In-Boxed: 1/48th scale P-51D-5 "Limited Edition" from Eduard

Lukas has in his possession the Limited edition new tool 48th scale Eduard P-51D-5 kit. He has already started to build and paint his own kit, but he has paused to take some quick pics and give us a brief overview of what came in his kit before he brings us his build...

In-Boxed: P-51D-5 "Limited Edition"

From Eduard Model Accessories

1/48th scale

Cat. No. 82101

Decals for six aircraft in the one box

Price: £36.49 GBP/ A$68.01 AUD/ €41.76 EUR/ $46.08 USD from Hobbylink Japan

Product Link on the Eduard Model site

P-51 - Mustang mania!
Here I am, sitting next to new P-51 from Eduard and trying to work out how this 1/48 news will fit into my 48’s collection. It won’t but it looked totally irresistible when I saw it live in the box. Yep, as it happened I was visiting my homeland and few things happened. First, I managed to book my hiking trip to miss out on Eday, and second, when I was visiting the model shop day before departing back to Aus, P-51s were just being opened from their fresh delivery. So I could have examined the content on the spot and make a decision. So, if you are not sick of new P-51 from Eduard yet see what happened below… 

Yes, I purchased this on holiday… and while the box was totally pristine in the shop although it sustained some minor dents when travelling in the suitcase for 24hours. What you get inside of the box is six plastic sprues, one fret of PE, decals for five versions, masks and of course instructions. 

I don’t want to delve too much on the accuracy of the kit here at this point, especially as there are just so many Mustang experts out there I will no-doubt blaspheme if I state any facts -  I want to focus instead on the contents of the box and how it goes together in the following article. 

Those who purchased Eduard’s 48th will find the size of this box very familiar with yet another attractive box art. 

Since the first edition of this kit came out a lot was said about the damaged part on B sprue(wings), Eduard responded in this boxing and packaged this sprue separately. 

Another new thing that we heard a lot in regards to the release of new P-51 was new Eduard’s decal printer which I am excited to try and see how it works on a natural metal finish. Masks became an essential part of Eduard’s profi-PACKs and they don’t miss here.

Sprue A
This piece of plastic has all clear parts and many more for even more versions to come. This goes throughout the entire kit. Plenty of plastic in preparations for future releases. 

Sprue B
The wings, ailerons, tail and flaps. All beautifully moulded. Eduard compromised here and the wings only have panel lines on the top and few rivets at the bottom. I am the type of person that rivets everything if possible, so decided that I will not rivet this one. 

Sprue C
Here we find fuselage halves and rudder.

The top of the cowling is missing rivets alongside the joint which so far is the only issue, easy to reproduce in my opinion after the fuselage is joined together

rest of the fuselage 

And as for rudder, here I have the only noticeable sink mark I could spot. Having said that I haven’t seen this in other reviews or on anyone else plastic so it probably the only on my example? Again, easy to fix or if you find any issues like this I find Eduard extremely helpful in replacing damaged parts.

Sprue F
Here we can find all the weaponry and additional fuel tanks hanging underneath the wings. A lot of parts not used for this version but ready for next boxes. For those who don’t find these looking good enough, there are Brassin replacements already available

Sprue G
All the little parts to assemble undercarriage, wheel bays and on top of this exhausts.

Overall detail on small parts looks very good. The only part I can see worthy of replacement could be wheels. Those seem quite simplified even though when weathered it probably won’t matter too much. 

Sprue H
And finally, the sprue that will be made first. All the ingredients for the cockpit with the addition of the propeller. You get to choose between using the plastic part with bezels moulded and with a decal on it or flat piece ready for PE part.

Same happens with central control panel

Two types of hub above the dashboard, two types of seats and three props for… you guessed it, more versions. You only get to use one seat and one prop here though. 

Decals
A rather large sheet, for 5 different aircraft, stencils and few to fit cockpit should you choose those over PE sheet.

Photo-Etch sheet
A little bit of metal here. Mostly for interior and few parts on the outside of the aircraft

Instruction sheet
Easy to understand, with 5 drawings with colour references for Mr.hobby and Mission models and diagram of aluminium painted areas. 

Thoughts? 
While I am no expert on P-51, looking at the “current affairs” of the modelling world this kit is taking a lot of virtual space and there is not much wondering why. It will be of course matter of how well it actually goes together. I am halfway through and while I find few tricky bits which I will share with you soon and need to be approached with care the speed of build is, at least in my case, almost uncanny. 

Here is little taste from my cockpit work so far… 

Thanks for looking

Lukas Kasuba

You can get this kit from Eduard  directly on their website - It is already being built by Lukas as we type so more from this kit very soon here on TMN