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Hey @Gazzas This video by Doogs from his Black Basing 201 series might help:

I just re-read this whole thread and it's hard to verbalize just how superlative this whole build is, from start to finish. A Herculean engineering, research and fabrication challenge on so many different levels, requiring not just outstanding craftsmanship but preternatural amounts of perseverance and focus. Again, chapeau to you, Jay. You didn't just knock this outta the park, you knocked it clear across the state line!

EPIC, hats off to you, Jay!

amazing video, crispy HD is CRISP, look at all the tonal differences going on. no wonder late-war RLM colors are such a can of worms... thanks for posting, rafju!

PM sent!

Hey Harold, any chance you'd be interested in creating the correct GE distributor/magneto/prop governor engine set-up for the Hasegawa P-47-D kits after the -N prop? I'm sure there are lots of folks who have the kit and don't want to invest in a full resin upgrade to fix the totally incorrect parts provided in the -D kit (Hasegawa's -M kit has the correct "turtleback" GE parts for a B-series engine, albeit the wrong gear reduction housing), enough of us to make it worth your while. Cheers, keep up the good work!

I really like the Hasegawa D kit, but it drives me a little crazy how wrong the distributors/magnetos are for that production block, not to mention the prop governor and gear reduction case. One can always spring for the Vector engine but it's pretty pricey and a bit of detail overkill unless you want to open up the cowling panels, in my opinion. Considering it's nigh on impossible getting my mitts on the Hasegawa M kit these days (which apparently have the correct B-series engine, although I've never actually seen it IRL) I'd be in for at least 3-4 sets if you make this happen, Harold. Does anyone know if Hasegawa have discontinued the M kit? Or even if it'd be possible to order M overtrees/sprues with the correct parts from Hasegawa to make a B-series engine for the D kit? Still got fingers & toes crossed for that new manscale Jug from Tamiya-San next month in Shizuoka, though!

FASCINATING video of the Memphis Belle and its recent restoration, with gobs of period color footage of her in combat and also on the war bond tour shortly after completing 25 missions. Apparently William Wyler shot 11 hours of footage and only used 40 minutes of it to make his 1944 documentary, surplus footy which the staff the National Museum has access to. So many interesting little facts that rarely come to light about the plane, the crew, the markings, the color scheme, thought it was worth a share. Enjoy, cuz I sure did!

You nailed the correct blue overspray on the propeller cuffs, whole bird looks spectacular, big ups Milo!

According to Spitfire experten extraordinaire Edgar Brooks (RIP), the forward rake on the Spit's landing gear increased by 2" (~5cm) only from the Mk. Vc onwards, the Mk. Va/b undercarriage still had the same geometry as the earlier marks. This remained constant until the Griffon-powered 20-series when, as Dpgsbody55 pointed out, the gear legs were raked forward once again.

MRP makes DDG, along with Bronze Green and Interior Green. It's real good stuff, you can pour it neat into your paint cup, no need for thinning and sprays like a dream. Their whole range is pretty much the dog's danglies.

Fingers and toes crossed for a sized-up, manscale version of their glorious Jugs.

Hey, D.B., here's a list of their retailers from the FCM site. Stateside it looks like Sprue Bros. and a fella in Van Nuys, CA carry them, direct links to each in the list of retailers.

Red Fiebelkorn's pony was a D-5-NT, part of order NA-111 and built at the North American Dallas plant, as per the -NT designation. His plane obviously received a dorsal fin field mod at some point in August '44, when the conversion kit finally became available for 8th AF fighter units (despite the fact that Technical Order #01-60J-18 requiring the addition of the fillet had been issued since 8 April 1944). I read somewhere that the freighter carrying the first conversion kits was sunk by a U-boat whilst crossing the Atlantic, which may explain the delay in getting the fillets installed on Mustangs already in combat operations. The kits actually also included a reverse rudder boost tab, which added resistance to the pedals according to the rudder throw to help pilots from inadvertently overcontrolling and ripping off the tail planes in a snap roll (which were verboten in Mustangs). The D-10-NA series, the first to include dorsal fins & reverse rudder trim tabs at the North American Inglewood, CA factory line, starts at serial number 44-14053. The equivalent variant manufactured at the Dallas plant was known as the P-51K-10-NT (due to the use of an uncuffed Aeroproducts propeller, as opposed to the cuffed Hamilton Standard-equipped D series) and the first serial number to roll out with factory installed dorsal fin/trim tab was 44-11953. There's lots more info here on all things Mustang, and you can also find some scans of the original wartime T.O.'s re: dorsal fins here (post #9). Hope that helped!

Mind FULLY boggled!