Building, painting and finishing scale aircraft models.
I saved this for last of my builds for Midway. A Marine first and foremost, Capt Fleming was fully aware of the limitations of the Vindicator, facing a far more superior force in the Japanese Navy. Faster planes, ships bristling with [...]
It's been so long ago that I built this kit I can only be sure that it was before Y2K. As punishment for my sins I decided that I would see if I could add enough detail to a Hasegawa SBD to match the out of the box detail of an Accurate [...]
This display represents the factual interception of LT Tomonaga Joichi, commander of the Hiryu's Air Group by LCDR James Thach commander of the Yorktown's Air Group.
LT Tomonaga led the Hiryu's second strike force of 10 Kate's and 6 Zeros [...]
This model is marked as the aircraft of the commander of the dive bomber squadron on the IJN Hiryu, LT Kobayashi Michio. He led the Hiryu's first attack of 18 Val's & 6 Zeros that launched at about 1045. After allowing his fighter [...]
I've decided to concentrate on the history rather than the models in my Midway GB posts.
12 TBD-1's of VT-3 led by LCDR Lance E. (Lem) Massey spotted the Japanese carriers at about 1015. Initially the Zeros were kept at bay by their [...]
I really liked this colorized photo that shows F4F-4 Wildcats on the deck of the USS Enterprise, sometime during March of 1942. This picture was originally posted by Rob Pollock as a part of his usual "Friday Briefing" . [...]
Lt. Wilmer E. Rawie
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Wilmer Ernest Rawie (NSN: 0-81338), United [...]
My final build for the Midway Group is a Wildcat from VF-3 on Yorktown flown by Lt Scott McCuskey. From Little Rock, Arkansas, Scott enlisted in the Navy in 1938 and got his wings and ensign's commission in the Reserves in 1939. He began [...]
1/72 Monogram, I shortened the fuselage and removed some things to convert the kit back to the original X15, hinged the rudder and elevators also scribed the panel lines, finished in Revell and MM enamels with Future and Xtracrylix flat [...]
Today is the 73rd anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy. I remember Gladwyn Hill ("Gladhill") AP's "Man with the 8th" who made the first broadcast of the invasion from a bomber overhead telling me "they opened a [...]
