TGarthConnelly

Kyle sent me two updates last evening and this morning on my RAF P-47 build. Here is what he said; “Cockpit decal went on, set down with micro-sol and clear coat on the dials. You can see how tiny it is. The wings both were glued together, and the fuselage complete with cockpit tub are now one piece. After a few hours, the wings and tail can go on and we'll be looking at an almost complete plane. It's starting to look like a Jug for sure. Wings and elevators are firmly affixed. A little putty to be done and I have to see how the prop fits into the existing setup. Pretty soon I'll be able to get the Jug and the P-40 in primer.” Here are some photos: P47BUILD15 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD14 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD13 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD21 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD20 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD19 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD18 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD16 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD16 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD26 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD25 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD24 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD23 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD22 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Kyle sent me an update on my RAF P-47 today. Here’s what he said, “I spent the last two nights picking out details on the cockpit and I also joined the front and rear cylinders to the engine. Tonight, I'm going to try to get the instrument panel painted black so I can apply the decal.” Here are some photos: P47BUILD10 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD11 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD12 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Thank you, Steve. I have forwarded this to Kyle.

Kyle sent me an update on my 1:72 Tamiya P-47 Thunderbolt, the Razorback variant in RAF markings. This is what he said; “For your variant of the Jug, I had to order the correct propeller. The one included in the kit has cuffs towards the hub, and the spinner is the wrong shape. It was about $8 shipped, I know you don't want to spend money in aftermarket parts but I couldn't let the incorrect propeller slide by. I sprayed the wheel rims and engine with Tamiya flat aluminum. This evening I'm hoping to paint the details on the sidewalks. I should be able to start assembling it within the next couple days.” Here are some photos: P47BUILD by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD2 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD3 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD1 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD9 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD10 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Over the weekend, Kyle sent me three updates on my Pearl Harbor P-40B, and now the RAF P-47 Razorback Thunderbolt. Here is what he said in those updates, “I sanded the fillets, wings and tail surfaces on the P-40. Basically, I'll need to fit the tail gear doors, mask the cockpit and do a minor fill where the flaps meet the wing. Feels like it's just inching along right now, I'm itching to get it into primer and paint. So, I finally got to making a recess for the photo-etch tail-gear doors. Not as tricky as I thought it only took about 15 minutes. I also came up with how I'm going to fix the aileron detail. I used frisket film again to see where the lines used to be, then trimmed away where the highs will be. I'll shoot these with a couple coats of that black primer to rebuild. I sprayed primer onto the ailerons of the P-40. I also painted the exhaust stacks, I'll get a photo of that out later. Because I was doing primer, I figured why the heck not shoot some parts for your 1:72 Jug.” Here are some photos: P40BUILD57 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD58 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD59 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD60 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD61 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD62 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD63 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD64 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD1 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD2 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD3 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P47BUILD4 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Kyle has sent me a couple of updates on my P-40B from Pearl Harbor build, here is what he said to me; “Not too bad today for snow. I decided to shoot the fillets with some primer to check the putty work. I had a bit of an airbrush malfunction unfortunately and splashed a drop of primer on the aileron. I'll go back in and re-sculpt the lines when the primer is dry. I don't have a photo but I also blended to the front of the cowling into the spinner. It stuck up about 1/64". I'll get a picture later to show you what I'm talking about. I got a little time on the 40 last night. Here is the spinner blending into the fuselage. I also sanded out my mistake. I took down the rest of the raised detail of both ailerons and will rebuild using styrene or putty, I'm not sure yet.” Here are some photos: P40BUILD55 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD56 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD50 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD51 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD52 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD53 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD54 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Kyle sent me another update on my Pearl Harbor P-40B (#155) and this is what he said, “Not much to share but I got the spinner on the prop and filled the underside of the stabilizer and the wing root gap. Will try to get the wing root faired out tonight and maybe clean up the rest of the seams remaining.” Here are some photos: P40BUILD43 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD44 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD45 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD46 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD47 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Kyle sent me a couple of updates over the weekend on my P-40B and here is what he said, “Chipping along. I'm splitting my time between the P40 and my friends Jug. Can't start one jug until I finish the other one! I got the photo etch wheel wells in place, and prepared the wheel hubs for silver. Im trying the frisket film I got for Saucy, I used a circle template to cut the mask out. Fingers crossed I'll shoot it tonight or tomorrow with silver. Here's an update as promised. I had a little time yesterday to paint some silver so I hit the wheel hubs, prop and gear. Funny the prop is specified as aluminum in the Pearl Harbor color scheme.” Here are some photos: P40BUILD42 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD41 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD40 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD39 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD38 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD37 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD36 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

