Revell P-51D-5NA Mustang Early Version 1/32 New Tool 03944
Posted: December 1st, 2017, 7:03 pm
Released last Friday, this is one of Revell's newest releases which arrived chez iggie today.
As is now the norm with Revell, the box is a fairly flimsy end-opening one, that will not stand up to much abuse in postage (as mine didn't), and likely won't appreciate too much being stored on top of it in the stash. It does have some nice artwork on it, plus some detail pics of the built model on the reverse. The close up of the cockpit shows a seat belt in the bottom of the seat; there are none in the kit and none moulded onto the seat so I'm guessing there must be an after market set available!
Inside there are four clear bags containing sprues, an instruction booklet and safety leaflet, and a sheet of decals.
In total, there are nine sprues of light grey plastic parts, and two of clear parts. There is no flash evident and from a very cursory look, no ejector pin or sink marks visible in any problematic areas. There are a few seam lines in places, but very minor and a quick swipe of a sanding stick should deal with them.
There is plenty of detail present, with fine engraved panel lines (including on the wings which will no doubt elicit much debate elsewhere....) and nicely done rivet detail. The part breakdown screams more variants to come; the tail assembly is separated from the main fuselage suggesting a filleted tail to follow, and there are a variety of vents for the fuselage sides to pick up on just two things I can spot; I'm sure there are more clues those more knowledgeable will see. The clear parts are very clear, and even with the canopy closed, it will be easy to see the cockpit interior which is good as it looks like there is plenty of detail included in this part of the build. There is no engine, and therefore no removable cowls, but I'm sure the after market chaps are already on the case, along with a myriad of other components to detail the base kit.
The decals are printed in Italy (by Barracuda Studios) and look spot on; colours are clear and bright and there doesn't appear to be too much excess carrier film either.
The instructions are the now typical colour booklet, with paint call-outs in Revell numbers only, and include the compulsory mixing of two or three colours to achieve the required finish. There are 74 stages to the assembly, and two choices of scheme; there is no information regarding the two choices other than the pilot's names and the name given to the aircraft so some research may be needed to establish bases, dates and the like.
Overall, it looks another excellent kit, even more so when the price is considered; £36.99 RRP but already on sale for a fair bit less than this on-line. It will I am certain build up into a cracking model in the hands of an experienced modeller even without after market goodies. It will certainly look like a Mustang, and that's good enough for me!
As is now the norm with Revell, the box is a fairly flimsy end-opening one, that will not stand up to much abuse in postage (as mine didn't), and likely won't appreciate too much being stored on top of it in the stash. It does have some nice artwork on it, plus some detail pics of the built model on the reverse. The close up of the cockpit shows a seat belt in the bottom of the seat; there are none in the kit and none moulded onto the seat so I'm guessing there must be an after market set available!
Inside there are four clear bags containing sprues, an instruction booklet and safety leaflet, and a sheet of decals.
In total, there are nine sprues of light grey plastic parts, and two of clear parts. There is no flash evident and from a very cursory look, no ejector pin or sink marks visible in any problematic areas. There are a few seam lines in places, but very minor and a quick swipe of a sanding stick should deal with them.
There is plenty of detail present, with fine engraved panel lines (including on the wings which will no doubt elicit much debate elsewhere....) and nicely done rivet detail. The part breakdown screams more variants to come; the tail assembly is separated from the main fuselage suggesting a filleted tail to follow, and there are a variety of vents for the fuselage sides to pick up on just two things I can spot; I'm sure there are more clues those more knowledgeable will see. The clear parts are very clear, and even with the canopy closed, it will be easy to see the cockpit interior which is good as it looks like there is plenty of detail included in this part of the build. There is no engine, and therefore no removable cowls, but I'm sure the after market chaps are already on the case, along with a myriad of other components to detail the base kit.
The decals are printed in Italy (by Barracuda Studios) and look spot on; colours are clear and bright and there doesn't appear to be too much excess carrier film either.
The instructions are the now typical colour booklet, with paint call-outs in Revell numbers only, and include the compulsory mixing of two or three colours to achieve the required finish. There are 74 stages to the assembly, and two choices of scheme; there is no information regarding the two choices other than the pilot's names and the name given to the aircraft so some research may be needed to establish bases, dates and the like.
Overall, it looks another excellent kit, even more so when the price is considered; £36.99 RRP but already on sale for a fair bit less than this on-line. It will I am certain build up into a cracking model in the hands of an experienced modeller even without after market goodies. It will certainly look like a Mustang, and that's good enough for me!
