Javlin, the kit is good fittings, has put a lot of mistakes
- The spinner is too small and the prop blades ask for a little bit of work (easy and cheap replacement from JR).
- The nose is too thin and not correctly shaped (look at the nose intake, it is noticeably too small). Moreover, some panel lines are the ones found on the P-51D nose... Rebuilding fully the area is not for the faint at heart...
- The engine is far too small (close this).
- The engine exhausts stacks are desperately off (Trumpy added un-shrouded exhaust stacks on top of the shrouds!). Again JR is a solution amongst others (this is not so difficult to scratchbuild)
- JR and Aires also released a better cockpit with a FLAT floor, correct B side instruments, additional boxes (batteries) behind the seat and no fantasy wall. If you go for the JR cockpit, I recommend using it with RB US seat belts.
- The Malcolm hood is very bad (odd shape and no side bulge). Jerry Rutman released a vac one that is far better.
- A major and very noticeable flaw: the rear windows are too small (the upper edge is too low)... This is not easy to correct but fortunately, the kit has clear fuselage parts in which new, correctly shaped windows may be cut! Surely a time consuming job but there are not many alternatives except using the far better ones of the old Revell dog.
- The MLG well complies with the "Mustang kit standard" (the fantasy rear wall rather than the visible wing spar...)
- The MLG doors are the P-51D ones (B ones are noticably different...). Rely on the Revell ones?
- The wing leading edge is located too high on the fuselage. Such an error will be very difficult to solve...Take also care to the dihedral.
- Ammo bay doors are too long (ala P-51D).
- Flaps should be closed to avoid being reworked.
- Drill the missing gun camera hole in the port wing.
- The gunports are spaced too far apart. I guess that the .50 are probably as well too far apart in the bays. Close bays and drill new ports.
- Drill missing shell ejection holes.
- Remove wingtips lights and replace them with new tear drops-shaped ones on the wings.
- Add the missing sway braces on the wing pylons.
- If you do not use them, remove the rocket launchers mounts.
- Forget the fantasy photoetched tab actuator.
- The lower section of the rear fuselage is too squared and not deep enough. Again this is not easy to correct.
- Elevators and tail fillet shapes ask for correction.
- Ding Hao decals are incorrect.
It seems that Trumpy thought the obvious differences between a P-51B and a P-51D were the number of guns and the canopy... Seemingly, they also used P-51A references (rounded floor)...
Obviously, this is not yet the definite P-51B. Fortunately, many small errors may be easily corrected by not too expensive aftermarket sets and a little bit of work. However, some shapes problems will ask for a major re-engineering (nose, wing position, rear fuselage bottom and rear windows).
Nonetheless, I've seen at least two kits with few corrections that were painted and weathered and looked OK! It is up to you to decide what deserves to be corrected...