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My addiction to aviation started in November 1966: I was just 3 months old, when my Dad - then an Officer at Hellenic Air Force - and my Mom decided to put me in a C-47 for one of the marvelous short flights offered free to the public during the annual celebration of the Hellenic Air Force. Was in my straw porte-bébé, simply laid on the C-47 floor, no seat belts whatsoever, as no one wore and, yes, those were the days!
Since then I’ve been addicted to anything that flies, with a preference to military airplanes (my career in the Hellenic Air Force and a flight offered to me with a Mirage 2000 only boosted this addiction).
I started modeling at about the age of 9, when my Dad brought me an 1/72 F-5A, sealed in a plastic bag, molded in lovely black styrene, with its twin exhausts immediately catching my eye: modeling became a love affair ever since. Had two long breaks from my beloved hobby, being active – hopefully for good - since 2018. Living in Chalkis, Greece, a lovely town by the sea, I have two wonderful boys, born in 2015 and 2017, who consume most of my "free" time. Retired since 2023 after 39 years of service, but, as it turned out,with not that much free time, I still try to find a couple of hours every day or so, to sink in my modeling paradise. I mostly build out of the box with the occasional scratch building and just have fun building my models! I am generally no contest minded, mostly due to my incompetence, but I love group builds!
In my small town we even have an equally small but beloved modeling club, with the core members meeting in a relaxing mode three times a week!
In love with motorbikes, passionate with Pink Floyd and rock music, in love and passionate with life in general. I love seeing people smiling and do whatever I can to achieve this.
Addicted to reading from modeling sites (especially the wonderful Modelingmadness) and feeling grateful to be a member of iModeler! This is such a fantastic site, with all these amazing modelers and their beautiful work I admire – a constant temptation for me!
The origins of the Mirage F1 can be traced back to the mid-1960s where Dassault was putting its efforts in designing a large swept wing VTOL derivative of the Mirage III. While that main project was ultimately canceled, Dasaultt decided [...]
Work on what would become the F-117 commenced in the 1970s as a means of countering increasingly sophisticated Soviet surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). During 1976, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued Lockheed with a [...]
In July 1985, Greece signed a contract for 40 Mirage 2000, comprising 36 single-seat aircraft and 4 two-seat trainers. Apart from the planes themselves, the almost $1.5 billion contract included weapons, equipment, as well as industrial [...]
The origins of the idiosyncratic He-177 “Greif” can be traced in the mid 1930s, where Generalleutnant Walther Wever, a longtime advocate of strategic bombing, pressed the Luftwaffe to develop a dedicated long-range bomber for the role [...]
“A walk down Memory Lane…”
There was a time when kids used to go out and play in the neighborhood (after having finished their homework, of course), coming back home by sunset, having beforehand meticulously cleaned all their small [...]
The 2 Squadron SAAF was formed in 1940 and has a long history, having been involved in every single combat action in which the SAAF has taken part. During the Second World War it made a name for itself in the battles for East Africa, [...]
Hellenic Air Force (HAF), started receiving the F-5A in 1965. In the same year, the 341st Day Interception Squadron (MAH) was declared operational, followed by the 343 MAH. 55 aircraft were initially received, followed by 17 RF-5As in [...]
The origins of the iconic Beaufighter can be traced back in the late 30’s where the Bristol Aeroplane Company recognised that its Beaufort torpedo bomber had the appropriate layout and structural strength to be quickly modified and [...]
During the 60s, the USN sought a long range high performance interceptor to defend its fleet. For this Fleet Air Defense (FAD) aircraft and in favor of versatility, the Navy was directed by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to [...]
With its name derived from Irish mythology, the McDonnell F2H Banshee was an early jet fighter operated by the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps and the Royal Canadian Navy.
The Banshee was developed during the mid to late [...]
