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Hi folks, This is the well known 1/48 P-47D by Taimiya. No introductions are needed for the kit as it is well known and is faultless in its construction. I’ve built it to represent “The Reamer’ flown by Lt. Jack H. Reams of the 347FS, 350FG USAAF during their deployment in Italy during 1944-1945. The connection of course being the pilot and my son share the same name, there always has to be a link! I’ve added a few embellishments to the kit by way of aftermarket items. The Master .50 calibre gun barrels replace the kit parts and the kit radial engine has been replaced by a Quickboost item that I’ve wired up with ignition leads. The paint is primarily Tamiya AS-12 decanted and then sprayed through my airbrush. A shade of Alcald (polished aluminium?) covers the gun bay access panels. The olive drab glare shield is Tamiya olive drab with some distempering using a lightened version of the same colour. The yellow chromate in the wheel bays is from one of the Mr Color sets. An Eduard paint mask was helped in covering up the clear parts while paint was applied. The decals are from the Lifelike sheet 48-049. Rick Peck who was involved for the research of this particular aircraft contacted me through my Facebook page and provided some excellent photos of the aircraft. Photos of aircraft from the same FS.FG show the smaller P-51? drop tank on the centreline along with the bazooka tubes being loaded on the out pylons where the 500 lb bombs were hung. I’ve taken a bit of liberty with the load out as I wanted something that was a bit more ‘capable’ when it came to ground attach. So with artistic license in hand I opted for the flat belly tank, bazooka tubes and 500 lb bombs. I like the look of it and the load out gives the aircraft an ominous presence. I did have one balls up this afternoon. While masking the coloured landing lights on the lower out wing, I managed to tear the decal even after it had been well sealed. A cautionary note I guess when using these decals is that the adhesion strength is a bit lower than other so take care if you do need to mask over then. Mine came off even using the low tack post it notes to cover the majority of the area. It’s my first NMF scheme and I’ve got to say that I’m pretty chuffed with it. Even after looking at the photos I need to go back and a address a few spots. Hope you like it too and a huge thanks to Rick Peck for the photos and the good folks over at the Warhawks Facebook group. Cheers, Mick