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Seattle Chapter IPMS/USAMarch 2004

PREZNOTES

In This Issue

NWSM Winter Show 3IPMS Seattle Spring Show

Preview 6Two Cents About “Modest” 8Help for Chronic IPMS 9Sword Grumman Goose 10Kagero WW1 Books 10Tamiya Panzer Officer 12Hurricane Bookshelf 13Pavla Polikarpov I-15 14Upcoming Shows & Contests

15Golden Age Stars of IPMS 16

Well, here we are. The model bench next tome is laden with half-built projects. A fewminutes on this one, a few minutes on thatone and we’ll work on the third when puttyis hardening on the first two. And whilstthe paint is drying on the fourth I figure I’dbetter whip out this column.

I found an interesting thread on theInternet a few days ago. The question wasraised, which older kit would you like tosee be redone? Most of those thatresponded brought up a lot of Monogramkits: B-17, B-26, B-29, F-100, F-101, F-102,F-106, and so on. And that’s just 1/48thscale stuff. My question is, why? If thereis nothing inherently wrong with themodels, why redo them? Is it that impor-tant to have a model with engraved paneldetail, good fit, and details that are notincluded in the kit you already have? Mostof us have bunches of older kits in ourcollections. Would you shell out big bucksfor a new tool kit of a subject you that youalready have in your collection? I willadmit to having done that with the TamiyaDo 335, when I had a perfectly goodMonogram kit in the stash. But that’sabout the only one and I definitely hadsome remorse after I had paid for it. Thereare rumors of a new tool B-17 in 1/48thscale. Will I buy it? Probably, but onlybecause I love the aircraft so much. I’m notgoing to replace the seven Monogram andRevell B-17 kits already in the garage. If itwere something like an F-100, then Iprobably would not buy it as I have what Iconsider to be a pretty decent Monogramkit. Now if an existing kit was really bad(like the Hobbycraft DHC-2 Beaver or Do17 series) then I would consider buying aredone kit of the subject.

However, my preference would be for anew kit of a subject that has never beenseen before. For example, the Czech ModelCurtiss Shrike and Grumman Goose, whichhave never seen the light of day as 1/48thscale aircraft kits before. How about a

model of the Douglas B-23 Dragon? As faras I know it has never been kitted in anyscale. Although it’s not as well known asthe B-18, it was built in quantity (38aircraft, to be exact) and there are severalmarkings possibilities. It had a rathermundane career as a utility aircraft, and Idon’t believe it ever fired a shot in anger.Save for the wingspan being about 6' toolong, it was the first choice of JimmyDoolittle for his Tokyo raid. What could

Continued on page 8

April 10 Meeting

Although our Spring Show will betaking place on April 17 at RentonCommunity Center, we will still behaving our regular April IPMSSeattle meeting at Bellevue onApril 10. Mark your calendars withboth dates!

SEATTLE CHAPTER CONTACTS

President: Vice President: Treasurer: Editor:Terry Moore Keith Laird Norm Filer Robert Allen3612 - 201st Pl. S.W. 528 South 2nd Ave. 16510 N.E. 99th 12534 NE 128th Way #E3Lynnwood, WA 98036 Kent, WA 98032 Redmond, WA 98052 Kirkland, WA 98034Ph: 425-774-6343 Ph: 253-735-9060 Ph: 425-885-7213 Ph: 425-823-4658moorethan4@worldnet.att.net n.sfiler@GTE.net editor@ipms-seattle.org

IPMS Seattle Web Site (Webmasters, Jon Fincher & Tracy White): http://www.ipms-seattle.org

Public Disclaimers, Information, and Appeals for Help

This is the official publication of the Seattle Chapter, IPMS-USA. As such, it serves as the voice for our Chapter, and depends largelyupon the generous contributions of our members for articles, comments, club news, and anything else involving plastic scale modeling andassociated subjects. Our meetings are generally held on the second Saturday of each month, (see below for actual meeting dates), at the NorthBellevue Community/Senior Center, 4063-148th Ave NE, in Bellevue. See the back page for a map. Our meetings begin at 10:00 AM, exceptas noted, and usually last for two to three hours. Our meetings are very informal, and are open to any interested plastic modeler, regardless ofinterests. Modelers are encouraged to bring their models to the meetings. Subscriptions to the newsletter are included with the Chapter dues.Dues are $24 a year, and may be paid to Norm Filer, our Treasurer. (See address above). We also highly recommend our members join andsupport IPMS-USA, the national organization. See below for form. Any of the members listed above will gladly assist you with further informa-tion about the Chapter or Society.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the individual writers, and do not constitute the official position of theChapter or IPMS-USA. You are encouraged to submit any material for this newsletter to the editor. He will gladly work with you and see thatyour material is put into print and included in the newsletter, no matter your level of writing experience or computer expertise. The newsletter iscurrently being edited using a PC, and PageMaker 6.5. Any Word or WordPerfect document for the PC would be suitable for publication. Articlescan also be submitted via e-mail, to the editor’s address above. Deadline for submission of articles is generally twelve days prior to the nextmeeting - earlier would be appreciated! Please call me at 425-823-4658 if you have any questions.

If you use or reprint the material contained in the newsletter, we would appreciate attribution both to the author and the sourcedocument. Our newsletter is prepared with one thing in mind; this is information for our members, and all fellow modelers, and is prepared andprinted in the newsletter in order to expand the skills and knowledge of those fellow modelers.

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 2

Upcoming Meeting DatesThe IPMS Seattle 2004 meeting schedule is as follows. All meetings are from 10 AM to 1 PM, except as indicated. To avoidconflicts with other groups using our meeting facility, we must NOT be in the building before our scheduled start times, andMUST be finished and have the room restored to its proper layout by our scheduled finish time. We suggest that you keep thisinformation in a readily accessable place.

March 13 April 10April 17 (Spring Show at Renton) May 8

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 3

Northwest Scale Modelers’Winter Show

article by Jim Schubert

photos by Tim Nelson and DougGirling

Saturday, February 7, 2004: Why the*&%# is that stupid alarm clock soundingin the middle of the night? I must have mis-set it. No. It’s coming back to me slowly asI fight my way up from a deep sleep; I didset it for 4:30 am so that I could rise,shower, shave, dress, breakfast, read thepaper and catch the 5:10 ferry fromKingston to Edmonds. Bah - humbug! I’ma night owl and usually rise about 8:30. I’mdue at the Museum of Flight at 6:00 as partof the advance-team to set up for theNorthwest Scale Modelers’ annual WinterShow. Much of my previous day wasspent packing 124 models to take to thedisplay.

