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Hi all. I’m in need of a few solid hours to get the topside colours onto the Tempest so in the meantime I’ve cracked out the 1/48th Airfix P-51D Mustang. Much has been said about the kit that I don’t need to repeat here, most of it favourable. A group of us have been catching up via video conference for our virtual modelling session while COVID has been around. One of the group members suggested the kit for a single type group build which turns out a good choice as the kit is readily available for a good price here in Oz. I’ve been working on the various sub assemblies over the last week and I’ve managed to get it buttoned up and close to being ready for paint. Though the assembly has been all over the place, I’ll try and sort the photos as if you were following along with the instruction. The kit I’m building is the fillet less version of the P-51. It offers the two styles of filleted tail which was handy as neither of the box options took my interest. My subject needs the filleted tail so I was good to go with this one. I’ve also got a bit of resin aftermarket to replace the kit prop and exhausts. The latter being far superior to what was provided in the kit. Standard box pic. Cockpit tub with base desert yellow and oils to simulate the ply floor. The side walls primed with black and the Interior green applied. Followed by a wash and then flat coat + detail painting. The seat and final assembly of the tub plus. The worn black was achieved with the hairspray method. Some light tan pigments have been applied over the black. The sidewall stencils are supplied in the kit and dress the area up nicely. the assembly fits positively into the side walls. It looks good once buttoned up. The kit decal was used for the instrument panel with clear gloss used for the instrument faces. Probably the fiddliest area to clean up is the radiator inlet/outlet ducting. It looks like a Mustang. Don't forget to install the tail wheel and wheel well when joining the fuselage. It'll be a fiddly correction to make if you miss doing this. The main wheel well is nicely appointed. I used the Eduard instructions as guidance for the Chromate Yellow and silver areas. The fit is excellent. The fuselage and wing mated well and the insert for the underside of the cowl and the inner leading edge fitted well. The only real gap of the build so far has been on panel line on the cowl underside. Easily fixed though. The pieces for the rudder, tailplanes and topside of the cowl fit very well. Just about ready for paint. I'll install the windshield tonight as well the as assembly for the nose and oil cooler scoop. I think I'll need to remove a small amount of material from the outside edge of the IP as test fitting it revealed that it was sitting proud a tiny amount. Cheers for now. Mick