Cutting Edge Decals

by Michael Benolkin

  

I was pleasantly surprised by the announcement from Meteor Productions that they were going to release two sets of decals in their Cutting Edge line for the recently released Trumpeter/Hobbycraft 1/24 P-51D Mustang kit. Each kit provides markings for only one aircraft, in the case of the Trumpeter kit, this is Lt. Colonel Eagleston's FT-L.

In case you hadn't heard, the Trumpeter and Hobbycraft kits are one and the same, right down to the three resin figures. The only difference between the two kits appears to be boxart, decals and retail price. Look for more kits to be released in parallel between Trumpeter and Hobbycraft, including the upcoming 1/32 F4F Wildcat.

Back to these great decals: each set provides markings for three different aircraft as well as national markings for the wings and fuselage. Let's take a look:

CED24001 P-51D Great Mustangs #1 - MSRP $18.99

  • P-51D-20-NA, 472308, 335 FS/4 FG, WD-A 'Ridge Runner' as flown by Major Pierce McKennon

  • P-51D-20-NA, 463607, 353 FS/354 FG, FL-L as flown by Lt Col Glenn Eagleston

  • P-51D-15-NA, 414888, 363 FS/357 FG, B6-Y 'Glamorous Glen III' as flown by Capt Charles Yeager

This set also includes a Black Magic mask to enable to modeler to paint the background of the eagle to the color that matches their references.

CED24002 P-51D Great Mustangs #2 - MSRP $15.99

  • P-51D-20-NA, 414292, 355 FG, QP-A 'Man O War' as flown by Colonel Claiborne H Kinnard Jr, CO.

  • P-51D-10-NA, 414450, 362 FS/357 FG, B6-S 'Old Crow' as flown by Capt Clarence Anderson

  • P-51D-5-NA, 413318, 364 FS/357 FG, C5-N 'Frenesi' as flown by Lt Col Thomas Hayes

As you can imagine, 1/24 decals take up some serious room and Meteor's approach at a main sheet with supplemental sub-sheets simplifies their printing and keeps costs down.

I am very pleased to see some nice bare metal and camouflaged options for this great new 1/24 P-51D kit! You can order your markings directly from Meteor Productions (www.meteorprod.com).

My sincere thanks to Meteor Productions for these review samples!

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