4th FG Build - Hasegawa P-51D

[Bill L2]

Very nice model Matt.

[Ryan K]

Very nice Matt. Hope mine turns out half as nice.

[Lee_K]

Nicely done, Matt!  I like the aluminum lacquer effect on the wings.  Glad to have another 4th FG build in our club's tribute collection.

Lee K

[Matt C]

Better late than never, I've finished my 4th Fighter Group Build, a P-51D as flown by Captain David Howe of the 334th.  The kit is Hasegawa's 1/48 Scale Mustang with an Eduard PE cockpit and True Details wheels.  The majority of the decals are Eagle Strike (which were 10 years old and failed to adhere very well.) with KitsWorld decals for the serial number, ID letters and kill markings.  The paint is Alcald II of various shades, with Model Master Insignia Red for the group markings.  The serial number and ID are correct for his AC, but there are no pictures available that I could find, beyond a closeup one of him on the wing, so I added the spurious kill markings on the canopy for his 6 kills (This number varies depending on the source, 6 seemed to come up most often) and no nose art.

Lee had posted some great info about the Howe in another thread, but one additional bit I found was a rather wild story from his obituary read before Congress:
Perhaps what best illustrates the heroism of David W. Howe is the story of an incident that occurred near the end of World War II. Howe barely escaped certain death when a new Nazi jet fighter was in pursuit of his propeller driven P-51 Mustang fighter. Knowing that it was impossible to outrun the German Messerschmitt 262, Howe turned his fighter into a steep dive, gaining needed speed, then abruptly flew under a bridge. The pursuing jet, unable to make the same maneuver, hit the bridge. Howe's superior flying skills and fighting spirit truly make him a flying ace and one of America's finest that ensured the defeat of the Nazi forces.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1995-06-09/html/CREC-1995-06-09-pt1-PgE1218.htm