Among their extensive line-up of upgrade sets designed for Revell's 1:32 P-51D, CMK have released a pair of resin drop tanks.

They differ in several ways from the original plastic tanks, primarily on account of the sway braces, plus (as their name suggests) much more prominent filler caps which are supplied as separate parts.

The new tanks arrive in a clear plastic blister pack, which is pretty robust. I did notice though that one of the tanks had taken a knock in transit and the prominent lateral seam will need repairing at the tail end.

Other than that, the casting is excellent, with the tanks attached to casting blocks in two places at the front, with just a wafer of flash linking them. This means that the seam at the nose will be easy to keep neat, but you will need to work very carefully cutting and cleaning up the pour stubs themselves. To be fair, I can't see how else CMK could have done things, but the pouring points are in the most visible area of the tanks where any scars or sanding marks will be easy to spot, particularly with a metallic finish.

A simple sheet of instructions comes with the set, but experienced modellers will hardly need them, because construction is pretty self explanatory.

Conclusion

CMK's drop tanks are very nice and an interesting variation on the kit versions. With just four parts, they may look as though they'd be ideal for newcomers to working with resin, but I'll add the caveat that preparation will require more care than you might expect.

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