Mark Deliduka

Thank you Gil!

Thank you Ron! Great name for the field kitchen! Braille Strike has been around for awhile, they have an extensive lineup of decals for 1/72 scale vehicles. They are a bit delicate, but quite durable too.

These are the latest vehicles I finished to add to the collection. These were some simple and kits I started some time ago and left behind, so it was time to just get them finished up. One of them was actually finished in March on the 31st. It's this little 1/72 scale Military Wheels Russian PK-43 Field Kitchen: Next is this Valiant Miniatures German IG-8 Infantry supply train: Here you can see a little bit of the supplies they have loaded up: And last, we have the Syrian T34/85 tank. I used Braille Strike decals to make this a Syrian tank: Yes, the triangle got messed up on the one side of the turret. Someday I'll fix that. And that's what I got done for this month (and last), thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

This month I was able to finish two vehicles, one is a drone and the other a cruise missile. While technically not aircraft, they do fly, so here they are. First is this Russian cruise missile called the AS-15 Kent. This was a two-in-one kit with one shown in transport mode, the other in flight: This next one was also a two-in-one kit, containing two MQ-9 Reapers. One option was the Royal Air Force version used in Afghanistan: My second one will be done as a US Air Force bird, once I find out what markings and numbers are on the one my nephew flies the most. Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

Thank you Jean-Marc, I will! And yes, I could easily use all those chairs, I'd be thrilled to receive them. I'll PM you with my address.

Thank you Jean-Marc! The Bear is indeed coming along nicely. The bogies on the Ratte will be done slowly but steadily....

Really? You shared this with the rest of your club? What did they say? As for your title, I do believe you still retain it. You are far more qualified to hold that title than I and these are the reasons why: -> You build in 1/48 scale which has far more parts and opportunities for additional details. I build in 1/72 scale and almost always just build what's in the box. -> You scratch build so many parts, sub-assemblies and small items like tools, stands, chairs, etc. I don't do any of that. -> You post lengthy posts showing a dizzying amount of progress on at least 20+ projects each week. I am lucky to post once a month with possibly 20 projects, but you surpass that by a count of three. Yes, I believe your title is quite secure my friend. As for being organized, looking at my hobby room and workbench may make you doubt that. I do maintain some sense of organization by replacing everything in the box it came in (except the model if it doesn't fit anymore). That and marking off on the instructions the steps I already completed help me to jump right back into the project when I return to it.

Wow, I'm dizzy now. Gonna go sit at my workbench now.....

And now to continue our tour of the Shipyards next. In the first slipway here we have the Japanese PT-15 that finally got the base coat of grey on it: In the next slipway, we continued work on the deck of the USS Enterprise. Some masking was pulled off, but the the yellow stripes were painted on the deck: Later, the remaining elevator stripes were masked off, the yellow painted on it and then we added the red stripes on these same elevator stripes: After some touchup, this deck is done: Finally, in this last slipway, we worked on getting the railings on the Robert E. Lee looking more even and refined. Additional parts were added and the seams on the upper cabin and deck were filled as well: That completes our tour so far of the Shipyards and so we move on to the Motor Pool. Production has been picking up, starting with a small shelf queen project that I wanted on the display shelf. This is the Military Wheels 1/72 scale Russian Field Kitchen. We had started it some time ago, found the box again and decided it was time to get it finished. First off the kitchen and limber were completed: Here's an idea of how small this is too: The horses were in four parts. Seriously. Two body halves, the head and the tail. They seemed pretty desperate to add some kind of 'detail' to this model! It didn't help that the parts were all so badly molded that massive sanding, carving and other adjustments needed to be made: Finally we got them painted: Moving along to the next bay, the Syrian PzIV got a partial run of tracks from the spares box. More will go on this when additional track pieces are found: Overall it's looking pretty good: Next are two Distressed Kit Auction winnings. These were mostly assembled by someone else before they gave up and donated them to our club for our Auction. First is this Dragon StuG III ausf H that they had added photo etch zimmerit to: This is going to be a Syrian StuG, and yes, there are pictures of several of these in Syrian service still sporting their Zimm. We started on the tracks for this for now: Our last Syrian tank is this Trumpeter T-34/85 that they had given up on because one of the idler wheels disappeared. I conjured up a replacement pair and added them to this tank: Next the tracks went on: Someone else added those metal fenders, saving me the trouble.... And then this got basecoated with the dark green: Then the decals went on. These are Braille Strike decals and went on well. I just forgot to trim them very close so some judicious cutting with a very sharp Exacto knife got them the right size. You can also see in my clumsiness, I messed up the red triangle on this side. Nothing a little paint can't fix: Lastly, I've been talking about starting my P.1000 Ratte to make into a carrying case for my small scale vehicle contest entries. Well, one Hobby Day Monday I made good on that statement. No, it never existed, or was ever used. Yes, this is in 1/72 scale. No, I don't think I will count it as one of the collection....mostly because it is pure fantasy that never got built or used. But I am building it. Here are all of the components and/or sub assemblies for the main track bogies. The drive sprockets are already finished: We had to make 32 of these rocker arms... or was it 36? This kit gives you springs so that the bogies articulate: Here's a close up of the drive sprockets: And finally, here is ONE bogie consisting of 44 parts in that one assembly.... I need to make eleven more: While that was drying, we finished up the majority of the main hull and turret: Now in this back lot, given how much lumber we use, we are building a new Lumber Mill: This is also a tribute of sorts for my paternal grandfather who was not permitted to serve in WWII: he owned one of these and because it was a vital industry back then, the government made sure he stayed on and supplied them throughout the war. And that completes this tour of Maddog Manufacturing for this time. Thank you all for looking in and as always, comments are welcome.

