ORIGINAL: Free Bird
Just thought I'd let you guys know that my restored Perigee took 1st place in vintage at this years WRAM show. A special thanks to Tom Brett for designing a timeless model with a very attractive trim scheme! Any many thanks to Kingaltair for supplying me photos of Tom's model that's hanging in the AMA musuem. I couldn't have done this without those pictures! Here's a couple of pics from the show.
FB
HOW ABOUT THAT!!!!
Very nice to see it all done, and congrats on the award. I have a Perigee kit I'd like to build someday...too many projects for too little time, but at least I have the kit. Your plane is an inspiration to the rest of us. I wish we had more new photos and other documentation to add to the thread, but it looks like we are close to finished here. Great to see your finished model. What better tribute can you give to Tom than to want to duplicate as much as possible his most famous plane. I'm sure he'd be proud that after 48 years, people are displaying new or restored Perigee models at a show.
F.B.Thanks for your post since I never formally concluded the thread, (but I'm sure there will be at least a few more posts reacting to your model and the award). This post gives me the opportunity to properly conclude the thread, (at least for now), and to thank so many great people.
I must thank first and foremost Helen Brett for all her help. She has been so gracious to me, allowing me in her home and access to all of Tom's prized birds and drawings. This thread wouldn't have even happened without her. Tom and Helen's daughter Sheryl was a big help as was their grandson Brett. Everyone in the Brett family was so very helpful, and I'm as appreciative as I can be.
I'd also like to thank Chuck Winter, and his video....not only for the tremendous video itself, but also for the not-so-subtle chance to approach Helen with an offer to hand-deliver it, (I was hoping for the response I received).
Willie McMath....the historian for the RCCD was also a big help in providing information, and in his communication with Helen early on.
Through this study and thread I feel like I came to know Tom a little better through his drawings, the descriptions of others, and his models. You can learn a lot about a person by reading what they have written. Jackie Shallberg at AMA provided me with copies of both his articles which also was a huge help. Tom was a gifted writer as well as everything else, making the reading of his articles a real pleasure.
Thanks to everyone who has shown interest in this thread by "hitting" on it, and for those who have contributed to it. Frankly there have been a lot more "hits" than I would have thought when I first started it. I hope new photos or other documentation will surface and can be added to this thread in the future. Until then thanks again, and I'll see you later.
Duane Wilson