Not much needs to be said about the wartime service records of the P-51 or even T-6 as a trainer, and most readers will be familiar with the Reno Air races, held in Reno, Nevada each September.  One of the best known P-51’s flying the racing circuit in the unlimited class is Miss America, decorated in red, white, and blue with numerous stars.  I could not find any specific information on the bright red T-6 (Miss Behavin’), numbered 44, but it flies in the T-6 (duh) category of the air races.  I get a kick out of the last sentence of the instruction’s history, stating that “The T-6 “Miss Behavin” has already won over 8 world championship titles, the P-51D “Miss America” is every bit as good.”

            This set is a double rebox of older kits.  The Monogram T-6 is molded in red, while the Revell Miss America is in white, both with the good old raised panel lines.  First off, the T-6.

            There is some flash on various parts, most noticeable on the machine gun, but I highly doubt one will build an armed Reno racer…  The interior detail is quite good, with the framing separate from the fuselage skin.  There are no seatbelts on the seats, but one pilot figure is included, and another not for use with this set.  There is flash around the tops of the engine cylinders, but nothing that will take more than 20 seconds to remove with a knife.  The wings have positionable flaps, and there will be seams in the gear recesses from the wing-fuselage join if no clean up work is done afterwards.  The instructions have you fill several holes on the rear fuselage.  There are parts included in the kit for the spinner and long exhaust pipe, although I am not sure if these were included in original Monogram releases.  Since I have never built a monogram T-6, I fit the wings and fuselage together and everything seems like it will fit just fine with minimal putty needed.  The directions are very clear throughout, typical Revell-Monogram style, although still printed on (in my opinion) awful newsprint.

             The P-51 “Miss America” also has a tiny bit of flash present, and I’m sure all the parts will fit fine.  I have some doubts about the cockpit, as the instructions have you attach the gun sight; not applicable for a racer.  Also not noted for the interior, is that most current P-51’s, including “Miss America,” have had the radio and fuel tank removed so that a second seat could be added.  No second seat is provided, and no modifications are given.  Revell notes in the instructions that the gun muzzles on the wings need to be removed and the area filled and sanded smooth, and the under wing pylons must be removed. It would have been nice to have had the Monogram P-51D included, but such is life.

 The decal sheet contains all applicable decals for logos, sponsors, and numbers for both aircraft, and all racing stripes for the T-6.  I am disappointed, however, with the decals and decal instructions for “Miss America.”  Only the rearmost pieces of the red and blue parts of the paint scheme are included, which might cause a pain when it comes to masking and painting, as 3 of the 4 views on the markings sheet are quite small, and one side view being a little closer to 1/48 scale.  I think finding a Hasegawa decal sheet from their “Miss America” release may be in order.

            I am glad that the old Monogram T-6 has been re-released in some form, and also that it happens to be in a set of very colorful racers.  Both kits have good fit, are easy to build, and build into nice little models, especially nice considering the low price tag.  I hope to see some more reboxings of good but older kits like these at low prices, and with colorful markings or at least some options, as I feel it may even help get some more juniors hooked on the hobby.

  If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has well over 175,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.

Back to the Main Page

Back to the Previews Index Page