Juggernut

Flat floor is correct for P-47D-25 RE and later.

The owner has been having health issues but is still in business as far as I know. If you ordered something, you can rest assured that you'll receive what you ordered. It may take a couple weeks (not normal) but you will get it.

Well, after talking with the club president, I feel a lot better about the entire situation. He's known the person in question for over 30 years and he assures me that there has to be another explanation about why this happened. He did not try and convince me I was wrong, he just let me know that he's known this person for a very, very long time and is not the type of person that would do such a thing. I too feel a lot better with him saying that because one, I too know the person (albeit not as long) and he never seemed sketchy or dishonest and two, I trust the club president. I also came to the realization that's it's not a huge sum of money ($40-$45 at most) and while I was more than just a little angry when it happened, that anger has been tempered by time and reason. Now it's more of a curiosity than anything else but I consider the matter closed and am not going to mention it again. I won't forget it happened but I won't mention it. So, in the end, it's all good. Thanks for all the replies, points of view, and allowing me to vent.

I've decided I'm going to bring it up (confidentially of course) to the club president and discuss it with him before I say anything to anyone else.

Nope, we just handed the kits to either of the two people and trusted that it would be taken care of properly.

Thanks for the replies… if I’m not misreading things, the concensus is that I should say something. The monthly meeting for the AMPS club is next Saturday so I have a week to determine how to broach the subject.

Yes, the boxes are completely different. If you click on the links I posted in my OP, you’ll see the boxes are totally different.

Our IPMS club's annual model contest and show was last week and I had previously donated several valuable 1/35 armor kits for the club's raffle. One of the kits I donated to our club was the FRIES KRAN 16t STRABOKRAN & Panther Ausf. ? (the crane came with one of four possible Takom panther kits but you didn't know which one you got until you opened the box - mine had the Late Panther D with Zimmerit included); the box had been opened but all sprues sealed. The value on this kit was about $75 or so. The kit that showed up at our raffle was NOT the kit I donated but just a FRIES KRAN 16t STRABOKRANkit by itself with a value of around $40 (or thereabouts) that was also opened and I did not know the condition of the sprues inside (because I did not look). I did not see that particular kit at the show but saw others that I had donated. The person that runs the raffle and is the organizer of all things for both our IPMS club and our AMPS club is the wife of one of the members. This particular member has an enormous stash in his basement that takes up almost the entire basement...it's like a hobby shop in his basement. I noticed it was missing the day of the show but just put in the back of my mind and did not give it much thought until today. Since the donated kits were pretty much all kept at the members house until the contest last week, I concluded that the kit I donated was "exchanged" for the lesser value kit that was raffled at the show. I'm not sure how I feel about this but my initial reaction this evening was that I consider it stealing and now I'm in a difficult position wondering whether I should mention it or should I just let it go...knowing full well it'll always be a point of contention. If I do mention it, I was thinking that if I am correct and it wound up in this members stash, I would like it returned and in all likelihood, I'll be done with both clubs. What would you do under similar circumstances?

Nicely done zero! I find it particularly interesting on your choice of color for the overpainted previous markings. I would've thought that it would've been overpainted using fresh J3SP (which would be darker than the rest of the surrounding paint - fading you know) but the green is a very interesting alternative. Well done!

These two photos seem to show four rails. REFERENCE: www.ageofstock.com, accessed 9/23/2023 @ 11:15 EDT.

I still have a bottle of Pledge (aka Future) but I've read this stuff is just as good and is available at places like Home Depot, Walmart, etc.: Quick Shine Multi-Floor Finish

Andy's Hobby Headquarters is releasing two such vehicles, the M10, and the Achilles. M10 M10 IIc Achilles They just happen to be made by Takom (as you can clearly see on the box at the above links).

Too large for my available space.... As good as the price is, I'll have to pass.

Yeah, I'd say that's dirty pool too.

Happy Birthday! I haven't been onsite much today and didn't notice until now. I have been accused (by my lovely wife) of having selective hearing and vision.

Just got this book. It's amazing! Well done and kudos to both authors! I was a little impatient waiting for it to arrive from Spain but it was here within a two weeks (about 10 days to PA).

