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Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum

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A great Aircraft museum that you will pass on the way to the Kennedy Space Center - make sure you budget at least an extra hour if you are visiting the Space Center so you can stop by this museum. It's not large, but the planes are well kept and displayed.

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Kennedy Space Center

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If you ever are in the Orlando Florida area, this is definitely worth the 1 hr (depending on traffic) drive. Has a large amount of US space material on display - especially nice is the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the presentation here is much better than the one in NYC or Washington DC.

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The Guns of August

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I first read this book back in the late 1980's. As an introduction to the beginnings of World War I, you probably can not find a better one volume resource.

Masking Tapes for painting

Masking tape is one of the essential tools used in modeling - but not just any cheap tape you pick up at the big box stores. Here's a rundown of the types I've find most useful for paint masking.

Museum of American Armor

The Museum of American Armor, located in Old Bethpage, Long Island, New York is a good size armor museum. Probably the largest collection on the east coast now that the Army's own armor museum has closed. The artifacts range from bicycles, to cars, to artillery, and of course soft-top and armored vehicles.

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Life and Death in Shanghai

Since the 1980's, with China's reopening to West and Deng's to push for economic progress in China over ideology - as long as the Communist party still hold power - there has been many books about the Cultural Revolution. For any student of Chinese 20th history, this period of time is both fascinating and horrifying. Mao's grip on power was being challenged, and in response, he helps unleashed a power struggle that pitched people against people, resulting in thousands of deaths, many more disgraced and jailed. Millions of High school and College students effectively stopped their education, becoming pawns in a deadly game.

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

This book was written the 1990's and remains the best one on the Skunkworks. The Skunkworks was of course the nick name given to the special devision of Lockheed that developed some of the most important military aircrafts in the world. Often leap frogging any other nation with new advanced technology and design. This book is full of storeis from Ben Rich whio ran the Skunk works for over 15 years.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX - Hasegawa

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This is the Hasegawa Spitfire - I took this on after realizing I have never built a spitfire. Time to rectify this oversight with a Spitfire in the colors of the Polish squadron.

A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II

This book is a wonderfully well-written book by authors Lynne Olson and Stanely Cloud. For cursory readers of WW2 history, the narrative of the German conquest of Poland immediately after the 'phony war' was one where the mighty German war machine steamrolled over Poland. Polish cavalry making brave but ultimately useless charges against tanks. The polish airforce wiped from the sky by the Luftwaffe in a matter of days.

Martin B-57 Canberra - Vietnam

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Col. Mason in his dress blues holding the model of his B57

As modelers, we all have our reasons for being in the hobby. For myself and I suspect for many others, the chance to model and relive history is a major factor. So I when I had the opportunity to build an aircraft for a veteran, I was honored to do so. T.E. Bell, the author of “B-57 Canberra Units of the Vietnam War”, who happens to be a fellow modeler and friend had made many contacts in the B-57 community and asked whether I wanted to build the B-57 flown by Col (retired) Larry B. Mason.

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