1:48 P-51B/C

The Merlin turned the Mustang into a long-range escort

The original American engine gave the airframe decent speed only low over the ground; at the altitudes where the bomber formations flew, the aircraft ran out of breath. The British idea of putting a supercharged Rolls-Royce engine into the fuselage turned everything around. The result was the version with the letter B from the Californian plant and the entirely identical version with the letter C, built by a second factory in Texas, and from the winter of 1944 they were able to escort daylight raids all the way to Berlin. It was this type that broke the defense over the Reich before the better-known variant with the teardrop canopy appeared.

A razorback canopy of the older cut

Unlike the later form, this version has a tall spine behind the pilot's head and a canopy made up of a framed windscreen, sliding side panels and a rear window. The British often exchanged the hood for a bulged cover that improved the view to the sides. The division is fine here and the frames meet at sharp angles.

What the set covers

The enclosed pieces are prepared for the outside and for the matching areas from within. The frame can thus be sprayed in the cockpit color before the glazing is fitted, and the joint between the glass and the fuselage stays clean. The shapes follow the clear parts of the chosen model exactly.

The order of painting

It is worth finishing the interior first, then closing the fuselage, and only then fitting the glazing with the covering in place and going on to spray the outer coat. Anyone who masks only after the base color has been sprayed risks the primer running under the edge, leaving a blurred line.