VonL

Howz'about a larger scale vacuform airplane kit, from cradle-to-uhhh...display stand. Maybe do one of those new-ish Tigger/ID Models kits, of a subject otherwise unique: How to strengthen & straighten structure & joints, making & using jigs, evaluating & using scale drawings to correct shape issues, considerations for adding detail, lights, etc. These are all skills transferable to very basic kits and to scratchbuilding. Display could also be flying: Consider a wall-mount diorama/display with structural support running through the wings, tail, or whatever. Person

I usually clean it with acetone or lacquer thinner, as noted above and then let it sit overnight in vinegar, which micro-etches the surface...or so I've been told, giving it some tooth (key).

JOLLY GREEN research, cont'd: Correction - Am researching the USAF HH-3E Jolly Green CSAR bird as used in Vietnam, not the later Coast Guard HH-3F Pelican. None of the inflight pix that I've seen show the rear ramp down, nor an aft gunner's position. Did the HH-3's just not do this, and maybe it started with the bigger HH-53's? Possibly a weight & balance issue?

Am also researching a 1/72 HH-3F and would like to do it with the aft ramp open and a gunner's position there. That means I've gotta at least suggest some interior detail. Do either of you guys know any decent pix of that area, especially the gunner's position and the internal fuselage structure adjacent to it? Ditto on the Revell vs. Whirly': Gonna dance with the girl I brang. NMUSAF has a great photo spread of their restored HH-3 Jolly Green, including cockpit-360 views, but it doesn't appear to have an aft ramp-gunner set-up. Suggestions appreciated.

Joey: Look, I know you're hurtin' now, but in time you'll realize what you've achieved. Jimmy Rabbitte: I've achieved nothing! Joey: You're missin' the point. The success of the band was irrelevant - you raised their expectations of life, you lifted their horizons. Sure we could have been famous and made albums and stuff, but that would have been predictable. This way, it's poetry. - - epilogue from The Commitments (1991)

I recall seeing some LEO figures amongst "G-scale" model railroad stuff. It's officially 1/22.5 scale, but the actual scale of the figures appears to vary - a lot. Some are very nice, others toy-like. Master Box makes some LEOs in 1/24, but I've not seen a motorcycle cop in there. Good luck!

NICE! But...does this mean I have to actually finish something...?

That decal film solution may be the same thing as Micro-SuperFilm. If I only suspect that a kit's decal sheet may be old enough to have dried out as you describe, I'll take a wide, soft paintbrush and attempt to cover it in one stroke. It goes on thick, but flows out nicely and dries very thin, clear and very flexible. Multiple coats only make it thicker and less flexible...just keep the pet hair away from it. Love this stuff and I always apply a coat to protect newly printed, homemade decals, too. Have never used a clear-coat for this application, with concerns about its flexibility when

How early is early? I 'discovered' IPMS as a kid, c.1973 and first went to the Nats in DC, 1975. Can still remember some of the inspiring models from that one. And was stoked to get the Hasegawa 1/72 T-38 at the brick-n-mortar Squadron Shop on the way home, probably using a show coupon. I think that bird is still in a parts-box, somewhere nearby.

Otay...It's July 3rd and still no sign of the MAY/JUNE issue. How late does it go, before we need to relabel as the following issue and just kick everybody's subscription out a month...? Usually the late ones show up the day after I whine about it, so I'm working that superstition here, too. Cheers!

Fantastic piece of work!

That is just too cool!

Had lotsa fun with the pinhole lens in a previous lifetime:

Looking for a 1/144th B-36 model kit, preferably a later variant. Partially built models and generally intact, derelict hulks OK, too. Gotta be 144th scale, however. That 1/185 retro-Revell kit won't do. Anybody wanna get rid of one? Whatchya build? Maybe we can trade somethin'. Yeah, those Hobbycraft kits came & went and I just...didn't...grab...one... Thanx for looking.

Ha - I like this idea! The Andromeda Strain notwithstanding, how does that usually go for your club? How many typically for auction? Who buys them?

Aw crap - just saw this. Very sad news. Prayers and condolences to Mike's family & friends.

Not seein' nuthin' at all (insert Looney Tunes disappointment music).

Way cool - classic, Cold War spookiness!

I'm not worthy! A couple of quextions: 1 - Is the Coke Van 1/72th? If so, who makes it? 2 - Given the clay-boundaries you use to mask the aircraft camo, I kinda expect to see a softer edge between colors. Is it just so fine that the pix don't show it? Or is the hard edge intended?

Oops - I meant a comparison to the new HK kit.

Hmmm... the pix from that unit, (36 FDW & 461st Fighter/Day Squadron at Hahn AB), sure look like NMF to me. Thanx for the look, guys.

After yet another fascinating conversation with an old friend who flew these jets, am stoked to do the 1/72 F-100C conversion from Obscureco. The Xtradecal sheet with my desired markings states that NMF Huns were actually painted silver (given the exposed exhaust areas, etc unpainted, etc.) Hard to tell from the period pix. Does this silver paint apply to these late 1950s USAFE air defense birds too?

Schweet! My brother flies for those guys...

Well played, sir!

Ditto the Duke's comments. Absolutely fantastic. Inspired me to try some LED lighting in the future.