I arrived at 6:00 and found most of theadvance-team waiting for the MOF staff toopen the loading dock door. Tim Lawson,Tim Nelson, Bill Osborn, Will Perry,Stephen Tontoni, and I trucked in ourmodels as soon as they opened the doorand set to work. Tim Nelson, Will, andStephen were the principal organizers ofthis year’s event. We set up and draped 50tables in the main well of the museumaround the M-21 drone carrier and its D-21drone. The show’s theme this year wasNationalities and we set out the pyramidalsigns, made by Jon Farrelly-Carr, display-ing the many national insignia. With thathard work finished most of the advance-team went off to breakfast whilst severalus started unpacking our models. At 8:00the MOF admitted the other modelers andby 10:00, when the museum opened to thepublic, we had everything completelyorganized including a display of theaviation art of John Amendola. He hadloaned us several of his paintings, whichwe displayed on easels within a protectivesquare of tables, upon which were

displayed 25 examples of his model kit boxart along with several books and postersfeaturing his work. After his presentationin the afternoon, John signed prints,posters, kit boxes and books for all whopresented themselves.

To supplement the Nationalities theme wehad a Nationality Quiz. A total of 25airplanes with both common and obscurenational insignia were displayed. A quizsheet with numbered blanks correspond-ing with each airplane was provided; at theend of the line up of airplanes was ananswer sheet so that contestants couldscore themselves. We made the quiz tootough though; nobody got them all correctincluding the museum’s curator, aboutwhich fact he was quite embarrassed. Wewill make it easier the next time we do it.After all, how many of you would recog-nize the insignia of the Chechen Republic?I didn’t. The only one that everybody gotright was Switzerland because theyrecognized it from the Swiss Army Knifelogo.

Eight tables were provided under theBoeing Model 80A for modelers to work

during the show, thus encouragingpassers-by to stop and converse with thebuilders. This is always a popular featureof the Winter Show for both the public andthe club members, where contacts aremade which frequently lead to newmembers for both the NWSM and IPMS-Seattle.

Non aviation models - armor, ships,figures, cars, space, and Sci-Fi - wereaccorded a row of ten tables, upon whichthe models were arranged by builder. Bythis means no modeler was excluded fromparticipation in the show by his or herchoice of modeling subjects.

Galaxy Hobby, Revell-Monogram, and theMOF, assisted by members of both clubs,conducted several Make-and-Takemodeling sessions for kids throughout theday; This is always a popular feature ofthe Winter Show.

We had 525 models on display. The MOFalso had the largest single day attendancesince it opened. We modelers aver this wasdue to the attraction of our show. Skepticsmight, however, say the record attendance

The quiz table

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 4

was more due to the “arrival” by Concordeof “The Beatles”. As this was the 40thanniversary of their 1964 arrival in the USby Boeing 707, the MOF had staged an“arrival” reenactment, from our Concorde,of a band that looks, plays, sings and - I’mtold - sounds like The Beatles. They did aconcert out on the museum ramp and thenhad a “press conference” in the EastGallery. I think we did them a great favorgetting all those people to the museum forour show, who then stayed to watch themusicians. Ignore what skeptics say to thecontrary, about which function actuallydrew the crowd.

I encourage those readers who did notparticipate in this year’s show, to do sonext year. It’s a fun day with your fellowmodel builders and the more the merrier.

Clockwise from top: An overview of the Black-bird and the model tables; Terry Moore tries toexplain to some young modelers at the Make-

and-Take that after they’ve built a snap-tite kit,they’ll be ready to build a B-17; John

Amendola’s talk was extremely well-received; no,not Beatles tribute band Rain, but the real thing

landing in New York in February, 1964

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 5

Top left: BillOsborn valiantly

battles the AmodelTu-128; three moreviews of the display

area

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 6

IPMS Seattle April 17Spring Show Category List

Junior: (Ages through 15. At theirdiscretion juniors may enter any of classes1 through 57)1. Aircraft2. Armor3. Automotive4. Space Fact/Sci-Fi/Fantasy5. Ships6. Miscellaneous (incl. figures, dinosaurs,etc.)61. Junior Prefinished Models (any subjectwith prefinished exteriors)Best Junior Award

Aircraft:7. 1/73rd and smaller; all subjects8. 1/72nd single prop9. 1/48th single prop10. 1/72nd multi prop11. 1/48th multi prop12. 1/32nd and larger prop13. 1/72nd single jet14. 1/48th single jet15. 1/72nd multi jet16. 1/48th multi jet17. 1/32nd and larger jet18. Civil, sport, racing, airships; all scales19. Airliners; all scales20. Rotary wing; all scales21. Biplanes/Vintage Types; all scales(Pitts, Eindecker, Dr.l, CR.42, etc.)22. Miscellaneous; scratchbuilts,vacuforms, and conversionsBest Aircraft Award

Automotive: (All scales; non-military)23. Factory Stock24. Hot Rods (excluding dragsters andlakesters)25. Custom26. Pick-up trucks27. Truck/Van/Crash, Fire and Rescue28. Closed-course racers29. Straight-line racers (dragsters,lakesters, LSR)30. Motorcycle (includes sidecars)30A. MiscellaneousBest Automotive Award

Diorama: (all scales) A diorama is two ormore models relating to tell a story.31. Aircraft32. Automotive33. Armor34. Space Fact/Sci-fi/Fantasy35. Marine36. Figures

A. Vignette (5 or fewer figures)B. Diorama (more than 5 figures)

37. Miscellaneous (includes dinosaurs)Best Diorama Award

Military Vehicles and Weapons38. 1/35th and larger, closed top through194539. 1/35th and larger, closed top after 194540. 1/35th and larger open top AFV, half-tracks and self-propelled guns41. 1/36th and smaller, all eras and subjects42. Soft-skinned, all eras and scales43. Towed artillery and missiles, all erasand scales44. Conversions and scratchbuilts, allsubjects, eras and scalesBest Military Vehicle/Weapons Award

Ships:45. Engine powered46. Sail and unpowered47. MiscellaneousBest Ship Award

Single Figures: Horse and rider, mountedor dismounted = a single figure. Twofigures on base = a vignette (36A). SpaceFact/Sci-Fi/Fantasy figures are excludedhere.48. Smaller than 54mm (excluding 1/35th)49. 54mm (including 1/35th)50. Larger than 54mmBest Figure Award (sponsored by IPMSVancouver)

Space Fact/Sci-Fi/Fantasy: all scales51. Space Fact52. Sci-fi, Vehicles53. Sci-fi, Single creatures54. Miscellaneous (includes dinosaurs)Best Space Fact/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Award

Other Classes:55. Collections (5 or more models thatrelate)56. Flights of Fancy/Hypotheticals (allscales)57. Miscellaneous (anything not coveredabove)62. Adult Prefinished Models (any subjectwith prefinished exteriors)

Best Of Show Award (balloting byentrants).

