ewahl

Mark, you continue to amaze and awe. I'll keep following your progress. Compared to you, my work is painfully slow. Ed

I'm liking the look as is. I am not a big fan of weathering that looks like the spacecraft was dragged though the mud at Stalingrad. Light touch, OK. Lay off the super grungy dirty look, though. Ed

Just an enamel paint suggestion: mix Boyd's High-Gloss Clear 50-50 with your final few color coats on your car finish. This really helps you get a polished shine without having to overcoat yet another clear coat and polish out the peel. Enamel metal flake gloss paints need this approach as the metal flake paint alone does not polish out well. Check out the MM Arctic Blue Metallic on my Peterbilt Wrecker on the Automotive section to see how nice this works. I used model car wax directly on the polished paint. Ed

Look at that beautiful green finish! Matt, this is a great job. Photograph it outdoors with a careful selection of background and you'll have a picture that would fool most people into thinking you have a 1:1 version at home. Ed

Hi, Mike, I've been watching your progress ever since your first posted pictures. I hope your love/hate relationship with the kit did not end on the hate side of the equation. This Republic Star Destroyer really looks great! I hope you take it to some shows before you retire it to the shelf. The sci-fi fans who do not visit this DF need a chance to see and appreciate the work and craftsmanship you have accomplished. Thanks for sharing this build with us. Ed

Gil, I forwarded your request through my RC5 to one of my guys who will be attending on Friday only. He builds 1/48 Sabre Jets of the Korean aces, and does a magnificent job worthy of contest judging. Is is OK for him to bring his models for display on just one day? He would have to remove them as he leaves Friday evening. Ed

"Is your newsletter available online? Inquiring minds want to know... :) " -- dtshooter The IPMS/Will-Cook Newsletter file is in MS Word. I can e-mail it to anyone who sends me a PM with your e-mail address. I can send you the July issue now and the August issue after I have produced it next week. Ed

The complete text of Jack's review and commentary on this Jagdpanther with additional photos will appear in the August issue of the IPMS/Will-Cook Newsletter. Jack's review of the Tamiya Sherman was in the July issue. Ed

This does not sound like a good example of "Better things for better living . . . through chemistry!" I do not own any of that paint, so my chemistry knowledge on this brand is lacking. Sorry! Ed

Dave, If the light bar glass is molded with clear plastic, you can use the Tamiya transparent paints or colored glass stains used for sun catchers to coat the inside of the piece. With transparent paints and glass stains, you can produce any color you may want. The Chimneyville light bar I used on the Tahoe was "clear" and allowed me to use red, amber, and blue per a photo of an actual vehicle I was working from. Ed

Hi, Greg, Here are some shots of the interior tub. The screen mesh is a craft product that I bought at either Hobby Lobby or Michaels (can't remember). It cuts easily with a scissors. I made paper patterns first to be sure the wire frame would not interfere with the car body, then bent copper wire and cut the mesh to match. The frames are mounted in holes I drilled in the bottom of the interior tub and super glued in place. The red spot you saw probably was a reflection off the shotgun's pump handle. I used the radio out of a Lindberg police car. I did the interior in shades of black. With the exception of the front windshield, I applied real window tinting film (I asked for some scraps from a business that installs the window tinting on real cars) to the side and rear glass windows. I skipped scratchbuilding the seat belts and buckle hardware. Ed

Greg, Here's my version of the AMT snap-kit 1995 Chevy Tahoe in U.S. Border Patrol markings. I added expanded wire mesh screens to isolate the rear seat captives, radio gear, and a shotgun. The light bar came from Chimneyville as did the decals. I built this for the son of my administrative assistant, who is on the border in the San Diego area. The model is now on display in their squad room. Ed

What meds do you take to counteract the dreaded AMS disease? This project is proof that the pills work. Is there a doctor in the house? Ed

