INTRODUCTION
Ever since finding someone to do the decals I had intended on doing Kalamazoo Kid and putting it on display at the Kalamazoo Air Museum. So with reference photos in hand, both of which showed distinct differences in the aircraft, I went to work. One photo of Kalamazoo Kid was taken from a battered B-24 as Kzoo Kid pulled up along side her to escort her to safety. The photo showed full D-Day stripping and shrouded exhausts. The other photo showed the Pilot, Charles Pearson, and his crew at/on the wing of the aircraft. This one clearly showed enshrouded exhausts. It didn't show whether it had D-day stripes on it or not. Since the photo with the D-day stripes on it was hanging in the display at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, I decided that would be the one.

HISTORY
Not a lot is known about this aircraft. Obviously from the markings, it flew with the 357th Fighter Group, 363rd Fighter Squadron. The pilot was Lt. Charles Pearson.

CONSTRUCTION
What can really be said about the Tamiya P-51's that hasn't already been stated one of the Big 3 sites? This kit is a closest to shake-n-bake as one kit can get. No major problems were had during the construction of this kit. One thing is for certain, the canopy layout on the tree is a lot better than Tamiya's P-51D.

COCKPIT
The cockpit was built box stock. I used Floquil's Military Color line for my Bronze Green on the interior and gave it my typical wash of thinned india ink. Various dry brushings were given with silver, black and a slightly lighter shade of green to bring out the details.

PAINT
Now there is some argument as to the colors used on aircraft of the 357th. Some argue the standard AAF color schemes and say Olive Drab over Neutral Gray. While others would argue that it was RAF Dark Green over RAF Medium Sea Gray. Armed with the two photos and what seems to be the grown consensus on the color, I went with RAF Dark Green over RAF Medium Sea Gray. The upper color just seem to be to dark for Olive Drab.

Armed with that and my jars of Model Master paints, I started out by painting the white portions of the D-day stripe area. After that, I masked off the areas to remain white and painted the black portions. Once that was all dry, I masked the black of the D-day stripes and went to town painting the upper and lower colors. Once that was done and dry, I masked off the areas around the wheel wells and sprayed them Model Master Aluminum Metalizer. It took me 3 attempts to get a satisfactory band on the spinner.

DECALS
Decals came from the 357th FG site at cebudanderson.com. They were custom printed by John Soule on his ALPS printer. The Kalamazoo Kid decal for the nose consisted of two parts. A white background to help with opacity and the yellow/red lettering to go over the white portion. I also purchase some Serial Codes and Fuselage Codes from Mike Grant that matched the 357th style. Stars and Bars were snagged from the spares box.

WRAP-UP
All-in-all this kit is a great kit. I have many others on the shelf to build and 5 times as many decal sheets for them. You can never have enough Stangs!

A VISIT WITH THE PILOT HIMSELF
Days after completing the kit, I got a call from a fellow club member who volunteers for the Kalamazoo Air Museum wanting to know when I could have the finished model out there for display. The reason being that the pilot of Kalamazoo Kid, Charles "Chuck" Pearson was planning on being in town soon.

In the photos you can see a picture of the display for Charles Pearson and some of his memorabilia. I met Charles Pearson and his wife who both were very happy to see a model of Charles Aircraft. As you can see by the photos, he signed the underside of the wing and I had the pleasure of standing next to him for a photo.

He shared many stories with us standing around him. It was great to hear these stories from somone who so bravely fought for the Allied Forces.