Alpha Delta 210

One of the finest 1/72 Tornados I have seen on BM!

Gorgeous model of an unusual subject!

I'm really pleased that you enjoyed them!

Some fantastic shots of some rare machines in great camo. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks very much. I'm pleased you enjoyed them!

Incredible piece of work, with so much to look at!

Fantastic job on such a tiny kit!

Great model, beautifully photographed!

Stunning result!

Thanks very much for the kind words. I'm pleased that you liked my tribute.

Stunning model of arguably the most beautiful airliner ever built.

Despite the "challenges", you've produced a phantastic Weasel!

Thank you very much for the kind words. I was so moved by the tragic story that I wanted to pay a respectful tribute to Lt. Patton and the other brave men of the relatively unknown Scouting Force. I was so pleased to have found the signed "Fighting Scouts" book that the idea of using it as a base for the Mustang to tell the story was born.

Beautiful model of a beautiful aeroplane!

Thanks very much for the kind words, whiskey! The low resolution images have been kind!! Colonel Budd Peaslee recognised that fast fighters would enable a ‘bomber operations knowledgeable” pilot to range far ahead of a bomber strike and report on route and target weather conditions. An early experiment used existing fighter pilots, but Peaslee decided to also recruit experienced bomber pilots who understood heavy bomber operations. In July 1944, the Scout Force (Experimental) was formed as a fourth Squadron of the 355th Fighter Group using a mix of volunteer fighter pilots from the 355th FG and recruited bomber pilots with brand-new Mustangs. The summary of Patton's career below is drawn from "The Long Wait" by E. Richard Atkins. Patton enlisted at age 16 in 1934 and became an aircraft mechanic. His first tour ended in 1937 as a private, and he immediately re-enlisted. In 1939, Patton was again discharged to re-enlist and was immediately promoted to sergeant from 2nd class specialist. Patton's first move from Randolph Field, Texas came in 1940 when he was posted to the 5th Bomb Group at Hickam, Hawaii. In 1940, Patton was promoted to staff sergeant and then master sergeant in 1942. Patton became crew chief on Flying Fortresses at Hickam. In April 1943, Patton attended Pre-flight School and passed through flying training and Multi-Engine Advanced Flight School. He was discharged from the cadet programme in November 1943 and started B-17 transition training in Hobbs, New Mexico. In April 1944 at Sioux City, Iowa, Patton received a certificate of proficiency as a B-17F and B-17G Aircraft Commander, Patton was promoted to First Lieutenant in May 1944 and he joined 65 other B-17s for a mass flight to the UK via Goose Bay, Labrador. From May to June 1944, Patton was assigned to the 94th Bomb Group at Station 358 in Earls Colne before the Group moved to Station 489 at Bury St. Edmunds. In November 1944, Patton joined Project Aphrodite with the 388th Bomb Group at Station 136 Knettishall / Station 554 Fersfield. The project involved diving stripped-down war-weary bombers as explosive-packed, radio controlled flying bombs into targets controlled from mother ships. Records suggest that Patton flew one live flight with explosives in November 1944 and baled out as planned, allowing the mother ship to control the flight of the B-17 to its target. Patton requested a transfer to a Photo Reconnaissance Group in November 1944, but was ordered to report to the 55th Fighter Group at Wormingford in December and assigned to the Fighter Transition Training Detachment. After completing his Mustang transition, Patton joined 3rd Scouting Force and completed 10 flights in early January before taking off on his final flight on January 15th 1945. Patton's mission was to report on weather conditions over the English Channel and into eastern France. I hope this helps to explain what you found on Facebook.

Hi whiskey. Thanks again for your interest and as requested, I have posted some more images of the model (don't look too closely!)😉 Hi Andy. Thanks for your interest and I'm delighted that my tribute may lead to more people gaining knowledge of these little-known, but brave airmen through your talks! Hi Mark. Thank you for the kind words!

Thanks for the kind words, Latinbear. Hi Whiskey. I will post some better photos later today. Good luck with the project, Mike. I look forward to seeing it, in due course! I built the Tamiya Mustang after the Meng one and it is a true delight to put together.

Take a look at this page - I love the colour shot of the Mustang at a snowy Wormingford! Fighting Scouts of the Eighth Air Force

Thanks very much, jhutchi! I had no knowledge of the Scouting Force until I stumbled upon the IWM page. Wormingford seemed to have had a mix of Mustangs and B-17s used by the 3rd Scouting Force.

I was trawling the Imperial War Museum website recently and found this: "William Patton Jr was killed in action (KIA) on 15 January 1945 while flying weather recon in a P-51 Mustang in the 3rd Scouting Force detached to the 388th Bomb Group / 560th Bomb Squadron. Posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart. Patton's remains were not found until February 2001, when a French farmer turning the soil for planting uncovered the plane with the body of the pilot. E. Richard Atkins (Lt. Col. USAF - Ret.) has written a book about him : "The Long Wait - The Story of William Wyatt Patton Jr - 3rd Scouting Force - 8th USAAF - Missing in Action - 1945 / Found 2001" (Author House 2017). See also the French website dedicated to the memory of "Junior" Patton at http://fortdeleveau.fr/memorial-" (Link) My attention was piqued and I bought the book and embarked on a voyage of discovery about the 8th Air Force Scouting Force. I tracked down a rare book about the Scouts, by the same author, which came with photos of the three Scouting Force Commanding Officers at the book launch and the original invitation - how I wish I had been in Steeple Morden in 1997! My research caused me to break my 15 years of model-making abstinence (after selling my collection to fund a 2-seat Hurricane flight!) I bought the Meng Mustang, which was a pleasant build but not exactly cement-free! Certainly not my finest modelling hour, but I was quite happy with the model, using the LifeLike Mustang Part 3 decal sheet and the codes and tail number for Wyatt's Mustang from generic Kits World sheets. I decided to create my own tribute to Wyatt using the Fighting Scouts book as a base with a brass plaque, scans of the photos, invitation and the Mustang stands on a scan of the signatures to tell the story : And with my (almost complete) Tamiya Mustang and staff car. I printed decals to represent Wormingford-based "Miss Velma". I decided to visit the stations associated with the Scouting Force: USAAF Station 122 Steeple Morden, Hertfordshire - where it all began USAAF Station 375 Honington, Suffolk USAAF Station 121 Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire USAAF Station 159 Wormingford, Essex Thanks for looking!

Great-looking Spit, imaginatively presented! (The mention of OHP acetate took me back a few decades to my first presentation skills course!!)

Very impressive finish!

Fantastic model of one of my favourite WW2 types. I love the photography as well!

Fantastic model of a very unlikely fighter concept.

Wow! She really looks the part!