P-51B Mustang

For the most part I enjoyed building this kit. The fit of the parts was generally very good, with very little fussing or struggling. One of the first things I look for in a model airplane is the cockpit detail, and this kit has it: a seat complete with molded-on straps, an instrument panel with raised detail and an optional decal, and even a floorboard made to look like a piece of wood. The one-piece canopy, however, will obscure most of these touches once the model has been built. I ran into three snags with this kit. The first was the landing gear. At first it was simply a very tight fit, but after some work to get the posts into the holes I thought I had it. My efforts seem to have ruined the struts, turning them spongy and useless. The second problem was with the decals: most were fine, but the sharkmouth that's meant to fit around the Mustang's chin didn't want to go. No matter what I did to it, it curled and crumpled. (This one might just be me; every sharkmouth decal I've ever come into contact with has betrayed me). Third was the propeller. It comes in seven parts: four blades, a tiny plastic washer, and a two-part spinner. The blades must slot into the spinner, followed by the washer, and the whole thing fits over a post sticking out of the Mustang's nose, which is then covered by the tip of the spinner. In theory it should work; in practice, the sloppy molding and large amounts of flash make a mess of it. The sloppiness didn't end there. The bits that attach the drop-tanks under the wings were so hideously deformed that I couldn't use them. Other parts -- usually the smallest ones -- had a smudged, indistinct quality to them, and were very difficult to clean up. This is a problem with Revell I've run into before, which is a pity with such well-designed kits.