Notesa. Prior IPMS-Seattle First Place winnersare not eligible.b. IPMS-USA National Contest Rulesapply generally.c. Head judges’ decisions are final!d. Only one category per model.e. Where classes are subject to interpreta-tion, the entrant may choose the category;e.g., a Fiat CR.42 could be entered in class9 or 21; a Pitts in 9, 18 or 21. Judges mayreassign models to more appropriateclasses at their discretion.f. If your diorama is overly large, pleasephone ahead.g. At the judges’ discretion “HighlyCommended” ribbons may also beawarded.h. At the judges’ discretion categories maybe split.i. Judges wear ID tags. After awards areposted, feel free to discuss your resultswith them.

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 7

Special Awards

Best Civilian Auto/Motorcycle: Jon FincherBest Small Air Forces: Stephen Tontoni, Will PerryBest Now and Then: Scott Kruize and Ken MurphyBest British Subject: Robert Allen, Andrew Birkbeck, Keith LairdBest French Subject: Pascal ValadierBest Aircraft from the First Twenty Years (1903-1923): Pearson ModeleersBest Pacific Theater WWII: Tracy WhiteBest Canadian: Jim SchubertBest Float/Sea Plane: Bob Demspter/Seattle World Cruiser FoundationBest Italian Aircraft: Emil Minerich

These categories have been confirmed at press time. Any additions will be given in nextmonth’s newsletter.

Spring Show Schedule

Registration, 9:15 am until noon.Public Viewing, 10 am until 3 pm.Judging, 12 noon until 3 pm.Awards, 3:30 pm.Show close, 4 pm.

Entry fees: TBD

As in years past, we will have a raffle thisyear. Entrants will receive one ticket permodel up to five. Unlike years past, youwill be able to buy tickets, so the raffle willnot just be limited to people entering thecontest. Raffle ticket Prices: one ticket, $1;six tickets, $5; 15 tickets, $10.

Spring Show Venue

The location for our Spring Show is theRenton Community Center, at 1715 MapleValley Highway, Renton. We will be usingboth gyms this year, unlike last year whenwe just used one, so there should be lotsof space available both for the models andvendors.

Directions:

From the North: Take I-405 southbound toExit #4 (Renton-Enumclaw). Go throughthe first stop light, turn left on MapleValley Highway (South 169). This will takeyou under I-405. Continue about 500 feetand turn right at the first stop light. Followthe entrance driveway around the athleticfields to the large parking lot area. TheRenton Community Center and CarcoTheatre are adjacent to one another andthe parking lot.

From the South: Take I-405 northbound toExit #4 (Maple Valley-Enumclaw). This exitwill divide, take the first exit to MapleValley-Enumclaw (South 169). At the stopsign, at the end of the off ramp, turn right.Go approximately 200 feet to the stop lightand turn right. Follow the entrancedriveway around the athletic fields to thelarge parking lot area. The Renton Commu-nity Center and Carco Theatre are adjacentto one another and the parking lot.

Spring Show Vendors

Below is a list of vendors who plan toattend the spring show. We have a total of40 tables available for vendors. If youwould like to purchase a table, please E-mail Tracy White at whitet@blarg.net.

Tables prices are $45 per table for one tothree total tables and $40 a table for four ormore.

Attending Vendors:Skyway Model Shop - Models & Aftermar-ket sets (Seven Tables)R&J Enterprises -Armor Kits & Conver-sions (Four Tables)Just Plane Hobbies - Models & Aftermar-ket (Three Tables)Masterpiece Models - (Three Tables)Garland Angleton - Two TablesMike Lane (Two Tables)Everett Quam - Cars & more (Two Tables)Terry Davis (Two Tables)Doug Ellis, Dawn Patrol Models (TwoTables)Kancali’s Custom Modeling accessories -Diorama Supplies (One Table)Bob Berry - (One Tables)Fine Scale Modeler - (One Table for photo-taking)Manfred Misztowt (One Table)Steve Cozad - Wood Bases & Misc kits(One Table)

Rob Otero (One Table)John Price (One Table)Whitney Foreman (One Table)Thom Morton (One Table)Scott (One Table)

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 8

Two Cents About “Modest”

by Scott Kruize

The January issue roused within our midstthat great bugaboo, controversy. One ofour own broached the topic: how shouldmembers participate? Or to be moreprecise, he urged that they should. Havingheard some response to this essay –mostly negative and away from its writer’sgood intentions – this is my two cents’worth.

Some reactions were strongly defensive:“Hey, I like kit collecting!”, and “It’sinsulting for anyone to even question myright to be here!”, and “No one’s gonnatell me how many models I hafta build ayear. I’ll build as many or as few as I like!”

First cent: guys, lighten up! The title of theessay was “…A Modest Proposal…”Modest:‘reserved…unpretentious…moderate,not extreme.’ Proposal: ‘put forward forconsideration…[a] plan.’ [The AmericanHeritage Dictionary, © 1983 by HoughtonMifflin Co., published by BantamDoubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.]

There will never come a day, not an hour,when our IPMS Chapter (or any other)would impose obligatory ‘requirements’for building and showing models, orotherwise compelling specific club activityparticipation as a condition of membership.You all know this. Anyone can attend;anyone can join. We’re perfectly happy toopen the doors at our meetings. Weenthusiastically greet all-and-sundry whowander in, even casual strangers just nowrealizing “Grownups are allowed to stillplay with plastic models!”

Our colleague didn’t propose makinganybody do anything. What he askedwas: “Is it valid to expect anything, suchas participation, from its members?”

Second cent: Oh, yes, guys! Absolutely!

The reason is simple: we’re our own solesource of entertainment. I know you allknow this, but perhaps even so obvious afact sometimes needs to be restated, rightout in the open. We’re our own solesource of entertainment. The only thingsgoing on in the club – the only things thatmake it a club, the only things making itworthwhile to belong to – are the thingsthat we bring to it. If we bring models(complete or ‘in progress’)…and booksand pictures and other interestingmaterials…if we Show-and-Tell these toeach other, standing up before the group(however ill-at-ease that may sometimesmake us feel)…if we write and shootpictures for the newsletter…if we work atour yearly contest and other events…thenwe’ll all get joy and satisfaction out ofbelonging. If not, not!

