Mark Deliduka

Thank you Tom! I'm pretty averse to building resin kits, so I'll hold off for now. Besides, as you said the postage would most likely break me!

Thank you Jmarc! No mask needed; our facilities are very well ventilated.

That is a fantastic model! What an odd looking submarine, but I still hope to get one in 1/700 scale. You did a sensational job!

Even though it's May, I did complete these last month. It's just been a while before I could post these. They are not the best and yes, wheels and tracks are floating but that's because of the pad I was placing them on to shoot these picks. Anyway, without further ado; here's my latest round of military vehicles: First up is this IBG 1/72 scale Canadian CWT60 Ambulance. The fit was tough, so it's not the best: Next up is this Master Box 1/72 scale Austin Armored Car Mk. III. Easier build, despite some very delicate parts: Next up after this is the UM Models 1/72 scale M4 Sherman with the Dozer Blade. UM engineers their German vehicles much better than their Shermans and this one was no exception, fighting me all the way. Out of the six UM Shermans I had started, only two were ever completed. This is one: And a detail shot of the dozer blade itself: Finally the Trumpeter 1/72 scale M1135 Squad Engineer Vehicle that was an interesting build and a tough fight to get that dozer blade correct: And that is the last of these so far. Stay tuned, there's more coming to the finish line; meanwhile comments are welcome. Thanks to those who looked in.

This is May, but these were completed last month and so are being shown now. First up are my two German Z-class destroyers whose construction had not been documented in the tours. First is the Tamiya 1/700 scale Z-37: Next is the Tamiya 1/700 scale Z-39: The next ships to launch are the Nichimo 1/500 scale Japanese battle ship IJN Mutsu: Yes, I did forget to glue down the center section, that has been remedied... The final ship to be launched is the Nichimo 1/500 scale Japanese carrier IJN Shokaku: My apologies for the backdrop; I couldn't find a white background big enough for this large ship. Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

This is a late start on this tour due to some issues that came up, but now we can start. I know these tours are pretty long, but I do hope that the pics at least should be enough to look at, even if you don't read the 'tour notes'. There's a lot to see so let's board the trams and get started! Here in the Hangar, there's a few things that got done finally. In this first bay, we painted the F-15C Eagle in the grey camouflage pattern seen on these jets: Now to let that dry before moving on. While the airbrush was out, the PBM Mariner also got it's three-tone paint pattern on it. It's a bit crude but my airbrush was acting up and I feel lucky to have gotten this much done: Aside from some detail work on the Colt, there's nothing else that happened here, so now we can move on to the Shipyards. In this first slip we did some detail painting on the little oyster boat, starting with the deck: Later the railings and lower hull got painted: In the next slip, more painting was done to the battle ship Mutsu before adding more parts: Finally the rest of the parts were added and the construction was finally completed. All that's left is the painting of the details and this ship will be ready for launch: We were working on two German Z-class destroyers, but apparently the construction crews got done with them before work could be documented. We'll catch up to them at the launching slips. So, without further ado, let's move on to the Motor Pool. Here in the first bay of the Motor Pool, we have the US Sherman with the Dozer Blade. You can see that the gap on the glacis plate is too big, so adjustments were made using strip styrene: Later the P/E strip of bolts was added: Problem solved, and now paint and decals were able to be applied: This is now so close to being finished. In the next bay, the M19 that had been giving me fits was given a coat of paint. Despite this Humbrol color saying it's matt; it never lost it's shine: The rests of the details were painted up after it had dried and the decals were added: I then realized I hadn't added the photo-etch parts, so they went on next: I do love the name on the blast shield. During all this time, the guns had been giving me hassles because they would not stay in the mount. So, I pulled it off, removed the one mounting pin that was left (the other having broken off) and added brass pins to this to better facilitate staying in the mounts and allowing this to elevate: Finally this beast got it's final parts and Ma Deuce on the front, so it's ready for finishing.... Moving on to the next slip, the Canadian ambulance got it's decals on: Later, the windows were all installed and this one is almost done: In the next bay, the two Japanese tracked APC's got their main coat of paint: These are coming a long very nicely, unlike a couple previous models... And that concludes this tour of the facilities, thank you all who came in to enjoy it; comments are always welcome.