Well, it's been nearly a month since the last tour, so we are due. As there has been quite a bit of progress during that time, this will be another two-part tour due to the extensive amount of things to show. So, all aboard the trams for the latest tour! The Hangar is the first stop as always and here is where the majority of the progress has been. Starting in this first bay, we have some Russian ordinance. This was a short run kit that I got in the Distressed Kit Auction some time back. These finally got some paint on them and since the stand to the flying one went on walkabout, we modified one to hold it: Not too shabby... In the next bay is a project that got started because of all the white we were spraying on the Concorde. so, while I had the white out, we shot a white on the fuselage of this Canadian Otter to get a jump on it: Now on to the next bay, we have another started project; something that had been crying out for me to start. This is the Eduard Profipak Israeli S-199. The cockpit sans instrument panel was started first: After that the basic fuselage was assembled: Then we completed the rest of the fuselage and slipped the cockpit sub-assembly inside to dry fit so we could see how it fit: Looking pretty good so far. Next we worked more on the Italian Macchi C.205. The canopy went on after some more sanding had taken place: The the canopy was masked; it was easier to do it while installed on the aircraft: Next stop was the paint station, where this got the undercoat. Once it was dry, we masked it off for the upper coat: The upper coat went on after that: Followed later by the darker green splotches since we still had that color in the color cup after spraying the T-34: Moving along, we got some more progress done on the two Reapers (that I mislabeled as "Predators") shooting a base coat of Light Ghost Grey over them both: Once that was dry, a gloss coat was sprayed and we got the decals down on the British Reaper: I'm waiting for word from my nephew to see if he knows a particular drone he's flown the most so I can model it. Now for the larger stuff. In this bay we have another attempt at shooting a gloss coat on the Concorde: I was not satisfied with the joint between the tail and the main fuselage. However, to facilitate things we did what I should have done long before: we built the stand that came in the kit: Now this is much easier to maneuver without having to touch it and dirty up the white! It also made it easier to add the additional Mr. Surfacer to try and smooth out the troublesome joint again: Moving on while that dried, we have in this next bay both of the T-16 Badgers under construction. Both cockpit modules had the clear parts masked off to prepare for paint: The engines were added to the main fuselages of both planes and the main fuselage halves were cemented together. You can see one of them had already got the cockpit module attached: Afterward, the other cockpit module was attached and the wings were installed on both planes: Later their first color went on. I'm not exactly happy with this shade and I may re-shoot another one....or not: Now for the next big model, we go to this next bay where the Tu-95H (also mislabeled as the "Tu-142) is being built. I wasn't happy with the way the inside nacelle on one wing was sitting; there were too many large gaps along the nacelle and wing. The only thing to do was to remove it and re-set it correctly so that that the gaps are gone: Once re-set there was still a bit of putty needed at the top joint where the nacelle meets the wing: Naturally doing all that caused the main landing gear to break, so this was fixed to dry along with everything else: While that was drying we moved on to the front fuselage section where the canopy was installed: This was then masked when it was dry: After that, the rear fuselage and the front fuselage were joined together. Now you can get some idea of how big this thing is as it is sitting on a standard tray table: Naturally you'll be able to see how incredibly messy my bench is, but hey, it can't be helped.... Moving on, we then installed the wings: I had to pull the entire tray table out to fit that thing! Here's another view of this thing on the tray table: Later on, this Big Bird got it's first color: That will all be masked when it's time to put the main bare metal silver coat on. First, we still need to add some of the lighter greys on certain areas first. Now this tour has been quite extensive already so we shall continue the tour in the Shipyards and the Motor Pool in the next post.

