Cripes A'Mighty 3rd

[Fencer51]

The highest scoring Mustang ace was George Preddy of the 352nd FG/487th FS with 26.83 air to air victories.

Also the Mustang that had the most kills scored in it was his Cripes A'Mighty 3rd.  Preddy scored 14 kills in 44-13321 and a further 7 kills were scored by other pilots.

On August 5, 1944 Major Preddy was told that there would be no mission the next day.  In true fighter pilot fashion Major Preddy had stayed up drinking and playing craps the entire evening until the early morning hours.  Just as he was going to bed early on August 6th, he was informed that a mission was indeed scheduled, briefing in 20 minutes and he was to lead the Group.  Offered the opportunity by his CO John Meyers to have Meyers take the Group lead, Preddy said he would take it.  During the briefing he fell off the table the briefers stood on more than once.  Preddy none the less dosed himself with a oxygen before takeoff and was pronounced fit to lead.   Nursing a hangover he was hoping for a milk run. On August 6, 1944 the Luftwaffe came up to play.   Major Preddy scored 6 kills in one single mission in this aircraft on that day.  The skin represents the aircraft as it was upon landing.  I did not add the puke in the cockpit that Preddy left there at 32,000 feet but instead allow the individual pilot to commemorate this in their own cockpit.

[Shaky]

Beautiful!:aok

[Guppy35]

Have you seen the non staged photos of Preddy after that flight?  He looks like he's had it whether its from the hangover or combat.

Great work per usual Fencer

[Citabria]

looks good but the stars and bars need to be redone.

http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174081

[Bullethead]

The only real problem with the insignia is that the white bars don't make contact with the horizontal points of the star.  Fairly easy fix.  Maybe the border around the bars could stand to be 1-2 pixels wider, but not necessarily.

Otherwise, looks primo!

[Kev367th]

Good selection of markings here -

http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/colours/markings.html

[Fencer51]

Kev, thats where I got the stars from that are on the pics above.

I redid the skin following Citabria's guildlines he posted and I am not sure I like the results.  I compared it to a high resolution shot of a mustang and I believe the bars are too long and out of preportion  When I get some time I will post it here for review.

Since there are a backlog of 51s in the queue I am not hustling to finish this one, just want it correct.

Oh and Guppy, I cannot decide if there should be a black bar horizontally on the rudder aft of the P.  Do you have an opinion from your resources?

I was looking at "Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force" by Osprey and there is a picture of Preddy and his crew chief near the back of the book and the rudder has a bar.  Yet the page ahead of that I believe the plane doesn't have the bar.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Fencer51


Oh and Guppy, I cannot decide if there should be a black bar horizontally on the rudder aft of the P.  Do you have an opinion from your resources?

I was looking at "Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force" by Osprey and there is a picture of Preddy and his crew chief near the back of the book and the rudder has a bar.  Yet the page ahead of that I believe the plane doesn't have the bar.

I'd go without the black bar.  Here's the theory behind it.  Preddy's bird would have been one of the first D-5s without the fin fillet.  They came from the depot with black ID bands.  The photo you refer to shows the bird with full invasion stripes.  I think that is when the remnants of the black ID band was still there.  By the time of the half stripes the black band was gone.  Photos of other 352nd birds from the half stripes time show no tail stripe.

Not concrete but best evidence is to go without the band on the rudder.