Trumpeter quality

Can't comment about the Mustang but just completed a Trumpy 1/48 Sea Fury and the details in some areas were sparse to just totally wrong. As an example, the cockpit was too shallow and lacking details as in the main gear wells. The canopy had a seam right down the center which had to be sanded and polished out! The overall parts fit was pretty good and it looked like a Sea Fury when completed. I have heard that their 1/32 F-8 has a lot of fit issues. The seat is too tall and won't let the canopy close, and some other problems with the cockpit. These kits don't come by cheap and should be better. Take Revell of Germany, I built their 1/32 Arado that is a joy to build with tons of details like Full radial engine and a cockpit with beautifully molded details all for under $40! I was so impressed that I picked up their 1/32 HE 219 Uhu for $42 with equally impressive details.

I"ll say this---their armor kits are pretty impressive for the most part, but the material they use for their rubber-band tracks is just impossible to join. They really have to go back to the drawing board for these.

Stick78

  What is not accurate in shape or details on this kit?. 

The prop, nose contours, upper fuselage shapes, landing gear bay details, cockpit details, radiator shapes, just to name the major ones.

Decals in Trumpeter kits are ok.  Yes, when you buy an aftermarket sheet of decals, you usually get only the decals specific to the kit variation, like the registration numbers, nose art, and such.  You have to resort to the kit decals to add the national insignia, stencils, and all the other common stuff.

By the way, I have found Kits-World decals to be very high quality, but, as mentioned, not complete for the whole model.

Thanks, mustang1989

Thanks, Cadet Chuck.

Thanks for the advice, Bronto.  What is not accurate in shape or details on this kit?.  My plan was to build Don Gentile's "Shangri-La".  I like the 1/32 scale and I found some Kits World decals for the art work on the plane.  Although the Kits World does not include national insignia, you are supposed to use the ones in the kit.  How good are the decals that come with Trumpeter kits?

It depends on what you want out of a kit.  If you want a kit that is generally well molded, has decent instructions, and assembles without too much fuss, then Trumpeter kits are good.  If you want a kit that is dimensionally and detail accurate, then Trumpeter kits usually fall short of the mark.  The P-51B kit that you linked to will build up without any problems.  It is however, not accurate shape wise, or details wise for a P-51B.

I don't know a whole lot about the P-51 but I built the 1/24 Trumpeter Bf109 and I will say this. For the most part they are accurate with the details. They are a bit over engineered. By that I mean that when one or two parts would do the job they use 4, 5 or 6. That's not really all that big a deal I don't suppose. Then there are the ejector pin marks! Mine had a ton of these things. A little time is all it took to smooth those out. The fit was right on with few issues. If there was a kit that I really wanted to build and they made then I would go for another one just keeping in mind that there was a little extra work involved. But hey the extra work is what keeps modeling a creative and worthwhile hobby. When you're finished with your model you can sit back and enjoy it knowing what you've accomplished. Just my , Joe

In general, yes, they are good quality, but I have found them to be overly complicated with sometimes confusing instructions.  If you have modeling experience and a good deal of patience, you will probably be happy with them.  I have no experience with the specific model you mentioned, however.