Accurate Miniatures P-51C has been re-boxed many times. This is the “Bendix Racer” boxing of it. You get the standard sprues, which is a full military P-51C (i.e. machine guns are included in the kit).

Probably the main, and really the only problem about this kit, is the instructions. To begin with, they are very confusing regarding the left and right parts for the rear fuselage. You just have to use your common sense. Besides, it is very obvious which part is the left (or right) part of the fuselage; just look at the drawings and ignore the part number.

I assembled and detailed the cockpit as per instructions. Then I departed from the instructions by first gluing the forward and rear parts of each fuselage together, then assembling both full fuselages sides together. Simple enough to do, and it ensured a better alignment of the whole fuselage.

After 3-1/2 weeks since the “First Look,” this reviewer is pleased to provide this final installment for the out-of-box “build of a lifetime.” Indeed, in my humble opinion, our friends at Tamiya outdid even their standard-setting Spitfire series. All said, 34 hours were invested in the build – 24 on construction, and 10 on painting, decaling, and weathering. I can’t believe fewer than 40 hours were logged…but that’s what all my records indicate -- most likely a testament to how well everything fit, and the fact that there were a couple of uninterrupted “build days” early in the build.

Integration

With the majority of subassemblies complete at the time of the previous report, integration was the next major task. Again, as e xpected, all of the “subs” fell together with very little effort. Wings and horizontal stabilizers mated to the fuselage with only a couple spots of putty on the lower forward wing root, just aft of the engine cowling.

The Flakpanzer IV “Wirbelwind” (German for whirlwind) was a self-propelled quad 2.0 cm anti-aircraft gun based on the Pz IV. It was developed in 1944 as a replacement for the Mobelwagen. The Wirbelwind was replaced by the Ostwind with a single 3.7cm FlaK 43. The number of units produced ranged from upper 80’s to approximately 105.

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 500+ styrene parts, magic tracks, one braided metal wire (which is very stiff even after annealing), one photo etched fret, decals and the set of instructions that need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together.

Most Dragon models today are a collection of old sprues and new sprues added to create a new kit variant. In this case, Dragon has done so and you will have some sprues with the same letter. Even though Dragon has not advertised this is a 2-in-1 kit, you have many options that need to be reviewed and decided on before you start this kit.

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to review a product from these folks and I must say I am quite impressed. These “tail feathers” are designed as exact kit part replacements with one notable exception…the horizontal stabs and elevators are separated and can be positioned as they should be on the real plane. After spending 55 plus years around aircraft of all types, please trust me. They are sized for the excellent Hasegawa kit

These parts are amongst the best castings I have ever encountered completely free of warpage, pinholes or flaws of any kind. They come in a cream-colored resin, and the engravings are exquisite to say the least. No doubt that they will accept paint and/or washes without problems.

Many thanks to Stephen Sendelbach and Master Details for the review sample. Most highly recommended.

I have to admit, that when I first saw this sheet of decals, I wasn’t too impressed. The six aircraft don’t have the “wow” factor that a lot of us are used to seeing on World War One aircraft. The reds, blues, yellows, and other bright and dazzling color schemes are not here. After looking through the four page booklet, however, I have decided that this is a good thing.

First, you will get six schemes to choose from. All the wings are in green and mauve or just green, so there aren’t any lozenge decals to worry about. Next, none of the fuselages have that dreaded wood grain one has to try to imitate. Instead, they are in grey, green, or silver-grey. This is where the easy part ends and the fun really begins.