Mark Deliduka

Well, here we are with the latest update so far. All of the aircraft were done at Hobby Day this past weekend. This is a short update since all I did was get three of four aircraft to the painting stage. The fourth one is my Phantom which needs a repair to one of the ejection seats (since been completed), after which I'll add the canopy, mask it and have it ready for paint. This first one is a Hasegawa 1/72 scale Australian Aardvark I've had sitting for far, far too long on my bench. Finally, I have the canopy on, wings installed, burner cans installed and now she's ready for paint: Next is my ancient 1/72 scale Frog Gloster Meteor. This is the first ever Meteor I've ever built; now I have to get the WWII-era one. This will be bare metal finish: Moving along to the first ever Eduard kit I've ever built; the 1/72 scale L-39 that will be in Iraqi markings. I finally (I hope!!) got the wing roots satisfactory enough to make this look smooth; it was real tough filling those gaps below the engine intakes: Finally, the Iranian F-4 Phantom that needs the ejection seat fixed. Otherwise, I got the wings finished, the front fuselage/cockpit assembly is installed and the tail surfaces are on. Once I fix the ejection seat (already done) and paint the ejection seat handles; I'll be able to close up the canopy and mask it for painting: Finally here is another look at the Pirate Ship I snapped together over my vacation, along with the sails I plan on putting on the masts. Maybe after that I just might rig it! Well, that's all I have for this short update; hopefully this week I'll be able to get some more models done. Thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

Most ingenious! I like it!

Thanks guys! I had a blast modeling with them. Patrick and Eleana both said it was the best part of my visit. I do hope that they all stay with it. I'm pretty sure Patrick will, he's hooked; especially after seeing some of the techniques I showed him. Thanks Clare, you must have replied while I was still typing. I will also look back on that experience as something special. It is always great to share an experience like that doing something I love with family I love. I'm glad to hear that your grandsons have learned so much and will most likely come back to the hobby, especially after having learned those new techniques.

Well, I'm back from my trip down to Florida again. I had a great time watching my older sister graduate from college, she had been working so long to get her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. For an early Mother's day, I spent a few days working; crossing off the list of repairs that my mother's house needed. In between that time, I spent it with my nephew Patrick helping him complete a model F-18 Blue Angel he'd been building for his girlfriend. While showing him some new techniques, my six-year-old niece Eleana (pronounced "Ell-lay-na) came in and wanted to help build Patrick's plane. Patrick let her help, and she enjoyed it so much that she wanted her own plane to build. So that night, we went out to a local craft shop (there are no hobby shops in his town) and picked up a Snap-Tite 57 Chevy car for her, as well as a Snap-Tite F-14 Tomcat. I also picked up a Snap-Tite Fire Engine for her twin brother Marcus. While I was buying all these models (and some extra tools for Patrick), I figured I deserved to get something for myself. They had a Revell Snap-Tite Black Diamond Pirate Ship that I picked up to build for myself once I finished the Fire Truck for Marcus. So, the next morning, we all spread some newspapers on the dining room table and started to work on our respective projects. Eleana wanted a purple car, so I had gotten a purple spray paint and spray painted her car the night before. She spent the rest of the day building it with me occasionally helping her. Patrick continued to work on his F-18 and I built Marcus' truck. Here we are all together around the table: Marcus is autistic so he wasn't able to build the truck for himself, so I did it. He did put his own stickers on it though: Here's Patrick working intently on his model: I got a few shots of Eleana building her car; she wanted her picture taken a lot, the little ham! Here she is working on the chassis: Then she was snapping in the headlights later: Now for her "glamour' pose with her new car! Later she put her own stickers on her car, and then she wanted to paint a white heart on the hood. So I folded a Post-it note in half, cut out the shape of a heart and taped it down as best I could to the hood. Here she is painting the heart on her car: Later on, she assembled her F-14 Tomcat (I helped a little with the wings) and then she painted it all white all over before applying the stickers to it. Here is the proud new owner of a new Tomcat: While all this was going on, I painted up and then assembled most of my Pirate Ship here: If you look closely, you'll see where I dry-brushed a little gold on the cannons to give them a bit more of a 'bronzed' look. I haven't snapped the masts in place yet because I want to put the sails on first: After that, I'll snap them down and fasten everything together. Then for fun, I might just rig it! That was one of the most enjoyable parts of my recent vacation. I may have more pics from then to post later, I'll have to look. I hope you enjoyed seeing this as much as I did experiencing it. Thanks for looking in.

Welcome Lawrence and welcome back to the Hobby. Don't worry about what the first one looks like; we were all there once. Feel free to post here; we all would love to see where you are at. Don't hesitate to ask for any help you feel you may need; these are the friendliest and most helpful guys anywhere.

Thanks Chris. I actually have a few ambulances to add, all military of course. It's almost a history of the military ambulance through the ages....

That's looking really sharp! Brilliant job on the camo pattern!

Well, all my models are in serious need of help, but I don't think that's what you had in mind! LOL! Another idea for this same Theme would be to also allow medical or other emergency vehicles to be posted since they would normally respond to a vehicle in need of help. That might increase the number of potential pics for this coming month. Just an idea....

