Fantasy Printshop have released a 1:32 edition of their excellent "Bubbletop Mustangs" Euro Decals set which includes markings for P-51Ds in six attractive colour schemes for a variety of air forces.

The subjects are unaltered from the smaller scale editions reviewed HERE, featuring the following aircraft:

1. North American Mustang Mk.IV, KH673 GL-N, “Sweetpea”, 5 Sqn. SAAF, Italy, April 1945
2. North American F-51D Mustang, “K”, 1 Sqn., ROKAF, Chinhae Air Base, August 1950
3. North American Mustang Mk.IV, NZ2427, “27”, 3 Sqn. Territorial Air Force, RNZAF, late 1940s
4. North American P-51D Mustang, 44-11222, CV-I, “Jolie Hélène”, 368th FS, 359th FG, USAAF, 1945
5. North American J-26 Mustang, 26115, “K/4”, F.4, Frösön, Sweden, 1951
6. North American F-51D Mustang, A68-563, O-MP, RAAF, 1945

The subjects are all fitted with a tail fillet - which makes the set suitable for most of the P-51D kits available in this scale (sadly, not Revell's new-tool model yet - a late-mark boxing of which must surely be on the way soon)

Once again the printing quality is second to none, with pin-sharp registration on the thin, glossy items. Excess carrier film is kept to a minimum and the colours look excellent, with a clear distinction between the WWII and post-war Commonwealth roundels and a correctly deep Insignia Blue for the USAAF subject.

The decals are spread across two sheets this time, with the smaller sheet including separate centres for the SAAF and RNZAF roundels, along with white code letters for “Sweetpea”. The registration is so good on the main sheet, I have no doubt the separate roundel centres aren’t really necessary (you probably won’t be able to line them up by eye any better than Fantasy Printshop would have printed them), so it could simply be a case of logistics – i.e. there wasn’t room for the code letters on the main sheet, so it made sense to take the opportunity to supply separate centres if a second sheet was needed anyway.

The instructions are unchanged from the earlier releases, with clear 4-view colour illustrations of the featured aircraft in the A5 pamphlet. Colour call-outs are given for FS, Humbrol, Xtracolour, Xtracrylic and Lifecolor matches. The minor hiccup noted in the original review in reproducing special characters in the text is evident in the sample set, but this is only a momentary hindrance. Fantasy Printshop inform me that the cause has been identified, so we can expect it to be amended in future.

Conclusion

It's great to see this interesting selection of schemes offered to largescale modellers. As expected from Fantasy Printshop, the quality of the decals is superb and the sheet will be ideal for anyone looking for a scheme that's a bit unusual for a P-51D.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE