Michael Ramirez, Gainesville, Florida
Michael built Heller’s 1/72 scale DC-6B to salute his mother, who piloted anti-submarine patrols in World War II and was a stewardess after the war. Michael bought a used kit and had to rebuild most of the nose. He says, “Instead of decals, I painted all the colors in Testors Model Master enamels and used DecalProFx transfer foils (very tricky to use) to create white letters. I detailed the cockpit and added orange curtains in the passenger cabin. After I doubled the nose weight, it was still a tail-sitter, and I had to replace the collapsed nose wheel with a metal one. The plaques are metalized photos; my mom is the central figure on the wing (taken on a DC-6B). The tail number is from the aircraft she usually worked on its New York-Miami flight (which she sometimes flew when pilots needed a break).”