PaulD

Very nice Guaguachong! You've done good work. I would add some exhaust stains to the bottom behind the engine, this area would get dirty every time the engine was started. Great build!

Thanks guys, The bases for the Heinkel and Fulmar were made from a busted dresser and a shipping pallet that somebody had dumped by the side of the road. Free is my favorite price.

Mike's question about whether to attach models to their bases got me thinking about the advantages of using bases. Since this isn't really responsive to his question I decided to start a new topic. I like to use bases as a way to add drama to the display of a model. A base can be used to pose the model as if it is doing something. Posing airplanes in flight is an obvious example. A plane that looks like it is climbing, turning, etc. makes the mind anticipate some kind of action. Cars or armor posed on a slope or crossing an obstacle are more intersting to look at. Strombecker YF-96 Scatchbuilt Heinkel-100 Revell Fairey Fulmar

Thanks Chris, as for the difficulty of rigging, larger scales like 1/32nd are actually easier than the smaller kits. Since the upper wing comes with top and bottom halves, I left the top half off until the rigging was finished. This way you can pass the line all the way through the bottom half and use a small weight like a clothespin to pull it taut until the glue dries.

thanks Mark, I don't know if strombecker made armor kits but if you use the "search" feature on this website: http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/ the word "tank" will turn up some plans for wooden armor from kits and old magazines. The site is devoted to solid wood models and there is a lot of neat stuff to browse through there.

There was one plastic part in this kit (the canopy) so I assume it barely qualifies for an IPMS forum. This is my build of Strombecker's 1953 vintage kit of the F84 Thunderstreak. The box is labeled "Thunderjet" but the kit has the swept-back wings of the Thunderstreak and the round cross section of the earlier Thunderjet. This is a combination of features that was found in the prototype Thunderjet the YF-96. (the production version was the F84F instead of F96 so that bean-counters wouldn't think of it as a new program. Except for the canopy the model is soft pine. The finish is 3 colors of Tamiya spray paint. I assumed the kit decals wouldn't work after 56 years so I used markings from the academy F84G and Woodland Scenics dry transfers. It is approximately 1/72nd scale. Anybody else out there ever build any of these old kits?

My first post to this forum is the last kit I've finished.... A Wingnutwings LVG C.VI in 1/32nd scale. A very nice kit with no fit problems worth mentioning. An out-of-the-box build except for the crew, engine pushrods, and the prop. The crew are Tamiya 1/35th scale figures with their uniforms puttied over to make insulated flight suits. Goggles are blister pack plastic. Masking the kit prop to paint the wood laminations didn't seem like fun, so instead I scratchbuilt the prop with contrasting wood planks and then added the hub from the kit prop. For the wood finish of the fuselage I sprayed a base layer of Tamiya acrylic and then drew the grain pattern with Prismacolor pencils. The harsh-looking pencil lines were then softened and blended using a brush dampened with thinner. The rigging is a mix of steel wire and fishing line. For turnbuckles I started with some plastic ones I found in a model railroad shop, but these weren't quite right so I switched to using short pieces of wire insulation.

Howdy boys and girls! I've been building models off and on for over 30 years but never got around to joining a club until this year. I'm currently a member of the Oregon Historical Modelers' Society in Portland, Oregon. I'm mostly an airplane guy but once in a while I will do armor or ships. I also entertain myself with woodcarving and do some scale models in wood instead of plastic. If you're interested in seeing some wood models, this website is devoted to solid wood models and models pre-dating the plastic era: http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/ You can see my wooden models on my project board here: http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/SMF/index.php?board=47.0 and my gallery here: http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/...x.php?cat=10126