Mark Deliduka

You'd be welcome here Don. There's a large number of hobby and history-related events and venues around to enjoy; not to mention the seven or so Hobby Shops we have in the LA Metro Area. I think you'd have a wonderful retirement here.

That Abrams is looking great! Way to go! I can't wait to see this in paint.

I tried so hard to get down there for this but was completely unable to find a ride down. Someday I do hope to finally make it. I'm going to be making another attempt to get to the June show down there too.

Thanks Mark! I'm pleased with how this turned out. Gil, I'd heard about that kit too and I have never seen on done or offered for sale either. You are right about it being used where not much attention was centered on it; one member of another Forums had never even heard of this aircraft before seeing mine. I was quite surprised as I figured anyone who heard about "flying the Hump" would know about these aircraft. It kinda felt good being able to teach someone with my model.

Thanks David! It sounds like they load the KC-10 the same way they do the KC-135. Maybe someday I'll get a KC-10. That's great that you saw some C-46's still flying in the '70's. That would've been a great opportunity to get one or a few for museums, especially if they could've been kept in flying condition. Thanks Joseph! I appreciate that. So far, I've no seen or heard of one done in 1/48 scale. That's a big lament for many people. In fact, I believe that; unless it was done in resin or vac-form, the Williams Brother's kit is the only kit in existence for this aircraft. Someone with more knowledge may be able to answer that question better.

I an sincerely glad I could help my friend. Believe it or not; this is more typical of my work than other finished pictures would indicate. Many many times I've had hundreds of models come to this; yet eventually, I am able to buy a replacement to get parts or find the parts or someone sends me something to help me bring other models to completion. Other times I try to fabricate the parts lost or in some cases, I just finish it to the level I can and put it on the shelf and move on. This is mostly why I consider myself a mediocre or novice builder as I just can't ever see any other nationals Best Of winners ever experiencing things this badly. At least by posting this I am happy that some people don't feel so alone in any similar circumstances they encounter. When I showed this at my local IPMS meeting it generated quite a bit of discussion. I decided I was going to paint the words "Epic Failure" as nose art on the side of this model. Two days ago, a package from a fellow modeler on another Forums arrived with many of the parts on a sprue that I need to complete this. I will be pulling this down and doing additional work on it to bring it to a closer level of completeness. Stay tuned for more.

Thanks Phil! I highly recommend them.

Thanks Phil! I'm glad to have her finished as well. It's about time!

Yeah, sounds like my Sylvester cat. He just loves to play and has endless curiosity, but he does listen when I tell him 'no'. Cats are such great pets!

Great fix Gil! I'll be following along watching this. I commend you on trying to finish a long-term Shelf Queen. Way to go!

Excellent! I'll be looking forward to that.

No there isn't, but then that is what makes following your builds so much fun! I sure hope you start that soon! If you do, I'll start my 1/72 scale C-118 so we can be doing the -118 and -119 in succession.

Thanks Ed! As for the missing aircraft, I haven't got a full list. One was recently released; the C-54 Skymaster from Revell. I'm hoping to get one of those, possibly with some birthday money. Some time back I got a C-377 from our Distressed Kit Auction that is in great shape; I may get started on that soon.I also have a C-118 to get started on. Another kit I need is the C-123 Provider as well as a C-82 Packet. Then of course, there's the C-141, C-5A and the C-17 that I also need; although I doubt I will see those unless Zoukei-Mura decides to add them to their list of Big Aircraft since nobody else makes plastic kits of these aircraft in 1/72 scale. I would also love to have a KC-10 Extender, even though that is considered more of a tanker, but it was also used to haul cargo too. This list doesn't include the smaller aircraft; I'm just looking for the larger ones from the C-47 on down. I am sure there's a couple aircraft that I have forgotten that need to be added to this list, but so far, that is where I am.

Excellent! Sometimes Old School is the best school. At least in some modeling cases, it's more fun despite issues; or because of them.! LOL! Looking forward to seeing what you got going. Thanks again for the great reply.

Thanks Rob! That means a lot coming from you. I'm still plugging along, I still have the two SCUDs to finish. Stay tuned for more.

Thanks Gil! This is indeed fought me tooth and nail for ten months. What a battle, but now I'm a small step closer to having one of every USAF transport in my collection. I appreciate the compliments very much. Good luck in getting a 1/48 scale C-46. I hope you get one and I can see it built. That would be a treat.

Thanks Chris! I'm thrilled to have these in my collection as well. It's nice to have something that the Big Boys have ! LOL!

