The F-5 series of aircraft comes armed with two 20mm, M-39 cannons, each with 280 rounds of ammunition. The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy both used the F-5 in a training role, with different paint jobs and tactics to simulate enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat training.

Master Models has come up with brass replacement gun barrels and a turned brass pitot probe for the nose. Four parts are included, two gun barrels, one gun fairing, and a pitot probe. Each of the gun barrels has a realistic barrel shape, open at one end and faired closed at the other. The gun fairing is slightly larger than the two gun barrels and gives you the option of having just one gun in the nose.

The book opens with the developmental history of the P-51 Mustang. In early 1940, as World War II was developing in Europe, the British approached North American Aviation in about building P-40s for the Royal Air Force under license from the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. North American countered with an offer to design and build an improved fighter aircraft. The next phase of history is well known, as the NA-73 design was accepted by the British and eventually the US Army Air Forces took notice. The original design utilised the same twelve-cylinder Allison engine as the P-40, but the laminar-flow wing and other aerodynamic improvements allowed the new aircraft to fly faster and with great range. However, the Allison-engined P-51A version had weaknesses at higher altitudes so the airframe was modified to use the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that had proven its value in the British Spitfire.

This set is designed to be used with Modelsvit’s Ye-152 experimental aircraft. The set consists of 5 resin parts providing the portion of the exhaust section of the engine aft of the rear compressor blades. Cast in a light grey resin, the parts exhibit exquisite detail, however, other than the flame-holder for the afterburner and the actual nozzle part, all the details are on the inside of the exhaust tube and are finely rendered.

The resin used by Amigo Models is of a medium hardness that is comparable to the injected plastic used in Airfix’s new kits which makes it easy to cut, but not so fragile as to collapse or shatter when cut. I use fine razor saw to separate the parts from the pour stubs and a medium grit (400) sanding stick to clean up the cut edges. I then soaked the parts in Simple Green to remove any mold release agent.