I remember the excavation of the B-24 in the first story. I had to ride my bike a few miles to get there and you couldn’t see very much, but it was interesting none the less. Nice to hear Jimmie Collins has been identified and is going home.

Thanx

Emile, you are completely right.

It is explained in the book “Republic’s P-47 Thunderbolt” by Warren M Bodie. This Italian Reggiane Re-2002 is derived from the Re-2000, which was an unauthorized copy of the EP1-68 (which was the export version of the Seversky P-35).

Another funny anecdote is that for the Seversky Company to survive they had to sell 6 P-35’s to a Mr Yamamoto.
Mr Yamamoto saved the Seversky Company, which then continued the design of the P-35 to the P-43, which eventually became the P-47 under the new company name Republic.
That same Mr Yamamoto became a hot shot in the Japanese Navy, which in turn was destroyed with the aid of a lot of P-47’s

That’s a few years ago

My first kit, that’s a few years ago.

It was the Matchbox 1/72 Buccaneer, back in 1983. Luckily it was a solid kit, it made a lot of “flight hours” trough my room.
Recently I found a new one and I put it on the stack.

Right now I’m working on the Revell 1/100 F-100 Super Sabre. And although it’s a nice kit, it does not compare to the Trumpeter 1/32 Swordfish, but it’s just fun to built you made as a kid. Even trying to hunt them down is a challence on it’s own…..

Merry Christmad to All