Mustang Mk.I

Special Hobby, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Glen Porter

 Special Hobby's 1/72 scale Mustang Mk.I is available online from Squadron.com
 

This is not a new kit but was released several years ago just when MPM started to improve their mouldings. Fist kitted under the MPM banner with US markings, the resin was excellent but the plastic was still a bit rough and had many moulding flaws. However, at that time, it was the best and most accurate Allison engined Mustang on the market in plastic.

Next released about eighteen months ago by Condor as the NA P-51/Mustang 1A and A-36A Apache dive-bomber. These two kits [C72015 and C72016 respectively] came minus the resin and were very inexpensive. One of these kits combined with the inaccurate Italeri kit could result in a very nice model indeed with enough work.

Now the two Condor kits have been re-released under the Special Hobby name, both in one box and with the original MPM resin as the Mustang Mk I. One of the differences between the MPM and Condor kits was, the MPM came with the American style bulged camera window in the canopy where as the Condor kits had the British flat style window. The Special Hobby offering is marketed as a British Mk I but it comes with the American bulged window, which is wrong for a British aircraft. However, I had the opportunity to have a look at the same kit bought by someone else and it had the British canopy.

The Academy P-51 was released quite recently. As good as the Academy kit is, and it is good, this Special Hobby offering can still be made into a nice model. Some people get more satisfaction out of constructing a good model from a more challenging kit. Not that this is a bad kit; it’s just not as good as the Academy one. If you are one of these people, go for it.

Two complete fuselage/ wing sprues are supplied, one with the cannon armed wing and no under nose armament, the other with the nose gun fuselage and dive-bomber wing. A resin insert is supplied for each wing to replace the cannons and combined with the nose gun fuselage, a British Mk I can be built. Using the cannon armed wing and fuselage as is will get you a British Mk IA. Selecting the dive-bomber wing and fill the dive brakes along with the non-nose gun fuselage will get you a British Mk II or just use the dive-bomber parts as they are for one of the few dive-bombers supplied to the RAF.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Of course it’s not that easy. Each different wing armament had a different set of spent ammunition chutes and these will have to be changed to the appropriate style.

There is a lot of flash and some of the smaller parts may be better scratch built. The canopies are accurate and clear and reasonably thin and if you are really careful, you can cut it into five bits to make an open canopy. This will however, make the canopy somewhat short but it will still look okay and it will show off all that lovely resin interior.

The fuselage doesn’t have the radiator exhaust opening just in front of the tail wheel but this shouldn’t present much of a problem to an experienced modeller and an adventurous one might even drop the panel in front of it.

The resin parts, all by CMK are well moulded and usable. The decals also look quite good and the colours are better than some others I’ve seen from MPM.

If you are the type of modeller who likes making silk purses from sows’ ears, well here is something a bit better than a sow’s ear.

Recommended.

Thanks to MPM/Special Hobby for the review sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2005 by Glen Porter
Images Copyright © 2005 by Brett Green
Page Created 22 February, 2005
Last updated 22 February, 2005

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