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My modeling career followed a typical trajectory. I built kits in day and played with the model as a kid, then girls and college happened. I returned to the hobby in my mid 20s. I've held numerous jobs along the way, among them as the Exhibits Manager at the Museum of Flight In Seattle, WA. (I got to create a full-scale diorama for one exhibit) where I met many famous and interesting aviators and even handled a space suit. (It was used in training Apollo astronauts.) Another job was for a season as a Mechanic Assistant on a ground crew of a helicopter fighting forest fires. I'm now retired and do volunteer work.
Say the name Bugatti and race cars should come to mind. Beautiful, fast, and sleek, the Bugatti racers dominated the European racing scene during the 1920s and ’30s. But the company also had an aviation connection, and a unique one at [...]
In 1936, a group of wealthy residents of Long Island, including E. Roland Harriman, approached Grumman and commissioned an aircraft that they could use to fly to New York City. In response, produced the Model G-21. It was a high-wing [...]
Three weeks before the 1930 Thompson Trophy race, held in Chicago, Lee Shoenhair of the Goodrich Co. placed an order with the E.M. Laird Airplane company for a racer based on their Speedwing designs of commercial aircraft and featuring the [...]
History
Courtesy Wikipedia
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air [...]
After deciding on a building strategy, a test fit of the fuselage halves and wing gave me some idea of how to install the frame members that can be seen through the windshield. Those parts were also were cleared of flash and the raised [...]
I created a group build for this kit too.
The Kit
According to Scalemates, this kit began life in 1949 under the Hawk label. The last boxing was in 1993 and I suspect, being that I bought the kit still in the wrapping and the parts were [...]
Edited from Wikipedia
The Howard DGA-6 (Darn Good Airplane) was a pioneer racing plane, nicknamed "Mister Mulligan". It was the only airplane ever designed for the specific purpose of winning the Bendix Trophy. The plane was [...]
History
Courtesy of Peck Aeroplane Restoration
The DH-4 was the only U.S. manufactured aircraft to engage in combat in WW I. With the 400hp Liberty engine (the most powerful engine of its time) and a wing span of 42 1/2 feet and 30 feet [...]
