Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Running Down A Dream

Back when I was in high school and college I loved music videos and televised rock songs. I would always try to catch my favorite bands on Saturday Night Live and MTV Unplugged. The older I've gotten I've soured on rock and roll on TV. Maybe it is just that I've seen it all...I don't know...

Taking that into account I was interested to see Peter Bogdanovich's documentary on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. If push came to shove and I had to name my favorite band of all time, it would be Tom Petty. The are a real rock and roll band that has never sold out. They are true rockers. While I've kind of drifted away from Petty in the last few years, I'm always interested in his new music and I've caught him on tour a few times recently. Bagdanovich's documentary is standard Rock and Roll 101 “Behind the Music.” Interviews with Petty, the band, live footage, interviews with other band related talking heads, back stage, and studio footage. The movie stretches over four hours, so you pretty much have to be a Petty fanatic to sit through it all. It does a good job telling the story of the band, but over the years I had heard most of the stories and seen some of the interviews. I was surprised to see that both the Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 album and the She's the One Soundtrack were not mentioned in the documentary. I was excited to see the famous Petty vs McGuinn's A&R guy video and it was pretty scary to hear Ron Blair joke in the early 90s that he was set to rejoin the band in 2001...as that is exactly what happened! The usual rock star casualty this time is bass player and singer Howie Epstein...it is sad to see the footage from the Rock Hall induction where he appears to be almost a member of the living dead. Sadly Epstein passed in 2003.

While this is just another formulaic rock documentary, I guess it is hard to tell the stories of these bands any other way. So if you are a Petty fan, check it out.

Besides the four hour documentary the Running Down a Dream box set includes the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 30th Anniversary concert in Gainesville, Florida, and a nice Soundtrack CD with nine unreleased and live tracks that are featured in the movie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the U.S. (And to all the Canadians...a little late...) To celebrate Turkey day here are a few turkeys.

Tri-State Warbird Museum's TBM-3E BuNo. 53420/N420GP.


The USS Midway Museum's TBM-3E BuNo. 85957.


Two shots of Charlie Cartledge's TBM-3E restoration project BuNo. 91436/N436GM.

On the Bench - Hurricane Madness

Well I opened my big mouth and now I'm moderating a Airfix Hawker Hurricane Group build on the Unofficial Airfix Modelers Forum. Since I'm the moderator, I decided I needed to make a good showing and build more then one Hurricane. Being as the group build runs from November 16, 2007 to January 31, 2008, I needed to keep it simple. All the other projects have been shelved for a little while and it is full speed ahead on Hurricanes.

Here are the builds:

A RCAF Hurricane Mk. X in 1/72 from the Airfix Mk. I kit

The Captain of the Clouds Hurrischmitt using the 1/72 Airfix Mk. IIB

The first Canadian built Hurricane in 1/48

Any of you modelers out there, grab an Airfix Hurricane and join in!

Under the Blacklight - Rilo Kiley

I have to admit I never really paid much attention to Rilo Kiley. I lumped them in with all the other kind lame girl fronted alternative pop groups like Over the Rhine, the Sundays, the Cranberries, etc. Then came Jenny Lewis’s Rabbit Fur Coat. It was quite a shock. One of the best albums of 2006 and a stunning solo debut that recalled all the best things about 70s singer-songwriter folk. Great lyrics too. After the critical success of her solo album, many though Jenny would jettison Rilo and go solo full time. They were wrong. This fall Rilo Kiley issued Under the Black Light.

Just to be clear, this is not even close to as good an album as Rabbit Fur Coat. It sounds like Rilo made a conscience effort to go for a pop hit with mixed results. They also ape the 70s here. The opener Silver Lining is a nice pop song. Nothing too deep. The Moneymaker is a sleazy 70s guitar song with a familiar riff. Jenny coos lyrics like "They ship the money to you." Ok, Jenny ship it over... The title track may represent the closest to the old sound of Rilo on the album. Breakin’ Up is so 70s it is almost disco. 15 is a Dusty in Memphis horn driven up tempo ballad about an internet hookup. Smoke Detector is either an anti smoking song or the latest dance craze...I’m not sure which...and features Jenny singing slyly about smoking men in bed. They might be mindless, but at least 15 and Smoke Detector are fun. And then there is Dejalo. I’m not sure if Jenny missed the memo...but the Miami Sound Machine weren’t cool in the 80s and sure as hell don’t need to be referenced in 2007. That sound should have died long ago. Dejalo is nothing but embarrassing...more so with Jenny’s poor Spanish pronunciation. This one should have been left on the cutting room floor. What is very disconcerting is that this is Jenny’s only song with a sole writing credit. How can this be the work of the same girl that wrote Rabbit Fur Coat? Pretty much everything else is nice and forgettable.

