North American P-51D Mustang – kit from LEGO® bricks

The P-51D Mustang was the main version and, with around 8,000 units built, the most-built version of the P-51 fighter aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation. Its advantage was a new Plexiglas canopy developed in 1944, which significantly improved all-round visibility, as well as two additional heavy machine guns. In terms of engine power, the P-51D, like other later versions, was also superior to the original 1940 version. Improvements were made here and there - ultimately, the single-engine single-seater became one of the best fighter aircraft of the Second World War, not least because of its then impressive range of 1,377 kilometers.

The end of the Second World War did not mean the end of the Mustang era. The Swiss Air Force bought some, but struggled with the wear and tear of second-hand aircraft. The Israelis used Mustangs that they had bought from Sweden and Italy in the Suez Crisis in 1956. P-51 aircraft were used in Latin American countries until the 1980s. The last aircraft today are in museums or private hangars.

The versions chosen by Peter Blackert bear famous squadron markings: the aircraft with the red tail represents the Tuskegee Airmen, the one with the yellow nose stands for the P-51D Detroit Miss of the 375th Fighter Squadron.

• Number of original LEGO® bricks: 48
• Dimensions of the model: 8.4 x 12 x 3.4 cm

This kit contains the LEGO® bricks for a model of the North American P-51D Mustang. The building instructions are not included in the kit. You can find these in Peter Blackert's book "How to Build Brick Airplanes".