I know whereof I speak. The main reason Istarted hanging around with you guysthree years ago is that I became sodesperately bored and unhappy with theclub I was in. With a roster in the hundredsand resources well in excess of IPMSSeattle’s, the club was nowhere and doingnothing. Twenty or thirty people show upfor meetings. Six to ten of those work asofficers and special events coordinators.Two or three bring something for Show-and-Tell. The rest – when they bother toshow up at all – sit on chairs with theirarms folded, saying little, doing less,waiting to be entertained!

Well, there is no entertainment. They can’taccept – despite prodding from the activehandful and the former Newsletter Editor(guess who?) – that we’re our own solesource of entertainment.

Guys, don’t be mad at Jacob. He doesn’tknow the Boeing R/C Hawks, but he’strying to prevent us from becoming likethem. He says just paying dues isn’tenough; they prove it! So let’s not sinkinto their languor. Let’s not sit and wait tobe entertained. Let’s do something. Let’sparticipate. Let’s contribute.

His “modest proposal” included building amodel per year and showing it off to thegroup. Or contributing to the newsletter.“Or contribute to the club in their ownchosen way.” This is the true value of it: ifit reminds us we need to do thesethings…if each and every one of us isprodded to do something…contribute just“two cents” apiece…we’ll be rich!

have been… After the war many served incivil guise and there are one or two stillflying. All things being equal, we don’treally need another kit of the F-100, dowe?

And another thing. Why do we needanother P-47 (or insert Me 109, Fw 190, etc,ad nausem)?

Yeah, I know why, but still...

Speaking of Tamiya, their only announcedrelease this year is a P-47 in 1/72nd scale. Ihope it’s not a trend away from models.Their RC business is where the majority oftheir income is derived and models nowappear to be somewhat of a side line. Ihope they are not dropping the model kitline, as they are undoubtedly the finestkits produced.

See you at the meeting,

�����

Preznotes from page 1

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 9

Help for Chronic IPMS(Inadvertent

Procrastinating ModelerSyndrome) Sufferers

by Tim Nelson

Several articles have appeared in recentissues of this fine publication regardingthe seemingly small percentage of ourmembership who actually build modelsthese days. Some of our members producequality models at a prodigious rate andbring their latest to each meeting. Othershave attended meetings for years withoutshowing a model or even uttering a sound.Some contribute in a variety of ways tothe health and benefit of the club. Somecontribute nothing. Such variation is thenature of a hobby club (and actuallypretty much any sizeable organization).

It’s not my place to tell anyone to producea model. My goal here is to offer someideas to help those who may be sufferingfrom “IPMS” (defined in the article title).Victims of IPMS (and the related malady“AMS”) would like to build a model, butare overwhelmed with the prospect ofaccurizing, detailing, reconciling conflict-ing references, maybe ruining an expen-sive or rare kit, criticism of their inadequa-cies, etc. I have had bouts of IPMS.Maybe you have IPMS. If so, consider thefollowing over-the-counter tonic, not inany particular order:

- Set aside 15-30 minutes a few evenings aweek, as your schedule permits, to dosome modeling. That free 2-3 hour block oftime never seems to materialize, so don’twait for it. Make regular, steady progress.

- Consider a “speed build”, along the linesof the project discussed in Reference 1.The Northwest Scale Modelers monthlytheme offers such an opportunity 12 timesa year. Pick a model, and get it done. Itmay not win a contest, but you’ll learnsomething to apply later to a moredeliberate build.

- Skip the photo-etch and resin detail andcorrection sets. A 95% accurate completedmodel is vastly superior to that imaginary100% accurate model that never gets out ofthe box. If you’re into contests, note thatthere never is an “In the Box” category.

- Consider 1/72nd scale. I’m not gettinginto the scale debate here, but if you areinterested in saving money, time, anddisplay space, “seventy-tooth” is theticket for aircraft and armor. I’m assuming ifyou’ve read this far that you are not asuperdetailer, and with 1/72nd the motiva-tion for add-on detailing is less.

- Try something different. I was knowninitially around these parts for factualspace subjects. More recently I’ve donesome 1/72nd aircraft, but the most fun I’vehad with a model in years was with theAurora “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”Reference light, fun heavy.

- Try a simple resin kit of a subject youlove. There are usually some clean-upchallenges with these kits, but concentrateon the basics and have some fun with it.There are many dedicated “cottageindustry” producers of unusual subjects.For example, I really enjoy the esotericofferings of www.unicraftmodels.com, andhave done a couple of their (his) kits inbarely more than 10 hours. I’ll do more.Tamiya will never tread this ground.

- Get to know the modeler’s best friend. I’mnot talking about Future or Emil Minerich,although they are Superfriends. I’m talkingabout CA glue accelerator. I’ve only usedthe stuff the last year or so, but it enablesyou to make rapid progress on thosehomely kits that need lots of help withseams, sink holes, ejector pin marks, etc.CA glue hardens when hit with theaccelerator, but it does not completely curefor some time, which makes immediatesanding easier. An added plus is that youavoid nasty surprises with shrinkage orsettling that sometimes occur when CAglue is allowed to cure the old-fashionedway. This elixir helps you get past thedrudgery stage faster.

- Make a date with your spouse, signifi-cant other, partner, or mate to go to aMichael’s craft store. There’s somethingfor the both of you there. I love to browseMichael’s for wooden bases, woodfinishing supplies, paint brushes, photoframes (another possibility for makingbases), pipe cleaner, etc. They even have afew model kits and airbrush supplies.While I’m at it, my wife is content toperuse all the other crafty stuff they have.

- If you’re home on a Saturday night, dosome modeling while listening to “TheSwing Years and Beyond”, 7 PM tomidnight on KUOW, 94.9 FM. Big bandand swing music provide a wonderfulambience while working on your latestproject. Give it a try.

- Fear not failure nor ridicule. The goal forthose with terminal IPMS is not perfection,but improvement. Continued improvementleads to really good, and continuedimprovement requires building. So build,make mistakes, ask questions, learn,improve, and share your experiences. I’mno master modeler, but I’m improving. Asfor ridiculers (and I don’t think we have asignificant problem with that here), I’d bemuch more inclined to bar them at the doorthan the model-less.

- Keep it fun. Your top priority. Choose asubject and build philosophy that makesyou want to be at the workbench.