If they don't, then Coast Airbrush here in SoCal will.

Thanks to some good friends (yes, I do have them!!) I was able to get these things, one was a raffle prize, the other was some things a friend was getting rid of. First the prize: A magnificent book that will tell you just about anything you want to know about the Italian Air Force in WWII. Man, I have an even higher respect for them now after reading this: The next thing (or things) I got were these three LED light strips powered by 9-volt batteries and are turned on by a magnet: These went inside my church I've been building for awhile, now the stained glass windows can be seen when these are on. Finally, the last three birthday purchases came in: Okay, that's all I got for now, time to prepare for another tour.....

Keith that is fantastic! Brilliant work on the camouflage! That is a bird to be proud of!

Once again, another tour is in the making. Some started projects, continued work on others, there's lots to see. All those wishing to see this tour, please board the trams and buckle in. Tour is starting...... Here in the Hangar, we have the Russian An-2 Colt finally getting the engine and cowling on as well as some additional detail parts: The complicated canopy went on next, I don't think I did a very good job on this but it's staying as is: Later, when it was dry, filling of the prominent canyons and steps was done: That was all for that, so moving on to the next bay, we started a CH-47 Chinook that will eventually be delivered to my Italian Forces. The cockpit and interior was built up first: Later the interior was painted up: That completes the short tour of the Hangar, now on to the Shipyards.... Here in the Shipyards, further progress was made on my two Japanese capitol ships under construction. In this first slip is the Japanese carrier Shokaku, which received it's first coat of paint. I apologize for the washed out look of this, the light slipped lower and really brightened everything too much. Anyway, the hull got it's grey and the deck was painted a tan color: Later the deck was washed with a light brown wash, details were painted and the lower hull was masked off and painted: Finally, the flight deck and island were glued into place: Next will come the armament, antenna, additional detail parts, and decals, before the air wing gets done. In the next slip, we laid the keel for the Japanese battleship Nagato; which I found out later;, I already have this model built. Oh well, it's getting built again since nobody ever bought it from me. First, all the deck guns and additional parts were added to the main deck and a very rough painting was applied: Then the main bridge and superstructure was built up: Additional smaller sub-assemblies were added to the main deck and a more refined paint job was applied: You can see above how warped this main deck was. The main bridge and superstructure was then dry-fit to see where and how it fits: In this pic, you can see even more how warped the main deck is. The first two and a half inches were glued together and set aside to dry before trying to glue the rest of it: Once that was dry, we slowly went down the side of the hull, gluing down a few inches at a time to make sure the two hulls lined up properly: Eventually, we got all sides of this glued down, all lined up. Despite being fully dried, the bow section still pulled up a bit so a small amount of filler will be applied. The main superstructure is still dry fit in place. I'm gonna paint the details on it first, before gluing it down to the main deck: That's all we got done on that, there's a lot more still left to add, so hopefully soon we'll have this finished. In this last slip which just opened up earlier, we laid the keel for for a Skipjack Oyster Boat. The deck and cabins were built up and installed, the bowsprit was added and some additional details were done. Some preliminary painting is slated to be done soon: That concludes the Shipyards portion of this tour, now on to the Motor Pool.... Here in the Motor Pool, a lot has been happening. To start with, in this first bay is the Stryker engineering vehicle. The mine plow in front was assembled, waiting to dry before being attached to the vehicle itself: While that was drying, the additional detail parts were added to the vehicle: The wheels were added next; the plow was then installed; additional painting was done and now this is almost ready for weathering: In the next bay, we started a Canadian 15CWT Ambulance, starting with the chassis: Wheels were later added so that additional part for the chassis could be installed, like the sideboards, fuel tanks and other accessories: The driver's cab was built next, leaving it partially open to receive paint: Next the rear cabin was built: Paint was then applied to the interior of both before closing them up: Once they were closed up, they were installed on the chassis and the photo-etch parts for the spare tire holder and fuel can holder were built and the mud flaps were installed: All that is now drying and later the windows and decals will be applied before this is weathered and delivered. In the next bay, another vehicle was stared, this one is the UM Sherman with the dozer blade. All the bogies had to be built up first: Everything was then installed on the lower hull afterward: While that was drying, the upper hull and turret were worked on: And then the dozer blade was built up: Here it is all mocked up to show what it's going to look like: Later on, the photo-etch track slides were bent and cemented into place. I had also added the lower run of track to help keep the bogies steady: And that is as far as we got on that one, so on to the next bay. In this next bay we started the Foreart M19 Gun Motor Carriage. First the suspension was added to this: You can see that some of those posts were too delicate to handle installation and needed a replacement. Naturally these tiny, delicate pieces made aligning the wheels up properly almost impossible: Later the upper hull and turret were built and installed on them lower hull: Because several wheels had fallen/broken off, I installed the tracks to help hold them into place. Here you can see the near impossibility of aligned wheels: Here it is all mocked up with the tracks in place: After that the gun mount itself was built. This kit gave me the option of using the supplied metal barrels so I chose to use them: After that the gun mount was added to the turret. Yes, it does elevate as it should, being an anti-aircraft vehicle: Now this vehicle is ready for paint: That concludes our tour of the Motor Pool, so we'll take a small detour into the Miscellaneous shop to see that the two Dueling pistols are almost done. The only thing keeping me from declaring them done is the missing butt-plate piece that you can see missing: That concludes this tour, I appreciate all those who stop in to see this. Comments are always welcome too. We'll see you on the next tour.

