Stories and Illustrations of combat airplanes, missiles and the people that flew them

I talk to old combat pilots/crew, draw their airplanes and pass on whatever I've learned. ©2008 - 2025 John Mollison

22 December, 2010

Profile 44 - Another update to Thune's Hellcat

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Another update!  Perhaps this will hold some interest while waiting for help with the markings from the USS Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Mu...
17 December, 2010

Profile 44 - UPDATED! F6F-5 Hellcat as flown by Harold Thune

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Wow!  From pencil studies to nearly finished in five days - that's a record for me. This 'Cat is going back into the hanger unti...
16 December, 2010

Profile 44 - F6F-5 as flown by Lt. Harold Thune

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I decided to do Harold's -5 Hellcat, though still waiting for info on the markings. The cowl is grafted onto my pencil sketch for two...
14 December, 2010

Profile 44 - Grumman F6F-? as flown by Lt. Harold Thune

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While waiting on some information on exactly which of Harold Thune's F6F to do, I decided to do the quick pencil study above to get int...
12 December, 2010

Profile 44 - Harold Thune's F6F

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Last month, I announced to my wife, "No more airplanes for a long while." Funny how things work because the ears of Fate must hav...
26 October, 2010

Profile 43 - "315" as flown by Lt. David Carey

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Though it needs a few more highlights (to knock down the gray), this is a reasonable-enough rendering of Lt. David Carey's A-4E Skyhaw...
09 September, 2010

So looking forward...

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Readers:  work on Dave's A4 will resume shortly!  And believe it or not, the first print is spoken for (crazy to trust in the final outc...
25 July, 2010

Profile 43 - "315" as flown by Lt. David Carey

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Well, there it is.  The fuselage.  Sort of. The stencils were added early to help me get a grip around the Skyhawk's subtle curves.  ...
18 July, 2010

Profile 43 - 315 as flown by Lt. David Carey

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Update - Well, so far, I've "Thrown out and started over" 3 times.  I'm barely hanging onto this version. In case you...
11 July, 2010

Profile 43 - #315 as flown by Lt. David Carey

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Up until now, I haven't had the time to really focus on Dave Carey's   A-4E.  So, I'm sketching myself back into the groove, g...
30 May, 2010

Profile 43 - A-4E Skyhawk BuNo. 152058 AH 315

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Well, the airplane above is a departure. Believe me, I have plenty of WW2 airplanes "to do."  However, this Vietnam-era A4 Sky...
11 April, 2010

Profile 42 - "02344" as flown by Jimmy Doolittle and Richard Cole

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Of all the airplanes I've ever done, the one above is the most... awesome .  Not 'awesome' in the way Sean Penn in "F...
10 April, 2010

Profile 42 - "02344" as flown by Jimmy Doolittle and Richard Cole

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Insomnia is my friend.  Not.  Maybe.  I don't know. Anyway, I made progress last night on Dick Cole's B-25B.  At least this far!  ...
09 April, 2010

Profile 42 - "02344" as flown by Jimmy Doolittle and Richard Cole

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Well, I'm certainly excited about the subject of this preliminary sketch - it's the B-25B flown by Jimmy Doolittle during the Apri...
02 April, 2010

Profile 41: "OLD CROW" as flown by Bud Anderson

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The relationship between pilot and crew is oft-told.  You can't read an aviator's biography or watch a History Channel presentatio...
29 March, 2010

PROFILE 41: "OLD CROW" update

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If it weren't for insomnia, I wouldn't make any progress'tall. More than a few eyes are on this project, so I thought to po...
26 March, 2010

Profile 41: "OLD CROW" as flown by C.E. "Bud" Anderson

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3/28/10 UPDATE:  I spent way, way too much time on lettering OLD CROW.  And it still isn't right. So, in an effort to give me some suc...
06 March, 2010

Profile 40 - "SNOWBALLS" as flown by Hank Snow

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Last summer, I read Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Outliers." In this book, the author makes a case that success is not so much a...
05 March, 2010

PROFILE 40 (update) - "SNOWBALLS" as flown by Hank Snow

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UPDATE - Insomnia has its benefits! Hank's Sabre is about 75% finished - all that's left is masking off the elevator, some texturin...
01 March, 2010

Profile 40 - "SNOWBALLS" as flown by Capt. Hank Snow

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You're looking at what - I hear - is the greatest fighter airplane ever. The North American F-86 Sabre jet. Perhaps it was. Er, is. ...
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JSM
I've been drawing airplanes since I was 3 and haven't stopped. Along the way, I got to know the pilots and crew...and this blog is a result.
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