The NA P-51 Early Mustang 2nd Edition
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Airframe & Miniature 6
Author: Richard A. Franks
Publisher: Valiant Wings Publications
ISBN: 978-1-912932-41-2
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 272
Valiant Publications has decided it’s time to update one of their earlier titles, that on the early Mustangs. First published back in 2013, the early Mustang modeling world has changed dramatically in recent years with superb new-tool kits from Arma Hobby and Eduard, plus a load of new aftermarket accessories and decals have shown up. This shows up in the page count differences, with this edition running 80 pages more over the first edition.
By now most are likely familiar with the Airframe & Miniature series from Valiant Publications, but here’s a short synopsis of the layout. The book starts with the Airframe chapters, covering the evolution of the design, before focusing on the early Allison-engined Mustangs, then moves to the Merlin-engined variants. A section on test airframes and field conversions add to the story, and a comprehensive camouflage and marking section documents both US and British use as well as other international operators.
The Miniature chapters covers all the various kits, accessories, and decals that are now available for the early Mustang, as well as provide a detailed analysis of all the large and small changes from variant to variant. The build section is the same from the original edition, but now with the addition of build articles on the Arma 1/72 P-51B and the Eduard 1/48 P-51B. Both of these represent the pinnacle of P-51B/C Mustangs in their respective scales, so adding these in to this book as full builds is a very welcome addition.
For those who have a newfound interest in the early Mustangs, thanks to these two new kits, this is a perfect book to pick up. The amount of useful information for the modeler is excellent and well worth having on the bookshelf. My thanks to Valiant Wings Publications for the review copy.