1:48 P-51D Mustang

Nicknames that outlived their crews

Nose art on an American fighter was not decoration but a signature. The sheet brings two aircraft on which it is precisely the name that sets the model apart from hundreds of other silver Mustangs. The first is a P-51D with the serial number 44-11661 and the code QP-X from the beginning of 1945, which according to the supplier was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Jack Oberhansly.

Wordplay on the second machine

The second airframe, P-51D 44-14376 with the code CG-T of the 38th Fighter Squadron of the 55th Fighter Group, carried a different inscription on each side, playing with the pronunciation of the name of the type. Such double marking is rewarding for the modeler, because the right and left sides of the model then look different and the finished work cannot be dismissed at a single glance.

What you are buying

You are buying a sheet with a printed film in 1:48 proportion for completing a finished model. The kit is not part of it. Besides the nose paintings, the sheet also carries code letters, serial numbers and small accompanying lettering for both machines.

Procedure for application

The paintings on the nose lie across the curvature of the cowling and across panel seams, so without decal softener the edge will lift. We recommend underlaying the area with gloss clear, applying the elements one at a time and letting them dry until completely hard. Only then is the model given a unifying clear coat and the surface weathering can be started.

Where machines like these met

The fighter groups of the Eighth Air Force kept their own colored markings on cowlings and rudders so that they would recognize each other in the air from a distance. The modeler thus gets a clue that reveals the affiliation sooner than the serial number under the tail does. On both aircraft on this sheet the colored element on the nose is the most striking feature of the whole build.