Alan P

Just regarding rigging as mentioned by @Vlad, I used EZ-Line for years but it does deteriorate in sunlight, so I now have some spontaneously unrigged ships on display 😔 it is also flat in cross section when stretched. I would now recommend Lycra thread such as Uschi rigging thread, can be supplied in different gauges.

I think this is a great little kit. Built it for the last STGB back in lockdown, thought it fit together very nicely. And I was very impressed by the pilot figure, this was a real classic kit. Re decals... After leaving in the sun for a week I painted over my sheet with Liquid Decal Film, a Microscale product, and they came out beautifully.

Fine work! Not a subject we see built up very often, looks extremely interesting. That's great to hear, cos I really don't, probably the weakest part of my game!

A proper vintage kit! Haven't seen moulded markings for a looooong time 😂 Will be good to see what you can do with modern paint and techniques.

Great set of photos, thanks Duggy 👍

@zegeye and @TEMPESTMK5 those are beautiful, really well done 👍

Ah this is great to see! Wonder how it stacks up with the Piper Enforcer? Look forward to the build, though I find it depressing you'll have to chop up that lovely Tamiya kit to do it 😢

1/32 Revell P-51D early, converted to P-51K Old 1/72 Airfix P-51B 1/72 Monogram F-82G Twin Mustang 1/48 Tamiya P-51K Mustang IV I really like Mustangs!

This is the Piper PA-48 Enforcer I'm planning to build for the GB. Although not a true Mustang, this has been approved by Patrice @TEMPESTMK5 and will be the Halberd Models resin conversion for the Revell P-51D-15-NA kit in 1/32. Here's the raw materials... The very nice Revell 1/32 kit. This is the later edition with the fin fillet to complement the earlier -5-NA. It's not as finely cast as the more expensive versions, but it goes together really well. Great parts breakdown, especially in the cockpit. Enables much finer detail than the traditional moulded sidewalls. Lots of armament options as well, with two drop tank variants, 500lb bombs, and 5in rockets. Three canopy options, including the required blown Dallas canopy for this aircraft. This is the ludicrously good Halberd Models conversion set for the kit. As @trickyrich will tell you, the quality and fit are superb for a resin/3D conversion, especially considering the size of the parts. As you can see this is a very extensive set - two replacement fuselage halves being the most substantial parts, plus the tip tanks, prop and spinner, cockpit floor, ejection seat and lots of pylons! On with the show... Cheers, Alan

Wow, that's quite a superb and striking model mate 😯 fantastic details and lighting, it must be an absolute beast 💪😎 Alan

Very nice work, really like the silver finish. Hope it had the desired effect as @georgeusa said 👍

Very convincing, love the colours you used. Spot on! Alan

That's a really nice job for your first ship 👏👏👏 As @ArnoldAmbrose said, it's an easy bug to catch, you'll never shake it off!

Thanks very much @IIBSWAT that's very kind 👍 Thanks very much Paul, a true gent as ever 😌

That's a really neat job Steve, I thought it was a pretty good kit to build. Well said Andy 👍

I don't know, they're whatever you want to make of them, I suppose. This one looks like it includes a lot of parts and PE so hopefully will look the part.

Superb paintwork 👍 lovely to see a very well presented kit without all the dirt and stylised effects 👏👏👏

I took the plunge, hoping it'll make a nice companion piece for the Very Fire USS Atlanta 😌

Between you, you've created an absolute masterpiece. Can't fault what you've achieved here.

They're M47 100lb incendiary/chemical bombs. http://michaelhiske.de/Allierte/USA/USNBD/USA/BombsAndFuzesUS/Section02/Page127.htm As Tom says, they could be manhandled to the bomb bay where the integral winches could be used to load them into position

Turkey celebrated the first flight of its home-produced Kaan 5th Gen fighter this week. https://theaviationist.com/2024/02/21/turkish-kaan-national-combat-aircraft-flies-for-the-first-time/ I don't know about you, but its design might not be entirely original 🤔

Extra detailing on this is fantastic. Interesting colours in the cockpit, the Lionoil treated aluminium panels really stand out.

This is <ahem> flying together 👍

I tried a different solution, using plastic card shims between the lower wing halves and the engine nacelles. Pics to follow soon, I have been working on this model, honest!

Another book I'd recommend is John Comer's Combat Crew, he was a Flight Engineer on a 381st Bomb Group crew based at Ridgewell. He flew 25 missions in the same period covered by MOTA including Bremen and Schweinfurt. It's a really simple, very readable account taken from his contemporary diary notes from the time.