A disappointing effort.

This guy is my hero!

This guy is my hero, he built an Academy 1/72 P-39 Airacobra in six minutes. If I could build at that speed I'd have all my model collection built next week. :)

Seriously, it is interesting you see modeling videos on YouTube. Outside of the old TV show Adventures in Scale Modeling and the odd DVD modeling hasn't really cracked into the video age.

Lost Black Sheep - The Search for WWII Ace Chris Magee

When most people think about VMF-214 AKA "The Black Sheep," they remember either Pappy Boyington or the fictional characters from the 1970s TV show. But there is a member of VMF-214 who not only was an ace, but whose life was probably more interesting then the TV show. His name was Chris Magee.

Robert T. Reed's book Black Sheep - The Search of WWII Ace Chris Magee is not only a biography of Mr. Magee but also a search for his roots by Mr. Reed. The first section of the book is pretty much straight biography. Chris Magee grew up in Chicago and as a young man tried a few ways to get to Europe to become a fighter pilot in World War II. He failed at first, but did end up training in Canada with the RCAF. After graduating with his wings from the RCAF he joined the United States Marine Corps and became the second highest scoring ace with the Black Sheep. Mr. Magee was not the typical fighter pilot as seen on TV and in the movies. He was a deeply intellectual man, who was a voracious reader, and a great writer. His letters to various parties included in the book are well written, observant, and quite amusing at times. Post-war Mr. Magee continued flying as a mercenary with Israel, was a bank robber, and spent some time as a guest of the Federal Government. Then he dropped off the face of the earth.

The second section of the book is more personal for Mr. Reed. He discovered that his father was Mr. Magee, and not the man he grew up with as his Dad. He attempted to track Mr. Magee down and establish a relationship. What does an ace, robber, and mercenary do in old age? Apparently, settle down to a life in a small apartment outside of Chicago to continue his intellectual quests in books. The story continues as Mr. Reed becomes acquainted with his father and reintroduces Chris to both his fellow Black Sheep and Mr. Magee's remaining estranged family members.

This is quite and interesting and enjoyable book. Sadly it gives only a little insight into what made Mr. Magee tick, but those insights show he was far from the stereotypical fighter pilot and certainly no two dimensional underscripted TV character.

On the Bench - Hasegawa 1/72 Beaufighter

Subject: Bristol Beaufighter X NV427 operated by 404 RCAF Squadron as EO-L. 404 Squadron was the only RCAF Beaufighter squadron in Costal Command. They specialized in RP (rocket projectile) attacks against surface shipping. Scheme is Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky. My subject is the first in this flight.

Kit: Hasegawa 1/72 Beaufighter VI. Beautiful molding and panel lines. Great engines. Almost no interior detail. Many inserts...hope they fit!

Intent: Marky Mark and his Tamigawaddie Bunch are always telling me to stop building the crappy old kits and build a nice newer kit. Since I'm burned out on WW2 single engine props, I thought the Hasegawa Beaufighter would fit both prongs and be a nice change. I'm going to do this one pretty much out of the box, but I'm going to try my best and not cut any corners. No Anti-AMS in this case. I'm also going to incorporate the new painting and wash techniques that Marky Mark has been instructing me in.

Engines: The kit has two piece engines with separate cylinders banks and crank cases. The crank cases were brush painted Gunze Metallic Black. The cylinders banks were brush painted with Humbrol Metalcoat Polished Steel. After they were dry they were given a quick polish with a Q-Tip. They were then washed with a Naptha lighter fluid/Lamp Black/Burnt Umber oil mix. Engines done!