For me as a kid in junior high school in 1953, I discovered a "hobby of a lifetime." Today, it is a "lifetime hobby." My father was in a business that designed and manufactured lubrication devices, shaft seals, and roller/ball bearings for automotive and aircraft engines, both piston and jet. He brought home Aviation Week magazine, which I soon read front to back. I loved aviation and learned gradually about its history. I joined Civil Air Patrol in high school and learned something about discipline, leadership, and responsibility along with the flight theory and back seat time with the CAP squadron's flying senior members that I could record in a log book. The first plastic model kits of airplanes reinforced my desire for all things aviation. With the limited paints than available -- gloss black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, silver, and gold -- I tried to make models that looked like those in the Aviation Week magazine. They were painted with a brush. I remember begging for $0.98 to buy the Revell B-52 bomber when it was first released, and painfully waited until I "earned" it with some chores that I was assigned. I still have it (in pieces) in a box of old models that need to be restored. While I first started with cars (Highway Pioneers), I switched to aircraft and then to ships, mostly Revell because I liked their quality and detail. I was generally disappointed with Lindberg and Aurora's aircraft (still am). Space and sci-fi kits began with Revell's missiles, then the U.S. Manned Space Program and 2001: A Space Odyssey. AMT and MPC revived my automotive interests with good kits of modern cars that I could build showroom stock. The ships fell away, and I never started armor. I tried figure painting with oils and discovered I both liked it and was fairly good at it. So, now I'm a modeling generalist. This is a long answer to "why" and "what." Thanks for asking. Ed

That is a very sneaky peek! We need to see more. The start looks great. Ed

It's great to see a modern pickup built these days. Most of the kits in the LHS feature pickups that are based on vehicles 70 years and older. That statement goes for cars as well, but 50 years and older (that's 1960). Your paint scheme is simple and effective, and nicely done! Ed

I know! I know! The flat coats are not on the armor pieces yet. They still look strange, however, when you see them after they have been dipped in a gallon of Future. Looking forward to the flat coats over the decals. Keep on truckin'. Ed

Pyrman, now we KNOW why you have Captain Chaos as your avatar. Ed

Dave must come from the rich branch of the Wahl family tree (or are those the Wahls that make and sell clippers?). Me, well ...... :( Ed Wahl

I moved everything less than 3 years ago. We bought a new house in November 2006 and spend several additional thousands to replace carpeting, plumbing, and appliances over the next four months. It was only 5 miles, so I decided to move my collection myself in my SUV (countless trips). I moved the unbuilt kit boxes first (all 2,500 of them) into a large family room my wife allocated to me. The built models were packed loosely with much intermediate padding in large boxes. They then stayed in those boxes until the movers brought the showcases over in March 2007. I had removed all the glass from the showcases, and every piece of glass made the trip without so much as a chip missing. After positioning the showcases where I wanted them and cleaning every glass shelf and side panel, I unpacked the built kits and gave them their shelf space. If there were any broken parts, I do not recall them or making repairs. I did carefully clean each model with water and tissue before tucking them away for another decade to accumulate oil and dust. I bought and assembled many steel shelf units for the kit boxes, and then loaded them in a way that I could locate them at any time later. I do not wish to repeat that chore again any time soon. Ed

Gil, Remember that this beautiful cockpit began because you cut up your credit cards . . . or were they the wife's? See, building models is a great way to get out of debt. Ed

My son-in-law wears that material every day. He is a CW3 posted at Ft. Rucker, AL, as a flight instructor first on the UH-60A, then UH-60L, and now the UH-60M (as the U.S. Army upgrades their training equipment). I looked carefully at the fabric on his uniform and asked if there is any repeat in the digital camo pattern. Nope. The pattern does not repeat. It is constantly different. So, if you can match the colors and paint them in scale, whatever pattern you paint cannot be called inaccurate. Ed

"Okay people, here is a complete showcase of all my current Works in Progress." Mark, When I read the first sentence from your opening post, I was expecting to be intimidated. I was not disappointed. My "in-progress" list includes 52 projects, only five of which I can call "active." Photos will be far and few between. In most cases, masking and paint seem to be the problems. Ed

Dan, glad to help. That was good first class service from the U.S. Postal Service. Jack, those newsletter Specials were worth saving. Because I can no longer recall everything I have saved, thanks for the hint to go looking for it. I did not include the cover or your interior letter, but everything else was sent to Dan. Ed

Nice work! You blow us away with your scribing a chrome surface. No slips or scratches? Outstanding details! Ed