BillyBuccaneer's Plastic Air Fleet

This model is the SMER 1/72 Dewoitine D510 in the colors of the Spanish Republican Air Force, which took on a number of these fighter airplanes in the 1930s. This airplane was roughly equivalent to the American Boeing P-26. It was used to combat the fascists, who were better equipped with aircraft provided by the Nazis and Italians. I added photo etch grills, spokes from stretched sprue for the wheels, and made my own decals. I also made scratch-built cockpit details.  

The 416th Night Fighter Squadron of the US Army Forces was the only American unit to fly the British DeHavilland Mosquito in World War II. It flew several NF 30 aircraft in Italy in 1944-1944, until they received their American-made P-61 Black Widows. This particular Mosquito was based in Paris during the Battle of the Bulge. This is the old Matchbox 1/72 kit, which I updated with a cockpit interio r, wingtip radar antenna formed from steel pins and third party white-metal landing gear. I made the serial number decals.  

This is the old Hasegawa 1/72 birdcage Corsair in Fleet Air Arm markings. It depicts a Corsair that crashed and sunk in Sebago Lake in Maine in 1944. The kit has raised panel lines, many of which I sanded off and rescribed. Overall, a fun build with decent, if not perfect, fit. I enjoy purchasing older kits and bringing them up to standard. 

This is the Sword 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IV Trop, in the markings of a machine, BR416 of No.2 PRU, that was based at Marbel Arch, North Africa, in 1942. It comes with options for Vokes or Aboukir chin filters, extended wingtips, and two types of exhaust stacks. It is a limited-run kit, so the fit in some areas, such as the top wings to fuselage, needs filler or spacers. I installed the extended wingtips, adding plastic card to the bottome edges to add strength. The result looks slightly off, but has the necessary rigidity to survive as a finished model. I'm happy to have this unique Sptifire in my collection. I am a photographer by profession, therefore, I love reconnaissance aircraft.

This is the Blom & Voss BV P 194 in 1/72 scale by Revell. I’m fascinated by the unique designs that BV came up with for the Luftwaffe during World War II. This is just one of several asymmetrical designs, powered by both, one radial engine and one jet engine. It never went into production, so I had plenty of artistic license on this model.   I fashioned a MK412 55mm cannon, and, because the BV P 194 would have been primarily a ground attack aircraft, I applied decals associated with a Stuka unit, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 'Immelmann' Sch.G 2. My guess is that in production, it would have replaced the Stuka. The scale model itself is a joy to build; good fitting parts.

This is my interpretation of the venerable English Electric Lightning F.6 in the vibrant colors of No. 56 Squadron, RAF. I received this as a gift from my in-laws, Karen and Stephen Wagner, while on a visit to the New England Air Museum in Connecticut way back in 2006. Some special touches I added include home-made decals for the warning type, such as the "Danger Keep Clear of Intake" signs on the fuselage. My son, Adan, was born in 2013, and as he grew and became interested in airplanes, he found his way into my display case and knocked bits off of this Hasegawa 1/72 Lightning. Now that he has grown a bit and knows better than to play with my models, I've recently replaced those bits. The Firestreak missiles came from a company in Ukraine, as did the replacement landing gear and tires. The raised panel lines were rescribed.