Thank you Jean-Marc! For some reason I thought you had seen this and commented earlier. It is an achievement decades in the making indeed. Fortunately, the Hall I displayed this collection in is close enough to my home and I have the keys to it so bringing them down was quite easy. I just hope when I reach my next milestone, I can keep them on display for much longer. Thank you again!

Keith, that is one stupendous model! I also love the striping, it really is sensationally done! Way to go man!

Thank you Kevin and I totally agree with your comment about the beauty of a consistent scale! I also cannot wait until I make it to 1000!

Thank you Kevin! I enjoyed building that mobile pigeon coop more than I thought I would. What a blast!

That rocks! Magnificent work on that toon! Way to go Kevin!

Stunningly brilliant work Ron! I love watching you build these old kits, it brings back so many pleasant memories for me! And gives me some ideas for future work too.......

That is mind-blowing quality! Yeah, way outta my league!

Brilliant work Ed! You sure have the Midas touch when it comes to making these masterpieces!

Very ice! I can't see anywhere that you had issues! That is a sign of a conscientious and masterful modeler! Way to go!

Thank you Jean-Marc!

Bob those look fantastic! Yeah, I know what you're going through waiting on a jig. Everything looks great, keep them up!

Now after all the effort to putting all my ground vehicles on parade for inspection, it's time to start a new tour. This one will mostly be in the Hangar and Shipyards as we've been focusing on projects in those departments. Now that we've reached that milestone, it's time to get some long time projects off the workbench and on to the shelf. So, without further ado, let's all board the trams and see what's happening at Maddog Manufacturing. Starting in the Hangar, we have these projects going, most of which are quite large and been sitting idle for awhile. First, let's visit this first bay where we have a 1/72 scale MQ-9 Predator under construction: Basic assembly of the body and wings happened first. They didn't say in the instruction sheet that weight was needed in the nose, so that was carefully added later: Later the engine and landing gear were added, that's where the weight issue was discovered: Weight was carefully added and then all the final detail parts were added, this bird is ready for paint: Next it it, we also have another MQ-9 Predator. Two came in the kit with options for two other versions. I chose to build this for my RAF, and now this one is almost ready for paint as well: Moving on to the next bay, we go back in time with this Airfix 1/72 scale Dogfight Doubles set. It was a gift for me from a friend and avid WWI aficionado. The first plane from it is this British Se-2C scout plane that went together fast: Later the engine was assembled and installed in place: The beauty of this kit is that Airfix included these strut alignment jigs so the struts line up perfectly so we thought we'd try them out: The jigs worked, simplifying the top wing mounting: Later we got all the painting done on this. While that was drying, we started on the other half of the Dogfight Double set, the German Eindecker E.II. Basic fuselage assembly was fast: The rest of the plane fell together perfectly so we starting painting it as well: And now both of them are ready for final decals and rigging. Moving on to the next bay, we have a 1/72 scale Super Model Italian Macchi C-205 that was sitting in a very broken up box. It was time to get that one done. Basic fuselage and wing assembly was quick as there weren't too many parts. What parts there were certainly had some pretty serious fit issues. The propeller is in a cowl that glues into the opening of the nose so the propeller will continue to turn. It'll be one of the last things I glue into place: As you can see a lot of filling was needed for the gaps around the wing roots, under the plane and around select panels. You can also see how confident the pilot was in the abilities of his plane; he bailed out before it is done. Again, propeller assembly is dry fit into place: Some judicious sanding and shaping and this is starting to look much better. The pilot is still MIA so we closed up the canopy and started preparing this for paint: In the next bay, we