Slow start

Despite my best intentions at the beginning of the year, 2014 is turning out to be somewhat lacking in the model production area. The only completion so far is the Airfix 1/72 P-51D, a humble kit that has all the makings of a classic and a serious contender for the best 1/72 Mustang kit in my opinion – if not in tooling quality (though it's very nicely done), certainly in value. For a change I finished it as a restored warbird, 'Stang', having seen and photographed the real aircraft in a museum in Arizona. The spurious blue camo appealed to my contrary side (much like the red 'Millie P' on the old Revell box top which I'd love to do some time). The only change I had to make was to add a second seat in the cockpit and create the ALPS-printed decals.

Oh, and thanks Nigel for the gentle push to post again!

Pima Pilgrimage

I'd often heard modellers enthuse about the Air Museum at Pima, and last Tuesday I discovered why. My wife and I took a couple of days from our stay in Phoenix to drive down to Tucson, where we spent several hours at the Museum. Spread out on 80 acres there are 250 aircraft to see so it was an exhausting but incredible experience. As you can imagine from being parked in the baking Arizona heat and sand-blasting desert winds, the outdoor exhibits aren't in the best of condition, but where else could you stand alongside B-52s, a B-36, a Mojave helicopter and a B-58? (The weathering effects in themselves are quite photogenic – not necessarily accurate for aircraft in service but useful inspiration for abandoned and derelict subjects). The indoor exhibits are much better maintained and well presented, and these include a B-29, B-24, Hurricane, F-14 and C-46 amongst many, many others. After six hours of roaming around the site we'd barely scratched the surface of what the museum has on display, nor did we have time to sign up for the boneyard tour. To a modeller and a keen amateur photographer the Pima Air Museum offers almost unlimited resources, and I'd love to go back someday.

Below are some random pictures, I'll try and post a few more over the coming weeks. The photos have been reduced to 1200 pixels wide, but I've posted an example of a full size image here.

Spot the model geek... Photo by my long-suffering wife