North American P-51D Mustang Fighter Aircraft

This is an excellent kit from start to finish. The model is crisply molded out of high-quality plastic on one big sprue and two smaller ones for the prop and canopy. The instructions are clear and the decals are superb (though the three marking options are a little obvious). The cockpit fits together with no trouble at all, and with a terrific level of detail considering the scale. You might have to do a little sanding on the wingroots, as the fit to the fuselage is on the tight side, but otherwise the model goes together smoothly, landing gear and everything. The propeller assembly includes a rubber bushing so the prop can spin, and that allows you to leave it off until you've built everything else. The only small downside to the kit is the lack of options: only one style of drop-tanks is included, and no bombs or rockets. You do get two types of canopy and both shrouded and unshrouded exhausts. It's a lot like the new Airfix Mustang in the parts layout, but much higher quality.

I was a little surprised at how small the kit is. smaller than what I thought 1/72 scale would be on a Mustang, however the kit looks good and should build up quite easily.