Here is my USS SAUCY by Kyle Lord in its case. SNOWBERRYCASE by Tim Connelly, on Flickr

Kyle sent me two updates on my P-40B … Here’s what he said, “I got the second flap bay glued into your P40. This one gave me a little more trouble as I knocked off almost every rib on that side. Here they are re-glued in and checked for strength. I have a few more etch pieces to glue in and seems to fill then I'll be onto primer. Starting working on the fills on the P40. Here is my technique, first I tape around the line to be filled. Then I pack putty into the seams, and wash away with a Q-tip dampened with acetone. Next I pull the tape up and wash the remaining putty off with a lightly wet Q-tip. This fills the gap but leave a small indentation where the panel like should be. On the turtle-deck area I mask for the putty, but don't wash the putty off. This way I can sand it smooth and eliminate the gap.” Here are some pictures: P40BUILD32 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD31 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD29 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD33 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD26 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD25 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Nick, I honestly don't know. I don't ask questions; I'm just glad he's building it for me. Kyle sent me a couple of updates on my P-40B. Here’s what he said, “Here are the brass flap parts for your P40. Tonight I'm hoping to start fitting them into the wing. I plan on taking my time as these could could be fiddly and I'd like to get them to fit as cleanly as possible. I got the first flap well installed last night. This required multiple fits to get it in properly. The first three pictures demonstrate just how much material was removed to achieve this. I actually used superglue to set the wing gap to the fuse, glued in the well, then clamped the remainder of the wing and wicked in Tamiya thin cement.” Here are some photos: P40BUILD26 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD25 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD24 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD23 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD22 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD21 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr p40BUILD20 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Kyle sent me an update on my P-40B build. This is what he has said; “First off, my other photo etch bender stopped pinching the metal enough to bend. I splurged and got a heavy-duty metal one, so far, I love it. A bit pricey but it'll last me a lifetime. I finished the sidewall sections if the P-40 and glued the halves together. I also started the flap wells. Don't mind that short one it gets covered by another piece of brass. The lower wing half went on as well as the horizontal stab and rudder. I got the other flap well assembled and is shown here ready for fitting. They require some surgery to fit in, so I won't glue the upper halves in until they fit properly.” Here are some photos: P40BUILD9 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD10 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD11 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD12 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD13 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD14 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD15 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD16 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD17 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD18 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr P40BUILD19 by Tim Connelly, on Flickr Tim

Kyle sent me an update on the ESSEX today … Here is what he said, “I got a couple more parts on the Essex last night. The front walls and a side piece where doors go. I couldn't help but put the deck on and put some Corsairs on there. I figured we weren't using those so I could cut them off the sprue.” Here are five pictures: http://i.imgur.com/QpF0Dn8.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/RgfSllM.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/qlNnazH.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/ZKFIQuN.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/xFhRnFV.jpg[/img] Tim

Kyle sent me an update on the ESSEX build earlier today. This is what he said, “I got the port side hangar doors on the ESSEX. I also got a few side pieces in place. Tonight, I'll get a few more side pieces in.” http://i.imgur.com/OyhSfsa.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/lwM2Fye.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/rXHN418.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/BrNrICw.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/puhDtwe.jpg[/img] Tim

Kyle just sent me an update. I started on this rear bulkhead on the Essex. It's mocked up in place I was checking the fit to make sure everything looked alright. Here’s a picture: http://i.imgur.com/u0REkcL.jpg[/img] Tim

Hi Gil, Yeah, that PE set is/was pre-painted .....................

One of the three builds that Kyle Lord is building for me – the 1:700 Dragon USS ESSEX, a scratch-built MIAMI SHIPBUILDING 63-foot PTC and an Airfix 1:72 P-40B as one of the two famous P-40s which got up and saw action on December 7, 1941. This is what he sent me today, “This is the Airfix kit, the black is primer waiting for chromate green not including instrument panel or prop which were primed and painted flat black. I started working on the cockpit last night. The adhesive PE went onto the instrument panel, I folded the PE seat then glued the instrument panel. I don't have pictures but the left cockpit side panel went in as well. It appears I've entered a new realm of tiny!” Here are five pictures: http://i.imgur.com/ItblZxp.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/h2gbAjt.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/SQ4WZ3H.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/lZ3tXrG.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/2WOWwUR.jpg[/img] Tim

