but instead of applying them normally, I left them on the backing paper, cut them out, and glued them onto the seat. This provided a bit of thickness that would have otherwise been absent. The interior also includes full trunking for the classic radiator and a full tailwheel bay assembly. All the parts fits were good, although I had to remove a bit of excess plastic in the lower interior of the fuselage scoop. A combination of AK Real Colors US Interior Yellow Green and Zinc Chromate Yellow took care of the interior, while I used new water-based metallic paint from Kaleido ColorWorks for the metallics.
The wings include fully detailed main gear bays. Uniquely, Arma chose to supply silver decals with tiny gaps for the stringers to help you make the stringers appear Zinc Chromate Yellow while making the majority of the bay natural metal. Sadly, this was a bit beyond the ability of my tired, old eyes to align. The underwing formation lights needed more work than I was willing to put in to lay flush in the wingtip, so I re-created them with clear glue. Don’t forget to add the separate gun muzzles to each wing before using glue. The separate flaps are such a tight fit they need no solvent; I finished and installed them separately. The kit includes a nice landing light, but I managed to launch it into oblivion.
The wing and tail surfaces all fit with no gaps, and thanks to the wing spar and Arma’s penchant for slotted tailplane assembly, there were no dihedral or alignment issues. I painted the anti-glare panel Tamiya Khaki Drab and then masked it off for the natural metal application. Kaleido ColorWorks Aluminum, Stainless Steel, and Gun Metal worked splendidly. I was even able to mask over the aluminum the next day with no damage — always a worry for me with water-based acrylics.
For the markings, I decided on the striking striped pony called Little One from the 458th Fighter Squadron on Iwo Jima. Despite the tail completely covered by stripes, the decals went on without issue, were easy to align, and fit perfectly. Phew!
The Arma Hobby 1/72 scale P-51D Mustang Very Long Range plastic model kit took me just under 20 hours total to complete. The overall fit of the kit is outstanding, and the detail is exceptional. It would be a great kit for any modeler of intermediate skill level or higher. My only complaint, other than decal seat belts, is the lack of positive mounting for the underwing stores. The HVAR’s are a bit clunky, but that’s not unusual in this scale. This is a terrific kit of a nearly forgotten variant of history’s most famous aircraft.
