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'Showtime 100' - Hasegawa F4J


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Yes I believe it is one of the most famous! I've built a few in all scales.

Sadly she sits at the bottom of the South East Asian sea now and even more sadder the guy that flew it is serving time at the pleasure of the United States Government I believe..........Great Model!

Brian.

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That's a exquisite looking Phantom, you have got there! I am seriously considering to begin building that North Vietnamese MIG-17F with the number '3020' on the nose!

Cheers

Nicolai

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the guy that flew it is serving time at the pleasure of the United States Government I believe

"The guy that flew it" is serving time for being one of the most corrupt pieces of scum in recent US political history. A Congressman soliciting bribes he was stupid enough to write down, a virtuoso of corruption in the 1990s House of Representatives when 10 Republican congressmen went to jail for corruption, including the Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He not only did all that but attempted to cast the blame on others. It's really nothing new with Randy Cunningham. At the time he became "the most famous Phantom pilot in history" his Commanding Officer was in process of having him expelled from the Navy for committing the crime of breaking and entering (his C.O.'s stateroom, to get hold of his Quarterly Report and its failing grades of him as a Naval Officer to try and destroy it, though what good that would have done only demonstrates what a moron he was and is). Shooting down "five" (assuming that's actually true, given that "Colonel Tomb" never existed) pulled his bacon out of the fire, but in the US Navy when a junior officer performs such a feat, they generally get put on the "Admiral track" where they get their stars assuming they keep their nose clean; Cunningham never made it past Commander and was involuntarily retired when his time came due, not the usual treatment of an honored officer. In 1984, at the American Fighter Aces Association Convention, "America's last ace on active duty" showed up on Saturday night. When he arrived at the bar, the aces standing there withdrew without saying anything - the only ones left to be enthusiastic were the "ace groupies" (not one female or a thin male among them). The cold shoulder, publicly. And that was before his mendacity was widely known. I was sitting there at a table with Jimmy Goodson, the top-scoring surviving ace of the 4th FG, and he went into one very long excoriation of "America's most famous Phantom pilot." A condemnation I heard several other times through the night from other aces.

The man was a disgrace to the uniform long before he was finally caught out. Here in the States, even the wingnuttiest of political wingnut modelers rarely touch this subject matter any more - it's too embarrassing.

Edited by TCinLA
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@TCinLA,

Hi TC,

Politics aside TC as here in the UK we have somewhat similar to what you describe, the difference being over here they get away with a slapped wrist and then take their seat in the "House of Lords"!

Anyway, your post is an interesting read as also is Lou Drendels version of events published in "And Kill Migs", 1974. The artwork "Showtime 100" in the publication is very good and the model posted represents an equally good representation of the F-4 which is still a popular scheme for some modellers regardless of the personal history.

Brian.

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Oh yeah, never fear, the model itself is a beauty. I merely commented due to the fact it seemed people weren't clear on just what kind of a long-term moral offender Cunningham was and is. As to Drendel's "account" in "And Kill MiGs..." it is good fiction.

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