I've been a huge fan, for a long time, of the work done by the company Midwest Aero Restorations. They have done 8 complete Mustang restorations to-date, all award-winning, and so-far I have covered 6 of them through various past Warbirdsim products and repaints. A while back I decided I'd do repaints of the other 2 Midwest Aero Mustangs I had never gotten around to do doing yet, but in making those repaints I also decided to go through all of the other six and completely redo them as well, providing replacement textures for the products that feature those models as well as providing repaints for other products such as "Mustang Tales". This has been something I've worked on and off on for the past few years and finally decided to make a consorted effort to finish them and have them uploaded to the SOH library and elsewhere, which I have done this morning. Through all 8 of these, the diffuse, alpha, spec and spec alpha textures have all been completely redone from the ground-up, and each includes all new high quality normal maps and revised/improved cockpit textures. As always, these are designed for use with Bob Rivera's environmental maps, 'Alternate_Globalenvtest.zip', found as Avsim, installed in the main FSX Texture folder, so as to provide the reflections shown.
The repaints cover:
"Cripes A' Mighty" (replacement textures for "Cripes A' Mighty: Then and Now" and repaint for "Mustang Tales")
"Daddy's Girl" (replacement textures for "Restored Part 2" and "Mustang Tales")
"Red Dog" (repaint for "Restored Part 2" and "Mustang Tales")
"Happy Jack's Go Buggy" (replacement textures for both "Restored Part 1" and "Happy Jack's:Then and Now" and repaint for "Mustang Tales")
"Live Bait" (repaint for "Restored Part 2" and "Mustang Tales")
"Was That Too Fast" (repaint for "Restored Part 2" and "Mustang Tales")
"Frances Dell" (repaint for "Restored Part 2" and "Mustang Tales")
"Frenesi" (repaint for "Restored Part 2" and "Mustang Tales")
They should be available in the library shortly.
"Cripes A' Mighty" ~ P-51D-30-NA (44-74813) registered as N151BW, owned by Thomas Ungurean of Zanesville, OH. Built too late to see action in WWII, the aircraft served in Canada as RCAF 9261 in the 1950's. Sold surplus in 1958 and passing through numerous civilian owners, the aircraft was eventually acquired by Ken Wagnon in 1996 and sent to Midwest Aero Restorations for ground-up restoration to complete WWII stock configuration. This benchmark-setting restoration was completed in 2002, winning Oshkosh WWII Grand Champion and later the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trophy two separate years. The aircraft is finished in the authentic markings of Maj. George Preddy's P-51D "Cripes A' Mighty" (IV) while he was the commander of the 328th FS, 352nd FG, 8th AF in December 1944. The highest scoring Mustang ace of WWII, Preddy was killed in action due to friendly fire on Christmas Day, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.
Both the replacement textures and the repaint for "Mustang Tales" depicts the aircraft as it is in 2019, but also included are alternative textures for "Cripes A' Mighty: Then and Now" to depict the way the aircraft first looked in 2002, following the completion of restoration.
"Daddy's Girl" ~ P-51D-20-NA (44-63807) registered as N20MS, owned by Charles Somers of Sacramento, CA. The aircraft is known to have been delivered to England and accepted by the 8th Air Force, but no combat assignments are known (likely remaining a pool aircraft). Light on hours/practically new, the aircraft was sent back to the US at the end of WWII and in 1950 was acquired by the Uruguayan Air Force, becoming FAU 272, and later was acquired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1960, then becoming FAB 506. The aircraft's military career ended in the mid 1970's with the aircraft becoming registered in Canada in 1977 as C-GXUO, and later as N20MS in the US in 1985. Acquired by Jon Vesely in 2001, the aircraft was sent to Midwest Aero Restorations for ground-up restoration which was completed in 2004, winning Reserve WWII Grand Champion at Oshkosh. The aircraft is finished in the authentic markings of Maj. Ray Wetmore's P-51D "Daddy's Girl", assigned to the 370th FS, 359th FG, 8th AF.
The aircraft is depicted as it appears today in 2019.
"Red Dog" ~ P-51D-30-NA (44-74469) registered as N514RP, owned by Lawrence Classics, based at Bentonville, AR. Although having the identity of a Mustang built in 1945, the airframe that exists today really started as a parts-build in the 1990's, culminating in a first flight in 2000. In 2002, however, the aircraft was acquired by Classic American Aircraft and sent to Midwest Aero Restorations for ground-up restoration. One of the requirements of the restoration was for a completely smooth wing, with the majority of the panel lines and rivets filled with putty and block sanded to a perfect finish. Completed in 2006, the aircraft won Reserve WWII Grand Champion at Oshkosh. The aircraft is finished in the markings of Maj. Louis Norley's P-51D "Red Dog", assigned to the 334th FS, 4th FG, 8th AF.
The aircraft is depicted as it appears today in 2019.
"Happy Jack's Go Buggy" ~ P-51D-30-NA (44-74452) registered as N74190, owned by Bruce Winter of San Antonio, TX. Built too late to see action in WWII, the aircraft served in Canada in the 1950's as RCAF 9225, and then served in the Guatemalan Air Force as FAG 366 from 1962-1972. In 1976, the aircraft became one of several ex-Guatemalan AF Mustangs acquired by Connie Edwards from Don Hull and placed into storage. The aircraft was acquired by Bruce Winter in 2002 and sent to Midwest Aero Restorations for ground-up restoration to complete WWII stock configuration. Completed in 2008, this benchmark-setting restoration won WWII Grand Champion at Oshkosh and the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trophy. The aircraft is finished in the authentic markings of Capt. Jack Ilfrey's P-51D "Happy Jack's Go Buggy", assigned to the 79th FS, 20th FG, 8th AF. Unlike the previous Mustangs restored by Midwest Aero, this one was completed with an unpolished finish, with the metal purposely scuffed to a dull finish to provide a wartime appearance.
The replacement textures for the "Restored Part 1" version depict the aircraft as it looked in late 2008, soon after the completion of restoration. The replacement textures for the "HJGB: Then and Now" cover both how the aircraft looked at Oshkosh in 2008, immediately following completion of restoration, as well as a depiction of how the aircraft looks today in 2019 with current state of weathering. The repaint for "Mustang Tales" depicts the aircraft as it looks today in 2019.
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