357th FG Profile
2nd Lt. Otto D. Jenkins’ P-51D Mustang “Toolin’ Fool’s Revenge”
Winter 1944/45
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. “Toolin’ Fool’s Revenge” in yellow with a red border, occupies length of lower strip panel and first letter of each word overlaps upper and lower panel seams.
C. Pilot and crew chief titles and names in black cursive letters.
D. Victory Board. 10 black swastikas inside red circles, 3 in first two columns, 2 in last 2 columns. Top row adjacent to panel seam.
E. Half sphere mirror mounted on dowel post- very unusual type for 357th Mustangs.
F. Tail Number- black “463” on fin, “199” on rudder.
G. Peculiar invasion stripes- full width, two white within three black.
Upper & Lower View Notes:
G. Same as item “G”, above.
H. Width of checkers reduced on underside in order to fit evenly on the narrow surfaces of the chin scoop area. I, J, K. Red, Green, Yellow navigation lights- circular and flush with wing panel.
L. Formation Lights- Red (Port) and Green (Starboard)
M. Glare shield is flat dark olive green and tapers away from upper cowl seam toward center of aircraft from forward bulkhead to propeller boss.
Overall Modeling Tips:
*Paint on the flat colored glare shield and invasion stripes first- then mask off and paint the remainder of the aircraft in natural aluminum color. Most metal colors will be marred or removed by masking materials and should therefore be applied last. Note that this aircraft is unusual in that it retained invasion stripes but did not wear any recognition stripes on the horizontal surfaces- after the New Year ’45 most Mustangs in the ETO adopted a cleaner appearance by omitting theatre markings.
*There were no antenna wires installed on this aircraft.
*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. Then when decal time comes, 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 48-5057
