Another P-51 Mustang joins the continuing parade of new releases of this subject. This one from KP is advertised as a “new tool” for 2024 on the box top. I’ve had my share of challenges building KP kits, so I went into this build with high hopes. They get high marks for presentation.

The kit comes in an end open box with beautiful artwork on the front and full color finishing guide on the back for all the options on the decal sheet. You get three choices, all from the 361^st FG. Two grey frames and one clear hold the parts. The surface detail is up to current standard and the canopy is seamless and clear. There are two seat and exhaust options as well as a rearview mirror. Ailerons, flaps and the rudder are separate parts, but the landing gear bay is old school molded in the shape of gear well opening. The decal sheet has markings for three 361^st Mustangs. Only the black portion of the invasion stripes are included on the sheet. The instrument panel and seat harnesses are included as decals.

Things got interesting once assembly started. KP provided a decent cockpit with instrument panel with rudder pedals, two seat options and a fuel tank/radio behind the seat. An insert forms the exit ramp for the radiator but installing it requires carving out plastic from the inside of the fuselage halves to make it fit. The oil cooler vent flap is molded into each fuselage half. That leaves a tricky joint to fix in a tough spot. I cut it out and replaced it with sheet stock. The opening for the radiator exhaust must be shaped since it is not a rectangle like it should be. The wing gun barrels are molded in the top half and circular cutouts in the lower. These do not align and fixing them wasn’t worth the effort, so I didn’t. Joints at wing roots were acceptable. Putty, sanding and scribing were required to correct fuselage joints.

Painting is bare metal with yellow noses and olive drab panels in various sizes. Invasion stirpes are required on all versions. You’ll have to paint the white portion of the stripes and use black decals for the rest. I elected to paint the stripes in their entirety. Decal application was trouble free. The decals are thin but need something a little stronger than Micro Set to settle into panel lines.

More difficulties were encountered in final assembly. The main landing gear fits very loosely and the four-view line drawing in the instructions does not include a gear down view, Drop tanks are provided but the pylons don’t align with the mounts on the tanks. There is a clear landing light in the parts but no reference to it in the instructions. Lastly, the shrouded exhaust parts were oversized and didn’t fit the opening on the cowling.

Like many aircraft modelers, I really like Mustangs and have built a lot of them. I’ve never encountered some the issues I experienced on this kit. With so many good quality releases out there, seems like a manufacturer would scope out the competition and at least match that or better it. Parts of this kit looked as if the mold wasn’t finished before it was released. While its possible to build a decent Mustang from this kit, I don’t think given the quality of the competition it’s worth the extra effort.

Thanks to KP for the review sample and IPMS review corps for sharing with me.