Do these help? \ REFERENCE: Air Corps Library, F4U Corsair Aircraft Drawing Repository, Accessed 9-10-2023 @ 13:40 EDT.

Well, I can't directly answer your question as I've never built the Trumpeter kit but try this: 1. Securely tape the fuselage halves together with the appropriate components in place. 2. Try and insert the turret after the fuselage halves are taped together. Either way, you'll know the answer.

There’s a bunch of differences between the D-15 and D-20 and D-25. Just from recollection the battery gets relocated from behind the pilot to under the engine cowl with a corresponding air scoop on the lower left side of the fuselage/ engine cowl (which is not present in the photo above) I think the battery may have been moved during the -30 NA production run but not entirely sure; 44-73060 is definitely a P-51D-25 NA and it is definitely not relocated (no scoop in the above photo). A P-51D-25 NA would have zero length rocket rails under each wing. I think the AN/APG-13 tail warning radar was standardized in the D-20/25 series. Drop tank fuel line entry point were moved from alongside the rack to in front of the rack. Painting of the wheel wells became more standardized on the D-20/25 than was prior (CRC-359-1 - interior coating of zinc chromate primer to all interior metal surfaces (O'Leary pg 160)). I think the hydraulic oil dip stick access panel was added in front of the windscreen with the D-20. K-14 "Ace Maker" gunsight standardized on and after P-51D-20 NA (with corresponding throttle lever change to incorporate pipper adjustable knob). Message bag (inside the cockpit) was deleted during P-51D-20 production run. Gun camera cover introduced at P-51D-20 and subsequent. Access panels on the engine cowls changed shapes (no longer identical size or shape) sometime during that period. There are others changes that may or may not be visible and while I’ve done my best from memory, some of these changes I’ve mentioned need to be corroborated. If I get the opportunity, I’ll have a look at my Mustang Manufacturing book (O’Leary) and see what he says changed.

Here's a link to a PDF of VMF-312's history: VMF-312 History

Can’t answer which Trumpeter kit is better but yes, AMS has been picked up by BigTim. Link below

Nice! Mine’s just about finished too.

Is this book available in the U.S. or is it going to be? I'm keen on getting it but shipping across the pond isn't in the cards.

Fantastic rendition John! Great to see the long-nose Tony done up so nicely.

Hey Kev, I built the Revell Bf109G-10 and from what I remember, this is what I used for aftermarket: Barracudacast Bf109G seat without belts Barracudacast Bf109G wheels (large tires - to accompany the large bulges on the wings) Synthetic Ordnance Works (Damian), Revell Bf109G main landing gear struts. Barracudacast Bf109G Prop spinner and blades (the kit one is a bit "off") Barracudacast Bf109G-10 Supercharger air intake, exhausts (also comes with hollow scoops for the vents on the nose) Quinta Studios Revell Bf109G-10 cockpit set HGW Bf109G-10 seat harness The build was very straight forward but there are a some sticking points that might have been self induced but here they are: 1. Put the tailwheel in the forwardmost hole in the lower fuseage wall. If you don't, it'll sit angled like the G-6 wheel. You may have to open the hole up as if memory serves, it was flashed over. 2. The clear part for the fuselage antenna (near the tail on the left fuselage part). I had to enlarge the hole in my kit to make the piece fit. I may have installed it incorrectly but I dont' think so. 3. If you haven't glued the top wings together yet, glue the inside top of each wing to the fuselage before you install the outer and bottom wing pieces. It just seemed to work better for me and eliminated any nasty gaps. 4. My kit suffered from some sink marks on the top of the Erla cowl. i had to fill those with Milliput. 5. If you use the large wheel well bulges, my kit had sink marks around the circular wheel well roof (on the outside of the bulge. Again, Milliput to the rescue. 6. My kit suffered from some asymmetrical landing gear rake. That could've been self-induced and it took me some effort to install them correctly. Like Thunnus, I riveted my kit and had a helluva time painting it (that was definitely caused by my choice of paints) but eventually got it done. Somewhere on the Ready for Inspection forum, it resides. Overall, I liked the kit and the aftermarket helped the look immensely.