All posts by Hutchins AAron

Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport. My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front). Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42. Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.

1944, U.S. sends B-17s to Soviet Ukraine!

The U.S. Army Air Force’s 15th Air Force ‘Frantic Joe’ Task Force used Poltava Air Base, in Soviet Ukraine, to conduct what they called ‘shuttle bombing’ of Germany.  It was called Operation Frantic.

The U.S. Army Air Force’s Combat Camera Unit put together this propaganda film showing the first time use of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Soviet Ukraine. Prior to that, Consolidated B-24 Liberators had been used. What the film doesn’t show is the 21JUN1944 German attack which destroyed the B-17s on the ground, in fact, the U.S. kept that loss a secret until July 1949!

Part one:

Film also shows North American P-51B Mustangs, Bell Airacobras, Yaks (Yakovlevs) and Douglas C-47s.

Part two:

Part three:

Part four:

Germany bombs the shit outta Poltava: Germany destroys U.S. bombers in Ukraine, kept secret until 1949!

Another late B-day B-24 Bomber!

I thought this snap-together kit would be quick.  Well, it was quicker than previous birthday bomber builds I’ve done, but I had to turn to using glue to get a better fit of the parts, and I used aftermarket decals. Instead of being months late it was only a few days late.

After I glued it together I discovered it is a tail-sitter.

While gluing the fuselage thirds together I discovered the Meng plastic is like the old Trumpeter kits; you have to prep the mating parts by sanding them and use glue designed for multiple plastics.

The kit’s Leo zodiac decal is not as detailed as the box art.  But the person getting this kit is a Gemini so I used an aftermarket decal set by Kits World.

My YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19VP72O1pdA

For the final finish I used my favorite spray-can flat clear paint.  Not only does it give a uniform finish that is not ‘heavy’ looking, but it makes rebellious decals settle down and flatten out (but be careful, if you spray too much it will dissolve the decals! You don’t need a lot of the spray paint to get the effect).

Airfix: Another B-24 Bday Bomber Build, made in France?

Other Kit Bashing: F2H Banshee: Comparing the old HobbyCraft kit to the even older Airfix kit.

427 Chevelle SS!

A mid/late-1960s Chevrolet watched the Tadd Jenkins auto-show-burnout event in Blackfoot, Idaho, 07JUN2025.  However, the Super Sport left quietly, without saying goodbye (I wanted to make more pics & vids)!

Here’s some of what video I did get:

My 4K car-show YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xaMsXs-lIQ

See my 4K ‘short’ video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/unsA8x7ATY0

Tri-Five: A smokin’ ’57!