All Activity
This stream auto-updates
- Today
-
Got to love Vegas! Not so sure about a convention there in August (average high at 102) but there are plenty of places to escape to with A/C. Also hoping that there are a few good shows in town. The regulars are pretty spectacular but a headliner would be nice. Penn and Teller have a regular show at the Rio. They are really great entertainment. Also a great place to bring you spouse. Plenty to do besides gambling.
- Yesterday
-
Looking forward to this convention. Mike
-
I recently finished this conversion. The KV-2 was used as a test bed for the ZIS-6 107mm gun to evaluate for the KV-3 and KV-5. The project was cancelled but a few photos are available of the test fire demo. I decided to build this as a what-if production version. Model is detailed with Voyager Fenders, Aber Barrel, Fruil Tracks, and Eduard PE. The parts that make the gun mount unique are designed in 3D... and printed on a Form 2. Finished Model. Additional images can be found here: KV-2 with 107mm
-
This is a very nice resin model of this A/C. Most were sent to Russia, but after the 1917 revolution, that was stopped and the surplus shipped to France where they equipped a squadron in the BEF. It's off road mobility was lacking and the chassis was overloaded, so performance was below par and they were stricken off the lists after the war. I think some wound up in Ireland.
-
The work continues on the 48 F-104C Starfighter. This build is moving along very well. After assembling the fuselage I cut out a section under the engine for a photo etch duct. Then on the exhaust cone I added photo etch vane arms. More photo etch details were then added to the nose gear bay. They included wiring and hoses and the bay door mechanicals. The exhaust cone was painted and weathered with pastel chalk and then installed. After adding the landing gear, rear duct, wings and intake sections the fuselage was ready for the tri-color camouflage. The reference photos I used show various lights on the fuselage and one on the bottom. I used a drill to form a concave dip. These were painted silver then filled with acrylic gel to make the “lens” and then painted with Tamiya clear paints (red and green). The photo etch HUD was installed and then painted silver with clear green on top. A piece of clear plastic sheet was then mounted for the HUD glass. With the decals applied and the top coat painted on I will be working on polishing, painting, and mounting the canopy. Stay tuned for the final photos! You can see more photos and details from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-f-104c-starfighter-snoopy-sniper-1966/
-
-
New to the forum and just submitted membership. I currently reside near salt lake city. I run the YouTube page Wasatch Modeler https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3HWGgJ6SV2Kdc-4YxT5Wmg I primarily build aircraft but will build other subjects. I have attended 2 local competitions so far but have plans for my first nationals this summer. Thanks for the add!
- Last week
-
Cmdrcody joined the community
-
www.ipmslv.org Check in for news, updates and show information.
-
Nice summary, Gil. And I absolutely agree with you on hypotheticals. An additional argument to do away with it is that it violates one of our basic principles of judging: comparing like to like entries! As you know, the hypothetical categories are not just for aircraft but for all genres of models- auto, tank ship,etc. How can these be competently compared to one another? Regards, Nick -
I did not mask the canopy. All canopy frame painting was done by hand then cleaned up with a toothpick.
-
Here are some pictures of a 1/10th US soldier 1846, I just finished.
-
Gotcha....email sent! 1 Gil
-
Michael, I have Pm'ed you a list of the kits I would like to have. Please let me know which ones from that list are available or that you are willing to ship to me. Of course I will be happy to pay all shipping charges. For the record, I'm in Fort Worth, Texas.
-
Nats 2020 Update: May 25th
Boblvnv replied to LenPilhofer's topic in About the IPMS/USA National Convention
Thats great news Len! 🙂 -
Allessio77 joined the community
-
If you glue them I don’t think you will be able to spread the Hull to get them in place. I did not glue mine till after they were in place and it worked ou quite well. Check out your instructions I don’t believe they say to glue the decks together prior to installation. I am about 1/2 done and find the kit to be a real challenge as there is a lot of parts pep sanding and trimming. Other wise it is fun to see it coming together
-
I feel like being in isolation I should bet getting more done, but real life is not respectful of how dedicated I am to my hobby. 🤷🏻♂️ Here're two more WIP photos where it actually starts looking like a plane.
