Dreamsof51

You got me on this last batch. The A-10 with the shark mouth is part of the 23rd TAC, The Flying Tigers. I was a member of this squadron in the early eighties and saw a lot of these awesome birds in action. My duties also took me out to the practice range from time to time. I will never forget the first time I witnessed the firing of the 30 mm gun. They staged old flight line vehicles for targets, usaully panel trucks. The pilots would pulverize those trucks with the cannon fire. They could also drop practice bombs with either a bounce or direct hits quite routinely. They would of course prove that in the first Gulf War. The A-10 was going to be retired before that war and as a result of its success we still have them today. The pilots I spoke to really enjoyed flying it because the A-10 was made to fly down low. Talk about a rush. It was so cool to be part of such a historic unit. Thanks for the pictures Chris

Built the Pfalz IIID and the P-39 is in he stash. Both great kits for the money! Chris

Looks like one of those projects you compare the part fit and put the whole thing away for another day. The day that never comes!

I will check it out. Thanks Eric

Your welcome Part of my issues are finding references to detail with. Case in point. I'm building the 1/20 Fujumi 1990 Ferrari F-1 car of Alain Prost for the IPMS review team. Beautiful kit with a lot a detail some of which can't be seen once its done. I would not know where to start to wire and plumb everything. I got lucky because that exact car was recently sold at auction and some real nice exterior shots were posted by the auctioner. None showed whats under the body. The second is photographing and posting. Sitting at the computer is not one of my favorte things to do. The one detail not in the kit are the harnesses for the driver. Any idea where I could find some? Chris

Yngwie is still making music and touring. Saw him in Ventura CA a few months ago. He got the singer from Judas Priest (not Rob, the one before him) Your better off listening to the album cause he tends to overpower the whole show with solos! Still amazing to watch.

I love this kit. Fits together like a watch and the detail level is awesome. If your going to do a quick build, its good choice. Looks great. The last quick build I did was locomotive complete with a base. Lots of weathering and washes so I did not have to worry about a perfect finish. It was fun to sit at the bench and knock one out. My wife and kids were away, it was heaven! Needles to say, thats not happened for a long time.

This reminds me of a line in the "We're Stars," documentary video a few years ago. It was one of those fund raising songs done by a butch of 80's heavy metal artists. Anyway, a lot of great players including one of my favorites, Yngwie Malmsteen played solos on the song. They also had the guys from Spinal Tap on there and the best line was "when I heard Yngwie play, I wanted to turn my guiter over and make it into a coffee table cause I could never play like that." Kind of how I feel watching this car model build! Chris

For me half of the fun of modeling is the excuse to buy books for reference sources. Sometimes that process reverses in that I read a book and get inspired to built one of the subjects in it. Built a Spitfire for a guy whos brother was KIA in North Africa in 1942. He had a photo of his brother and he in front of the plane when they met there during the war. It was a very touching moment when I gave it to him. Historical context really does make them more than models.

I got the 1/48 scale Mig 17 from this company and I think there was a Mig 21 at the hobby shop I bought it from. The Mig 17 has resin cockpit, gun section under nose and new exhaust pipe. Theres also PE parts and nice decal sheet. The base kit is SMER. Not a kit for the faint of heart. Chris

These are great. Reminds me of my experience growing up close enough to Edwards AFB to go to the open house there. Over the years a was witness to the prototypes for the F-16, F-15, A-10 and the space shuttle. All with the exception of the space shuttle were flown in the open houses. Imagine a side by side take off between an F-4 and an F-15! They used to do stuff like that. While I did take a lot of pictures, I've no idea where most of them are now. Thanks for keeping them and posting after alll these years. The pictures also make me realize some things never change. Park a bunch of cool airplanes on a tarmac and the people will come to see them. I love this stuff Chris

I got some and dipped some canopies in it and it seems to work just like the old formula. Also used as a decal undercoat with the same success. So have no fear it still works. Chris

I'll never complain about FM models aircraft again. Thats a lot of work. Looks great so far.

Put that against the right backgroud and you could have told me it real. Very nice job. Especially like the variations in tone, gloss, semi, flat. Really fool sthe eye. Thanks for posting. Chris

Oh man do I want to go to an airshow now! Judging from the photos it looked like a perfect day for it. Nothing in Southern California till late summer. Thanks for posting. Chris

Appears to have been worth the extra effort from what I can see. Very well done. Chris

Great job on a great plane. Got attacked by a bunch of A-7 during a base wide exercise when I was active duty Air Force in the early 80s. Good thing it wasn't for real. I could not resist watching the attacks instead of taking cover! Thanks for sharing. Chris

Don't know what the antennas are for on the Herky but love these kind of shots. The pod on the F-16 is really cool. Thanks for the close ups! Chris

Nothing like a B1-B sighting to make your day! Chris

Sorry to hear about the job loss. Best of luck on finding another. With you on the Matrix texture. I had to sand the whole thing before I shot black base which went bad out on me ( part of the bad batch) so resand then shot Alclad on it. Other than that, enjoyed the build. Same with the Hobby Boss Mirage IIIC in 1/48. Just really got into them both. Thats a lot of work rescribing all those panels. The results speak for themselves. Chris

Hi Don, I know I saw an AM version of the GT40. I looked at it twice at my favorite hobby shop but did not get one. I remember it because I've built several AM planes and was really satisfied with the results (especially the A-36. P-51A.) Have not seen one since. I think it was the new GT40 version. Thanks for the recommendation on other GT40 kits. Chris

I posted the Matrix kit a while back. Is this the pro modeler or standard issue? The paint scheme is really eye catching. Great job! Thanks for sharing. Chris

I'm surprised. This company has made excellant models (of aircraft) in my experience. Are they AM moulds or bought from someone else? I've had my eye on thier Ford GT 40 for a while, should I Bother? Chris

I wish we could trade locations for a week, I'd love to see that assortment go over. While we're on cool flyovers. I have an office in downtown LA and sitting at my desk one afternoon I was shaken out of my chair by of all the things the Blue Angels. Turns out they were coming from a show at Miramar and were taking (very low) formation shots over LA. Talk about cool. We also get Cobras, Chinooks and Blackhawks - mostly U.S. Marines doing what I assume are homeland security drills every few months. Thanks for sharing your stories Gil. Chris

This is not related to your question, its related to your icon patch. Were you involved with A-10s? I was a member of the 23rd TAC Flying Tigers in Alexandria LA from 1981 to 1985. I was in the 23rd civil engineering squadron MOS electrician.