Bradley25mm

The completed engine bells, and finished vertical stabilizer.

A few months ago, I was approached by Col. Arnie Franklin (retired) about restoring a Space Shuttle for a museum. The model was built by Rockwell International (The builders of the actual Space Shuttles). They were given as a gift to NASA. NASA in turn, transferred them to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The one I’m currently working on was on public display at the Johnson Space Center. Rather than just paint it, I’ve decided to tile it, and apply the thermal blanket material (Athletic Tape) Christopher

Again, you build on another level. I’m sure your customer will be blow away once they have it in their hands. Thanks for sharing. Chris

Museum quality work, for sure. Your attention to detail is amazing. Chris

Amazing work! Look forward to seeing your progress. That’s one big model. Chris

Wow, what a beauty. Very nice paint job with clean lines. Congratulations on an awesome build Chris.

Gil, Their intentions are to gradually add more aircraft displays. The museum it self, once open, will display artifacts of pilots from each time period. (Generally from Vietnam to current campaigns) I was given a tour of their restoration tent in the back of the museum. They even have “Open Cockpit day”. The River Rats Fighter Pilots Association will hold keys events at the museum once it opens in late October. Regards Christopher

More pictures!!

If you are ever traveling on interstate 65, near Bowling Green, take exit 22 to get to the heritage Aviation Park. You’re able to get up close and personal with some really cool planes. All the pilots that have flown the planes currently on display are from Kentucky. The grand opening for the museum portion of the Aviation Park is is October time frame.

I’m just glad that this has changed. Regards Christopher

Thanks Gil for the reply. I respect your opinion. However, I speak from experience. 2019, Chattanooga TN Nationals. Left the room for judging. Returned to the table to see if my Trumpeter SU-27 won anything. Noticed that the front landing gear was completely ripped off. Who ever tried to lift it off the base, just put it back down. Left no note as to what happened. All of my models ,as you know, are put on bases. Glued down to keep them safe for transport, and for judging. All of my bases have felt pads on the bottom so they can easily be rotated on any surface. If a judge needs to look underneath, they can use a dental mirror, or even their iPhone (reverse their camera direction so that they can see on the screen what is exactly underneath the model ) I even told, who I believed, was the head aircraft judge that this was the case. When I initially brought it in, he asked me to take it off the base and just put the plane on the table, and put the base underneath. Thought that was kind of weird as that was part of the whole display. And yes I have judged before. Not at the nationals, because that was my first and only time in attendance. I did get in contact with the head judge about this. He not only provided me a room, and supplies to fix it, but offered to give me a newly released Tamiya P-38 for my troubles. I declined the kit and fixed my model. As for your “ shenanigans” reply, I probably could have used a better term, maybe like “Current judging rules”. Have a good evening Gil, and thanks for the reply friend. Regards Christopher (currently a non-IPMS member)

Fellow Modelers, I was unable to attend this years Nationals in San Marcos TX. My friend told me a couple of days ago about a judge picking u a model up over his head to see the chassis. I did see where the IPSM Board will be making some major changes in regards to this, and was very pleased. This has been long overdue. It should never have come to this. It’s shenanigans like this that turn modelers off to attending contest. Just my two cents. Regards Christopher

All, Haven’t been logged on in a while. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up, for those who are unaware of it. This is an extremely detailed kit. Goes together great. The one major downfall, Is the kit supplied landing gear. This is absolutely the softest plastic I’ve ever seen. I would not bother even trying to use them. Even with the model completed, it is extremely unstable, and wobbles a lot. I snapped one of mine off after barely hitting it on something. Aerocraft models has metal aftermarket gear available. Because of a high demand for the replacement gear, it could take anywhere from 3 to 4as production is currently in overdrive to get these produced. ICM produced an amazing kit. The landing gear is the only downfall. Regards Christopher

One of your coolest builds From the awesome paint job, to the lights and smoke trails. You hit this one out of the park. Thanks for posting this Beauty! Chris

Super looking build Carlos. Just enough weathering. Really like the paint job. The base really sets it off. Chris