-
Thinking about masking that canopy to get the framing as nice as you did has made my eye start to twitch uncontrollably. 🤪
-
Sorry you have been having this issue. I find white to be the most difficult color to paint. On my 1953 and 1954 Corvette models I used a gloss clear that said it never yellows but over the years both have begun to do just that. Now for the question. Did you prime the body before painting? On my 1954 I primed the body with white primer and on the 1953 I used gray then white primers. The '54 has yellowed the most but it was built about 10 years earlier than the '53 and I learned a little more about paint. Sorry I don't have any idea why your paint dried flat but I just had to respond because I am a Vettehead and love talking about, building models of and driving Corvettes. Have a nice day and as they say in the Corvette world "Save the Wave". David Von Almen, Gentleman modeler
-
As of today, Monday, May 25th, the IPMS/USA 2020 National Convention is still very much a go. I am in contact with the Embassy Suites and they are gearing up to get their staff back in place not just for our convention but others in June…well over a month before ours. The guidance that we are following is from the state of Texas: https://gov.texas.gov/organization/opentexas. Right now, the state is in the process of slowly “opening up” and we fully expect, while things will not be back to the “old normal”, they will be of a condition that we will be able to hold a convention. Tours: The two tours we were offering: one to San Antonio and The Alamo and the other the Fredericksburg, TX, are now cancelled. There is too much uncertainty with the destinations of the tours and along with poor ticket sales, have forced us to make this decision. While we have a fairly certain control over the convention venue the same cannot be said for the tour destinations…especially The Alamo as it remains closed with no opening date announced. For those that have purchased tickets we have started the refund process with the IPMS/USA Home Office and you will see refunds soon. I have taken the links to purchase tour tickets down from the Nats 2020 website and the same has been done in the IPMS/USA web-store. Vendors: while we have received a few vendor cancellations we still have a healthy vendor attendance with 77 unique vendors and 291 tables paid for or reserved. I fully recognize many of the overseas vendors are in more of a pickle to decide whether to come or not…we will honor refunds for their tables if they decide that the trip is too challenging in the next couple of months. My authority (knowledge-wise) on who is coming and who isn’t is with our team’s vendor coordinator, Craig Gregory. Our website was updated today by me with all the current attending vendors as well as an updated vendor floor-plan. Registration: We are extending pre-registration (a discount of $10) to the right with a new deadline of June 30th. This will give the convention registration team, led by Dick Montgomery, time to sort out all the pre-registrants and ensure their packets are good to go by the start of the convention. Awards: We now have several special awards listed on the Nats 2020 website. These can be viewed here: www.nats2020.com/contest_pages/theme.html. As with past conventions these are judged outside of the normal IPMS NCC judging that occurs Friday night. If you have a special award that you or your chapter would like to present please get with our awards coordinator, Rob Booth: [email protected] We are still seeking award sponsors. Each category is $88 to sponsor and can be purchased via the IPMS web-store: https://www.shopipmsusa.org/product-p/natsreg-2020-award-category.htm. Choose you or your club’s top 3 choices and state this in the comment box in the web-store item. A list of the contest categories with purchased sponsorships (i.e., those already claimed) can be viewed here: http://www.nats2020.com/contest_pages/categories.html. If you see a mistake on this page please reach out to me at [email protected] and I will get with our awards coordinator, Rob Booth, and fix the issue. I urge any of you that have not purchased pre-registrations or banquet tickets (if you intend to attend the banquet) to please do so at your nearest convenience. This will help the convention planning team determine numbers regarding large, important purchases (pins, decals, etc.) that we have to make in June in order to make sure everything is in-place by late July. As I have mentioned in my last update, everything related to the convention is refundable from IPMS/USA in the event we are forced to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances (re-imposed government restrictions, for example) in the next couple of months. As usual, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have: [email protected] Len Pilhofer IPMS# 49932 Director, IPMS/USA National Convention 2020
-
Superb cockpit detail painting and that seat really looks the part! Looking forward to seeing more of this! Gil
-
I "pm"ed you Mike with my email address. I'm in Jacksonville and perhaps close enough to help. Gil
-
Michael, I would love to take the Testor's paints and brushes off your hands. Let me know how much postage would be and I'll send that to you. I'll PM you with my details, if they haven't already been claimed.
-
1/48 Hasegawa F-104C Starfighter “Snoopy Sniper”
Mark Deliduka replied to Wolfman63's topic in Builds
Wow! That is remarkable work! Most impressive! -
GONAVY joined the community
-
Thanks for this link to the kit review and build posting. Great info. I will refer to this many times I am sure. Phil Scala
-
Nats 2020 Contest Rules and Categories
ghodges replied to LenPilhofer's topic in About the IPMS/USA National Convention
"What are the advantages and disadvantages to entering in the out of box categories? " Cameron: the short answer is NOT MUCH....anymore. The OOTB categories were invented decades ago to give people who didn't scratchbuild details a place to compete without having to go against models with those extra details. Those were the days BEFORE "aftermarket" (PE parts, resin cast parts, and now printed parts); when the model builder had to build all of the details in a cockpit or wheel well. Some builders couldn't do those things, and others didn't want to put that much time into a build, but felt they were at a severe disadvantage having to compete against the "honchos" that did those things. That perception was generally wrong to start, as it's ALWAYS been the basics that determine the outcome 95%+ of the time, no matter how well detailed something is. BUT, perception is reality as they say, so OOTB categories were put in place to make competitors feel they had more of a chance on a more level field against people who built like they did (OOTB). The problem today, is that not only is there a plethora of aftermarket that allows a less experienced builder to put a better detailed model on the table, but many of the kits now come with PE and resin parts IN the box, and thus are technically legal for an OOTB build. So, it NOW depends on the kit you choose, as older kits with less detail are (seemingly) at a disadvantage, even in the OOTB category, IF you still carry the perception that the detailing is more than a tie-breaker! So where does OOTB make a true difference? In my opinion in the BIG categories, like 1/48 and 1/72 WWII prop and in jets. This is where you WILL, at almost every Nats contest, run into someone's "labor of love" that they took 1-2yrs to build and put everything into. If you want to avoid ever having to end up in a category against such a build, then OOTB will keep them away from you. Otherwise, even the OOTB builds aren't plain or simple anymore. The BOTTOM LINE, no matter the category, is for you to nail the BASICS! If you haven't ever judged, you may find it hard to believe how LITTLE detailing and/or accuracy matter, because accurate and well detailed builds are knocked out by crooked landing gear, misaligned tail planes, poor seam work, silvered decals, rough/sloppy paint finishes, and/or sloppy clear parts. IPMS judges on craftsmanship, not knowledge (detailing and accuracy). NO ONE (and no judge) can know enough to be 100% sure of what details are right or just how accurate a subject is, due to any number of variables and very simply "the exception to the rule" that there always seems to be (yes, there was a pink sub!). Thus, we judge how well built something is, because we can judge the differences in craftsmanship applied to a build, no matter what category it ends up in. And in my opinion, since we DO judge that way, the hypothetical category is a complete waste of time....it's a model on the table and can be judged on the craftsmanship applied to the construction and finish without concern as to whether it was ever produced in the real world. "Hypothetical" could be a tie-breaking determiner, if ALL else was equal (and many judges will say that NEVER happens) and you had to decide; and in which case the "documented" model would win versus the "what-if". Hope this helps! Gil
