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First Look Review
148
ANG Mustangs
More Air National Guard Mustangs
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by: Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]

Iliad Design have released a second set of decals for post-war Mustangs flying with the Air National Guard (see Sven Harjacek's review of the first release HERE).

More Air National Guard Mustangs arrives in a simple zip-lock bag with the decals accompanied by a full-colour A4 sheet of instructions.

Markings for 4 aircraft are provided:

1. P-51D of the 125th FS, Oklahoma ANG, Tulsa, 1947.
2. F-51D of the Minnesota ANG, 1953.
3. P-51D of the 111th FIS, Texas ANG, Ellington Field.
4. P-51D of the 116th FS, Washington ANG, 1948.

The decals are beautiful quality - the glossy items are superbly thin, with perfect registration on the sample sheet and minimal excess carrier film. In fact, the only carrier film evident is where it's used to group separate elements together and maintain their alignment. The colours look excellent, with correctly deep Insignia Red and Blue.

The schemes featured are all interesting, and all offer a welcome change for anyone looking beyond the usual WW2 subjects. Probably the most eye-catching is the Minnesota machine, with its' blue and yellow markings. A colour photo is included of this machine, laden with particularly large drop tanks and additional equipment behind the pilot's headrest, so it will definitely stand out in any line-up of Mustangs if you can pull all the elements together.

The instructions provide colour profiles of each of the schemes along with simpler top-side plan views with the underside markings "ghosted in". This is great to get you started, but I'd definitely recommend chasing down photos of the individual aircraft if you can, because the post-war era offers a veritable gold-mine of detailing opportunities for modellers as new units adopted hand-me-down airframes.

Conclusion
The P-51D/K Mustang is right back in the limelight with a clutch of new kits released over the last few months, and these decals offer a great selection of schemes for anyone seeking something a bit "different" from the more obvious ones that mainstream kit manufacturers tend to opt for. The quality looks to be top notch.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.
SUMMARY
Highs: Top quality decals for some really attractive colour schemes.
Lows: None noted.
Verdict: If you're fed up with Mustangs in the usual colour schemes provided in kits' decal options, the immediate post-war ANG offers a whole new palette of interesting options.
Percentage Rating
95%
  Scale: 1:48
  Mfg. ID: 48036
  PUBLISHED: Jan 17, 2020
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.37%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 93.00%

Our Thanks to Iliad Design!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Rowan Baylis (Merlin)
FROM: NO REGIONAL SELECTED, UNITED KINGDOM

I've been modelling for about 40 years, on and off. While I'm happy to build anything, my interests lie primarily in 1/48 scale aircraft. I mostly concentrate on WW2 subjects, although I'm also interested in WW1, Golden Age aviation and the early Jet Age - and have even been known to build the occas...

Copyright ©2021 text by Rowan Baylis [ MERLIN ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



   
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