1/33 Tuskegee Airmen P51 Kitten paper model

[airdave]

1/33 Tuskegee Airmen P51 Kitten



Just added this to my collection of P51 Mustang kits (at papermodelshop.com and ecardmodels.com)
It was requested by a customer, and so, since I already have a template for these kits and all the Kitten P51B artwork, I quickly got it made.

Yes, I already have the Kitten artwork created, and thats the story I want to relate:

when I first created a 1/33 Tuskegee Red Tail Mustang model (Ina the Macon Belle) back in 2010 or so?,
I followed it with "Variant Packs" that included the necessary parts to change Macon Belle into one of 16 other Red Tail Mustangs.

And, in those Variants, was Kitten...as flown by 2nd Lt Leon "Woodie" Spears...or so I thought.

Jump ahead 10 years, and I updated my original Mustang kits...cleaned up a lot of the templates and artwork, added new colours and textures.
Added a cockpit and landing gear, along with assembly instruction diagrams.
And, I threw out the Variant packs...picked a dozen Red Tails...and published those as individual models.

Kitten was not one of those models.

A couple of days ago, I get a request for the Kitten Red Tail P51.
So I get to working on it...and I very quickly get it ready for the shop.
While creating the cover, and adding Leon Spears (Woodie) name to the cover, I think about his rank.
I've got it as 2nd Lt....but I decide to check it again.

Going back to the email request I just received, I find the request asks for "Capt. Charles McGee's Kitten".

Say what?

So, that leads to an internet search and the point of this editorial.

Turns out Capt. Leon "woodie" Spears passed away back in 2008 at the age of 84
...nice article here: Tuskegee airman Leon 'Woodie' Spears dies
and he was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, trained in 1942,
He flew 50 missions - and shot down one Heinkel He 111 medium bomber.
On his 51st mission, in March 1945, his plane(Kitten) was hit by a German flak burst at 32,000 feet.
Mr. Spears bailed out and survived, but was taken prisoner by the Germans and later the Russians.



Spears had a career with the USPS.
In later years he became a Tuskegee Airman spokesman and speaker and was apparently afraid of flying!



2nd Lt Spears flew many fighters as an airman, but in 1944 he was given P51B Kitten.
He remembers the aircraft fondly since it had buzz code number 51 on the side (just like P51).
Thats where I made the connection between Spears and Kitten for my original model.
However, my original Kitten model had number 78 on the side...?

It seems Kitten had already seen combat...as 1st Lt Charles McGee's original Mustang, the name "Kitten" referenced his wife.
...originally with the buzz code number "78" on the side (as it was in my original Kitten paper model!)

McGee of course went on to a very long career with the US Air Force, being awarded the rank of Brigadier General in 2020.
He served in 3 wars, flew well over 400 missions, and is still alive as of writing this, aged 101.

I can see why he would be more well known than Woodie Spears, but no more important,
and I just wanted to remember Spears since I dropped his name from my P51 model.
Realizing my original mistake, I have left the aircraft with "78" but updated the pilot to 1st Lt Charles McGee.

[Vermin_King]

Always something more to learn, isn't there.


I suck up history like a sponge, but the problem with history is that there is so much of it. Unless you are honing in on one particular thing, you miss a lot. I guess even then you can't completely cover the 101 years of his life, so things get skipped. History is ever expanding.


I applaud your efforts, sir

[Don Boose]

Great story, Dave!

You are doing a wonderful service helping to preserve the history of these great airmen, and others, through research, outreach, and model.

Don

[airdave]

Thanks Don and Dave.

credit where credit is due...to the internet and easy searches, and all the sites I steal history and photos from! lol

But it is nice to remind people of these heroes.