North American P-51 Mustang
Tiger Model (Chibi, no scale), Ref. TM110
Following the article on Tiger Model's Fw 190 chibi , here's another new addition to the brand's ‘Cute’ range, the equally famous American Mustang! The Mustang, in its ‘Merlin engine’ version, is not the first chibi of its kind, since such an animal has existed for ages in Hasegawa's Egg Planes range. However, this is a much more modern kit, etched with much more detail than its esteemed predecessor.
As with the Focke-Wulf, the single cluster of light grey plastic is a little cramped in its box, a box whose flaps still come off just as easily... Note that the parts do not suffer from this rather incongruous situation. The kit is just as simple, comprising just 26 pieces, two of which are transparent. The latter lack the large fixing studs on the inside of the canopies from the first series of Tiger Model cartoons. And the kit is all the better for it! The transparent parts are very thin and very clear, and it will be a pleasure to show and paint the beautiful interior offered by Tiger Model, even if there is still room for improvement.
The 24 grey plastic mouldings don't show any ‘flash’, they're engraved and, on the whole, sufficiently detailed; only the wheels are a bit poor... Some craftsman or other will come to the rescue one of these days. The pro is very different from the one offered by Hasegawa, you either like it more or you like it less, it's just a matter of taste. The casting of the wheel wells is far too weak but still ‘usable’ and a good paint job will increase the depth rendering. On the whole, it's still far more precise and detailed than the old Egg Plane; the ‘caricature’ effect is very different from that offered by Hasegawa, whether you like it more or less is just a matter of taste.
To return to the cockpit, it is made up of 5 parts and the interior walls of the fuselage halves are also detailed at this level. The wing cans are also available for storage. There's no pilot in this box either, but that may come later, as was the case with the first series of Tiger Model cartoons.
The leaflet is in the form of a small fold-out document, mainly printed in black and white, but with colour for the paint scheme, which gives references to Tamiya paints. Only one decoration is offered, an aircraft named ‘Detroit Miss’ attached to the 361st Fighter Group of the 8th Air Force, flown by 1st Lt. Urban ‘Ben’ Drew towards the end of 1944. Please note that the decoration on this aircraft seems to have changed slightly during 1945. The ‘stickers’ option seems to have disappeared from Tiger Model boxes and only decals are offered; compared with the Fw 190 panel, this time we have a few service markings and the logos of the propeller blade manufacturer, which is welcome all the same. As the Mustang has no shortage of interesting and different liveries, we can be sure that few of these Tiger Models decals will be used.
In conclusion
We just can't wait to start this kit ! Congrats to Tiger Model for this beautiful cartoon, we can only hope that we won't have to wait several more years to see the range extended even further.
Dominique Jadoul