The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter.

Recently I was given the opportunity by IPMS USA to review one of Lifelike Decal’s offering’s for the North American P-51 Mustang John D Landers Big Beautiful Doll (48-051). This set from LifeLike covers the planes flown by ace John D. Landers. His plane, Big Beautiful Doll is one of the most recognizable Mustangs around. This is thanks to the large black and white checkerboards on the nose. This set offers markings for six different schemes on three aircraft flown by Col. John D. Landers; detailed reference information is included and stencil data is supplied.

Aircraft details:

• P-51D (early, no fin fillet) 38th FS, 55th FG, green and yellow checked nose, green and yellow striped spinner, lower fuselage invasion stripes
• P-51D (early, no fin fillet) C.O. 357th FG, red and yellow checked nose, red and yellow striped spinner, lower fuselage invasion stripes
• P-51D, C.O. 78th FG, black and white checked engine cowling, black and white halved spinner, black rudder
• P-51D, C.O. 78th FG, black and white checked engine cowling, black and white halved spinner (minor variations to the aircraft above)
• P-51D, C.O. 78th FG, black and white checked engine cowling, black and white halved spinner (minor variations to the aircraft above)
• P-51D, C.O. 361st FG, yellow engine cowling, yellow spinner, blue rudder and canopy frame

Two folded A4 pages plus an A5 page are included in the resealable plastic bag. Data on colors, markings and operations are included.

The decals appear to be in perfect register. Colors look good too. There is a full-sized sheet for the unique markings, with three smaller sheets. Decals are printed by Microscale

I am well pleased with this offering from Lifelike decals. This is great for the Tamiya kit and likely could be used on the new Airfix offering. I would like to thank Lifelike decals for a great product and IPMS USA for the opportunity to review this item.