The Airfix 1:48 scale plastic kit for the North American P-51D Mustang is available now and features 147 separate parts to build a superbly detailed scale model of this Second World War fighter aircraft.

The North American P-51 Mustang is viewed as one of the iconic American fighters of the Second World War. Designed to fulfil an RAF specification, the Mustang was transformed once the Rolls Royce Merlin engine was installed.

The P-51D model's long range and excellent firepower made it a superb escort fighter, able to protect the bombers all the way to Berlin and back. The P-51 is recorded as being the top scoring Allied fighter of the war with 4,950 enemy aircraft destroyed. After the war the P-51D saw service in Korea and was used by some South American country's air arms until the early 1980s.

The 1:48 scale kit for the P-51D from Airfix includes two sets of markings:

• A05131A - North American P-51D -15-NA Mustang 'The Millie G' flown by Major Edward Bonfoy Giller, 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, United States Army Air Force, Royal Air Force Wormingford, Essex, England, 1944-45. A
• A05131A - North American P-51K-1-NT Mustang 'Frisco Kid' flown by Lt. John Carl Casey, 363rd Fighter Squadron, 375th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, United States army Air Force, Royal Air Force Leiston, Suffolk, England, 1944. B

The kit is in stock now and you can read more about the P-51 Mustang family online at Key Model World.