Since I didn't like the background on the last four armor models that I shot pics of; I went looking for a better background. I found an old grey shirt that I draped over the fan of my 'spray booth' and used that to take some new pics of the Diamond T Truck, the T-54B the M-103 A1 and the M1A2 Abrams SEP TUSK II. Check these out below. you can see the weathering far better in these new pics: 1/72 scale IBG Diamond T Cargo Truck: 1/72 scale Trumpeter Russian T-54B Tank: 1/72 scale Dragon M-103 A1 Heavy Tank: 1/72 scale Tiger Models M1A2 Abrams SEP TUSK II; There. While not perfect, I feel these pics reflect a more accurate depiction of the appearance of these finished models. Thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Hey all, I had a little time so I figured I'd post these pics of my first aircraft for 2016. This is the 1/72 scale Williams Bros. C-46 Commando finally completed: I painted this all in Testor's Model Master paints and Wal-Mart Grey Primer. That's all for now. Thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Thanks Charles! I am very pleased with the outcome on these. Weathering seems to be getting a little easier.

Masterful work Ron! Truly magnificent.

Here are my first models completed for the new year 2016! The first one is Dragon's 1/72 scale M-103A1 heavy tank assembled, painted and decaled in about one hour. Total finish time about an hour and ten. It's painted with Model Master enamels, washed with Windsor-Newton oils thinned with Mona Lisa thinner and weathered with the Tamiya weathering powders: This is Small Scale Vehicle number 678 in my collection. Next up is Tiger Model's 1/72 scale M1A2 Abrams SEP TUSK II. This one was painted with Model Master enamels, washed with Windsor-Newton oils thinned with Mona Lisa thinner and weathered with the Tamiya weathering powders. It was a challenging little build but one of the most enjoyable models I've done to date: This is Small Scale Vehicle number 679 in my collection. I need to find a better background for these tanks. That Abrams looks like it's sitting in a sandstorm! That's all I have for now. I have a lot more moving down the pike so keep watching my Maddog Manufacturing Thread to see what's coming. Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Welcome John! Glad to have you join us here. Feel free to show us some of your work. We'd all love to hear about your local chapter as well. Thanks for the introduction, enjoy your stay here.

Now for Part II showing the work I got done on my armor. I'll start with the little A7V that my friend had sent me. I shot the grey basecoat on this first: Later on, I tried to freehand the OD splotches on the sides and top. The OD was too thin and ran too much though. First one side: ...and the other side: Next I started to apply the photo-etch to one of the Russian armored train engines and tender: Believe me, that is only one-third of the total photo-etch that is supposed to go on this part of the train! Oh, and for those that remembered that this train had the happy face drawn on the front; it is behind that P/E plate on the front of the engine. No paint bleed-through here.... After this, I needed a break so I painted the details inside the SCUD cabins that had it: Later on I shot some grey primer on the two missiles themselves to see how the seams worked out. They didn't...... I added some more Mr. Surfacer 500 to the seams and will try to carefully sand them smooth without removing too much of the excellent detail on those missiles. I also added the clear film to all the windows on the cabins of the two SCUDs and will soon be painting them. Moving on from there, I added the decals to the M-103: I went with the markings for the 24th Infantry Division according to the instruction sheet. This only needs dullcoat, weathering and the two antennas and machine gun on top to be done. Speaking of almost done, I also made excellent progress on my M1A2 Abrams SEP TUSK II. I assembled the tracks, painted them and weathered them: These looked great on the model: Then, while talking long distance to a friend in Miami, I added all the tiny clear parts to the TUSK kit and the periscopes on the hatches before I started to add everything to the turret. Here's the first of the TUSK kit to be installed along with several other detail pieces: After finishing the rest of the turret assembly, I added the side skirts to the main hull: Finally, I got the whole thing assembled! All that this needs now is a dullcoat and weathering: Now for those who are interested, the last two tanks have been completed and are going to be posted in the Armored Forums as my 678th and 679th completed small scale vehicles. Feel free to go check them out over there. That's all I have for now. I may get a little more done tomorrow before my IPMS meeting but I don't expect to be posting anything tomorrow. Maybe next week I'll have something to post, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Wow Tracy, your good girl looks just like mine! I also have a black and white cat that sometimes wants to come in. He looks around a lot but doesn't try to get into anything when he's in there. I just can't have both cats in the Hobby Room at the same time since my cat Misty can't stand my black and white cat. She's always growling at him when he gets close. I'm fortunate in that both cats are respectful in my Hobby Room and don't climb on the bench or go after any of my models.