I got a small pay so I ordered some decals I needed to finish my USS Albany, and picked up a couple extra models that were on deep sale: This has two ships in here, one to make the Z-37 and the other the Z-39: I've been wanting a Sherman with a dozer blade forever, and now I finally have one: Time to get back to the bench, I have another tour to start.....

What a superb and well built model! Your details are fantastic and I love the smooth paint work you did! Congrats on making such a fantastic masterpiece!

Happy Easter all, I'm celebrating by dispersing these completed vehicles to their respective armies. First is the two Ambulances going to my US Army: The Ford Model T Ambulance from WWI by RPM in 1/72 scale: The next one is the ACE 1/72 scale WC-18 Ambulance: Followed by the IBG 1/72 scale Japanese 917t truck: And last, although it's not quite an armored or soft-skinned vehicle; it is a vehicle going to my British Army. This is the HO/OO scale Airfix Saddleback Tank Shunting Engine: That's all that is completed for now. Thank you all for looking in, comments are always welcome.

Happy Easter to all. I'm celebrating by launching these two ships into my collection in their respective Navies. First up is the US Coast Guard Icebreaker Eastwind, a Revell box-scale kit from the 1970's: Followed by the Fujimi kit of the 1/700 scale modern Japanese LST 4151: That's it so far, I expect a few more ships making their way down the slips soon. Stay tuned and thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Spectacular model Chris. I too am good friends with a 102 year old veteran a B-17 tail gunner named Bishop Rene Henry Gracida. It's always a thrill hearing their stories. I now have to look into getting a PV-1 Ventura to build. It's one bird I don't have in my collection.

Thank you Gil! Actually, there is only one LST, I was just showing it before and after the details and decals went on. The WC-18 ambulance had a British roundel on it because it was an American ambulance attached to a British unit in Italy. They added it to avoid "friendly fire" incidences. Thank you Jean Marc. A good variety helps me keep things fresh.

Magnificent build Ron, I also love the old Matchbox kits! They are sorely underrated. You sure did a sensationally masterful job on this little bird. I love using stretched sprue for my rigging as well. Easy to use, and easy to glue in place.

