mark.au Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Hello all; Here's my take on Lou IV. I've detailed a lot of the thought and decision-making process in the WIP thread, which can be found here; In short though, I based my decision on using blue paint on three main arguments; Dana Bell's - @Dana Bell - review of the remaining original transparency showing what he reports as blue on Lou IV. I assume Dana can tell the difference between blue and green 🙂 Michael Bowyer's contemporary notes of his observations that some 361st Mustangs had blue paint on them - this establishes that blue was used; assuming Michael could tell the difference between blue and green 🙂 Why not? Clearly using bright colours wasn't an issue, the nose was bright yellow! I came to the belief that something I called the "go-faster stripe" effect came into play and that these young men painted their airplanes in a way that made them look cool. Certainly the USAAF encouraged the moral boosting effect of nose art and other decoration, so why not blue? Anyway on the the pics; And some pics to illustrate the tonal quality compared to the black and white images; And lastly, just for fun... If you have the patience for it, there's even more detail available below. Comments welcome, critique welcome too. Cheers; Mark. 51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Lovely work Mark - a great finish to the year! Cheers, Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Turned out great and completely plausible. The tones do match. Great job. One of the best ponies I've seen lately. The only downside perhaps is that your fun photo will become the definitive photo of the formation widely shared and completely misinterpreted. Nothing new there. 😂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_K Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Lovely work Mark! A beautiful model and excellent photography. I like those comparison shots showing the real airplane and the model. I like this a lot! Cheers, Antti 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swralph Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Very nice build.😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff G Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Fun to follow along and even better to see the finished product! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Hi Mark Absolutely stunning, what tremendous work and research, enjoyed the thread and your analysis. You have created a wonderful replica and the last photo is fantastic too. Happy New Year Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Fantastic result! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
112 Squadron Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 An impressive P-51D! I love the photographic comparison between your model and the original! 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Superb - 'Lou IV' is finally settled! Excellent photos too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Superb job all round Mark,I had a failed attempt at this scheme a couple of years ago on Revells 1/32 kit,I was more annoyed at the failure because of the interest and input of a lot of folk(including Dana Bell),I was going for the 6th of June scheme with full stripes but the subject of the "blue" inevitably cropped up,now I think you've got this spot on I also think some form of blue was used to paint out the upper invasion stripes,again a superb job done here! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I say old chap, blooming marvellous, looks absolutely spiffing. Good job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I think you nailed it! Superb modeling! Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Superb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABeck Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 THISISIT but now which decal maker dares to bring out a set with the complete BOTTISHAM4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 11 hours ago, noelh said: The only downside perhaps is that your fun photo will become the definitive photo of the formation widely shared and completely misinterpreted. Nothing new there. 😂 That occurred to me too! Hopefully the flaps being dropped on the model is sufficient that most people will spot the merge... 7 hours ago, IanC said: Superb - 'Lou IV' is finally settled! I think that's unlikely as Team Green will always have its advocates 5 hours ago, stevej60 said: I was going for the 6th of June scheme with full stripes I though about maybe doing something similar with three models; June 6th, early July and 26th July. 1 hour ago, ABeck said: but now which decal maker dares to bring out a set with the complete BOTTISHAM4 We can only hope! Thanks everyone for the comments. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Nice to see a Bottisham bird. Great result. Always have a look around as I go down the A14. Stopped in at the museum once when they were moving in to the new hut. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 3 hours ago, bar side said: Stopped in at the museum once when they were moving in to the new hut. Thanks! Did you see any tins of blue paint lying around? 😄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Pete Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Looks great. Nothing wrong with giving an American fighter a splash of colour whether it's historically accurate or not. Fighter jocks are, after all, frequently the "Flash Harry" type and given the opportunity would definitely paint their kites up like sports cars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Wow! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcNewitt Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) Ah the 361st... I live down the road from the old Bottisham Airfield and was a member of the Bottisham Airfield Museum for a brief period, If you are ever travelling down the A14 towards Cambridge you will notice on the left hand side a row of trees that are cut in two by a road, for some reason when the runway was lifted, PSP I believe, a load of trees were planted in its place so the runway is still there in spirit just in plant form. You also cut through the old airfield driving on the A14 too. I had a 361st decal sheet with with three different P-51Ds on it and being the idiot I am I gave them away and now I am sad...... anyway love the model, that is one beautiful Mustang! Edit: Thinking back, at the time I was a member of the museum a guy by the name of Steve Gotts was also a member, he wrote a book on the 361st whilst they were based at Bottisham. having searched the book on Amazon they are going for nearly £100! I really wish I had gotten the copy he was going to sell to me now as it had some pilot signatures in there too and he only want £30..... I am just going to go headbutt a wall...... really, really hard! Marc Edited December 31, 2020 by MarcNewitt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 17 hours ago, Uncle Pete said: Fighter jocks are, after all, frequently the "Flash Harry" type and given the opportunity would definitely paint their kites up like sports cars. This became a large part of my thinking as to the “why?” Of it all. Thanks for the comments guys, all the best and happy new year from 2021 here in Australia! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 A very fine looking Mustang. Thanks for sharing and for the information and photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Hello Mark... Im a huge fan of the 361st “Yellowjackets” You’ve done some great work here. ... I tend to not bring forth my opinions on the whole is it Blue/Green ? But I think you’ve done great work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 This is a wonderfully realistic build and I really enjoyed your analysis about the colors in the WIP. Your b/w and the last color picture really sell it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now