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Tally Ho! 1/48 P-51 Mustang Aces Part 1

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Got a few extra Tamiya P-51s floating around and need some markings?  This sheet might be just what you need.  There's two razorbacks and two bubbletops to choose from, so there should be something for everyone.  All of the choices are European Mustangs, with two from the 8th AF, one from the 9th, and one from the 15th.  There's enough stars and bars for three of the four options and the decals are very well printed, with excellent register.

The first razorback is Lucky Lester's P-51C-5-NT.  Named "Miss Pelt", Lt. Clarence Lester flew with the 100th FS/332nd FG, in the 15th AF out of Italy.  The plane has a red spinner and nose, as well as red tailplanes.  Yellow bands are on the wings and the antiglare panel is black.  The antenna has a bunch of diagonal red stripes, which are included on the decal sheet.

The second razorback is Capt. Richard Turner's "Short Fuse Sallee", 356th FS, 354th FG, 8th AF.  Flying out of England in 1944, Turner's score stood at 11 victories.  This plane is olive drab over neutral gray, with a white spinner and nose band, as well as wing and tail stripes.  Five victory marks are under the windscreen, but the most impressive marking on this plane is the large artwork for the nose: a round bomb complete with fuse, and the name "Short-Fuse Sallee" in yellow.

The first bubbletop Mustang is a P-51D-5-NA of the 354th FS, 355th FG, 8th AF.  Flown by 1st Lt. Henry Brown out of Steeple Morden, England, this plane is mostly natural metal with the upper surfaces painted RAF dark green.  The nose is white and Brown's personal marking consisting of a black arrow with "The HunHunter~Texas" written in yellow on top of it.  This is the one error I found on this sheet.  Instead of the tilde the decal has the word "from" instead.  Close examination of photos in Aces & Wingmen II volumes 1 and 2 support the tilde.  Luckily this is a very simple fix.  Either paint the word out or put a piece of black decal over it and paint the tilde in place.  The rest of the decals provide the fuselage codes, but you'll have to paint the invasion stripes yourself.

The final plane is a P-51D-5-NA of the 265th FS, 354th FG, 9th AF.  Flown by Lt. Bartolomew Tenor, this scheme is as seen in France in November of 1944.  The plane is overall natural metal, with a white spinner.  There is a blue band behind the spinner with white stars.  The stars are on the decal sheet, but you'll have to paint the blue stripe.  The plane carries the name "The Prodigal Son" in black letters outlined in red.  A total of six kill markings are under the windscreen.

This is a great sheet that offers some interesting markings for ETO P-51s.  If you've got a few extra kits lying around, you might want to grab this sheet and build a few.