The Package

This decal set from AMtech comes packaged as most other aftermarket decal sets do-in a plastic ziplock pag with three documents enclosed. The documents are a color profile sheet, black and white aircaft history and instructions and, of course, the decals.

The enclosed instructions and decal sheet enable you to build one of two aircraft. They are:

P-51D-15-NA Duchess Arlene, 1/Lt Robert W. Williams, 100th Ftr Sq, 332nd Ftr Gp, Ramitelli, Italy (pictured at top)

P-51D Creamer's Dream, 1/Lt Charles White, 301st Ftr Sq, 332nd Ftr Gp, Ramitelli, Italy

The decals are printed by Microscale and custom artwork is by JDMC Aviation Graphics.

Accuracy

I did a little research to test the accuracy of the decals but my attempt at finding material came up pretty slim. I did manage to find the picture at the top which is of Williams' Duchess Arlene. The decal instructions faithfully reflect all the markings seen in the photograph above though I can't see any kill markings in the photograph (that doesn't mean they aren't there and it could mean the picture is taken before Williams achieved the two kills).

I think it's important to point-out that it looks like AMtech got the color schemes correct. You can see in the photograph above that the color red is prominent in the tail, main gear doors, wing tips and cowl. Also, the squadrons of the 332nd identified themselves by painting the trim tabs on all three tail surfaces different colors. The trim tabs on Williams' plane were black as clearly indicated in the photograph above. All of these color details are represented accurately in the instructions.

Negatives (nothing serious)

I was hard-pressed to find something wrong with this decal sheet. In fact, I couldn't find anything wrong with the decal sheet itself. The artwork on the decal sheet is well done and even the fingernail/toenail polish of the noseart for Creamer's Dream is visible. My only comment on the decal sheet would be that the modeler may want to trim some of the extra decal film away before applying the decals to minimize the chances of any silvering after application. Because these are 1/24 scale decals, you get quite a bit of extra film between letters and numbers that can be easily trimmed away with a pair of sharp scissors.

The one negative comment I have is on the instructions/color scheme sheet. Like most model instructions, the paint colors are represented as small boxes shaded in various patterns and colors with text description next to them (as pictured). The problem is that the color box for Olive Drab and Black are virtually identical and indistinguishable from each other on the paint scheme drawings. Thankfully, AMtech included the color profiles that I mentioned earlier. On the color profiles you can clearly see locations of the Olive Drab (glare panel on both planes) and Black (Williams' trim tabs).

Conclusion

This is an excellent looking decal sheet. With the release of new 1/24 scale Mustangs on the market the least year, it was only a matter of time before we saw some Red Tail Mustang schemes. I've personally used AMtech decals before and their track record with me is excellent. These decals are on par with usual standard of AMtech and will be perfect should you decided to model a 'stang of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Thanks to AMtech for providing this review sample.