Specifically I'm wondering about P-51Bs, who has the best one out there? Tamiya? How does ICM's compare? Is anyone else worth looking at?

Also, I'm looking at Accurate Miniatures P-51A kit too, what's that like as compared to ICMs?

The best by far is the Tamiya kit. They got the cockpit slightly wrong in that the cockpit floor of the -B is the upper surface of the wing, but you can hardly see that once it's built. The ICM is pretty much a knock-off of the Tamiya kit with slightly rougher execution. It needs a bit more filler and care when you build it.

The Accurate Miniatures -A series (and A-36) kits are excellent, but a bit fiddly compared to the Tamiya. Any of them will make you an excellent model.

We have a reviews of the Accurate Miniatures Mustang 1A available, and a few moments with Google will find you many reviews of the Tamiya and ICM kits

Both ICM kits are tamiya/accurate miniature hybrid knockoffs. By which I mean they display some features of both kits and if you have the kits side by side the resemblance is uncanny. Not bad kits by any means but both the tamiya and accurate miniature kits are just nicer moldings with higher quality plastic.

Also to consider ICM clear parts and especially the decals are dicey. On the plus side ICM gives their early mustangs tamiya "inspired" flaps that accurate minitures did not. The ICM p-51a in my possession, the RAF mustang II boxing,the carburetor air intake on top of the nose is narrow version of the earliest allison mustangs and not the proper wide intake of the later p-51a and a-36 mustangs. Accurate miniatures gets this right in its various kits.

Accurate miniatures early allison engine mustangs have the field to themselves aside from the ICM. Both Italeri and academy 1/48 early mustangs are reboxed accurate miniatures.

Tamiyas P-51b is the best available in 1/48. Accurate miniatures also has a p-51b/c that doesnt lag to far behind however it doesnt have separate flaps or pieces for an open canopy. Both have inaccurate curved cockpit floors but have no fear.... actually no one has corrected this that Im aware of. The couple resin p-51b cocpits Ive seen also lack the proper flat plywood floor of a merlin engined b/c cockpit.

I have several ICMs in the stash, they seem pretty good for the money and they do accept the various aftetmarket bits intended for its parent kits. I hope to build an ICM for myself before too long, im interested to see how it goes.

Hi Mike

This was start of my fun with the Accurate Miniatures kit:

http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/forums/27427&page=1

It was great having Scott Murphy around in those days, because he really raised everybody's game! Such an eye for detail!

In retrospect, though, I think I should have gone with the US-style grip on the control column. It was only after this build that I got hold of RAF pilots' notes and saw they showed a pistol-grip.

All the best

Rowan

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful answers, its given me direction!

Well I've just received my first Mustang kit, I went with an Allison engined variant from Accurate Miniatures. Holy cow, I must say I'm really pretty impressed with it. Taking into consideration it's over 20 years old it still holds up very, very well with modern molding techniques. Plus, the price couldn't be beat ($10 on eBay, +S&H, AND it came with a True Details cockpit set).

A question for the Mustang experts, having looked through the Accurate Miniatures Mustang line (A-36, P-51A, etc.), this kit, #3400, is simply a "P-51 Mustang", not a P-15-dash letter. So what exactly is it?

Next up for purchase will be Tamiya's P-51B. Does anyone make a NA-73 Mustang (XP-51) in 1/48?

The first USAAC Mustang variant was the A-36 dive bomber. The first fighter variant was the P-51 as in your kit. It had no 'dash number'; those coming into being with later variants. The story of the mustang family is told very well over at Wikipedia.

I know of no NA-73 conversion kit, but it would not be very difficult to convert the Accurate miniatures Mustang I kit. You can get an NA-73X canopy in Falcon Vac set No. 54. This set will also be very useful to you in your future Mustang endeavours

The conversion is discussed here.