059: Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune
147967/PJ-12 VP-69, NAS Whidbey Island, 1975

This build is very much a homage to my youth. Growing up in Czechia during the “era of realistic socialism”, one was accustomed to consumer goods lacking variety and being in short supply and it was no different with plastic model kits. From time to time, one could get models from western manufacturers like Airfix, Matchbox, Heller etc. I am not sure how he managed it, by my dad somehow got his hands on the Hasegawa kit of the Neptune. I think he bought that one for me once I attained the prerequisite level of skill. I vividly recall sneaking into the closet to look at it when he was not around. The SIZE of that thing! This was the biggest kit my sheltered eyes have ever seen, packaged in that delicious yet frustratingly impenetrable sealed plastic bag and thus barring it from my so-desired tactile inspection. It remained in this virgin state until our departure from the worker’s paradise…

Alas, thanks to Ebay and some fool’s complete lack of appreciation for the said masterpiece of Japanese engineering, I was able to procure an identical copy decades later. True, the box was slightly creased and the decals aptly yellowed with age, but the rest was all as I remembered. Still sealed, there was no one to stop me from popping the bag and finally subjecting the plastic to my inspection. The kit was as big as I remembered it! Glorious.

See my project inventory below for references. I do not have the Schiffer book, likely a grave shortfall but in light of my "mostly OOB" initial goal, I’ll live with it. Unless you already have it, I would not bother with the Squadron title. Walkaround links on SCM were invaluable.

Some great online Neptune references:
P2VNeptune.org- p2vneptune.com/
US Navy Patrol Squadrons- vpnavy.com/aircraft_p2_128.html