Dragon has delivered what is without a doubt the most highly detailed P-51D kit ever brought out in injection plastic. This release features modified tooling of the fuselage parts to give us an early P-51D, before the fillet was added to the vertical stabilizer. Complete cockpit, engine, radiator, and gun bay detail is provided. The gun bays doors are molded closed, but a couple of quick passes with a sharp knife along the clearly defined panel lines will open them up, or alternatively this means we don't have to worry about trying to get the doors to fit properly in the closed position! The landing gear are detailed right down to separate pieces for the brake lines, and the wells themselves are nice and deep. All control surfaces are separate pieces to be posed as one sees fit. Plus, we are given lots of underwing armament options: 5-inch rockets, bombs, paper and metal styles of drop tanks. The tires are molded in "Dragon Styrene" for a real rubber look. Photo-etched parts are included for the seat belts, radiator faces, and instrument panel. Decals are for three aircraft: "Hurry Home Honey" of the 364th FS, "It's the Kid!" of the 77th FS, and "Julie" of the 52nd FG. It should be noted, however, that the surface detailing consists of rather heavy dimples for rivets and prominent, but crisp, panel lines. Surfacer or a thick coat of primer should help the finished appearance, though.