Oh wow, now that's an aircraft you don't often see in USAAF markings. Very cool choice! 

It will look like this, different in nose number and serial of course. They had red noses, and black anti glare panels. They also had red main gear doors. Seems these guys played the bad guys for gunnery training, must have been fun...

I received a copy of the accident report involving 69442, which told what happened to that P-63 and the B-17s. The bombers from Dyersburg linked up with some others out of Louisiana around Greenville, MS and started to initiate a bomb run on the Mississippi River Bridge in Memphis. About 50 strong, they were at 16000 to 18000 feet at 40 miles south of Memphis when they were jumped by eight P-63s. P-63, #69442, was coming up from underneath the lead group and attempted to pull up in front of the lead aircraft. The pilot misjudged the speed and distance and when he realized that he had no elevator control, he attempted to roll the fighter out of the way. He impacted the nose of the B-17, which sheared off the fighter's right wing and the tail section. He managed to bail out and survive. The B-17 crashed after suffering major damage to the nose and the no 4 engine caught fire. Eight of the crew bailed out and survived, but three men in the nose were killed in the collision. Debris hit another Fortress, which landed in Memphis with no casualties.

Well, I have this beast together, seams filled, and rescribed. I still don't believe that I added enough weight. A white primer to fix any blatant errors, then a black base followed by a natural metal finish. The glass really doesn't fit at this point, and I'm fiddling with that so I can add it later. I'm leaning toward B63 as the nose number, just a shot in the dark, and I think I can cobble up some decal for it.

I'm calling this one complete. I still have to finish the base as I didn't get enough weight in to balance, and I don't want a prop rod. The finish is Alclad, decals are a collaboration from different sheets. I had to piece together the "B" and the "6" from number eights, letter "G"s, and zeroes from a couple of different sheets. A simple but difficult little kit.

I'd like to bring to mind 2nd Lieutenant Robert Swanson, navigator, F/O Jonas Nathan, bombardier, and Captain Vincent Brodeur, navigator in B-17G 44-6043, who perished in the October 13, 1944 accident while training to take the fight to the enemy. May their sacrifice and the sacrifice of so many others in similar circumstances never be in vain.

Hoping these pics are better...

Oh, those photos are fantastic!!! Great job there on the P-61 as well!

Heck of a story about the mid-air accident there. Sorry, I'm running a bit behind yeah...

Thank you, sir! Appreciate you looking in. On a separate note, I was doing a Google Earth search of Memphis International Airport, and was able to see the C-17 that my moder depicted sitting on the tarmac. Amazing that I can read the numbers and see the Belle markings...

Just completed my eighth build of this series. It's a 1.72 RoG UH-60 representing one of the troops of the 1-230 air assault battalion based at McKellar-Sipes airport in Jackson ,TN; present day.  I found a couple of pictures of this particular helicopter online in a couple of news stories from around the state. I still need to make the unit markings that go on the engine covers. 

This is the family all together. Still need a place card for the chopper.

I didn't realize until editing the first post that it's been nearly five years doing these eight builds. There are still some opportunities to continue fleshing this out. A friend has a picture of a BT-13 (?) at a training base in Union City, TN. The ANG has a history of aircraft (C-130, C-5, C-141B, etc) and Millington has been home to a wide variety of aircraft. Blytheville also had an ANG unit with B-57s in the '50's, so it's possible to have a sub-collection as a part of this. There's also individual aircraft with roots to this area. Obviously the Memphis Belle is a candidate, but there's also the "Spirit of Beale Street" a B-24D purchased by the black community of Memphis after raising over $300,000 in a war drive (no small feat), and the "Tupelo Lass", another B-24 piloted by a man from that town in Mississippi during the Ploesti raid. I think "Tupelo Lass" may be my next build, as there are decals on the market for it, but an A-4M from VMA-206 (if I remember correctly) based at Millington would be more accessible for me.

I just finished this Airfix 1.72 A -4B based in Millington, TN in October, 1965. This particular plane was being flown by VMA-124 when it was involved in a mid air collision over Jacks Creek, TN, east of Henderson with another Skyhawk. There were no casualties, but one of the jets put a 25' crater in a hog farm lot!

I'm loving this collection of yours! The Scooter looks sharp! Too bad that the real one had to crash. But at least no one died.

Sounds like a great idea. I spent eight years with the TN Air Guard in Memphis and had no idea the  extent of historic aircraft in the area. Very cool pictures BTW.!  

Thanks, Mikey! I remember the ANG flying C-130s , 141s, C-5s, and now the C-17. Seems they had Mustangs right after WWII. I'm not sure what else was flown, but it'd make a great unit history sub-collection. 

Great job on the A-4, dang shame about the crash.

Looks like I've missed a bunch of posts here but fantastic collection!

Thanks, Gamera!