Which is the best 1/72 P-51 out there at this time.

Break it down like this.

Best Value, goodies in the box.

Most detailed.

Most options.

There was a consensus about a decade ago the best all around 1/72 P-51 was the Revell Germany P-51B/C. Don't know now with more recent kits.

However I would recommend staying away from the Italeri offerings.

Tamiya or Airfix for a P-51D.

Az or KP (they are the same thing) for a P-51B.

Although Academy does come with a lot of goodies like different drop tanks, open and closed greenhouse and Malcolm hood. If you sand the trailing edge of the main wing about an eighth of an inch at the root outwards, tapering to the wingtip, it will look a lot better.

Your mileage will vary.


Brian Riedel

I'm a fan of the Academy P-51s particularly the B/C version.
You get lots of options and for me here in NZ they are generally quite a bit cheaper than any of the other manufacturers.

Thanks for the reply. What is Az or Kp?

AZ is AZ models, and KP is.... KP or Kovozávody Prostějov

http://www.internetmodeler.com/scalemodels/flaviation/Kovoz-vody-Prost-jov-1-72-P-51C.php

I will second the recommendation to stay away from the Italeri offerings, especially their P-51D.

I have but, not yet assembled the RS Model's P-51H kit and parts in the box look good. They go for somewhere between $20 - $30 range and the AM PE set goes for less than $10.

Of course you will limited to modeling a US bird as I don't think it was operated outside the states. However, there are plenty of colorful examples to model especially when looking at those flown by Air National Guard units.