Thanks for the quick response, Geebee. Here's my initial take when comparing the fuse side view you sent with Squadron line art.
1. I had a bit of a problem nailing down the exact fuse outline. Though the picture was OK, the centering of the shot on the cockpit tended to introduce some parallax distortion of the image at it approached the nose and tail of the model. Also, the reflection of the silver fuse off the gloss black trailer side kinda' left a fuzzy edge to the image so I couldn't get better than a rough approximation of its limits. That said, I compared my line art image separated sized to each 1/3 section of the fuse; tail to cockpit, cockpit, and cockpit to nose.
2. The angles at the tail strake and rudder line looks pretty good; properly sized in proportion to fuse. The cockpit windscreen aft rake angle was almost spot on. Since I had to guess at the canopy size, my only complaint is that the trailing edge of the canopy frame is a bit too vertical. It should be raked more forward. This could be a problem if the canopy is sized to match the rake--which would seem to produce an overly large bubble (clear canopy area). The cockpit to fuse sides looks about right but I tend to think the lower air intake is a bit undersized in the vertical dimension. The windscreen to nose of the model looks near scale, but the parallax here was particularly difficult to overcome as the nose rounding made it difficult to determine where the vertical limit of the nose began.
3. This was the best view I've had to compare the fuse outline-- which was my major concern on the model. I'd say the Fischer model P51D was pretty close, on casual comparison to line art. As to spot-on dimensions....I'd have to get a better, undistorted image, and see what the canopy looks like installed. I've known a number of models whose overall looks in airframe were spoiled by a poorly modeled, over or underscale canopy.
4. From the Fischer website pics, I think the wing and horizontal stabs look pretty good, but I haven't done even a cursory comparison of them to line art.
5. Overall, with the exception of my canopy reservations, I'd consider this model a pretty good scale representation of real-deal. I'll be interested in your impressions of the rest of the model components, fit and construction. Also, this big of a model would just HAVE to be equipped with some motor that could turn the iconic, cuffed, 4-bladed prop!
Good luck on the build!! I'm subscribed.
Thanks, Geebee