I've come to the realisation that M42 is quite difficult to do well, and because there are sooo many images of it, fancy telescopes rarely spend time there due more exotic subject matter that many, including yours truly, deem more worthy.
I must admit I was wrong. M42 is great!
Despite some software glitches, which caused me to lose some imaging time last night, I finally managed to get my take on this icon of the sky.
So:
here is the colour version
Hope you enjoy the view, and Merry Christmas!