[kb466]

Thanks for all the compliments. Actually, I did not want it to look too "used and battle-scarred". I wanted it to look like an airplane that had been in carrier service about a month, but was otherwise relatively new. That is what it would have been at the time of Midway. That is why there is not a lot of exhaust staining and very little paint chipping. This plane would have been used flying frequent patrols off the USS Enterprise during the month leading up to Midway, so it would have seen some sgns of use. It would have gathered some staining and grime in places, though not the same as if it had seen several months service on Guadalcanal's Henderson Field. Carrier planes were not that dirty or beat up and were probably wiped down if they were. Even if they were cleaned or wiped down, I figured dirt and grime would have gathered along panel lines etc. I tried to imagine how it looked on the morning of June 4th,1942, when it led the Enterprise dive bombers to their historic strike on the Japanese fleet at Midway. One thing I know is wrong on it for June 4th was that it is loaded with 100 pound bombs in addition to the 1000 pound bomb. That morning, it was only loaded with the 1000 pound bomb. I have thought of removing the 100 pound bombs and may still do so---or I may leave them. Sort of a historic artistic license.