One of the benefits of this adventure is working with people who flew the aircraft in very specific historical events. Recently we’ve talked or coordinated with several people who have incredible stories and colorful aircraft. Some of these folks even had great photos of the aircraft they flew, making our job so much easier. We often find gold nuggets on Facebook groups. Some are friends of friends. Many have seen our products and are excited to get their own.
A case in point… I’ve been going back and forth over the last few weeks with a gentleman via emails who flew in the Vietnam War. Having specific questions to ask him helped us draw a historically accurate representation of the jet he was flying on a particular day. I’ve found it interesting as we ask detailed questions memories come flooding back and stories flow. Of course, I’m writing all of this down… and who wouldn’t!
In some cases what the model world thinks it “knows” and the reality of events, markings, or modifications are not the same. This is why I feel a podcast is in order. Scott attended numerous 357th Fighter Group reunions and had personal contact and one-on-one time with the pilots and maintainers. His P-51 “Yoxford Boys” decal sheets from Bullseye Model Aviation are a result of those reunions. My Rolodex is pretty large and in one case, the aircrew member sent me his gun camera footage… with audio!
Spend a while looking through the www.wallpilot.com shopping area and see some of the planes we offer. Me-109s, Zeros, A-4s and F-14s are on the way. Airliners are our next nut to crack and we have an opportunity with one of the majors coming soon. I was up last night drawing the early F-14A Model… the second profile I’ve drawn. Scott doesn’t like drawing profiles and Jack Morris (RIP) drew a MiG-23 in a day!
Our motto is preserving history, one aircraft at a time. Hope you enjoy this as much as we are.
