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I posit the bright blue central push button is anodized aluminum, in this case blue. I have no proof or documentation to back up my theory, other than my own empirical observations. I guess it just "looks" anodized to me, is what I'm saying. I'm sure I'll be proven wrong at some point by die experten, though. Won't be the first (or last) time... That's affirmative, sir!

Seeing as your bird was originally a Senta a Pua! Jug, here's a period Kodachrome color pic from the BAF that shows how the planes got absolutely filthy (look at the mud caked onto the bottom of the wing) but the crew chief/armorers kept the blast tubes pretty spotless, not as polished as a modern-day warbird of course, but still pretty shiny. Bonus shot of a BAF armorer greasing up a Ma Deuce.

Indeed it was RLM 24, but just like all other wartime paints, there was a certain variance to the color depending on the paint manufacturer/supplier. Here's a photo of original parts from various Luftwaffe O2 systems, as you can see they varied in hue, sheen and finish (rust and 80 years of weathering notwithstanding, of course).

Woot, this beast looks epic! Paintwork is on point and the decals really bring it to life, can't wait to see the weathering tie it all together

Whoops, missed this one... Unlike restored birds which tend to have them in YZC, the Fowler flap linkages were painted in exterior colors for camouflaged planes (so Neutral Gray) and left in NMF on unpainted Jugs during wartime. I'll post some proper ref photos later, gotta run some errands first.

Already been done, here's a link on Hyperscale to the product review, scroll to the end to see the extended 75-gallon tank in 1/32 scale: http://www.hyperscale.com/2021/reviews/accessories/fuelmodelsroundupdi_1.htm

Hey, John As mentioned, that is the standard 75-gallon drop tank commonly used on Mustangs. As has also been pointed out, there is a modified, extended version of the 75 gal tank that was frequently used in the Med/Italy, and quite extensively by the Brazilians. In Little Bunny/Norma's case, it does look indeed like the extended version, which would make sense as she was based in Corsica. Here's some pics of the extended 75-gallon, there seemed to be two versions, one with the fuel filler port located in the middle of the tank, and another with the filler port on the port side of the tank. Here's some photos, note the center-mounted filler port in the first two shots: Couple of USAAF examples: This is Wicked Wabbit (s/n 4275719), flown by Lt. James Hare, which is the same unit as your bird (57th Fighter Group) so more corroboration that Little Bunny/Norma would be using the extended tank. Note the mostly NMF engine bay (remember, only the engine mounts were painted YZC, cowling interiors were also left in NMF). This period color photo is also an excellent weathering reference! As requested, here's an underside shot of an active duty dirty birdie. Grimy, oily and streaky are some good words to describe it. You're correct in assuming that an extra national insignia on the right wing was added to avoid friendly fire incidents, but it actually came factory-applied. What was field-applied were the bars on the fuselage markings and the port upper and starboard lower wings, as per the USAAF. Here's an example of a factory-fresh Brazilian Jug with the original markings applied. It does seem to be missing the fuselage markings, however. But not all Senta a Pua! Jugs had these extra markings, as these were only applied to the first deliveries to the Brazilian Air Force. Here's one with the extra marking on the port lower wing. Note the lack of bars, as per the BAF's original specs: Here's one without the extra markings, note the crudely field-applied bars and regular 75-gallon tank on the centerline: This one's got the extra markings AND the extended 75-gallon tank: Hope that helped. Cheers, Thomaz

Here's the housing for the CE prop governor/motor.

Hey, John P-47 cowling interiors were left unpainted, as were the firewall and other details. What was painted in YZC was the engine mount, but everything else was left in NMF. Note the cowling lying next to the crew chief's feet. Here's the "turtleback" distributor/magneto installed on R-2800-59's: Hope that helps! Thomaz

Ridiculously next level scratch skillz, Sean, big ups! Can't wait for the next installments

I'll second that emotion, "collaborator" does carry a rather unpleasant whiff about it... I just feel the old system rewarded likes, which more accurately reflected one's "reputation" in the community, as opposed to what we have now, which apparently works as a post counter, awarding points accordingly regardless of the quality of the post's content. Is that the case, Kev?

Personally, I'd go with the solid ones for a D-30, I feel the later style weren't adopted till the D-40, then the -M and -N of course. I've never really found definitive information one way or another about when the switch was made, so I don't think anyone can prove you wrong if you decide to go with the open pedals. The central panel between the pilot's legs, as pointed out by Juggernut, is an electrical bomb/tank release control panel, which didn't come factory-installed till the D-30 but which most operational Jugs had retrofitted in the field. One thing you have to make sure to include for a D-30 are the compressibility flaps right behind the landing gear, which were added to help with dive recovery. Also, the spare optical gunsight was removed from this variant onwards, which means there was no longer a small metal stock on the forward fuselage just ahead of the windscreen. The dorsal fin didn't come factory-installed till D-40's, along with the K-14 sight, but most D-30's had them retrofitted.

Stoked to see you start this one, John!

Eres el amo, you da man, Tony! Can't wait to see this bird come together, such an awesome livery.

Hot diggity dang, another epic project y vaya resultados, Antonio! Very impressive office and you nailed that masking job, big ups to MDuv with the assist, keep up the good work. I know you're a stickler for accuracy, so I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the interior of -47 cowlings was left in NMF, not YZC. That being said, accuracy be damned, I wouldn't risk messing up that amazing result for something that will be nigh on impossible to see. Just sayin'. Saludos, Thomaz