1:48 P-51B Mustangs

A combat squadron and a training group

The difference between the two subjects lies in what the machines were used for. The first Mustang flew from an English station with a renowned combat group which in the spring of 1944 escorted daylight raids and pursued the enemy over his own territory. The second belonged to a formation whose task was to prepare newly arrived pilots for what awaited them across the Channel. Training units received machines from the first line and wore varied markings of their own, of a kind not seen with combat squadrons.

Markings worth studying

Code letters, a name and national insignia belong to each aircraft. It is precisely by the insignia that the period is recognized: in the spring of 1944 a different form was used over Europe than a year earlier, and the wrong type of star is a lapse anyone notices on a finished model. The sheet covers this side of things including the small technical lettering placed over the wing and fuselage.

A procedure that has proved itself

• Lay out the placement dry and from a photograph, not from memory.
• Apply the large insignia on the wing before the lettering around them.
• Add a drop of water under the film if it snags while settling.
• Wipe glue residue off once dry with a cotton swab dampened in water.

The contents of the package are decals alone. A kit of the fighter in 1:48 scale, paints and varnish are not supplied and are provided separately. A pair of subjects from different parts of the air arm suits a collection built thematically, where a machine from the front stands beside a machine from the rear, neither of which could function without the other.