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A Yank in the RAF
One of the many reasons building models appeals to me is that it brings a little slice of history to life. Aircraft have always been a major interest of mine so it makes sense that I would want to celebrate them in miniature. Of course, having a true back-story to go with my little plastic works of art gives them a resonance and provides me with hours of enjoyment.
Like many other modelers, I prefer to build aircraft of the aces. Success in air to air combat is often quantified in the number of victories a fighter pilot achieves. Much like the baseball fan who covets cards of hitters with the most home runs, I find myself wanting to build a miniature of successful aces aircraft.
Most modelers have heard of Richard Bong, Erich Hartmann, 'Johnnie' Johnson and Saburo Sakai. But every now and then I learn of a pilot who, despite being a high scorer, tends to be largely forgotten by history. For every Bong and Hartmann, there's a Cecil Harris or a Robert Westbrook whose stories are just as memorable and important as the well-known aces. What intrigues me even more about these lesser known pilots is the lack of documentation about them! So wouldn't you know, once I found out about Lance Wade, I became consumed by the research about this guy who joined the RAF and didn't switch over to the USAAF when the US entered World War Two.
So, for a little background, here's a couple of links:
http://www.historyne...ghter-pilot.htm
http://www.ipmsstock..._spitfire_v.htm
Here's the opening pic:
The two pieces of reference that I have are a copy of Aviation History from November 2004 (the article is in that first link) and Lance On High A Texan Ace in the RAF by Humphrey Wynn. Unfortunately, neither one is really all that much help on the specific plane that I'll be building. So that's where the IPMS Stockholm article comes in. I'm sure that there are some actual pictures of Wade's Spitfire out there somewhere. But I haven't been able to find one! So a profile will have to suffice...
For this build, I have a Tamiya 1/72 Mk.Vb Trop which will benefit from an Eduard Zoom set, some Techmod decals which will have to be modified a bit and a little TLC.
Coming soon! Dr. Milo, Plastic Surgeon
