11bravo

I did a bunch of research on this subject when I did my F-51D Korean War build. Here is what I found: Some F-51's had the putty removed, some didn't. Some F-51's were in NMF, some were repainted overall aluminum lacquer Some F-51's had the cockpit repainted black, some kept the WW2 vintage interior green. Some F-51's had additional radio gear behind the pilot, some kept the WW2 vintage radios Some F-51's had new cooling vents on the fuselage sides, aft of the wings, some didn't. Just about every F-51 were the later block numbers that had the HVAR stubs installed. Hope this helps! :) Bottom line is that you need to have good references for your subject and if you don't just wing it. Highly unlikely anyone can prove you wrong.

I'm sorry but I can't help with a picture. That being said, take any profile with a huge grain of salt!

Thanks Jamie & Dave, I appreciate it. I was aware that my pic above wasn't from an FB.VI but it was the only thing I had handy to illustrate those colored instruments! Regards, John

Hi folks, I'm building the Tamiya FB.VI and am starting on the instrument panel. One thing I noted is that some references show the engine gauges to be outlined in either red, blue or yellow. However, most restorations I've seen (I know that the accuracy of these can vary), have the gauges in basic black. From the decent B&W pics I've found of WW2 Mossies, it also appears that the gauges are black. Any info would be much appreciated. Here's a restored IP with the colored gauges.

Interesting, I would have assumed that the Mk II came before the Mk III. I've been looking for close up pics of Coastal Command Mossies from this time period that show the gunsight but nothing so far. Thanks very much for the info!

Hi folks, Any idea what type of gunsight would have been fitted to a late-war (early '45) FB.VI of Coastal Command? I'm building the Tamiya 32nd scale kit and they include both a "Mk II" and "Mk III" gunsight. I'm way out of my area of expertise with British subjects, any info is appreciated. For that matter, would these aircraft have had an even later gyro gunsight like the USAAF's K-14 by that point? Regards, John

Hi Andy, I think I’ve got it sorted out. Thank you for the kind offer though!

Makes me really want to build an FM-2 (in 32nd scale). What a cool aircraft, in service prior to the war and still fighting and holding it's own in 1945.

Hi Folks, Does anyone have some pictures that show how the pilot and navigator's oxygen lines were configured? I've got a couple of vintage cockpit layout drawings but nothing that shows the actual lines themselves and whether they just come out of the decking and tie into the crew's oxygen masks or connect to a regulator. Thank you in advance for any info. John

I've never seen anyone release it and give how quickly it weathered, I'd say you are better off anyway just eyeballing it and mixing your own. Only other thing I'd add is that that some USAF pilots opted to camouflage their flight helmets with some brown / black spraypaint and rarely (in the early part of the war) I saw some pictures of pilots with jungle camouflage flight suites (although as I think about it, this might be been more of a Navy thing).

Thanks for the update Jamie, please keep us posted if you have any ETA on this stuff. Just to confirm, it's impossible to order your paint from suppliers in the UK and have it shipped to the states?

Hi Jamie, A lot has happened since your response back on 3/11. Just wondering if your efforts to get your products out to the US are still proceeding or if (quite understandably), things are now on hold? Hope everyone in your world is healthy! John

On another forum years ago, someone posted a picture of an EH-60 that was modified as a testbed to demonstrate frontal stealth. This was from sometime back in the late 80's I believe. After a short time, they took it down because of OPSEC concerns. Anyway, I can only describe the helo as "hideous". It had a massive, faceted housing over the main rotor, with large bulky "cuff" extending out a few feet along each rotor blade. The nose was chisel shaped and a few other treatments were applied. The rest of the helo was stock -60. My completely uneducated guess is that some / all of these techniques were incorporated into the "Stealth Hawk" used on the OBL raid. Have fun with this one!

Minor question about the Mosquito FB.VI pilot's seat. Are the pilot's armrests hinged so they can be folded up to assist with egress in what is a very tight cockpit or are they fixed in place? Any info is appreciated! John

Ahh, I thought they might be dye markers. So the WW2 ones were stored in those plastic pouches?

Anthony, this is completely OT but I'm starting a Mosquito build Can you tell me if that fire extinguisher is authentic? Was the original brass or painted red and this one is just heavily weathered. Same for those "pouches" next to it (what are those anyway)? Are they original? If you have any other detail shots like this one, feel fee to share, they would be immensely useful.

I've been consulting your build already. It's been a great resource!

Good Memories. I also remember running up to the roof every time an Army Huey or Cobra flew over. Looking forward to your next project! John

No worries at all Crimea. The 32nd part has a hinged upper shield with an armor glass “porthole” right behind the Nav’s head. Regards, John

Beautiful job!!!

Oh my!!! Just wonderful work. I lived in Tehran as a kid, might have seen that jet at an air show or leaving out of Merehbad Airport. Truly a great looking Phantom!

Hi Folks, I’m going to be starting the Tamiya 32nd Mossie and saw in a review of the kit from a few years ago that there were a few configurations for the Nav’s back armor, especially the folding upper section. I’m building HR129, assigned to 333 Sqd around January of 45. Any idea if the kit’s armor is correct? For that matter, if anyone has detail pictures of this armor, I’d love to see them. Regards, John

Great job! Love the bailout procedures. Step 5 should have been “Wave goodbye to passengers”!

I came across pics of other F-51D's that were much worse off than "Butchie" but I didn't have the courage (or skills) to weather my Mustang to that level. These workhorses really did have the crud kicked out of them! Thanks very much for the compliments!

Thanks very much guys. I had a family member who served in Korea as a US Army 2nd LT. He was stationed on the front lines as a Forward Observer. It's quite possible that he might called in "Butchie" at one or more times for close air support. Not sure why I didn't post a full build log here, I shall do so on my next project but if anyone is interested in all the research and minute details on this project, the build log is over at: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/80450-forgotten-war-mustang/ Thank you again for all the great feedback! John