North American F-51D Mustang (Korean War)

The North American Aviation Corporation NA73X was designed in April 1940 in a New York city hotel and became one of the best fighter aircraft of World War II.
The U.S. Army Air Corps awarded her the title P (for Pursuit). 51, and the British gave it the name Mustang.
Of the various variants of the Mustang, the P-51D is considered the final version and was the first to feature the bubbletop.
More “D” models were built than any other variant, with a total of 9,603 examples produced.
Armed with six .50-caliber machine guns, three in each wing, with 400 rounds for each inboard gun and 270 rounds for the other four, as well as underwing pylons for auxiliary fuel tanks or 1,000-pound bombs, the Mustang was a true pilot's fighter.
By the end of World War II, Mustangs were in service around the world, flying in the air forces of several nations.
When the Korean conflict broke out, hundreds of F-51 aircraft were in Japan waiting to be scrapped. Possessing slow maneuverability that was lacking in the new jets entering service at the time, the F-51 was ideal for forward air controller (FAC) work on the ground in Korea.
The biggest drawback was that the F-51's liquid-cooled engine was vulnerable to anti-aircraft and small arms fire when attacking ground targets.
This resulted in the Mustang having the highest loss ratio of any aircraft in Korea.
A total of 194 were lost in three years, with only ten being shot down in combat with other aircraft.

Plastic model kit

• 500 pound bombs
• 6 inch rockets
• Three marking options
• Fuselage length: 136 mm, wingspan: 157 mm

Scale 1:72

unbuilt / unpainted