PMA Decals PMAD026: 1/48 ROCAF P-51D Mustang

This set from PMA decals is a nice set of markings for probably any P-51 Mustang flown by the Republic of China Air Force during their long association with the type. These aircraft were all painted pretty much the same way and were aluminum or aluminum lacquer with black anti-glare panels. The info sheet that accompanies the kit states that in 1954, money was raised for the purchase of additional aircraft through public donations. These planes would all have donation information on the side of the aircraft, such as shown in the opening image. As such, these would probably have been painted in aluminum lacquer with black interiors during overhaul in the US prior to delivery. They also might have had cuffless props, but without a photo of the plane in question, that would be difficult to determine. Also something one might want to check into is whether the aircraft had the perforated cooling grilles in the lower nose. The drawing shows the plane without it, but it may not have been fleet wide. You will also notice that the plane carries an ADF 'football' antenna, which may have to be fabricated.

The sheet provides markings for seven aircraft with about half of them also having donation markings. A tie-in sheet is provided to match nose number, serial and special markings. There are enough common markings for one aircraft as well as additional serials and nose number. Additional donation markings are also provided, though there is no nose number match for these. I would have liked to have seen the sheet offer rudder stripes, but like the larger scale sheet, you will need to paint those.  There are a lot of different P-51D kits out there for which these markings will apply. Many will gravitate towards the Tamiya and Hasegawa versions.

The decal sheet is superbly printed and glossy. In all, an excellent choice for replacement markings for your next 1/48 P-51.

 March 2012

Review sheet courtesy of http://www.thepmw.com. Please note that they are working on an English version of their website which should be up sometime in February.

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