IPMS-Seattle is a big organization, bigenough to include all kinds of modelingenthusiasts. However, this club, like allclubs, would benefit from more activemembership. If you suffer from IPMS, andnone of the above ideas eases yoursymptoms, then bring an old model to ameeting and tell us how it went. We’reinterested.

Reference

1. “Power Building for Fun and Pleasure”,by Richard Engar, IPMS/USAJournal Vol 6, Issue 2, Jan/Feb 2004

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 10

Anybody Want a Good“Goose”?

by Bill Osborn

Since I was unable to make the Februarymeeting, due to the need to take an oldfolks driver’s ed. class, I have time to whipup a couple of kit reviews. I don’t knowwhy I can never find information on asubject until I’m at the painting stage orthe model is safe behind glass in the case.Well, it happened again. As soon as I wasready to put the decals on my 1/72nd scaleSword Grumman Goose, Steve Ginter cameout with one of his books on the Goose.

O.K., let’s hear about the kit. The mediumgray plastic is just about right, not too softor too hard. Scribing is fine and well done.You get two vacuformed canopies, thatinclude the cabin roof forward of the wingleading edge. The parts fit together well,but don’t have locating pins. There is acabin floor and a couple of bulkheads, theforward one has a door that can be posedopen. I chose to close it due to the threatof hijacking. There are eight nicely castseats, two for the cockpit and six for thecabin. The cockpit gets an instrumentpanel and two nice control wheels. All ofthis is very nice but when it’s all done youcan only see the top of the two pilot seats.With the basic thing stuck together, it wastime to work(!) with the landing gear. Thisis a Grumman airplane of pre-WW2vintage, so some person needs to crankthe gear up into the hull just like Wildcat.There are two “V” struts that fit to the

main leg, which fits into a hole on theinside of the hull. That shouldn’t be toohard. Well, the hole is larger than the strutand there is no stop or index to show howmuch of the leg should stick out. Using myvast knowledge of ways to screw thing upand still wind up with a usable part, Iwhipped up some extensions and guessedat how much should stick out to get theright “sit”.

The kit comes with a splash shield that fitson the forward part of the hull; this is notused on military aircraft and should be leftoff. But of course, I glued it on. Afterlooking at my new Goose book, the chineappears to be smaller than the kit part.

(Ain’t hindsightgreat?). The wheelshave a smoothhubcap, but a lot ofthe time these wereleft off. I don’t thinkit hurt the streamlin-ing any.

Next up are theengines. You gettwo nice genericresin castings thatlook good when

installed in the cowlings. After the enginesare super-glued in place a backing plate isput in the aft end of the cowl. It’s a bit ofguess work as to how far to put the plateinto the cowl, so I cut a piece of sheetplastic for a spacer to keep the cowls even.

After all this fooling around, I painted themodel white with red wing, tail tips, andcowlings. The nacelles are gloss black. Asyou can tell by now this is a civilian bird.The kit comes with a choice of three colorschemes: a gloss Sea Blue French one; atwo-tone U.S. Coast Guard boat; and aBritish three-tone. So of course I had to dosomething different. With the advent ofthe new DRAW decals there a lot ofNorthwest-area small airline color schemesto choose from. I chose Alaska CoastalLines just because I liked it. The decals arevery thin and go down well if you don’tget a fold over.

After the decals and rigging were com-plete, the engines were added. Last but notleast the forward upper nose was maskedoff with Parafilm so the anti-glare panelcould be sprayed. All in all, the wholething came off better than I hoped.

World War One Books byKagero Publishing

by Andrew Birkbeck

As the regular readers of this newsletterwill be aware, I have recently taken toattempting to build WW1 aircraft models,and as a consequence, decided I needed tofind some good reference material for mylibrary to help me with both the historicalperspective and the modeling aspects ofthis area of the hobby. As such, I recentlypurchased these four books from thePolish publisher, Kagero. Herewith mycomments.

Famous Aircraft Series:

There arecurrentlytwo booksin thisseries,titledFokkerD.VII andNieuport 1-27, bothwritten byTomasz J.Kowalski.The booksmeasure

6.75 by 9.5 inches and have a card cover.The Fokker book is 32 pages in length, theNieuport book totals 48 pages. Both bookscontain a very nice decal sheet measuring5 by 7 inches, covering about a half dozenaircraft on each sheet, with decals pro-vided for each scheme in both 1/72nd and1/48th scales. Small air force junkies will

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 11

particularly appreciate these decals, asalong with the expected German (Fokker)and French (Nieuport) markings, you getPolish markings (both books) andLithuanian and Soviet (Fokker), and

Russian (Nieuport, see above). Very nicecolor artwork is included in each book forthe various decal subjects, but that is theextent of the color profiles. There are noline drawings of any kind in either book.

The written parts of each book are in bothPolish and “Penglish”, which as you mightguess, is Polish English. The latter isn’tthat bad, being a bit humorous on occa-sion, but also completely unintelligiblefrom time to time, when the translator triedtoo hard to get it right.

Regarding the Fokker book, the picturesare skewed towards “foreign” examples,such as Swiss, Hungarian, Lithuanian,Finnish, Dutch, Czech, and of course,Polish. The quality of said pictures variesfrom pretty good to poor, with too many ofthe latter. As for the Nieuport book, Iwould say it was extremely optimistic ofthe author to try and cover the Nieuportseries of fighters from 1 through 27 in sucha short space. Of the 40 or so pictures,

approximately half are of the Nieuport 17.Again, photo quality is “iffy” in manyrespects, and very thin, as you wouldexpect with so many aircraft needing to becovered in such a short space.

These books, with the exception of thedecals, should be compared to Squadron/Signal In Action publications. S/S has boththe Fokker D.VII and Nieuport Fighters intheir series. The Kagero books have bettercolor art work, but no line drawings, unlikethe In Action books. The In Action booksoffer more, and better, black and whitephotos than the two Kagero books. Thewritten history is also superior in the InAction books compared to those fromKagero, and not just because of the PolishEnglish used in the Kagero books. The InAction books are also $9.95, vs. $14.95 forthe Kagero books. So unless you are reallylooking for “different” decals for either ofthese subjects, I can’t recommend theKagero books over the In Action books,and they don’t hold a candle to theadmittedly slightly more expensiveWindsock Datafile series of WW1monographs.

Legends ofAviationSeries

Again wehave twobooks fromKagero,Kaiser’sAces byMarek J.Murawski,andSopwithCamel byEdward Kocent Zielinski, this time in thelarger format of A4 (11.5 x 8.25 inches) andcontaining 72 pages each. These books arenot only larger in format, but much betterbang for the buck, although they do comein at the higher price of $21.95.

