P-51C Merlin-engined Mustang
Kit: No. 3419
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Accurate Miniatures, 100 Centre St., Charlotte, NC 28216-4064, phone 704-391-1176
Price: $24.50
Comments: Injection molded, 85 parts, decals.
P-51B and P-51C Mustang
Kit: No. 5931
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: ProModeler, 8601 Waukegan Rd., Morton Grove, IL 60053-2295, phone 847-966-3500
Price: $16.50
Comments: Injection molded, 50 parts, decals.
RAF Mustang III
Kit: No. 47
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Tamiya, distributed by Tamiya America, 2 Orion, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-4200, phone 800-826-4922
Price: $27
Comments: Injection molded, 64 parts, decals.
P-51C Merlin-engined Mustang
Accurate Miniatures' "new" P-51C (and P-51B, kit No. 3418) is based on its earlier Allison-engined Mustang series. This kit shares two of four sprues with those kits. Two new sprues include the revised fuselage, cockpit interior, and four-blade propeller and spinner. The fuselage tail section is separate to allow for the vertical fin fillet found on some P-51Cs.
Shrouded or unshrouded exhaust stacks are provided, and you also have the option of framed or Malcolm hoods (the rails for the sliding hood are not provided). Two sets of main wheels are included, one set flattened to look realistic on the "ground." You also get streamlined underwing tanks.
Accurate's instructions are predominately text with four exploded-view assembly sketches. The painting and decaling drawings are tiny but adequate. I wish other kit manufacturers provided a multi-brand paint guide like the ones Accurate has in its instructions.
The parts are flash-free and feature nicely recessed panel lines. My kit had warped top and bottom right-wing halves. I checked a second kit -- warped again. I corrected the problem by softening the parts in hot water and gently bending them straight.
The cockpit detail is the best of the three Mustangs. Side-wall detail is separate and looks good when painted. Be careful, though: It took several dry runs to align the fit inside.
The clear instrument panel looks realistic when carefully painted, but no backing decal of instrument dials was provided (as Accurate provided in the Allison Mustangs) so I borrowed one from my spares. Be careful cleaning up the sprue-attachment point on the windscreen.
The fit of the rear fuselage was acceptable but the nub of the vertical-fin fillet is molded on the forward fuselage and must be sanded away if the Mustang you're modeling doesn't have the fillet.
The kit goes together well with only a little filler needed at the wing roots and sanding to blend the radiator intake (part 75) to the fuselage. You may want to add a piece of plastic to block off the see-through effect in the radiator. The spinner sits awkwardly on the slightly rounded front end of the fuselage. This area should be flat.
While the model measures accurately to Squadron/Signal's P-51 Mustang in Action and Model Art No. 401 North American P-51 Mustang, some details were missing. The direction-finding antenna on the spine (shown on the box art) is not provided, and the six streamlined strakes near the wing tips (four on the upper surface, two underneath) are not there. This is a concession as Accurate uses the otherwise-identical P-51A wing in this kit. Here's something odd: The panel lines on the upper surfaces of the horizontal stabilizers are raised while they are recessed below.
I painted my model with Testor Metalizer and Gunze Sangyo acrylics. The decals provide a choice of two China-based Mustangs; mine went on without problems.
It took 25 hours to complete Accurate's Mustang. The result is a good-looking "razorback," despite the minor detail omissions.
P-51B and P-51C Mustang
Building ProModeler's Mustang was like renewing an old friendship. The emphasis here is "renew," as that is what ProModeler has done to the 30-year-old Monogram P-51B kit.
Gone are the old-fashioned raised panel lines and rivets. There is some flash on the parts, but the recessed panel lines look good.
A new multi-piece cockpit interior is provided along with gear-door jacks and a new pilot figure -- the only one among these three kits. Original molded-on details such as the exhaust stacks and radiator exit door have been replaced by separate parts. The weighted tires have separate wheels to ease painting.
Options include streamlined underwing tanks and a Malcolm hood (again no rails). The decals provide markings for three aircraft, one of them flown by a Tuskegee airman.
ProModeler's instructions include plenty of text and several detail photos of full-size Mustangs. Full-page toned drawings guide painting and decaling.
The kit can be assembled quickly, but if you want a good-looking model, cleanup is required. The wing-root fit was poor and needed a lot of filling and sanding. It's difficult to eliminate the step on the left fuselage/wing joint. Plenty of sanding is needed to remove the uneven seam on the bottom of the fuselage, too.
There were ejector-pin marks on the gear doors and the horizontal stabilizers. The cockpit side walls and the exhaust stacks showed flash and had soft detail.
The fit of the two-piece canopy is poor. Cut the rear-vision panels and fit them separately. You'll have to cut them off anyway if you choose the Malcolm hood. But once the canopy is on, it doesn't look right. My references show the windscreen is about 1/8" too short (fore and aft), making the nose look too long.
If you follow the instructions and attach the spinner to the nose cap, you'll have trouble cleaning up the fuselage seam. It's better to attach the nose cap to the fuselage, and leave the spinner off until later.
I painted this Mustang with Gunze Sangyo acrylics. My sample's decals went on OK, but they are fragile. The white identification band decals are translucent; it's better to paint them.
After resolving the assembly and fit problems, the model looks convincing. It took me 17 hours to complete ProModeler's Mustang. The restoration helps this old thoroughbred.
RAF Mustang III
The Mustang III essentially is Tamiya's P-51B kit with the Malcolm canopy and Royal Air Force markings. However, British bombs and the spade-handle control stick are not provided. What you do get is a kit with excellent surface detail, common-sense parts breakdown, and near-perfect fit. You can choose among two sets of exhaust stacks and three canopy options: closed Malcolm, closed framed, and open framed. U.S. 500-pound bombs are provided for the separate underwing racks.
The cockpit module includes the radio compartment and the radiator, and fits like a dream into the fuselage. The side-wall detail is molded into the fuselage halves and looks shallow. Tamiya's representation of the cockpit floor is the curved top of the wing structure. This would be accurate for the earlier Allison-engined Mustangs, but from the P-51B onward the fuselage was raised slightly above the wing and a flat plywood floor was installed.
Tamiya's kit is the only one of the three Mustangs with separate flaps. Mustangs were nearly always parked with flaps down, so this feature is a plus. You can install the flaps up with a little modification.
The kit goes together easily with no hitches encountered -- and no filler needed. The wing-root fit is especially good, and the horizontal stabilizers fit so snug that alignment takes care of itself. The separate upper cowling is a nice feature as you won't risk sanding away detail here. There are a few ejector-pin marks on the landing-gear doors and covers.
According to my references the kit is accurate in dimensions and profile, but the cuffs on the propeller blades seem too wide. Once again, no rails accompany the sliding Malcolm hood.
This Mustang received a Polly Scale acrylic finish. The Scale-Master decals look good and were trouble-free, but I cracked one upper-surface roundel when I squished it over the wing strakes. Four markings choices are given, one with a shark's mouth.
The Mustang III required 24 hours to complete. It's one of the best aircraft kits I've ever built. Mustang lovers will be in heaven.
Conclusions
Good "razorback" Mustangs can be built from all three kits. The Tamiya kit has the best overall quality and fit. Accurate's Mustang features the best cockpit of the three, but you may encounter warped wing parts. The ProModeler offering is a welcome upgrade of its predecessor, but suffers from poor fit and soft detail.
Jim Zeske