Do you know what scale it is all in? It does look interesting. I'm leaving for Florida in a few days (Monday) and will return on May 9th. After I get back, I'll be interested in getting this if nobody else snatches it up before I get back. I do love how the box top has an M-48 Patton leaving the landing craft to reinforce the Sherman just behind it! That's worth the cost of admission right there! :D

I've also done a number of commission builds too; almost all of them cars interestingly enough. One guy was so impressed with the job I did that he paid me double the commission! I also built some models as gifts for some people: one was a hospital ship for a WWII Navy Nurse, the other was a Ford Model T for the stage manager of our play "Ragtime". (We had a full-sized Model T Ford that we had to manuever around backstage that was driven out a couple times during the play.)

Thanks Christopher!

Thanks guys! Thanks Chris! I think I was trying to type USS Nimitz-class but forgot to add the class! Stennis she is indeed. Thanks again for all the great comments guys!

Here are a few of mine that I had a lot of fun with. Although I have fun building all my models and don't build for contests, these are the ones that were particularly enjoyable. This is a model I wanted since I was 12 and finally got it from a vendor in San Diego at their annual Model Contest. It was kind of scary at first, but once I got into it, I had a blast with this one: 1/12 scale Christie Fire Truck Here's another one I couldn't pass up when I saw it. I didn't build it for a contest since that would make it impossible to open to change the batteries inside. It does run too: Box Scale Goodyear Blimp Here's a couple others I enjoyed doing, mostly for the novelty of such unique automobiles. My friend had built these when he and I were kids and I just had to try doing them myself: 1/24 scale Tom Daniel's Red Baron and Paddywagon This next one was built as a Christmas gift for my (Chinese) mother-in-law who was so thrilled with it that she would sit and look at it for hours. The fact that I was doing it as a gift, as well as the uniqueness of this made it a particularly fun build: 1/96 scale Chinese Junk All of these 1/72 scale civilian aircraft were all such a blast to build; and even more fun having them in my collection still! Various companies, all in 1/72 scale This next one was also fun, particularly since all other fellow modelers in my IPMS club considered it unbuildable due to the many and extensive mistakes the original builder did to this. I got it at a Distressed Kit auction for free since it had been in four of them and nobody would bid on it since it was so bad. I had fun seeing how I could "resurrect" this and it is the only 1/48 scale aircraft that I kept after building it: 1/48 scale Monogram P-51B Mustang This is one of my most enjoyable small scale armor model I've ever done, mostly because I was able to really cut loose on it. 1/72 scale Pegasus Hobbies M-46 Patton This one was one of the funnest ships I'd ever done. I love working on this partly because of it's sheer size and the great detail I had to build. The aircraft could have been better molded though. Trumpeter 1/500 scale USS Nimitz This next one I was reluctant to do since I didn't feel confident in my abilities to make good groundwork. Still, once I started this, I couldn't stop; I was having too much fun! Exterior, 1/72 scale Arii German Secret Stronghold Interior, 1/72 scale Arii German Secret Stronghold Well, those are some of the most enjoyable models I've had a blast building. Some of you may be surprised that Dora was not included. Well, she was pretty fun to build, but that fun was slightly shaded by the fear that I would do some horrible mistake. While that did keep me on my toes quite a bit, it did temper the enjoyment of seeing this come together. Okay, I hope you enjoyed my list for this month!

Ah, okay. I usually don't even see that; I'll have to pay better attention from now on. Now to post a few of mine..

Welcome Anthony! Sounds like you'll fit right in. Looking forward to seeing pics of your work.

I can't seem to find the explanation of this month's Theme, so I don't quite know what to post. After all, everything I do is something I do for myself.

That is a spectacular job on that tank. I've seen many techniques used for winter whitewash, but this seems to be on of the most authentic looking results. I don't do winter whitewash myself, but in sure do appreciate the excellence of a whitewash done well!

Brilliant! I love this! I want one too!

I'm doing my best to keep my Manufacturing Thread updated, but with the recent trip and the recent Exacto injury it's been tough. I do have a few photos to post; hopefully soon. I may even get a few more models done before I leave town again for my sister's graduation.

How about real sand/silt? I have been out to some places where it is real fine and would look fantastic on such a diorama. Otherwise, you may find something from Woodland Scenics at a Railroad online or brick-and-mortar shop.

I ain't that old, but I also remember the smell of those old mimeograph machines. Great memories!

Welcome to the IPMS Forums! I do hope to meet you in 2015 when I come out there for the Nationals. My brother lives in Columbus so I'll have some excellent lodging to enjoy!

Wow, I better finish my V105 torpedo boat. I'm so close!

If all else fails, and you are using a liquid cement that melts styrene (a "hot" glue) then take some spare sprue/sprue nubs/shavings and add it to a container of liquid glue. Once all the plastic melts into a gooey, partially liquid state, apply it like putty; press it into the seams and wait till it solidifies. Sand smooth using the above-mentioned system and you'll have the smoothest seamless joins ever.

Welcome Steve! Don't forget to stay in touch on these boards; don't let Facebook be your only posting place. I'm looking forward to seeing some of your work when you get it done.