Thank you Carlos. Interior color: Vallejo Air RLM 02 Grey. Topside colors: Vallejo Air RLM 71 Dark Green. Vallejo Air RLM 70 Black-green. Underneath: Vallejo Air RLM 04 yellow. Vallejo Model color Pale Blue 70.906. Chris

A couple of changes That I did not mention in the build section. 1. There is armor plating on one side of the cockpit exterior wall. The kit supplied Armor was way too thick. I chose a much thinner sheet of plastic to fix it. 2. There are two radiator Inlet assemblies (One under each wing, towards the wing root). I cut all of the louvers out, added half rounded plastic sheet on both sides, and post them in the open position. 3. There is a radio transmitting seeker right underneath the rear guns. The one that was supplied with the kit looked pretty bad. I scratched built one out of plastic tube, and extra photo etch that I had. I used reference photos from the books my friend had loaned me on this build. 4. The drop tanks. I added brass tubing to the front of each tank going off of reference photos. 5. On each landing gear, there is a section that looks like an accordion. I used bare metal foil to replicate the canvas that is actually used on the real aircraft. 6. The huge air scoop under the front of the engine. Are used photo etch screen to more accurately represent the one on the actual aircraft. I also added louver adjustment arms on the right side. I don’t do many German aircraft. If anyone sees anything out of place, I welcome your comments. Chris

I wanted to put this on a base. Because of its size, I decided to go a different route with the shape I normally build (Rectangle). Everything was purchased from Lowe’s. I used Blonde wood for the top and bottom. It’s lighter than other sheets of plywood. I used oak veneer for the sides, and oak trim for the top and bottom edge. I used pre-mixed stucco for the ground work. I cut strips of balsa to simulate wood planks. Stained it with Tamiya accent wash. I used static grass of various lengths on the sides. I had the German Aviators Wings printed on the brass plate that is attached to the front of the base. Chris

Thanks Bob and Gil. I appreciate the comments. Bob, I was surprised what was available on eBay for this kit. The only thing I could not find was a replacement propeller. The blades look a tad to short. You could always find some aftermarket decals on eBay. I’ve heard quite a few good things about the Airfix. I hope you build it someday. Chris

My buddy and I made a swap of kits that we had purchased at the Cincinnati Model Show. I have always wanted a Stuka. It is my favorite German aircraft. The kit has some nice details. The cockpit instrument panel is sparse. It comes with kit supplied-decals for gauges. You can spruced up the cockpit and instrument panel with aftermarket photo etch I found on E-bay (Eduard 1/24th scale BF-109 cockpit gauges/placard‘s) I also purchased two sets of Eduard BF-109 seatbelts for both the front and back seat. Lastly, I was able to secure three figures from legend models. Two pilots and one mechanic. Construction is pretty straightforward. All of the parts go together really well. The canopy parts are crystal clear, and very thin. Probably the best I’ve ever seen in a Trumpeter kit. The decal are not good. I had to get an aftermarket sheet on eBay from Germany. They were pretty thick. I ended up have a friend make me some new ones. Prior to starting this one, I did some research online. I found out that the rear fuselage is 3 cm to long. Two modelers built this exact same kit. One was built without removing the 3 cm section. One was built with the section removed. Both were great builds, with amazing paint jobs along with some awesome canopy work. The longer fuselage was definitely noticeable. The best way that I decided to approach this is to use plastic strip that was staggered on the rear end of the fuselage. I added plastic sheet at the front of the cut, to reduce the step down, and added putty to the rear of the sheeting that I had added. Be prepared to do a lot of sanding. If you’re willing to tackle this issue, it will definitely be worth it in the end. This is the only hard thing about this build. Everything else just pretty much falls into place.

Bigger is better. She turned out amazing Gil. Chris

Stuart, Very nice builds you have there. Keep up the good work. Love the Stearman. It’s my favorite Bi- plane. Thanks for sharing. Chris

Gil, Most impressive indeed!!. That is one beautiful build. Congratulations Chris

Thanks Ed

Can an individual enter one of my models in the Nationals in my absence? Thanks Chris