Again we have the high quality decalsheets as offered with the other two

books, to the same size. The photos in thisseries seem to be to a uniformly higherstandard. In the Camel book, these include30 color pictures of a Polish museumexample. The Camel book also has ninepages of line drawings, in both 1/48thscale, and interestingly, 1/24th scale! Ofparticular note are the excellent linedrawings of the Camel’s Clerget 9B rotaryengine. As with the first two titles, thecolor artwork in the Camel book is limitedto covering the aircraft depicted on theenclosed decal sheet.

Turning to the Kaiser’s Aces book, as thetitle suggests, this is an attempt to coverthe various aces that flew for the GermanAir Force in WW1. The book contains avery lengthy five-page listing of all theaces, listing their name, the units they flewin, their total number of aerial victories,and the date the pilot died if they perishedduring the war. Also included are 15 pagesof superb large format color artwork,covering numerous aircraft types, and alsonot limited to those aircraft covered in thedecals. No line drawings are included,which makes sense given the topiccovered in the book.

Unlike the first two Kagero books, which Ican’t recommend except for the decals, thetwo larger format books can be recom-mended without hesitation for the excellentdecals, the good quality black and whiteperiod photos (and color museum photosin the Camel book), and the superb linedrawings and color art work.

I boughtthese fourbooks viaSquadronMail Order,but I knowSkywayModelShop alsocarriesKagerobooks fromtime totime.

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 12

Tamiya 1/16th Scale PanzerOfficer

by Hal Marshman, Sr.

This is one of the earlier Tamiya large-scalereleases, I think the second after the AdolfGalland figure. The figure comes cast inmedium gray plastic, with a minimum ofdetail as befits the simple uniform hewears. You have the choice of the softvisored field cap, or the M-43 style cap.Whichever you choose, don’t throw awaythe other, as it may be useful on anotherfigure.

For accessories, the figure comes with a P-38 style holster, and a map case, along withtwo right arms. One arm is holding a pair ofgloves and is extended down at the side,while the other arm is bent and the handshaped to accept the small pair of binocu-lars provided. In addition to the accesso-ries already mentioned, there are an IronCross 1st Class, Panzer Assault Badge,and General Assault Badge provided.

As cast, this figure represents anOberleutnant of the Army Panzertruppen.With some insignia changes, he could justas easily be done as SS. I did mine asHermann Goring Panzer Division, aLuftwaffe panzer unit. The only change Ihad to make was using the Luftwaffeofficer’s hat from the Galland figure, andchanging the breast eagle to the Luftwaffestyle. As a Luftwaffe officer, he would notbe wearing the General or Panzer AssaultBadges as provided in the kit, as theLuftwaffe had their own individual styles.The instructions on the box show that thefigure could also be done as an Assaultgun officer, wearing the field gray or even

reed green uniform. Takeclose note of the insigniachanges if choosing thisoption. I must also stress, ifyou plan to use the officer’sstyle field cap, that this wasissued in field gray with darkgreen band for both Army(Heere) or SS, and piped inpink (red for assault guntroops). There was not ablack version. On the otherhand, the M-43 cap wasindeed manufactured in black.As an officer, theOberleutnant would have thecrown piped in aluminum, beit panzer black or field grayfor the assault gun uniform.Complicated this Germanuniform business, no?

Is there anything I don’t carefor with this figure? Yes, Ithink the face is awful. Just

my own personal opinion, of course. Ireally would also prefer to see the coloringinstructions as an instructional enclosure,and not as a back of the box decoration. Ido like all the extra accessories providedwith these kits, as they allow lots ofbetween-figure swapping, and you cancome up with a one-of-a-kind renderingeasily. Of course, I really should mentionthat this is a plastic assembly kit, not aresin or metal one-piece casting.

Hurricane Bookshelf

by Scott Kruize

At an Alabama training airfield in 1942,Cadet Edwards Park saw...What? Of coursenot. It’s an Airacobra. Anybody whohangs around with IPMS ought to knowan Airacobra when he sees it.

Oh, what’s it doing on Hurricane Book-shelf? I like Airacobras. I especially likethis book, Nanette, about a particularAiracobra. It’s my column and I’ll writewhat I want to!

Now, where were we? Oh, yes...at anAlabama training airfield in 1942, EdwardsPark, Army Air Force cadet, saw a Bell P-39Airacobra for the first time…

You know, I’ve read many autobiographiesby famous fighter pilots: Adolf Gallandand Peter Townsend; Geoffrey Page,Chuck Yeager, and Eddie Rickenbacker;Pierre Clostermann, Robert Johnson,Douglas Bader, even Saburo Sakai.They’re fascinating and admirable, but Ican’t identify with them. Not just becauseI’ve never been in combat, or even themilitary. I know many people who havebeen, starting with my father, but the thingis: I see no sign of warrior in any of them.Father explains his participation in theSecond World War simply: “We justwanted to get the job over with, and gohome.” This must sum up nearly everyoneelse’s participation in conflicts in whichthey happen to find themselves.

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 13

So after these superhero hunter-warriors’accounts, the question nagged at my mind:what was it like for an ordinary fighterpilot? Somebody who just found himselfflying into war, with no particular desire oraptitude to do so? Somebody there bycircumstance, happenstance. Even mostfighter pilots must be like that.

Park’s account addresses my question.“Most of the men I knew and worked withwere civilian groundlings at heart who hadjoined up quite simply to fight for theircountry…and went bouncing through thisstrange and savage environment...flyingfast little aircraft and firing guns. I wasquite poor at it, but was saved by abreathtakingly lovely brown-green-grayAiracobra.”

In fourteen short chapters, quite down-to-earth despite being about flying, hedescribes how he came to join the Air

Force and fight in the PacificTheater. He says this isn’t anovel, because “everythingin this book actually hap-pened,” but, on the otherhand, “you can’t call itnonfiction.”

Perhaps because of the oddtwist in it. It may irritate you,but Park thinks inanimateobjects can have a sort ofwill, personality, or soul, andhave an effect, good or bad,on the humans who relate tothem. I took to the idea right

away, having encountered it in my ownlife. Not with full-sized airplanes, but I’vebeen a bicycle mechanic, a motorcyclerider, and a model airplane builder andflyer. I know there’s a lot more to myinteractions with the machines in my lifethan can be explained by the laws ofphysics.

