1:72 P-51B/D Mustangs

From the angular canopy to the bubble

Few fighters changed as visibly in the course of eighteen months as the Mustang did. This sheet sets both guises side by side. The earlier subject is the B form with a framed canopy and the serial number 43-12375, whose pilot was Captain Donald Beerbower, called Buzz among his friends. He flew with the 353rd Fighter Squadron, that is, with a unit that belonged to the pioneering Mustang group of the Ninth Air Force, which was the first to bring the type into combat over Western Europe.

The second subject is the late D form with the serial number 44-73264, the code CY-U and a name referring to a gunfighter of the Wild West. It served with the 343rd Fighter Squadron of the 55th Fighter Group, that is, with a formation that changed over from twin-boom Lightnings to Mustangs. The difference between the two machines is instructive for the modeler: the bubble canopy, a different shape of the rear fuselage and a different layout of the lettering.

Notes on the markings

• on the early series the fuselage codes sit lower than on the later machines
• prepare the white identification stripes on the wings by painting; they are not on the sheet
• lay the personal inscription on the nose only after the national insignia are seated

The early form calls for attention at the rear as well, where the fuselage above the wing has a different section from the later machine, and the position of the lettering respects that. Obtain a model of the aircraft to go with the sheet separately; the delivery contains solely the printed elements for the two forms of the fighter mentioned.