Mississippivol

That is a sharp lookin' bird!

Cool build!

Well done, sir!

That's a good looking bird, and I love the display.

Thank you for that! Saves some issues I've been having with dipping. Now if I can remember to remove the seam on the inside before sanding the outside multiple times, I'll be a million bucks!

Flame jobs on fighters, very cool and well executed!

That is a sharp build!

Thanks, Gil! Sorry I forgot that, it's the 1/72 scale Revell of Germany kit. On deck, I have a Revell of Germany UH60 for the National Guard aviation unit in Jackson, TN, and I just picked up a Toko P-63 kit to model one that was tdy at Dyersburg when it crashed just southwest of Hernando, MS in October, 1945 after an incident with a couple of B-17s.

I finally found this C-17 kit at a Hobbytown in Flowood, MS. It seemed a difficult kit to find for me until I ran across it. Thanks to Draw Decals for having markings for Memphis Belle XI of the National Guard unit here in Memphis. She is usually at the local Blue Angel shows around here.

I hadn't thought of going in depth with this build, just doing one of each airfield, but then Sword had this cool T-1A from VT-9 that was based in Millington in 1962.

Next was a B-52G from Blytheville, AR. Blytheville started as a primary training base, closed, then reopened in the mid 50's with a B-57 unit. SAC took it over, and had the 52s until the early 90s. This is Miss Piggy from the late 70s/early 80s. Minicraft 1.144 "H" kit with a Golden Dragon "G" conversion kit. Only used the engines, external tanks, and rear fuselage plug (which had to be corrected). Made the under nose sensors from Milliput(fine for a four footer, never was happy with it.)

The third build is of a Stearman. It was based on a photo from the website of what is now McKellar Sipes airport in Jackson, TN, which started out as a primary training base. There were several such places in the area, though I can't remember the names offhand. It was only a partial picture, so I didn't guess at the serial. Revell 1.72 kit with a scratchbuilt cockpit.

The second build is from the base that sparked my interest. From cotton fields at Halls, TN, outside of Dyersburg, sprang a giant training base, that provided final training for B-17 crews headed to Europe. It was only operational for a few years, and closed immediately after the cessation of hostilities. Only the Norden bombsight storage building and maybe one hangar is left, along with the airstrip. This particular build is of the very first "F" production model that was based there in 1945. It was said to have crashed a year or so earlier during a test flight, but there is a photo of this bird at Dyersburg.

The first build wasn't the one that started my interest, but it got the ball rolling. Thanks to Sword for producing this kit, with ready made markings. It is a 1.72 T-28B, with markings for ATU-105 at Millington NAS in the 1950s. Neat little kit, though it had very weak landing gear. I tried making seat belts from Milliput, eh, won't do that again!

I started an odyssey in 2015 to build a short history of military aircraft that flew in the west Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, and northern Mississippi area around Memphis, TN. It seems to have birthed around World War II, and it has ebbed and flowed over the last several decades, and it still continues. I have a representation of most all the major places, but the more I do, the more I find! Featured below is the running tally in order of build:

Thanks, y'all! Good to be here!

Hi y'all! Just joined and looking forward to seeing all the good work here. I'm a recovering NASCAR modeler back into aircraft with a recent interest in the military aviation history of the West Tennessee/East Arkansas area.