So with Park’s airplane. As his storyunfolds, he admits he can’t explain howthe P-39D assigned to him induced him toname it. “I flew Number 74 a great deal. Ibegan to understand her…soon I got tocalling her Nanette. I have no idea why…itsounded sort of whorey, and yet insouci-ant…”

His squadron mates understood. His crewchief, troubleshooting a mysterious enginemalfunction that prevented Park’s planefrom flying into a dogfight, agreed it was

because “she” was afraid of the Japanese.Even his Squadron Leader responded to“her” name and personality. “Trying to runthe Squadron, that’s what she’s doing!”and “That —— tried to kill me!” But a latemission one day ran way too long, and asdarkness descended, the pilots resignedthemselves to the realization that theywere probably all going to smash them-selves and their mounts into the surround-ing mountains. That’s when Nanette, withvery little guidance from Park…

No, I won’t tell you the details of whathappened that night. Nor of the “splendidand shattering mission” shortly thereafter,when Park and Nanette’s rapport went toofar. Whatever your opinion of this meta-physical topic, as you read of their dance,in intimate embrace, down through a long,steep spiraling plunge from the sky, youwon’t be able to help feeling their ecstasy -so dangerous!

By the end, Edwards Park made meunderstand, at least a little, what it was likefor an ordinary pilot to fly against theenemy. He was no superhero, but he had aslightly supernatural, if brief, bond with hisplane - and it allowed him to survive theexperience and tell us about it afterwards.His book isn’t fiction, but not history,either: he calls it “an Exaggeration”.Whatever it is, it’s a good read, and it hasthe ring of reality. His readers will join himin saying, “Yes, Nanette. I still rememberyou, Nanette.”

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 14

Pavla 1/72nd ScalePolikarpov I-15

by Jim Schubert

The design team led by NikolayNikolayevich Polikarpov started work ontheir sixth fighter program, the I-15, inJanuary of 1933, shortly after he and hisstaff were released from detention.Polikarpov had actually envisioned theaircraft during the final few months of hisfour-year imprisonment. The short coupledbiplane was of mixed wood, steel andaluminum construction, and was fabriccovered save for the forward fuselage. Theoriginal design proposal featured a fullyenclosed cockpit and Grumman-styleretractable landing gear. The very conser-vative Directorate of the Aviation Industry,however, called for deletion of these twoadvanced features to reduce the riskstaken in a new design. The I-15 carried four7.62 mm machine guns in the fuselagesynchronized to fire through the propellerand could carry up to 40 kg, total, ofbombs on four underwing hardpoints.

The prototype was finished and flown inOctober of 1933. Except for a taller fin andrudder to improve directional stability, theproduction version was identical to theprototype. Full series production began inAugust of 1934 and ended in 1936 after 385of the type had been built. In August 1936the USSR started shipping I-15s to thedemocratically elected Spanish Republicangovernment to help them in their fightagainst the fascist rebellion led byFrancisco Franco, who was supported byNazi Germany and Fascist Italy. A total ofup to 155 (records are confused) I-15s wereshipped to Spain by the Soviets. Another287 were produced under license byConstrucciones Aeronauticas, SocieteAnonyme (CASA) for the Republicangovernment. Nearly half of these werecaptured intact at the end of the civil warand inducted into the fascist air force.Republican pilots nicknamed this popularplane “Chato”, Spanish for pugnose, and ithas stuck to the little fighter ever since. At

least one I-15 was delivered by the Sovietsto the Mongolian Air Force. That wouldmake an interesting model!

No I-15s have survived to this day. TheMuseo del Aire in Madrid has, however, abeautifully executed reproduction paintedin Republican markings on the left side andin Nationalist markings on the right side.

This is the second Pavla kit in a row that Ihave received in which the flimsy endopening box was not pre-crushed! The boxhad, however, at some point in its journeybeen compressed enough in the middle todamage two of the injection molded partsand one of the resin parts. The boxcontains an injection molded medium graypolystyrene tree of 33 sharply definedparts with very little flash and no sinkmarks, a bag of 11 detail parts molded inpale gray resin, two vacuformedwindscreens, a decal sheet and an instruc-tion folder.

Engineering of the kit is conventional; withfuselage in vertically split halves and one-piece wings and tail components withoutstandingly thin and fully formed trailingedges. The polystyrene cantilever landinggear may be weak over the long term so Iwould recommend cutting a slot in theinside of each strut and inserting a piece ofbrass or steel wire as a replacement axleand load bearing member. In my kit one of

the axles was almost broken off. Theplastic parts have a slightly pebbly surfaceas a consequence of the spark-erosionprocess used to make the molds. A lighthit with a 7000 grit abrasive took care ofthis. I suspect a light coat of primer wouldsuffice instead. As usual with Pavla thereare no locating pins or mounting tabs;everything is butt jointed. I would stronglyrecommend metal pins to strengthen thetail and landing gear butt joints. The leftfuselage half in my kit had the cockpitscuttle cracked through and about to falloff.

The resin parts are beautifully cast, thinand finely detailed. Due to the flimsy box,however, the feed block had been brokenoff the engine face plate ripping a raggedoval hole in its center. This opening for thepropeller shaft is supposed to be asmoothly rimmed hole; it’ll be a delicaterepair.

The small decalsheet, printed inperfect register andwith good, dense,color saturation hasmarkings for fiveairplanes. One is thesilver and red displayairplane flown byIvan U. Pavlov, ahero of the Russiancivil war. Photosshow the metal areasof Pavlov’s planewere covered withmachined “swirlies”like the Spirit of St.Louis. The decalsalso provide for three

different Spanish Republican airplanes andone Spanish Nationalist.

The 16-page folder of instructions con-tains a type history and tables of specifica-tions in Czech and English, a parts map, acolor guide with FS numbers, an 11-stepassembly process, a rigging diagram and10 pages (!) of drawings detailing the fiveoptional color schemes.

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 15

The kits from the central and easternEuropean manufacturers keep gettingbetter and better. This is not aTamigawagram kit in terms of joinerydesign but in every other respect it is theirequal. It is very reminiscent of the oldHeller release of the Polikarpov I-153,which was a very good kit. Built out-of-the-box, this kit will produce an outstand-ing model. The only thing I would wishPavla to change on their next kit is makingthe control surfaces all separate pieces. Ipaid $27.98 ,plus sales tax, for my kit atEmil Minerich’s Skyway Model Shop inSeattle.

Kudos and a big “Thank You” to Pavla foranother great subject.