Kyle sent me an update on the ESSEX build, and this is what he said; “made some progress on the Essex last evening. The island is mostly together not including radar and gun directors, the lower deck is installed too.” Here are two pictures: http://i.imgur.com/956l3Em.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/1jbYQi6.jpg[/img] Tim

Kyle sent me an update on the PTC today. I’ve also sent Mr. Cappurro, who was kind enough to send me the hull of the MIAMI SHIPBUILDING 63-footer to show him the progress on it … Here is what Kyle wrote this morning, “I'm going to scrub the parts to the Essex tonight and maybe start working on the island. I faired the hull to the PTC using 400 grit rolled into a tube for the sides and a block for the deck. It's not glossy, I sprayed it with a cleaning solvent to check how fair it looked and that the body lines looked straight.” Here are six photos of the progress thus far, three from yesterday, and three from today: http://i.imgur.com/sDpCQyS.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/tmNHAzZ.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/u5fiNNl.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/wJ5GllJ.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/jKUO48I.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/O49pq2j.jpg[/img] Tim

Well, Kyle has started work on two of the three projects he took home with him on Sunday. Here’s what he said, “Starting to get the wheels in motion. I'm studying the Essex and waiting for your parts to come up with my approach. I did however drill all the portholes out. Not a big deal but it gives the model a nice touch. I sanded the PTC and applied primer. It's real deal 2-part primer courtesy of my job. A few pinholes to address but nothing major.” Here are some photos: http://i.imgur.com/vhd5nYh.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/4GAIDSM.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/M3wBbYB.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/wxOhAgA.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/sDpCQyS.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/tmNHAzZ.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/u5fiNNl.jpg[/img] Tim

Thank you, sir.

Hi Guys, Last month, I bought Dragon's 1:700 USS ESSEX from Art Rohloff, but he has told me that he gave the kit's plane away to another modeler. So, as soon as I got the kit from Art, I bought an after-market plane set in 1:700 on Ebay (from a place in Japan). The set has 10 each of F4-Us, F6-Fs, SBC2s and TBFs. Kyle Lord has agreed to build the kit for me. Now, on Tracy White's excellent website, he said that, in 1944, the ESSEX had F6-Fs, TBFs and SBCs. So, if I have Kyle put 5 F6-Fs, 5 TBFs and 5 SBCs on the flight deck, that'd be acccurate? Additionally, off of Amazon, I bought a SKYWAVE 1:700 USN Equipment set which has 5-inch/38s, 20mms and quad-40mms, radars and life boats and floats, and anchors and fire directors for the 5-inch/38s (I guess). What radars did the ESSEX have in 1944? And, did she have quad-40s in 1944? Thank you, Tim

Thanks Bill.

Hi Guys, I just want to add a post-script here on Kyle's workmanship on my SAUCY and my Tupelov G-5. He delivered them this past Sunday. He did an excellent job on both kits! The SAUCY was from the new Revell 1:144 SNOWBERRY kit and was built, basically, OOB - having a few scratch-built things, which Kyle can address better, and he used a necklace which he got at a craft store as the anchor chain. Although I know NOTHING about the FLOWER Class Corvettes (other than for what my dear late friend, John "Sir John" Lambert told me and what I read in his books), I am - from the in progress shots from Kyle and from seeing the finished model up-close - impressed by the kit and by his craftsmanship! The Merit 1:35 Soviet Tupelov-built G-5 MTB was built totally OOB and, I'll tell ya Guys, Kyle did an unbelievably excellent job on it! That is a strong testament to his ability as a modeler and to the quality of the kit. Sunday, Kyle did say that the G-5 kit was a better engineered kit than the SNOWBERRY in terms of the fit. I am extremely PLEASED and IMPRESSED by both finished models. Tim

Kyle sent me an update on my USS SAUCY overnight, and here is what he said, “Saucy got a second round of flat clear and was mounted to the base. Here is a test print of the signal flags. The printer is making them too pink, so I will resort to painting the excess fabric from the flags you sent me. I did a test last night and I'm pleased with the results. The clear cover over the radar went on and the guns are in place. Tonight, I will be doing the the remainder of the clear parts, begin the rigging, get the spotlights in, and paint the signal flags. I'm going to talk to Chris this evening and make sure I understand the rigging properly.” Here are some photos: http://i.imgur.com/uEZXwak.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/IW4W1Rk.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/PTEfc7p.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/CBMx6TT.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/724nWPY.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/cV26bMV.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/Od2SCG7.jpg[/img] http://i.imgur.com/9DLhj2d.jpg[/img] Tim