Good luck with the volunteer thing Bill (and the name Wollongong brings back memories of oz!)
And great minds think alike! Doing another P-51D myself - yours is looking much nicer so far though!
Mine is a long started project which I need to finish within 3 weeks for my dad when he visits.
Kit is a highly modified Academy 1:72 P-51D, which will be a Dallas built P-51D-25-NT when done, NZ2419 of No.2 (Wellington) TAF sqn, RNZAF.
Mods so far:
-Complete cockpit from Academy P-51D, Italeri F-51D, Revell P-51B, Pavla resin and scratchbuilt components,
-new wing tips scratched from resin cutoffs,
-Squadron Clear Vac (Falcon) canopy,
-entire nose and spinner from firewall forward ex- Revell P-51B,
-scratchbuilt radiators and ducts,
-modified gun ports, aileron controls and flap hinge (all still in progress despite test shot of paint)
-modified tail and fin fillet, filed offset to port as per original
-scratchbuilt radio mast
Pushing to get this and the Kranich done within the same time limit!