Reposting an oldie, WIM's WIMsy

[The Rat]

A recent loss of some pictures and Word files turned out to be a 'not lost', after a lot of hair-pulling and searching, and memories are restored. After this site's unfortunate run-in with the vagaries of the interweb a few years ago, some posts and pictures were gone, including one of my early postings. So, in order to educate anyone who has come on board since then, and to stroke my ego , I've pulled up the back story on this little gem, and I'm reposting The Story of WIM's WIMsy. You will note a few names from the past, denoted in bold face, some are no longer with us, either off the board or off the planet. R.I.P. to those who are at the modeling bench in the sky.

The Story of WIMs WIMsy



Shortly after winning a $180 million US Powerball lottery The Rat decided it was time to gain some wings. Poking around a few old airfields in Arizona he settled upon a B-66 that had accidentally put down at a neighbouring ranch strip instead of the intended retirement facility just over the fence. It had been left where it was by the USAF which reasoned that 'We were just going to retire it anyway, so why spend more taxpayer's money shifting it?' The rancher, thrilled at the unusual government largesse, had thoughts of turning it into a cropduster until his wife reminded him that they raised cattle. So there it sat until The Rat picked it up for a song, literally. The rancher told him he could take it if he would just shut up.



After scouring the local junkyards hoping to pick up a couple of spare P&W JT-9Ds, he flew it out 'as is' and straight to his paint shop at a friend's farm. Discovering that it was hard to get a case of 24 up through the belly hatch a new access door was cut into the side, and an interior constructed around a bar. Portholes are courtesy of the Toronto Port Authority (don't ask, but the Island Airport ferries may seem a little breezy). A quick trip to Canadian Tire produced some nice indoor/outdoor carpeting for that 'homey' touch, plus a gas powered generator that was mounted in the tail. A stop at a garage sale produced a fine mounted fur-bearing trout for decoration, and painting commenced. 250 tins of Krylon later it was ready for the inaugural foray into battle. It proudly bears the registration C-GRAT, applied with the handyman's secret weapon, duct tape. But a name, it needed a name! This strange contraption was tailor-made for the What If Modeling fraternity, so the name WIMsy was applied, and dedicated to the members of one of the World's Greatest Web Sites.



It was a happy band of Canuckleheads that overloaded the poor beast on the maiden flight. A quick shot over to the west coast boarded Alvis and an Animal, and a jaunt back over the mountains seated a Mouse that did a lot of Howling. A landing in Manitoba procured a Flight Engineer, and then on to a refueling stop in Sarnia, where a sloshed Captain Canada staggered aboard, aided and abetted by his buddies kurly and rallymodeler. They promptly commandeered the closest seats to the bar, spilled their first drink, and then proceeded to 'inventory' the stock. Mechworker hopped on in London, Endersothergame joined in Toronto, and Ollie, flying his personal Arrow Mk.3, formated on the starboard wing over La Belle Province (Flying top cover to keep us safe once we crossed into American airspace). Swinging by Lower Sackville managed to get Gary on board (before his wife found out), and a pee break in Fredericton found a Viper slithering aboard. After some low passes over Possum Lake, and a fly-by at the Dog River Airshow followed by a group spit over Wullerton (ptoo!), they proceeded, noisemakers, stinkbombs, and whoopee cushions in hand, to the annual JMN Luft-O-Rama M.A.S.S (Mutual Admiration Society and Slagfest) in the appropriately named Bismarck, North Dakota, intent on some creative hell raising. Arriving early to get good seats in the beer tent, they walked past a large knot of people watching the unloading of a model from the back of a van. The gasps from the assembled multitude were deafening. It was a Tamigawa BFW199G 552/14-A15/KrappenpantzL3, which had been meticulously back-dated to an L2! This involved the skillful removal of a microscopic air scoop, three associated rivets, and the application of a slightly different shade of paint on the radio-tuning knob. A true showstopper! As they stood ogling, a tatty stray mongrel shot between their legs, took a cursory sniff, cocked it's leg, and urinated all over this paragon of plasticity. Aaaaah, the stuff of which heroes are made...



After rescuing the hapless creature from the lynch mob (and replacing it's hap), it was christened 'Lord Peter Wimsy' and made official mascot of the aircraft. His Lordship's love of beer has endeared him to all but the Ramp Rats who often step into golden puddles at the bottom of their refueling ladder.



Further airshow appearances are planned. To arrange for yours, contact with the crew may be made through breweries, model shops, or parole officers in most Canadian jurisdictions. Payment is accepted in small bills, Canadian Tire money, alcoholic beverages, or discount coupons for table dances.



This is the old Comet, later Aurora, kit from the late 50s or early 60s, and works out to roughly 1/170th scale. One of these days I might do it again on a larger example. The flag design is purposely off-kilter, I just thought it looked better that way, having it line up perfectly with the airframe would be bland.

[nighthunter]

Amusing story, Rat, and fantastic build!

[Captain Canada]

Great stuff. Defo brings back a few memories....and nice to see all of those names again.

The rancher told him he could take it if he would just shut up.