Tzulscha Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 As some of you might know, I run a hobby shop here in Grand Rapids Michigan, and I get to meet some interesting people from time to time... Today a gentleman stopped in whom I had talked to earlier in the week. He had been stationed in Korea in 1960 at Kimpo AFB I believe. He brought with him his scrapbook of his time over there. The first few pages were newsprint clippings about the 2 R.O.K. MiGs that had defected. The next several pages contained his personal photos of the incident along with shots of the pilots and page after page of photos of the MiGs! Interiors, engine details, armament bay, avionics etc. etc. etc. Unbelievable! Good sharp clear shots of everything he could think of, and except for the news photos, I'd never seen any of these things in print before.... I thought about asking to borrow the book so that I could scan it, but something like that is a bit much to ask a near stranger. He does train modeling these days however and I am hoping to raise the question sometime. He is an older gentleman and was quite flattered by the enthusiasm we showed over his tattered memory book. His kids could care less it seems. I worry that this collection will wind up in the trash or a yardsale after he passes I thought I would try to scan the whole book and thought you guys might be interested in seeing some of these pics. It will probably be a while before I get my grubby hands on the book, but I couldn't resist telling you guys about this. I figure if anyone would appreciate this, you guys would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolie Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 wow that would be a great thing to see. Maybe you should hint to him that a museum would like it if you get the chance so at least it wouldnt go missing when he passed... I try and grab as much as I can of this sort of thing just cos I know I would let it get destroyed (It annoys Bec no end) heehee Would love to see this though. I just thought that if you see him again you could offer to build a model for him of it! That would be great! And good excuse to get hold of the book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-40 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 That sounds really interesting. If he would ever consent to letting the photos be scanned, it would be nice to be able to put them on the site here, especially if we could get his story also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Tzulscha, We would all love to see these pictures, as well as the story/history to go with it. Coolie has a good suggestion there...offering to make him a model would be a very good way of loaning the 'reference material'. It would be a shame to see these pictures disappear. They should be made available for everyone with an interest in this era to view. Too many published books these days tend to regurgitate the same old pictures, and publishing houses are always looking for new pictures (such as these) to be unearthed - it would equally be a shame if they also disappeared down that route also (but at least, they would be saved, I suppose). Good luck. Best regards Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanook Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 That is awesome! Get him in touch with the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. They would be very interested in aquiring something of this magnitude. Here is their link: http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/ Seriously, do your best to urge him to pass these along to the muesum. If you are fortunate enough to scan the pics I would pony up for a copy of them on a CD. Thanks for sharing!!! Later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Seriously, do your best to urge him to pass these along to the muesum. If you are fortunate enough to scan the pics I would pony up for a copy of them on a CD. Ditto here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatt88 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 T, This an opportunity for some real cool stuff!! Hopefully, you can convince him to donate this stuff. I, myself would love to see the pics! I don't have any reference material on the MiG-15. By the way, do you own Riders? Just curious, Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzulscha Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 Gratifying to hear (read) these responses. I shall bend every effort to obtain these pics. I really like the idea of offering him a model of the MiG as incentive ( I happen to have a couple on the shelf even). Unfortunatley for now, I have a 4 foot model of the Hindenberg on the bench right now that will take some time to complete and a Chris Craft (wood) to finish for another gentleman..... but when I get time....... I'll post the Hindenberg Pics when I get just a bit further along. Ian; no, I'm afraid I just run Riders for Corporate in Flint been here about 15 years though. Fun job but it doesnt pay much of anything, I make my toy money by building stuff for other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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