I’ve been model-making only a couple of months now, so I’m not an expert by any definition. Our friend Jim Taylor sent me the linked Youtube of s guy who is by anybody’s description an expert in the model-making realm. Click on this link to see his result of building a one-third scale model of a Flying Fortress! The best way I can think of classifying it is WOW! (The photo above is from the website of the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum and is of the restoration of their Douglas-manufactured B-17.)
I’ve finished my 2nd model airplane of the pandemic. It wasn’t as difficult as thought it might be. The reason on picked an F4U Corsair is because at Seattle’s Museum of Flight there is fully restored (and I believe flyable) Goodyear F2G-1 Super Corsair that was salvaged after many years of sitting on the bottom Lake Washington. You see, the I was a kid Sand Point Naval Air Station occupied the site that is now Magnuson Park (owned now by the City of Seattle) on the shore of Lake Washington. This airplane’s driver for whatever reason decided that is was a float plane and ran right off the end of the runway into the drink. I’ve seen the museum’s Corsair (which is on loan from the Navy), and also one that is at the National Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. And so I thought it would be a good model to build.
When I published the article on February 5th about the heritage of the 225th, our friend Steve Sachs sent me an email about his time at the University of Alabama. He asked me to publish it on this blog......
I was in an asterisk [*] National Guard unit in collage. The * was a designation that we were a recently converted unit from all (cld). I painted the beds of 2 1/2 trucks every Monday night. We did not clean or prep the beds, just painted over the dirt and old paint. George Corley Wallace was our governor (Alabama). We were federalized for two months so he could not use the Guard to prevent integration of the University of Alabama. This was a good deal for our unit, we did not do anything. We did get paid for the time we were federalized! This was in 1962-63. Many years later, Governor Wallace went to the largest Black Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was not invited, but when he wheeled himself down the aisle, there was a dead silence. He apologized to the congregation and all Alabama. I don't that there was a single person that didn't tear up.
When I started the original version of the 225th Observer in 2007 my purpose was to connect with all of you with whom I served at “Phabulous Phu Hiep by the Sea” a half century ago. Early on someone asked me about the heritage of the company, when and why did it come into existence. I knew that the unit was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington, but that was a about all.
In 2008 Howard Ohlson, who had the old website OV-1.com, sent me some information about the origins of the 225th Surveillance Airplane Company, that I published in two entries on the first Observer blog. Since February is officially Black History Month I thought I’d republish what I found out by linking the 2 articles here:
The 225th SAC, aka Co. K, 34th QM Truck Regiment (Trk) (Cld)
I’ve been working on this model since last month even though I bought it at a great hobby store in Redmond, WA in 1999! I couldn’t believe it when I found the sales slip in the box that I had had it for so many years! Anyway, as I said in my previous articles I needed something to do while we were hunkered down for the next few months.
So little by little I began to paint individual parts in preparation for assembly. Fellow Mohawker Bob Coveney wrote a note asking me to provide some closeups if possible, so take a look at the driver and observer in the cockpit before I got the windshield attached.
I’ve got two other models that I have never put together, so I looked at one that I had not examined previously. Looking at the end of the box I was very surprised to find a sticker that read…
I must of asked someone in the Company sometime in 1968, ’69 or ’70 to get me this OV-1B the next time they were in Pleiku. I was only in Pleiku one time at the ground station, but I don’t remember getting this Hasegawa model. I’m going to keep it in its original box and not put it together.
Anyway, now to find another airplane to put together…maybe a C-130.
After just a couple of days working under a magnifying light, my Hasegawa OV-1B is slowly coming together! More progress photos are coming soon...
As I promised last fall when I temporarily suspended my posting on the “Observer” (with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas greetings) here is my first attempt of 2021 to get something that may be of interest to you all out there.
As the pandemic dragged on in 2020, our activities here in our new community near our Washington State capitol city of Olympia necessarily wound down and then stopped altogether. Before Covid-19 struck we had a community potluck dinner every Friday evening in our community hall; but then this was scaled back to each of our blocks sort of meeting socially distanced in the street around 4pm every day just to check on each other. This lasted for several weeks, but interest slowly wained and we’re not gathering as street people any longer.
As this thing dragged on we all celebrated the ensuing holidays generally alone, except for the few that didn’t believe there was a health crisis and got together with families, shot off fireworks or had a barbecue. Fortunately we haven’t heard about any of our friends or family getting infected.
Karin had been having a group of ladies over every month to make fancy cards. She’s stopped that activity, but plans to begin again when it’s safe to do so health-wise. (I’ve said to my brother who lives in Seattle that we’ll probably get together for dinner in 2024. Heh heh!) Karin has been keeping busy using her Cricut machine to make the most beautiful paper crafts (like cards, old-fashioned books and other projects).
When the weather is decent (like today’s clear blue sky after the last few days of really heavy rain and wind) the dogs and I get out for a few minutes and get some exercise. I’ve also taken up a new hobby that I did way back in the last century when I was in junior high. I’ve started model making.
When I was a kid I had built lots of different airplanes, mostly from WW2. But I did build a Revell model of the ballistic submarine USS George Washington (which eventually pulled off the market because decided it was too detailed and the Russian were using it in their never-ending cold war spy work!). It was beautiful when I completed it; I took it to school during some kind of fair and I’m sorry I no longer have it, after all it was way more than 50 years ago!
Over the past few years I purchased three OV-1 models that I have never opened. So, in order to not be so bored during the next many months of this pandemic I’ve started working on one of the B-model airplane I had. It’s been fun to work under a magnifying light the my son game me and begins painting the itty bitty parts of the plastic model’s components prior to assemblage.
So far, my assessment of our hunkering down during the nasty virus time is that it has caused me at least to reevaluate how I spend my time during the long hours of what could be boredom. Cooking, taking the dogs for a walk, building plastic models, reading, traveling to other countries via television, exercising. There are plenty of ways to relieve stress and be productive. I think that in some ways that’s what it’s all about as we are all getting to be in our 70s and 80s. Go on admit it! Most of us are there now! My 80 year old brother told me that his new goal is 81, so he brought a treadmill a few days ago! Good for you Dave!
