KIT #:	3400
PRICE:	$25.00
DECALS:	One option
REVIEWER:	H Davis Gandees
NOTES:	I have acquired a love for the Allison powered Mustang that has a more streamlined look than the later Merlin powered Mustangs.

HISTORY

The kit has been in my stash for over 20 years. It was released in 1994 and has been re-released several times by Accurate Miniatures and other manufacturers.

Although the Accurate Miniature Mustang kits were excellent kit, their Merlin kits competed with the equally excellent Tamiya Mustang that had dropped flaps.

There was only one option for this kit. The decals although old performed well using warm water and time. The 6-page instructions are crude drawings, but there are very detailed written directions. There is a handy reference chart for various paint brands.

Separate wheels and tires are a nice touch making painting much easier. The exhaust and cannon barrels were well molded. The inner gear doors fit perfectly in the retracted position as this version Mustang doors remained closed when on the ground. The detail is excellent and the retract struts are included if you want to display your Mustang incorrectly. The cockpit detail is quite good including separately molded side panels.

On the negative side, the prop blades are club-like, very thick and needed to be thinned. Also, there are no rockets or bombs that this Mustang delivered to the Axis regularly. There were also sink marks on the upper and lower nose that needed filling.

Beginning with the cockpit the panel and side panels were painting flat black. The rest of the cockpit was painted interior green.

I was concerned about the firewall forward section, but it mated perfectly to the fuselage with only a panel line. I took a lot of time to get everything centered in the fuselage before closing it up. I test fit the tailwheel, radiator exit door, radio stack and cockpit and then installed them with white glue to provide time to adjust them and everything centered perfectly. The only option was Eduard PE seatbelt/harness.

As discussed above, the inner gear doors are closed on the ground and they fit perfectly! The canopy is one piece and also fit perfectly. I had trouble with the left side rear glass that required some trimming to fit the opening. I read reviews that everyone has the same issue.

The wings fit the fuselage with little putty needed and the stabilizers were installed after painting and aligned. I eliminated the right-side landing light filling and sanding the clear lens. The landing gear was installed and carefully aligned for the correct Mustang rake. Separate wheels and tires should be offered by all manufacturers, a nice touch. The nicely molded exhausts and cannon barrels were attached after painting the model and a nylon thread antenna wire and down lead were installed finishing the Mustang.

The model was painted with Tamiya AS-6 USAAF Olive Drab over AS-7 Neutral Gray. I masked and painted the yellow stripes with Tamiya TS-34 Camel Yellow. Tamiya TS-13 Clear was applied for decaling and a final coat of Tamiya TS-89 Matt Clear finished it for light weathering with pastels. The 20+ year old decals performed well with warm water and time.

CONCLUSIONS

 I must confess, when I found period photos of “Mah Sweet Eva Lea”, I was appalled at how dirty an aircraft could be and still fly. The Allison Mustangs flew from very dusty airfields and water was obviously not readily available for washing aircraft. So, how would I display it? Only a good armor builder could do it right, so I kept weathering to a minimum of cannon and exhaust staining, displaying it as it might have looked earlier in its service.

Walk Around Squadron Allison Engined Mustangs No. 13