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Nick Filippone

IPMS/USA Member
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Everything posted by Nick Filippone

  1. If you want to extend the working time of Vallejo paints, try adding retarder. Nick Filippone
  2. Isn't this DC-3 just a re-release of their old mold? If so it is a pretty old kit. I'd wait for the new mold Airfix release this year! ( Yes, I know it will be a C-47, but a DC-3 is sure to follow! ) Nick Filippone
  3. I e-mailed the curator of the San Diego Air Museum. They have a Standard J-1 built for "The Spirit of St. Louis" which was filmed in 1955. This was in response to my query about a J -1 that was marked A-190 and was once in the Tallmantz collection. It is certainly possible that it was subsequently modified for "Wings of Eagles" filmed the next year. I am now waiting for a response from the San Diego Museum for hopefully more specific info. The curator indicated, by the way, that this aircraft was built for The Spirit..." by an Otto Turner. Does this name mean anything to any of you? Cheers. Nick Filippone
  4. Except that A-190 was a B of A code applied to a Curtiss R-6 which had twin floats.
  5. Jim, I am confused about one point in your postings. Is this plane now in San Diego or with Weeks? Thanks.
  6. I wonder how this serial came to be applied as it was initially assigned to a Curiss R-6? Since the modifications were done to depict a Curtiss N-9 why not just apply one of those codes? Perhaps it was a bad guess. The A-190 was certainly not the original code for the Standard J-1!
  7. Nice work Jim. Art Loder suggested it might be a Standard J-1 when we were discussing this on Sat. Just so I am clear, is that a J-1 in the last three photos you posted? Regards, Nick
  8. Frank Tallman owned as many as six Jenny's starting in the '60s, according to the listing on Aerovintage.com. Four were original, two were replicas. Now Tallman's filmography as listed on this site does not list this movie. But whoever provided the aircraft, there were obviously, therefore, plenty of Jenny's in 1957 to use in the flying scenes. Tallman was notorious for the reproduction and modification of aircraft for movies. Even if he did not do the work for this film, it certainly would have been possible for someone to do with a Jenny what Curtiss did themselves. But just add to the mystery, the four original Jenny's listed were serialed : A-169, A-179, A-186, and A-196. These serials (and the serial on the aircraft in the film) were all in a sequence applied to Curtiss R-6's. This was a twin float, three bay training and scouting aircraft that was developed from the Jenny. It was larger than the Jenny and did not have swept wings. The vertical stabilizer and rudder were also different. I think the airfcraft In the film is a Jenny on floats with a different engine,swept wings (for the reason mentioned above) and a modified vertical stabilizer and rudder.The other possibility is that it is a modified R-6 (different engine, swept wings, single float and also a modified vertical stabilizer and rudder. Perhaps a careful study of the film will allow some estimate of the size- the R-6 is bigger. This latter theory would assume that aircraft listed as Jenny's in the Tallman collection were actually R-6's. But then, the serial on the film aircraft is apparently not one of Tallman's. Nick Filippone
  9. I was chatting with fellow IPMS member and movie enthusiast Art Loder who astutely points out that images of this aircraft posted here lack the very characteristic Tiger Moth upper wing center fuel tank. It is very unlikely that there would have been that much re-engineering to merely create the suggestion of a bi-plane of that era. I think it is either a modification of an extant Jenny with a heavier and perhaps more reliable engine- hence the swept back wings or a reproduction with the wings swept back for the same reason. I favour the former option. Nick Filippone
  10. It may be a modification of something, but I think it is way too large for a Tiger Moth! Nick Filippone
  11. It looks most like a Curtiss N-9H. This had a longer wing span than the Jenny from which it was developed because of the weight of the floats. Hence the extra bay. What does not match up is the swept wings and the serial. It does not correspond to any of the serials listed in my reference: " United State Navy Aircraft since 1911." Now these were built by Curtiss, Burgess Company in Marblehead, Massachusetts and, from spare parts by the Navy. I suppose that such modifications as swept wings could have been introduced at any time. Could the serial be a fake for the the movie? I love these little mysteries! Nick Filippone
  12. Mark, That sounds like a challenge! Happy Holidays! Nick
  13. There are at least ' 50 shades of grey.' ( Sorry- I coudn't resist.) No good IPMS judge would ever consider dinging a model because the grey was slightly off. It is not just a question of how well a particular device or publication replicates a colour, but, more importantly, the inherent uncertainty of what the colour was supposed to be now almost 70 years ago. I will not even get into vagaries of Japanese paint production's faithfulness to specs, weathering or aerial perspective in looking at an object that is a scale hundreds of yards away! No, unless it is the difference between a " Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Black is Black," a good ship judge is going to look at the entrant's technical skills. Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge
