About this Group

This is a group commemorating the work that Jim Sullivan has done.

All are invited to join us. No invitation is required.

Jim was a noted aviation author, historian and photograph collector. He also was a talented and well respected model builder as well.

Sadly we lost him too soon.

Jim was well known for his various books, most of them being written on various US Naval aircraft from WW2, and into the 1960's. This is where his main interests lied.

You will recognize some of his books, they were published as a part of the Squadron "In Action" series. He wrote numerous books that covered aircraft such as the Vought F4U Corsair, Grumman F6F Hellcat, and Douglas AD Skyraider to name a few.

His books are still being used by many of us to this very day when we build our models. Typically Jim's books were loaded with lots of great pictures, a history of the type, and they also had some very nice illustrations in them as well. Chances are, if you look at the names of the people who were credited with providing photos for other and more recent books (or aviation themed magazine articles) that have been published on these subjects, you will find Jim Sullivan has been acknowledged as a top contributor.

Jim was kind enough to share his knowledge, (and occasionally photos) with us when we had questions in hand. I know this from personal experience, because he has helped me with doing research on more than one occasion. For that and also for his friendship, I am very thankful. Since we were both Corsair fanatics, we shared a lot in common.

Jim was a good man and an even better friend. He will be missed.

Lets get together and honor him with this memorial group build.

Here are the basic guidelines:

1. This first rule is the most important rule, and it is non negotiable. Let’s have some fun with this and lets all build something ! Keep it fun to quote Gary Sausmikat.

2. It can be a model from any company, (or even scratch built if you're so inclined and talented), and any scale, as long as it was a subject that Jim Sullivan has written a book or an article about. (Chances are very high this will be a US Navy or a USMC aircraft). As long as you have some sort of proof that Jim has written something about what you are building, it will be accepted.

As far as the subjects we can build for this Jim Sullivan group, I want to keep it as broad as possible, so we can build as many different subjects that we can.

We are working on putting together a list of the different types of planes he wrote about now. We are however human and we could miss something that he has written about.

If this is the case, as long as you have some sort of written documentation / copy of an article that Jim has written, it will be accepted.

3. There can be multiple entries by the same person. In other words, you don't have to stop building once you have built a single model. Multiple builds are actually encouraged.

4. Please start a new journal for each new build, unless you are building multiples of the same type. Members should open new thread for each of their builds for easier tracking of the progress of the builds.

An example would be like this. Say that I'm building 4 each of the 1/48 scale Tamiya Corsair F4U-1 kits. I can post pictures and descriptions for these planes under a single journal / log entry.

However, if I want to build a Hellcat and a Corsair, I should start a new individual journal for each plane. One build journal for the Corsair, and a separate one for the Hellcat.

If you have questions about this, please don't hesitate to reach out and ask one of the admins for advice. We will get back to you ASAP.

5. It does not have to be a new build, like starting fresh from the very beginning. As long as you have not yet completed the build, you can start a journal here and finish up your model. This was done to help clear off that “shelf of doom” we all seem to have.

However, previously built models that are fully completed, can not be entered.

6. Once you have completed your model, please change / modify / edit the original title heading, and kindly add the words FINISHED or something similar in nature to this. This will make things much easier later on a year from now when we post up the completed models as a recap article for the group.

7. Any level of aftermarket items (or none for that matter) can be used. Actual markings must be used.

8. No “What if’s” are allowed.

I guess the easiest way to describe it would be like this made up example here:

Say Jim wrote a book about a Corsair, then you can build any Corsair for this group. There are no limitations as far as what type of Corsair, so you could build a F4U-1 "birdcage" or F2G Super Corsair if you wanted to. Or you could build both !

You can build multiple models of the same kind of plane, as long as the markings are correct and not made up or fantasy. If another Imodeler member is building a Corsair, it doesn't mean that you can't build a Corsair of your own.

Say as an example, I'm building a "Pappy" Boyington #86 "Lucybelle" Corsair, and you want to build one too.
Go for it ! It's all good ... we can have as many "Lucybelle's" as people want to build. Hundreds of them !

If as another example, Jim wrote a magazine article on the Grumman F6F Hellcat, then you can build any Hellcat you like, following the Corsair example shown above.

I'm even going to open it up to include building any type of model that Jim may have personally built and posted here on Imodeler. You can build the same type of model that Jim has. However you do not have to use the same markings as what Jim has done.

Say Jim built a Grumman F4F Wildcat from VMF-214... and Jim painted his using tri-color blue camouflage. You can build one just like Jim's. Or you can build your Wildcat from another unit.. like one from NAS Jacksonville, painted in an overall Glossy Sea Blue.

9. You can post your model in the headlines section as soon as it is completed. There is no need to wait until the final reveal date to post your work. Please include the tag “Jim Sullivan Memorial Group Build” at the bottom when you post your article. This will allow us to more easily locate and include it when the final reveal is posted. If your model was inadvertently missed in the final posting, please contact me and I will edit the final reveal to include your work.

Here is a link to the actual models that Jim has built and posted on Imodeler.

https://imodeler.com/author/bentwing/

By allowing us to build a model of the type that Jim has posted here, it opens the possibilities even further.

10. You can give your old models a "Face Lift" and give them a new paint job / decals if you so desire. You can resurrect your old models here if you want to. As long as they fit the criteria mentioned on it being something Jim Sullivan wrote about, it's good to go.

This group build will start immediately, will last for roughly one year, depending on the reception it has. As we near the one year mark ending this group, I will post reminders in the headlines section as a courtesy to all.

I will most likely have to ask a few of you to assist me with the tasks of running the group. If you are interested in helping out, please send me or one of the moderators a PM message, and we will respond back to you as quickly as we can.

Thanks in advance.

Hosted by

Group admin:	Spiros Pendedekas John vd Biggelaar Louis Gardner Chuck A. Villanueva Paul Barber
Moderator(s):	(none assigned)

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