Home » P-51D Profile – Green “Old Crow”

357th FG Profile

Autumn / Fall 1944

Modeler Tips:

Side View Notes:
A. Rear red band on propeller boss extends onto spinner to leading edge of blades when in neutral pitch. Determine width of yellow band by dividing remainder of spinner evenly.
B. “Old Crow” lays along upper cowl seam on both sides with the serifs on the port “O” and starboard “W” barely touching the checkerboard.
C. Data stencil not over painted- measure kit decal and mask off rectangular area to paint natural aluminum for stencil background.
D. Name placard for pilot & crew lays along seam with upper right corner against canopy frame without
overlapping it. Note that this version contained only the pilot and crew chief’s names. Name Plate info:

Pilot
Capt C E Anderson
C/C Heino
Arm Zimmermann

E. Victory Board. 13 standard black cross/white border3 in first three columns, 2 in last two. Top row rests squarely atop panel seam. Gap between second and third columns lines up directly beneath canopy-windscreen joint.
F. Clear perspex quarter dome with oval mirror place inside apex. Not standard equipment, can be made
from scratch using Squadron Brand “Heat & Smash” Canopy Film. Refer to photo of P-51D on Modeler’s Guide front page.
G. Antenna wire splits inside canopy, top wire continues to headrest, bottom to front of radio box.
H. Tail Number- “414” on fin, “450” on rudder in yellow.
I. Reduced invasion stripes come up to lower edge of star & bar insignia. Note that forward white stripe appears on the aircraft in the dark olive green scheme.

Upper & Lower View Notes:
I. Repeat of item “I” from Side View Notes.
J. White recognition stripes were of standard widths on wings & stabilizers for mid-1944 ETO Mustangs.
K: Width of checker reduced on underside in order to fit evenly on the narrow surfaces of the chin scoop area. L, M, N. Red, Green, Yellow navigation lights- circular and flush with wing panel.
O. Formation Lights- Red (Port) and Green (Starboard)

Overall Modeling Tips:
*Paint on the flat colors first (recognition stripes, red rudder, glare shield) first- then mask off those features and paint the project number background in natural aluminum color. Most metal colors will be marred or removed by masking materials.
*Apply Victory Board prior to Pilot & Crew Nameplate- then align the nameplate with windshield, fuselage panel, and victory board as the reference points.
*This aircraft did sport the nifty whitewall tires of then-Captain Anderson’s earlier “B” model. These were painted on with white barn paint.
*After building several 357th A/C over the past 30 years, I recommend painting the nose area forward of the exhaust cutout yellow when the flat features are painted. Carefully cut away the yellow squares from
the checkerboard decal and apply the remaining strip of red checkers to the nose. This method significantly reduces the potential for bubbles, and wrinkles plus it makes exact alignment of the decal easier.
*Prior to assembly, wash clear plastic parts with a mild glass cleaner and gently wipe dry. Then use a Q-Tip to evenly spread clear liquid floor wax (Future Brand seems to get the best results) on both inside & outside.
Protect from dust and let dry for at least 2 hours. The wax fills in microscopic flaws and creates an even gloss that is clearer & shines brighter than the original plastic underneath.

Repli-Scale Decal Sheet 48-5059 and new SuperScale Decal Sheet 48-731