  14. Forget that! They are also releasing a 1/350 Tsarevitch! Now I can die! Nick Filippone
  15. Ain't gonna lie. The greatest satisfaction for me in the hobby is the act of building and completing the kits with interesting schemes, acquiring and applying new skills - as I prepare each one for competition, especially at the Nationals. My goal is to challenge other good modelers and win! If I accomplish this, the model goes into a display case where, while agreeable to look at and admire, it is essentially out to pasture until it goes the way of all good things. Meanwhile, they can never be a reason to rest on one's laurels-although their deficiencies can be inspirational reminders that there is are always opportunities to improve. No- once off the bench and done competing, they have to make way for future efforts. Nick Filippone, IPMS #969
  16. I don't know what scale your project is, but in 1/48 and smaller scales, I have used a pencil to draw in panel lines after painting the model. It easy and errors are easy to fix. It is a lot less work than rescribing! I think it gives quite an effective result. Nick Filippone
  17. A few not necessarily relevant comments. 1: if I had to go to school all year round and not have a 10 week vacation each summer, I think I would have gone insane. And, no, I did not grow up on a farm. 40 weeks of school a year is enough. 2: I would go to the National regardless of format, Ron, but I must say I love it the way it is and eagerly anticipate it annually. 3: I would be willing to pay the kind of registration fees that the NMRA charges, but I suspect many would not. Anytime we (IPMS NENY) hosted a Regional and charged just a few more $ for registration to make sure costs were covered, many registrants complained. There seems to exist amongst IPMS members and modelers a Ben Franklin-esque frugality that informs all their financial decisions---at least until they cross the threshold of the Vendor Room! Nick Filippone
  18. Some of these comments seem to overlook an essential truth governing the issue of National place and time-or, for that matter, virtually everything else this organization does. We are an organization of volunteers! Volunteers donate their time and effort. One cannot dictate demands to volunteers.They do the best they can with whatever skills and circumstances they can muster. The remarkable thing is how consistently they do such a good job year in and year out. Nick Filippone
  19. Ron's points reflect his years of experience in the evaluation of bids for the Nationals. One host chapter's experience cannot necessarily be extrapolated to everywhere. There is one inescapable fact, however. We have to take the bid or bids we get. It is unlikely that a prospective host would not select the safest combination of time, place and cost. The host chapter takes on some considerable risk in putting on a National, as does the National Organization, which under our Constitution must indemnify the host in the event of a loss. Regarding very long planning-four, five years or more, the risk is instability of the prospective host chapter over that great a period of time. One central location year after year would require a commitment from one or a few chapters ad infinitum. We cannot expect that much sacrifice and work from anyone. There are not enough members of the E-Board to do all the work under a single central location system. Relying on volunteers who show up on site for the first time on the first day of the Convention would lead to too much confusion. Hiring professional convention planners would be too costly! There is no prohibition from putting the Convention on in July and therefore nothing to prevent chapters submitting National bids for that month. The fact that lately the bids all specify an August date suggests that there is some advantage to that month. A polling of chapters who have submitted bids over the past five years, inquiring why they chose August over July might provide evidence for supporting the logical conclusion they found it advantageous to do so. I assume no one would suggest that the E-Board select a weak bid simply because it fell in the month of July. Given the time, work , worry and risk of putting on a National- not to mention the modeling time these brave, hardworking people are willing to give up, we should probably be grateful for any Convention anywhere, anytime. I know I am. We will never meet everyone's needs and wants, but what system ever does? Nick Filippone
  20. My reservation about these products is that they are way too thick for 1/700 and probably, in some cases, 1/350. Much of the surface detail so delicately formed on the deck is going to be flush with the decking applique! But I concede they are tempting because they look so realistic. I guess you just have to pick your poison. Nick Filippone
  21. Jim, Thanks. Looking forward to seeing you at the Nationals. Regards, Nick
  22. Jim, Hi! How or where on the Convention site did you book shuttle service? Thanks. Nick Filippone
  23. I answered my own question! According to the description in the Squadron Mail Order ad, it is an ex- ICM mold. Nick Filippone
  24. This kit has sort of taken me by surprise. Is this a new kit-i.e. a new mold?
  25. I booked on-line using the PLM group code. Very easy! Nick Filippone
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