ReferencesRed Star Volume 6-Polikarpov BiplaneFighters: Yefim Gordon & Keith Dexter,Midland Publishing, UK, 2002, ISBN 1-85780-141-1415.Aviation Warbirds Series No. 1, I-5, I-15, I-15bis: *Polygon Press, Moscow, 1992.World Aviation in Spain - the Civil War,1936-1939 - American and SovietAircraft: J. Miranda & P. Mercado, SilexPublishing, Madrid, 1988, ISBN 84-7737-005-2.Polikarpov Fighters in Action, No. 157:Hans Heiri-Stapfer, Squadron SignalPublications, Texas, 1995, ISBN 0-89747-343-4.Eagles of the East No. 2 - FightingPolikarpovs 1941-1945: AviationInternational Press, USA, 1994, ISBN 1-884909-01-9.Skyways - The Journal of the Airplane

1920-1940, No. 29, January 1994: 16 pagearticle with drawings, photos, andsketches about the exploits of Jose FalcoSan Martin flying Chatos in the SpanishCivil War.War Planes Of The Second World War -Fighters, Volume 3: William Green,Doubleday, New York, 1961.Aviation News, October 1994, Warpaint -Polikarpov I-15 to I-153. Good drawings byMark Rolfe.

* The names of the three Russian authorswere rendered in the Cyrillic alphabet,which I cannot read so they must remainanonymous for this review. Sorry guys -catch you next time.

[Thanks to Chris Banyai-Riepl andwww.internetmodeler.com for permissionto use Jim’s article. - ED]

Upcoming Model Shows and Aviation Events

Saturday, March 20Women Fly! Women in Aviation & Aerospace 2004. Meet eight women leaders in diverse fields of aviation and aerospace—past andpresent—at the Museum of Flights’ third annual Women Fly! symposium. Two panel discussions will be held. The morning panel at10:30 a.m. will feature: Dr. Janet Kavandi, NASA astronaut, veteran of three Space Shuttle flights as mission specialist; Lt. Col. PeggyPhillips, USAFR, C-17 command pilot and commander of the 97th Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.; Dawn Seymour, WomenAirforce Service Pilots veteran of World War II, B-17 bomber pilot, and; Anne Simpson, Northwest Airlines 747-400 captain.

The afternoon panel at 2:00 p.m. will feature: Julie Clark, retired Northwest Airlines captain and 20+-year veteran aerobatic airshow pilot;Kathleen Boyd Jones, corporate jet captain for fractional ownership operator Flight Options; Crystal Knotek, Northwest Airlines vicepresident, reservation sales and services, and; Katrina Morgan, freshman and Air Force ROTC cadet at Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversity, private pilot, and alumna of The Museum of Flight’s Museum Apprentice Program. Museum of Flight, 9404 East MarginalWay South, Seattle. Phone: 206-764-5720. Web site: http://www.museumofflight.org/

Saturday, March 20Galaxy Hobby Annual Model Contest and Show. Registration: Friday, 3:00 - 7:00 PM and Saturday - 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon. Entry fee: $5for up to five models; $1 for each additional model. Saturday PM Schedule: Judging: 1:30 - 2:30; Awards: 3:30; Pick Up Models: 4:00. Foradult modelers - Kids’ show will be on April 24. Galaxy Hobby, 19332 60th Ave W, Lynnwood. Phone: 425-670-0454. Web site: http://www.galaxyhobby.com/annual_contest.htm

Saturday, March 27Lynnwood Hobbytown USA Model Contest. Registration: 11 AM- 1 PM. Judging: 1-3 PM. Awards: 3:30-4 PM. Pick-up by 5 PM. Entryfees: $2 for first entry in each class, $1 for each additional entry in each class. Trophy, plaque or ribbon awared to everyone who enters.Lynnwood Hobbytown USA, 18500 - 33rd Ave W., Lynnwood. Phone: 425-774-0819.

Saturday, April 17IPMS Seattle Spring Show. Renton Community Center, 1715 Maple Valley Highway, 9:15 AM - 4 PM. See pages 6-7 of this newsletterfor further details. Web site: http://www.ipms-seattle.org/Springshow/

IPMS Seattle Chapter Newsletter Page 16

Meeting Reminder March 1310 AM - 1 PM

North Bellevue Community/Senior Center4063-148th Ave NE, Bellevue

Directions: From Seattle or from I-405, take 520 East tothe 148th Ave NE exit. Take the 148th Ave North exit(the second of the two 148th Ave. exits) and continuenorth on 148th until you reach the Senior Center. TheSenior Center will be on your left. The Center itself isnot easily visible from the road, but there is a signpostin the median.

Golden Age Stars of IPMS#24

There are many ways to gain entrance intothe roster of Golden Age Stars of IPMS –appear in an aviation or science-fictionmovie; have a plane named after you; oreven learn to fly yourself. Andrea King isunique in being a GASOI because shespent most of her life believing a story thatwould have been questioned by any avidWorld War One aviation buff.

Andrea King actually does have a coupleof aviation connections in her resume –she played the wife of Robert L. Scott inthe mediocre God Is My Co-Pilot, andstarred as a woman USMC aviationgunnery instructor in a short film calledProudly We Serve. But the majority of hertime was spent in forgettable B pictures,with an occasional foray into the limelightin films such as My Wild Irish Rose, whereshe portrayed Lillian Russell. If she’sremembered today, it’s for the length of hercareer – first appearing on screen in 1940,she played TV roles until the early 1990s.

Andrea King was born as Georgette AndréBarry, in Paris, in 1919. Her mother had

been an American Red Cross volunteerambulance driver in World War One. Andthat’s where the story comes in. Andreawas told by her mother that she was thedaughter of a French fighter pilot named

Georges André Barry, who had married hermother in France, and been tragically shotdown just before the Armistice, leaving apregnant widow to bring up their child.Georges André Barry supposedly flew

with the Lafayette Escadrille. This wouldimmediately draw suspicion from anyWW1 aviation buff, because although theLafayette Escadrille was indeed a unit inthe French Air Force, it was made up ofAmerican volunteer pilots, not Frenchmen.Later in life, when Andrea met men whohad actually served with the LafayetteEscadrille, she discovered that none hadheard of her “father”. Coupled with thefact that her mother could provide neithera marriage license nor a photo of her“husband”, King began to have herdoubts.

It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that the truthwas confirmed – that she was the illegiti-mate daughter of Alonso Yates, anAmerican diplomat working in Franceduring the war, who had a romance withKing’s mother. Yates, with his diplomaticconnections, had been able to get thepapers that enabled King and her motherto leave France. Barry never existed, andwas just a ruse to keep Andrea fromknowing that she was illegitimate. ButAndrea never found out from her mother –the information came from Yates’ otherdaughter!