Hello:
At the age of 70, I decided to build a diorama of the flightline of my old Air Force squadron, the 25th FIS, at Naha AB, Okinawa, as it was in 1957. I was a radar tech on the F-86D then. I have built a parking ramp area with three 86s, ground power equipment, pilots, and enlisted personnel. This was entered in the local IPMS contest and took 1st place in its class.
Gen. Paul Tibbets, the pilot who flew the Enola Gay and dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan, lives not far from me here in Columbus, OH. I made a 1/48 scale diorama of his B-29, MPs, jeep, and flight personnel. This diorama also took 1st place in its class at an IPMS contest. Later, General Tibbets autographed the wing of the model for me, so you can imagine how much I treasure it.
I have many color photos of both dioramas and details on building them that I would be happy to e-mail to anyone interested. Also like hearing from other USAF vets. My e-mail address is: budntom9@aol.com.
Bud