Monogram 1/72 P-51B Mustang

MONOGRAM 1:72 P-51B MUSTANG

1979 boxart supplied by Robert Allen

1988 boxart supplied by Robert Allen

Reviewer: Paul Dawson (through braithy@bigpond.com)

The P-51B Mustang is the fore runner to D Model, and enough of you out there know all the whys and wherefores of these different variants so I won't rehash it all here. This monogram kit was one of the first I have ever built, as it was still around when I was a youngster. It's surprising to see that it is still on the market but it is relatively cheap and you can a reasonable B Model from this 60's kit. For sentimental reasons, and to replace my much loved and fondled earlier attempt (missing bits through handling and transport) I decided to not baulk at the opportunity to have another go at this aged kit. I was even more suprised on opening the box that basically nothing had changed (from what I remember!).

The inject plastic parts are molded in a bronze-green colour with raised panel lines that were quite detailed for a kit of its age. I went to work immediately on the cockpit which comes with a seat and control stick and a decal to attached to some makeshift instrument panel under the dashboard cover - well, at least that is where you guess you should put it!

The canopy is only made for a closed option and when you attach the two fuselage halves together you notice that its a touch smaller then the allocated space, but a bit of minor work will fix this up. The prop is moveable if you construct it that way and looks quite good on the nose - my old model has lost its props over the years and naturally this made the new model look like a completely different aircraft!!

The wings attach together quite well but mating them to the fuselage is another story and requires a lot of fiddling around, straightening and so forth to get them to secure properly - then the added frustration of ensuring they are positioned correctly while the structure dries. The air intake cooler underneath the aircraft presents the most annoying problem in that it's onepiece, unlike other models, and takes a lot of work to get it to look right, let alone smoothing out the interior. I spent a great deal of time hassling with this that resulted in quite a bit of frustration. The undercarriage went on relatively smoothly but they really don't look very realistic - looking more like toy wheels but they manage okay.

Decals are produced by Microscale and if you ask any real Mustang buff who has made this kit they would tell you that the markings and decals are wrong, so for authenticity go and buy an aftermarket source. I've never been able to track down Microscale/Monogram's example anywhere in any reference source so I have to assume it doesn't exist. But otherwise the decals are good quality making one USAAF version that is quite colourful and pleasing to look at.

Overall this kit is old and it builds like an old kit - a few fit problems and a few little inaccuracies in places. But it is otherwise a relatively good and easy kit and certainly one I would recommend to beginners and anyone wanting a quick build to hone their skills on.

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p51b_mustang.gif (21584 bytes)

Sideview of a P-15B - not the example produced by the kit but similar