Andre B Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) The old Hasegawa P-51D 1/72 kit has decals for an aircraft from 339 FW flewn by Col. William C. Clark and named Dappy VI. I can't find any information about this aircraft nor any pictures of it or the kit with mentioned decals. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-a16-mustang-p-51d-north-american--158278 Or did Hasegawa and Scalemates get it wrong about the name of the aircraft? Happy IV or... ? Someone who knews? Cheers / André Edited August 21, 2019 by Andre B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) Col Clark was the last CO of the 339th FG in the war and had a P-51D called "Dolly" and which also had "Happy IV" under the exhaust stubs which I think this probably refers to. There's a photo in Scutts' "Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force", p.32. Edited July 4, 2019 by Smithy Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) According to the 8th AF Little Friends website, Col. Clark's P-51D was serialed 44-64148, was coded 5Q-C. It bore the name 'Happy IV' on the nose and 'Dotty' on the canopy frame (His wife's name) By the serial, it would be a P-51D-20-NA and would have had the dorsal fin strake. He also flew another Mustang, a P-51K, serialed 44-11745, also coded 5Q-C. It bore the name 'Happy III' on the nose, and was lost while being flown by another pilot, who was KIA. By the serial, it would be a P-51K-5-NT and would also have had the dorsal fin strake. Note that in the photos of Happy III, it appears to have had the Aeroproducts cuffless prop replaced by a Hamilton Standard cuffed prop; this was a common swap, as the Aeroproducts props were known for having balance problems, and enterprising crew chiefs wasted little time in fitting the HS prop to their pilot's Mustang! Here is a link to that website- if you scroll through the group gallery section, you can find photos of Col. Clark and his Mustang. Hope this helps! Mike http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/339th-fighter-group/ Edited July 4, 2019 by 72modeler added text 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Pictures of 'Happy IV' can be found on internet or you may contact me off-line. I hope they help, Michael. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 Ok, Happy IV it is then. Wonder how the Hasegawa decals look like... Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 Ok, the Hasegawa decals for the P-51D Mustang (kit no. A12 also as no. JS-101) dated 1987. The name "Dappy VI" can be seen in green and white (decal no. 9). https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-a16-mustang-p-51d-north-american--158278 Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boman Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Correct name for Col. Clark's P-51D 44-64148 5Q-C is Happy IV. Dappy VI is not correct, sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Boman said: Correct name for Col. Clark's P-51D 44-64148 5Q-C is Happy IV. Dappy VI is not correct, sorry Yes, how Hasegawa made it to "Dappy IV" and in wrong colours to is strange when it seems they got "Dolly" right. But maybe I can make an accurate decal some day. Always something to talk about... https://mobile.twitter.com/opwalbea/status/1008964144064843776 Cheers / André Edited August 21, 2019 by Andre B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) The first Hasegawa 1/72 scale P-51D Mustang i somewhat strange in other things to... In the box there are two instructions. The usually big one and one smal corrected about the propeller assembly. The assembly according to the instructions (# 4 Propeller & Canopy Installation) is for an kit looking like the Tamiya 1/72 Mustang. The corrections (the "Propeller Assembly") is for an kit looking like the Academy kit... Edited August 21, 2019 by Andre B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 15 hours ago, Andre B said: Yes, how Hasegawa made it to "Dappy IV" and in wrong colours to is strange when it seems they got "Dolly" right. But maybe I can make an accurate decal some day. Always something to talk about... No, they didn't get "Dolly" right because the name on the frame was "Dotty"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 6 minutes ago, Toryu said: No, they didn't get "Dolly" right because the name on the frame was "Dotty"! Well, that's maybe my fault. The decal looks accurate. I think I read "Dotty" as "Dolly"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 21 minutes ago, Andre B said: 29 minutes ago, Toryu said: No, they didn't get "Dolly" right because the name on the frame was "Dotty"! Well, that's maybe my fault. The decal looks accurate. I think I read "Dotty" as "Dolly Looking closely I think they even got “Happy“ right because a very strange small “h“ was used in the inscription that looks like “D“. The colours are wrong, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Toryu said: Looking closely I think they even got “Happy“ right because a very strange small “h“ was used in the inscription that looks like “D“. The colours are wrong, though. Yes, I looked at it more times than I can count. And still I can't say of it stands Happy, Dappy or even Nappy. But for sure the colours is not accurate for either... Cheers / André https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraktur Edited August 22, 2019 by Andre B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 When that kit came out, in 1974, Japanese kit instructions and decals were famous for mis-spellings, often with unintended comic effect. Thank goodness they are so much better now. And the kit itself was superb for its time, and still holds up well IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Work In Progress said: When that kit came out, in 1974, Japanese kit instructions and decals were famous for mis-spellings, often with unintended comic effect. Thank goodness they are so much better now. And the kit itself was superb for its time, and still holds up well IMO. I agree with that... Looking att the Hasegawa kit it is amazing that it came as early as 1974 compared to the Heller, Airfix and Matchbox kits from almost the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) Not that amazing compared to (say) the Airfix Spitfire Mk.I and the Heller He112, to name just a couple of examples. Nice yes indeed, but not as far ahead as their later Fw190, for example, whereas Heller and Airfix stood still or got worse in the intervening years. Edited August 22, 2019 by Graham Boak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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