Red Pegasus Decals | Precious Metal P-51A

Reviewed by Kevin Futter

This decal sheet from Red Pegasus Decals represents the P-51A "Precious Metal", which was built from scratch using jigs from North American Aviation by Gerry Beck. Beck was tragically killed while flying this aircraft in 2007, after colliding with Bob Odegaard's P-51D "Stang" during landing.

The sheet is a very simple affair, with only 14 individual markings in total. No airframe stencils are supplied, however, none are in evidence on the few photos of the real aircraft that I could find.

The decals themselves are ALPS-printed on continuous decal film, and the supplied tips sheet recommends coating them with a protective agent prior to handling and application. It also details the optimal process for working with the decals, which is a welcome inclusion given the boutique and possibly unfamiliar nature of the product.

The printing is very crisp and opaque, with perfect registration and strong colours:

The printing of the "Precious Metal" text in gold is especially impressive. The scan above simply doesn't do it justice.

Note the year on the bottom of the sheet says 2002; while this review sample is new to us, I'm not certain whether that date refers to the year the package was produced, or that the sheet represents what "Precious Metal" looked like in 2002. The instructions note that the aircraft was registered in 2006, so this appears unlikely.

Conclusion

Simple though it may be, the quality of this package is beyond doubt, so if you're interested in building this incarnation of "Precious Metal" in 1/32 scale, this set is for you!

Thanks to Red Pegasus Decals for the review sample.

© Kevin Futter 2013

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This review was published on Saturday, August 31 2013; Last modified on Saturday, August 31 2013