finally got the fuselage halves together for the British Westland Sea King. It went together pretty well with only a little bit of persuasion: There were some seam issues that got addressed and then the main landing gear sponsons got installed along with portions of the glass: Now on to some of the Big Stuff. The B-66 Destroyer had been sanded smooth after the second coat of primer wrinkled up. Now a third coat was shot on it. Overall it looked fine, but there are a few small blemishes that will need attention again before a metal coat goes on this: In the next bay is the Egyptian Tu-16 Badger, one of two we're building, here is a reminder: The cockpits were painted, the cockpit modules were assembled and the engines were mounted on the fuselage halves of the Egyptian plane. You can see both cockpit modules here too: We got one set of glass cockpit and nose masked and ready for paint: To make things easier, we installed those parts to one of the cockpit modules; the fit is amazing: Now we'll try to catch up on the Iraqi Badger so this is where this stands. Meanwhile in the next bay we installed the inside engine and landing gear nacelle to each wing of the Tu-142 Bear: I decided we should dry fit this together to see what we're dealing with. Remember this is sitting on a standard TV tray: Finally in this last bay, we have the British Airways Concorde, here it is with the cockpit module dry fit to the rest of it. This is alkso sitting on the same TV Tray: Work was done on the flaps for this, all these ejector pin marks needed filling which we started after adding the actuator casing to them: The tail feathers were attached after that: Here's another shot showing how big this is again: Later we got half of it inside the spray booth for another couple coats of white primer: Yep, more paint will be needed for that. That concludes the Hangar portion of this tour, now on to the Shipyards.... Here is the Shipyards, things have been slowly picking up. We even started this project here in this first slipway. This is the Revell 1/106 scale tugboat that I'd been gifted so it was time to lay the keel. Mind you the instructions are missing so everything done in this slipway is done sans instructions. Here's where this boat was after the the first few steps: Yep, badly warped main railings. Glue was applied on the rear portions and then after it dried, we glued the remaining parts in with a bit of persuasion. That allowed us to get this far: While that was all drying, we started on the main superstructure, again all sans instructions. It went together quite well: A test fit shows how well this is gonna look: That was about an hour's work. More projects were taking a lot longer. One of them that didn't was the main deck of the USS Enterprise; white paint was finally shot after the last of the masking was added: Later we'll paint the yellow portions and then see how much cleanup I'll need to do before moving on. Finally in this last slipway, the Robert E. Lee was slowly being built up. The outer railings were added to the two lower decks; Pyro did it right making them one piece that spans both decks. Even so, due to issues from earlier deck and bulkhead misalignment and some slight warpage these still took a lot persuasion: Some of those issues, I am not sure how I'll address them. Still, more progress was made building up the Texas skylights, Texas deck house, pilot house and other minor details. We had also re-sanded and re-shot the main stacks so I decided to dry fit them here for this picture. The Lee is starting to look like a steamboat: Finally, as we drive by the Motor Pool on the way back to the main lobby, you can catch a glimpse of one of the newer projects to expand the land forces again; we started an Egyptian Su-100 for my Egyptian Army: Work will commence on that and others after the crew gets a good rest from vehicles. Thank you again for coming on this latest tour; comments are always welcome!

Stunning work, especially for an old and inaccurate kit! I love it!

Wow! All that in one week! Man, you're making me look lazy! Keep it coming man! I might even try some of the simpler things you show here; only I'll build them in my scale.

Thank you Carlos! it is indeed a sight to see. I so rarely see it too; so this was a major thrill having all of them set out to show!