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Stan Traas
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New pics of an old model…

February 22, 2021 · in Aviation · · 15 · 1.8K

... other pics posted here before, but as Black History Month comes to a close soon, I thought an homage to the Tuskegee Airmen was in order. No 72, "Ina the Macon Belle", flown by Lee Archer- One half of the 332nd's "Gruesome Twosome", the other half being Wendell Pruitt. I've another P-51B in the stash and plan on Pruitt's No. 73, "Alice Jo" in the near future.

Reader reactions:
15  Awesome

4 additional images. Click to enlarge.


15 responses

  1. Nice pony Stan. I love the look of the red tail mustangs, simple yet striking. Yours is sweet!

  2. Good work here and a very nice result. Really excellent NMF.

  3. I really like the contrast between the BMF and lacquer. The dark background is also very effective.

  4. Excellent! Filling in the wing panel lines was worth the effort, in my opinion, as it emphasizes just how sleek the Mustang was.

    It's been a long time since I read Benjamin O. Davis' autobiography. I should get it out and put it in my reading queue.

  5. Beautiful Red tail Mustang, Stan.
    Love the paintwork on this build.

  6. Two thumbs-up from me too, Stan!

  7. Great looking P-51. When my father was in the Air Force, Gen. Davis was his CO (this was in the 60's) at one time . I still have my dad's signed copy of the Davis biography.

  8. Definitely worth seeing again! That's a great-looking Red-Tail.

  9. I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Charles McGee (Kitten) and Lee Archer (Ina the Macon Belle) some years back at Oshkosh. I have a book I take with me for autographs and they both graciously signed it for me.

    No matter who it is, even George McGovern, they always sign along with the unit they were with. George McGovern flew B-24's with the 15th AF and signed my book accordingly.

    McGee is always the kind gentleman, and Archer was still a real pistol. They were speaking at a small tent setup with the Tuskegee Airmen for anyone who'd gather 'round. Lee Archer was hilarious.

    Looking forward to seeing this again along with Alice Jo together someday. Both are in my decal library too.

  10. Well done Stan, several years ago I did a series of models of the A/C the Tuskegee airmen flew. P-40, P-39, P-47 and P-51B and C models. Had the chance to meet John Leahr and Herb Heilbrun at a book signing here in Cincinnati, both have since passed away. Together they wrote a book titled "Black and White Airmen" . They discovered years after the war that not only had they been in the same 3rd grade class in Cincinnati, but John had flown cover missions for Herb's B-17 Squadron. Quite a story, both were really decent gentlemen.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  11. 🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
    A very clean job and a fitting tribute to the RED TAILS Stan.
    Nice work on the finish, very well done.

  12. Thanks to all for the kind comments!

    Cheers,

    Stan

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