Now with a new month looming, here is another tour showing what we got done these past few weeks. Everyone who's ready, all aboard the trams and buckle in, there's some good things to see here. As usual, we start the tour in the Hangar, where a little bit has been done. Actually, the only thing done was the painting of the underside of the Russian An-2 Colt: Now that that quick view was done, we move on to the Shipyards. In this first slip we have final details added to the HMS Revenge: She should be wrapping up soon, hopefully. Until then, in the next slip we have our little Japanese LST which was painted up here and final detail parts added: Final painting and decals went on next. This one is close to being launched: In the following slip, the USS Albany has finally been completely built up the deck and superstructure are dry-fit together: Next the deck and superstructure were given their base coats: While that was drying, the bottom hull was painted with the red anti-fouling paint, then after it dried, it was taped off. The black boot stripe was then painted: That was then masked off and the upper hull was then painted the same grey as the rest of the superstructure: While that as drying, the rest of the detail parts were painted. Once dry, all the tape came off and the final result was revealed: That concludes the tour of the Shipyards, now on to the Motor Pool..... Here in the Motor Pool, the first bay has the WC-18 Ambulance all assembled and ready for paint: A base coat was then laid down: Followed by the camouflage pattern and then decals: Final details were then added. This one is almost done after some touch up paint and weathering: Moving to the next bay, we see the start of a German 128mm twin anti-aircraft gun. This is as far as we can get due to a couple missing parts that can't be fabricated or replaced: In the next bay there's another Ambulance, a WWI-era Model T ambulance for the US Army. Decals were finally applied. This one is also almost ready for deployment: In the next bay over, we have a Japanese 917t cargo truck that had been started. This one came with a driver too: The truck bed and cab were then finished and added to the chassis: Later, after the driver and interior were painted, the whole thing was assembled and painted a base coat: I tried as hard as I could to get that elbow to rest on the window, but no avail: That's as far as we got on that, the next bay has some more Japanese vehicles started. These are from a two-in-one kit of Japanese tracked APC's. The main hulls were built up and later the wheels were all joined in preparation for mounting on these hulls: And in the next bay, we started another vehicle, this is a variant of the Striker engineering vehicle. The main body was built up with most of the detail parts added: In this final bay, the little Saddleback Tank shunting engine got the decals on. These are the original Airfix decals from the early 1970's and I added no liquid decal film or anything to them: That one is also close to completion. That concludes the tour of the Motor Pool but it's not the end of the tour. We have a lot going on in the back lot and the Miscellaneous Workshop. First, in the workshop, we are working on these 1/1 scale models of some 1800's era dueling pistols. The main stocks were built first, and the barrels after. Then they were dry fit to see how they fit: Later I tried to come up with a better color for the wooden parts, while painting the metal parts with Vallejo Metallics Steel. Then I assembled all the parts to complete the two guns, save one: one have of the butt plate is missing so I built the second gun with everything but that. There were a lot of sink marks and blemishes in the trigger guards to I slathered a good amount of Mr. Surfacer 500 over then to fix that: Now in the back lot, we finally moved along on a project that had been languishing for years. This is the Italeri 1/72 scale church I built several years ago. I ordered some stained glass window transparencies for the windows, which I promptly put away (i.e lost) until recently. I found the transparencies and immediately added them to the church windows. They can't be seen very well here: I tried to get better pics, with a light source inside but they are still difficult to see: Here's the last shot showing the windows as best I can: So yes, Virginia, there is stained glass in the windows.... Moving on, the Farmhouse needed some touch up work, but I was out of the blue I originally used. So I tried a different one to see if it would look better: I wasn't happy with it, so I found a better blue and repainted the whole house: Next the garage was painted with a brown trim on the doors and windows: That's gonna need some touch up as well. Finally I continued to work on the Zoo animals, getting half of them down and removed from the sprue. A lot of touch up will be needed: Later, a lot of that touch up was done and even more animals were completed: Now to work on getting the enclosures built and make up my Zoo! That concludes the tour of these facilities, please exit the trams in an orderly fashion and thank you for stopping in and remember, comments are welcome.

