Warbirdsim mustang, only $19.97 today!

[fsxar177]

PC Aviator's "Deal of the Day", 55% off Warbirdsims "Little Friends I" package. This is a steal for any of those who don't have it, or any of the other WBS mustangs.

Joseph

[DaveKDEN]

Great find! Bought it earlier today from PC Aviator got an additional $2.00 off coupon (total $17.97). A very nice add-on!

[Bomber_12th]

Thank you Dave!

[DaveKDEN]

Thank you Dave!

Thank you! She's a beauty!

[Bomber_12th]

Be sure to download and install the "Little Friends Redux" addon here:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...=3&linkid=4957

Speaking of which, a "Redux" addon for Warbirdsim's "P-51D Restored Part 2" is being completed right now (its been a long time coming!). ; )

[DaveKDEN]

Be sure to download and install the "Little Friends Redux" addon here:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...=3&linkid=4957

Speaking of which, a "Redux" addon for Warbirdsim's "P-51D Restored Part 2" is being completed right now (its been a long time coming!). ; )

Done - thanks for the h/u. Although, the textures looked pretty darn fantastic as is.

[FlameOut]

Thanks for the reminder and the link.
I did not own the Little Friends I pkg. when these textures we offered, but I did pick up this PC Aviator's "Deal of the Day", on it's first time around back in March 2012.

[elcamino]

Already got it a while ago. It's nice.

[fliger747]

Been wanting this one for a while, thanks for the heads up!

Big Download!

Cheers: Tom

[Bomber_12th]

Thank you Tom, I really appreciate it!

Just incase of curiosity, here are some old screenshots showing some of the different variants included, each model and set of textures produced to match each specific example individually (Spitfire mirror here, P-38 mirror there, tail warning radar set on one, and not on another, etc., all based on what really was, for those chosen moments in time). I believe all of these screenshots were taken with the "Redux" addon installed. The reason for the "Redux" addon, was to have the exterior textures match the look of those developed for "Little Friends II".

[fliger747]

What is possible in the art of FSX continues to astound me.

I am sure John feels justly proud of the results of all of his research and hard work. As the number of existing birds pass, the historical accuracy of an interactive warbirds becomes more important.

Regards. Tom

[modelr]

Your work is absolutely beautiful, John. I'm glad I finally was able to get these.

Thank You. Don

[Bomber_12th]

I appreciate it Tom, and thank you Don!

With these aircraft, from the structure, to the skins, to all of the parts that fill it out, from the ground up the goal is to make it just as it was, with exacting attention to detail. It pays off, a ton, when it comes to adding a new part or assembly, and all I have to do is find the original factory drawing, make the part to original specifications, and it fits just perfectly right on or within the existing model, without any additional work.

Here are some more screenshots illustrating what is included in "Little Friends I" alone.

Accurate paint, primer, and bare metal finishes. With each wing half being manufactured separate, and each batch of chromate zinc (yellow) made right at the time of individual application, the internals of each wing half were often quite different, with the patchwork of chromate yellow and interior green paint and primer finishes often not being the same from one side to the other, either. This became more prevalent later in the war. On the P-51D-25-NA and P-51K-15-NT models included, the wheel wells look almost completely different from one side to the other, but each skin, bracket, and former are finished exactly as that of a few select examples as they remained un-touched since original factory production, providing an amazing glimpse into how they really looked during WWII. Even the Alcoa and Reynolds aluminum watermarks can be seen and read on the skins within the wheel wells. All of the stringers, formers, brackets and plumbing you see in the wheel wells, are 100% accurate.



Included is an authentic P-51K, something that you won't find elsewhere. Not only is the propeller that of the proper Aeroproducts type, but the spinner is also unique, having had to be manufactured with a different design in order to mount the Aeroproducts prop blades. The aircraft is finished in a factory delivery scheme, with the vast majority of P-51K-15-NT's being manufactured for the RAF.



"Butch Baby" is one of several P-51D/K's modified in England, with the addition of formation lights on the fuselage. The lights themselves were the same amber recognition lights as fitted under the right wing tip. An additional switch was fitted next to the three already present recognition light switches in the cockpit, and that has been reproduced as well on this variant. This particular example has a field-added Spitfire mirror, with a "crew-chief-built" bracket to mount it.



Throughout the different models, the drop tanks included for those specific models, matches the drop tank type that those individual examples used most, per given squadron and theatre of operation. Each individual drop tank was reproduced with the same exacting attention to accuracy as the rest of the aircraft.

The 108-gallon 'paper' drop tanks. These were modeled using side-profile photos I took of an original example, and plumbed using the original manuals as a guide, complete with the glass break-away sections. This particular example has a field-added P-38 external mirror.



The 110-gallon metal drop tanks. These were the most used type for the Mustangs operating from Iwo Jima. Due to their size, wooden sway braces were used in order to ensure the tanks were stabilized. A high-resolution period photo from WWII, showing an almost perfect side-profile of these drop tanks, was used to model them.



The 75-gallon metal drop tanks. These were used in all theatres of the war, and were present from the earliest days of the P-51D, and used up until the end of the war.

[Bomber_12th]

With "Little Friends I" (way back in early 2011) we decided to add a fully accurate and detailed left gun bay. Like the rest of the aircraft, the internal structure was built up first, and then the individual parts were added in. In order to model the 50-cal machine guns and bullets, experts in those regards were called upon to model and texture those (albeit with an eye for keeping the detail-to-performance impact in-check). The ammunition bays and guns are loaded exactly as originally instructed. The individual links of the ammunition chutes are the exact same amount as in the real thing, as is anything else you want to number off, such as the hinge pattern to the forward gun door.





Between all of the variants included, there are 4 truly differently configured cockpits, depending on the era and individual production model. However, almost each cockpit model is different, for each individual variant included, due to the different field modifications, such as to the exhaust shrouds, external mirrors, etc.









Some of the authentic details can show up in some very small ways. Here, the Goodyear logo sticker on the wheels, is period correct to the Goodyear logo as it was in WWII - and the fact that it is there, is because it is a detail that turns up in period photos. Also, I'm proud to say that the brakes on these aircraft are accurate, true P-51 brakes, and are not P-63 brakes (and while touching on that, you can mount P-63 wheels and brakes to a P-51, but you can't mount P-63 brakes to P-51 wheels).

[fsxar177]

...Just another screen...

Joseph