Paul Boyer

No. The P-51H did not see action in the war. But the pilot of "Ah'm Available" may have

Usually kill markings for victories over Japanese aircraft were flags, either red hinomaru (sp?) on a white field or the naval "rising sun" flag. These may be German crosses or swastikas. Probably the assigned pilot's victory tally from the war.

Ancient history by now, but Microscale/Superscale did several USAFE units in 1/72 scale decades ago. But yeah, the preponderance of decals have been for Korean War Sabres. Kinda like the preponderance of Sabre kits have been for the F-86F-30 and not much to none for the earlier workhorses, the A and E models. If I were an enterprising kit manufacturer, I would produce a really good kit of the F-86A and maybe sell the wing sprues as a separate package for those who would want to convert their F kits to Es. In 1/72 scale, or course. And then in 1/48 scale, too!😊

OVERSIZED underwing tanks!

Here's something that's missing: Actual trainer unit markings for the TA-4J Skyhawk. There are decal sheets that come in the kits and other aftermarket companies that give adversary or special commemorative markings, but I don't remember seeing the standard orange-on-white training outfits on any 1/72 scale decals.

It remains to be seen, but it will be difficult for Modelcollect to better the 51-year-old Monogram B-52D kit as far as accuracy and buildability go. Modelcollect gives you more interior detail, true, but you won't see most of it. And, if the B-52H model is an example, you won't want to see it.

Kursad, will you be at the Nats in Chattanooga?

Yikes! Yeah, that was 28 years ago! Those photos of the builders of that fantastic model include a lot of dead people. Glad I haven't changed that much!

Wisconsin is a good place to be even if you DON'T drink beer!😊 Milwaukee has one of the largest IPMS chapters in the country, the R.I. Bong Chapter. And they have a dashing president, too!😎

Oh, and paint the blue last! Start with a coat of flat white for good coverage. Then gloss white over that for the topsides. Next mask the areas to remain white and spray yellow. When that is good and dry, mask the areas to remain yellow, and then paint the blue. There are exceptions, but as a rule it is best to start with the lightest color then go to the darker colors.

I think so. If it is a true A model, it would have nothing but the Pratt and a small mouth. Right?

Typical Special Hobby quality; good detail, so-so fit. But if you work on it a bit, it'll look alright:

No. The BUFFS in the Vietnam war used the SIOP colors as I stated above. The D models had gloss black undersides, sides, and fin. The G models out of Anderson had white undersurfaces and SIOP colors on the tops, sides, and fin. They may not look like these colors as they faded and weathered rapidly, but they WERE the SIOP colors.

Might be hard to find, but Modelcollect sells a boxed set of cruise missiles (UA72204) that has four AGM-86, three AGM-109, and three AGM-129. One adviso: The modern B-52H kit comes with enough AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles to fill both external pylons, but the photoetched fins in the kit (and shown in the instructions, so it wasn't a mistake in packaging) are for the AGM-86! This is just one in a litany of mistakes and problems with the Modelcollect BUFF. See my review in the July 2019 FineScale Modeler.

Let's straighten this out. The B-52G and FB-111A shown above were painted in what was known as the "SIOP" scheme. Camouflaged B-52s in the Vietnam war were also in these colors, but with gloss black bottoms and sides. The SIOP colors are: FS 34201 greenish tan FS 34159 blue green FS 34079 dark green (also used in the tactical camouflage scheme) In the late 1980s, a new, three-tone "Strategic" camouflage was put on B-52s and B-1Bs. The upper surfaces and sides were in FS 34086 olive green FS 36081 dark gunship gray (also known as Europe 1 Gray) FS 36118 guship gray The upper surfaces and sides were in 36081 and 34086, the bottoms were in 36081 and 36118. FS 34086 quickly faded to a medium brown. The weathered colors MAY have been how Testor came up with its color choices. In 1988, they began to paint the bombers in overall 36081, then changed again in 1990 to the current overall 36118. For more info on the B-52 patterns in these schemes, refer to my FineScale Modeler "International Color and Camouflage" articles in the September and November 1993 issues.