Decal Review – Dutch Decal No: 32013 P-51D/K Mustang MLKNIL/RNEIAAF:

Dutch Decal from the Netherlands have not only given us their new book “A Modeller’s guide: P-51D/K Mustang Photo File (ML-KNIL/RNEAAF)” This month but have also made the decals to Match! Just in time for the 1/32 Tamiya P-51kit these decals look to give you an interesting edge over others at the judging table and a talking point with friends who may have not even seen a mustang in Dutch colours before. Let’s take a look

Decal Review – Dutch Decal No: 32013 P-51D/K Mustang MLKNIL/RNEIAAF:

Product-Stock-No.: 32013

Instruction Pages: 4

Decal schemes: 12

Decal scales: 1/32

Decal sheet printed by Cartograf

Available from: Dutch decals Distributors

  RRP: €12.95

Since the Introduction of the P-51D Mustang in 1/32 by Tamiya there have been no end of decal sets made to match what turned out to be nearly everyone’s favourite large scale kit of the year – The sales opportunities are there with such a popular kit and even the fringe niche market has quickly taken up the baton – several independent decal houses have released a sheet (or three) for this kit and Dutch Decal have thrown their clogs in the ring with no less than TWELVE schemes in one release in the form of their new set Dutch Decal No:32013 P-51D/K Mustang MLKNIL/RNEIAAF: 

 This release is an update to Dutch Decal’s earlier (2007) set on the same subject but instead of being built to fit the Hasegawa or Dragon kits this set has the accurate dimensions to fit the new Tamiya kit – a good idea I suppose as there really won’t be that many people making the older kits nowadays now the new kid on the block is so popular.

The contents

This set comes on two sheets of A5 decal paper and is printed by the industry standard Cartograf of Italy. Those of you with the sister product the book “A Modeller’s guide: P-51D/K Mustang Photo File (ML-KNIL/RNEAAF)” will instantly recognize the twelve schemes as those that are in the book and also in several pictures throughout it. Instead of being repetitive and telling you here about how well the research was done for these schemes in the book you can read the review we did at this link and know that the research team really did their homework on the schemes presented here.

The sister book to accompany these decals is available separately

 This set comes complete with the two sheets of decal and a four page A5 black and white instruction sheet printed on paper with all of the schemes. There are exact measurements and positions of where the national markings and instructions go as well as any painting instructions like spinner and anti-glare panel colours. The profiles are shown on one side only but there are the positions for the markings on the wings on the instructions as well. The nature of the bare metal Mustangs mean they don’t really need a 3-way view as there isn’t any camouflage to follow so this is acceptable and quite fine on black and white paper.

All of the angles are covered…

A word or two about the quality of the decals. The finesse of the decal printing is impressive. Small details are easy and clear to see with all of the serial data that should be read can be. The colours are strong and the whites are not opaque. There are no wrong printings here and every bit of artwork is in register and where it should be.

Here is a view of the decal sheet held with the decal to the light so you can see the minimal carrier film used here and the decal thinness.

Here are the letter and serial codes

And here is the coloured decal sheet with a close up as well

You can see by the close ups here that the decal has great colour representation which isn’t too far off to my eye and that the small details are clear

In this picture you can see the colour of the national markings as well as how easy it is to read the data stencil. It is quite clear to the naked eye even though it is small which is important in 1/32 where people want heaps of noticeable detail.

That is all good but how do they apply on a plastic (bare aluminium) kit? Well let’s bite the bullet and have a look! First we painted a wing of my trusty test kit in Testors aluminium metalizer paint and polished it a little, then applied the decal straight to the kit – let it dry – and then applied some micro sol to help the decal adhere to the plastic and get rid of the small amount of carrier film – and the wait begins…

It always looks wrinkly at the first application of Micro Sol – have patience!

As you can see the decals applied flawlessly and they stuck down tightly on the kit. I can now say with no reservation these are some great decals that I would apply to my own kit (if only I had a spare one) and recommend them wholly. The issue of choice is a no brainer – if you want a Dutch Mustang from this period well these are the best choice – especially because the new sharkmouth decals which look so good fit the new Tamiya kit nose!

This is the decal settled down  on the plastic - it settled down pretty well to the surface and had no defects. this is the decal even without gloss varnish over the top of it - so with that you wouldn't even be able to see the slight bit of carrier you can now - top marks again  there.

It’s probably not kosher to talk about prices in reviews – but I will anyway – I think for the cost of this set you are getting a bargain - twelve decal choices in 1/32 for only €12.95 Euro I think is a bargain!!In fact when I asked the Proprietor of Dutch Decal as to why he didn’t sell them as a combo he explained that the cost would be smaller to the customer if they only wanted the decals or the book – this to me made total sense and I think they had the customer in interest when planning it.

These decals are a most neccisary addition to your collection if you want a P-51 from this era and conflict. I would get the book as well if you are interest in the conflict! Great news that these have been released in an extended edition and to fit the new Tamiya kit. Happily recommended!!

Adam Norenberg

Thanks to Dutch Decal for supplying us with this decal set