Merry Christmas!!!

She's not fully done & dusted yet....but I couldn't wait any longer.

A thing of beauty has happened!!

In 2005 Col. Gibbon decided to build me a new P-51D. The old HR version, with every due and totally given respect to Chompey and Salty for (what was after all) a ground breaking HR model and skin job that has served the community for years, seemed to show room for improvement. At the time a lot emails went back and forward about what could be, and the hope was to make her as best she could be.

For various reasons this was put on hold just at the point of being completed, and it was really the sterling and wonderful skinning efforts of Iron Mike that has brought it back to life. I thought for all his hard graft with just 353rd multi-skins, he needed a better canvas, if it was still possible. Thanks to John's renewed efforts between Cjristmas wrapping etc, she is nearly done, all bar the shouting. Being my fav' fighter of the war, I think it represents an astounding effort by Col. Gibbon, and again he has set a new benchmark in 3DZ work.

This thread is basically to acknowledge his superb efforts and work on this.

*(My only contribution was to skin the pilot and exhaust stack, and I am sure there are skinners here who could have done better than I)

What you get is a superb model that includes action codes, 3D exhausts, near perfect scale lines, early and late versions of the P-51D (with and without tail fillet), HR bubble cockpit (with bulge), open intake valve before take-off, sliding canopy, and sumptuous skin to get you all started.

So here she is, coming soon - amazing model by Col. Gibbon, and outstanding skin by DeanH....I give you 'Detroit Miss' of 361stFG - Pilot Urban Drew.

Enjoy!






















Finally...I humbly submit my first skin since 2005.

I am sure people like Ade, and Mike will make me look the amateur I am, but I am glad to be back skinning again.

'Shoo Shoo Baby' 357thFG - Lt. Mike Howell.

If I May Col.

This is currently a very flawed model, but it is fixable, and will be rebuilt in 2012. Back in 2005 [really was it that long ago!], I did this model at the request of Col Landers, and was the last model I tried to build using piggybacks, after which it got shelved in favor of building from scratch RS compliant models.

I lost all my files for this model when my son destroyed my backup HD last year. A few days ago Iron Mike asked me about this famed model, and I did manage to find a copy languishing on my Yahoo Email account, which I passed onto Mike. Then out of the Blue, the good Col. contacted me, and after a bit of searching he came up with my release Beta set, which had a few bugs in it, which I've fixed, and is the model you see above.

Now, I said it has bugs and it's never going to work in Glide until I redo the model so the Normal and RS are correct, but in D3D it works fairly well.

OK so that's out now, I can finish off another project or two, If my hands hold out.

A beauty you got there

Cheers

Was wondering what happened to that project....

I'm sure, that all of us, have a project or two sitting on our collective HDs.
I know, I sure do.....

For a "not-as-yet" completed project that pony looks pretty good from here.
Nice to see you skinning again, Nate...

Cheers mates
David