I love it! What a fantastic model, I didn't even know this existed.

Thank you Jean-Marc. Still going......

Sweet job! That looks amazing!

LOL! Thanks Gil! I'm trying, but I need more modelers to step up and help! LOL! Stay tuned, more to come!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, it's time for another tour. It's gonna be a short one, but hopefully a fun one. All aboard the trams and get settled in. First stop is the Hangar.... In the Hangar, we got started on an SH-3C Sea King helicopter in Japanese markings. The cockpit and interior were built up first: Later the interior was painted. Once thew fuselage parts are painted, this will be closed inside: In the next bay, our tiny Spad got all three colors painted on: That's all for the Hangar, it's not much but we still need to get the paint booth worked up to airbrush so many projects. Hopefully soon. Now on to the Shipyards.... Here in the Shipyards a little more has gotten done. In this first slip the HMS Revenge got her hull taped off for painting, some of her final details added; and the forward mast was added using styrene rod since the parts for it were missing. It is a Distressed Kit from the Auction after all: In the next slip, the USS Alaska got many of her finer details added and the superstructure was cemented into place. However; until I find all the missing parts that disappeared when the box full of sub-assemblies fell over and scattered them, this is as far as I'll be able to go on this: Since several ships had been launched, we had some free slips ready for more projects. This next slip, we laid the keel for a modern Japanese landing craft. This built up pretty fast as the model is only about 6" long: It doesn't show well here but the deck was painted: Now the hull and superstructure was painted and additional detail parts were added: This one is getting close to launch... In the next open slip, we laid the keel for the IJN Shokaku, a Nichimo 1/500 scale model of this famous carrier. This had been in the stash for decades and the time was right to start it. The first things done were the fore deck and aft deck details: All the side sponsons went on next on one side: Followed by the side sponsons on the other side which can be seen on the far side of this shot: While those were all drying, the tiny island was built, sans antenna: Here's a shot of the whole thing with island and flight deck dry-fit: That completes the tour of the Shipyards, now let's head over to the newly opened Motor Pool where we have a few projects started now. In this first bay, we have a British Austin Armored car. I got this to use the decals from it to complete another Austin car for a commission, which had the wrong decals in it. Now that the commission is done, I'm building this one for myself. The suspension was built first: Later the upper hull was built: That is it for that so far. Next up is the WC-18 ambulance by ACE and the chassis and suspension were done first: width="1200px" height="459px"https://modelersalliance.org/galleries/wip-wc-18-ambulance-ii-jpg.132367/full[/IMG] Next I built up one side of the body, adding the interior of the cabin inside, leaving it this way to paint it later: After checking references, I chose an interior paint scheme and painted it up: This allowed me to close it up and add some more interior details: Finally in this last bay, I couldn't resist starting that little locomotive that my friend gave me. I started with the upper body first: Once the wheels and linkage were done, I got it painted: Next up will be decals and some detail painting.I'm looking forward to seeing this done. That completes our tour of the facilities today, short and sweet. Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

As many of you know, my birthday was March 1st. My wife was kind enough to buy me some desk organizers and some models for my Hobby Room. These are the whole set of organizers: It took a short time only to get them built and these are how they look: I have two each of these: This is the final look of all of them in use: These are the models I got from her too: Before that all came in, a friend of mine had these two kits that he didn't want so he gave them to me: That last one was a kit that I never knew existed. What a thrill it was to get that! Finally, another friend of mine sent me some money for my birthday so I treated myself to these kits: That last one is a two-in-one kit. Cool! That's gonna keep me pretty busy for a month or two! LOL!

What a sensational job! The blue works well, and your paint skills are showing. This makes me want to get one. Keep them coming Kevin!