Mark Deliduka

Stunning work Jean-Marc! Not only did I learn these things existed; I learned how well a Lindbergh kit can look with the proper skills!

Amazing work! That is a fantastic service you are doing for them! Stunning skills too!

Man, this is stunning work; so many incredible details add so much to this! I keep looking and I always find something else that I hadn't seen before! Brilliant!!

Thank you Gil! Hopefully some will make it over the finish line this week. Thank you Jean-Marc! Looking forward to seeing your next year's posts too.

I guess not, considering this is all last year's work! LOL! Thank you for stopping in and commenting. These were some fun models to build; I'm so thrilled to have all the completed ones in my collection.

Thank you Jean-Marc! Thank you Steve! I have to admit, they weren't as difficult as I expected they would be.

And now for our tour of the Motor Pool at Maddog Manufacturing. A considerable amount of progress has been made here. Let's start here with the civilian Ford Stakebed truck, which has been painted with the cream on the cab and truck bed: Later the red trim was added after everything was masked off: That is where we left this right now. Moving on to the next bay we have another Shelf Queen, started about six years ago. Finally found all the missing parts and got all the rest of the main parts installed: Later this truck also got a coat of red, making this almost ready to be declared finished: Moving to the next bay we find the Russian tracked 280mm gun. The main gun has been glued to the carriage and almost all the final details have been added. Some parts and sub assemblies have gone missing, but we're going to continue to work on this until all is found: Later the photo etch was added, bringing this closer to being done: Next to this is the Russian tracked 152mm gun. This was started later, but we now have it catching up to the 280mm gun. First we installed the main gun in the trunnions, and made the hydraulics that raise and lower the gun: We added more details to the main carriage, cemented down the gun and also finished off most of the details on the trunnions, bringing this to the photo etch stage: Photo etch and some final details added next and this was ready for paint: After everything had sufficiently dried, we shot a base of Russian Green on this. It shows much lighter in this pic than it does in real life: The same had been shot on the 280mm gun but I apparently forgot to take pics of that. Moving on, we found another Shelf Queen, this one only two years old. It's the Modelcollect SCUD D TEL that needed some more green paint on additional parts that had been added after it was painted: ' I was going to camouflage this, but I don't want to hassle with re-masking all the windows again. We might hand brush the pattern on it, I'm still trying to decide. Meanwhile, this is ready for further progress.... In the next bay, we have the two Israeli Centurions. This first one, the Sho't Kal Gimmel; got all the detail parts on the main hull and we started on some of the details on the turret: Later we finished all the details on the turret. Here it is all set and ready for photo etch: Interestingly enough; the photo etch sheet for this kit is missing. So, we continued to work on the Centurion Sho't Kal Dalet. Again, most of the turret and all of the hull details were added, just as with the Gimmel: Later the turret was done completely: That thing on the front of this tank is a battering ram. Some Dalets had them so I added this to mine to help differentiate between them. We had the photo etch for this one so almost all the photo etch was added to this: Once everything was dry, we shot a base of Green Drab on this tank. It is still wet in this picture: After this completely dried, we applied a light coat of Israeli Sand Grey over the top, modulating the color for added ascetics. It is real hard to see in this picture, but I assure you it is there: That is where we stopped on these, next up is the most difficult Armory ZSU-23-4 Shilka. First, we did the simple part; adding almost all the detail parts to the upper hull: Then we built the quad guns. They were built on two carriages, two each per carriage: Now, adding these to the turret was a nightmare. There were three parts that you needed to glue together that were so delicate that if you looked at them wrong, they broke....and they were the mounting plates for these guns! So, after three and a half hours of finagling and fighting with this, we finally had this done: Note the one gun wasn't straight. We fixed that but when we went to add the second set of guns; we ended up with this: Yep! Everything fell apart, blowing away three and a half hours of work. While I fought to recover from that frustration, we finished off most of the details on the turret: I figured it would be easier for us if these were added before the guns went on reducing the risk they break. After about another hour and a half of work on the guns, we finally managed to get them installed.....and more importantly, looking correct! Here's a final shot of the upper and lower hulls together (yes the lower hull is under there!) and the turret mounted on the top: That was as far as I wanted to go with that one! It says cooling hoses are supposed to be added and shows a diagram, but after fighting this so hard; those will not be added. Finally in this last bay we have the M1070 gun truck. First off, the last details were assembled and everything was cemented down to the chassis: Next another full shot of green was added: Afterward, we freehanded a camouflage pattern on this, and sprayed the gun box a rusted metal color: We're gonna be clear coating this for decals soon, and then finish off the final details. And that is the extended tour of Maddog Manufacturing Motor Pool. Thank you all for stopping in and remember that comments are welcome.

Here we are, two weeks later and I was able to get a lot done, more than expected. So much so that I will need to do two tours; one to the Hangar and then in the next post the tour will leave for the Motor Pool. So, all aboard the trams for the next tour through the Maddog Manufacturing Hangars.... In the first bay we have a shelf queen coming out again. This is the 1/72 scale Concorde SST we started about four years ago. The fit is atrocious and the wings have massive gaps. More attempts were made to close and fill those gaps as best as possible: Even the bottom of this model had canyons to deal with: That's as far as we got on that so far. Next is the two Spitfires, both of them were masked with the Silly Putty and shot with the RAF Ocean Grey over the top: Mark IX: Mark XIV. I changed the pattern a little to allow me to cover that uneven splotch of green with the grey: It was sprayed like the Mk.IX at the same time: After awhile, the Silly Putty came off both of them. he Mk.IX is here: ...and the Mk.XIV is here: Believe me, the paint is much darker than these pics show. You can see that here after I shot gloss clear over them to prepare for decals: While all that was going on, we also masked off the Russia Il-2M3 Shtormovik with the Silly Putty and sprayed with the second color: Later that Silly Putty came off and we were ready for clear coat: Here it is after the clear coat: Again, that is more representative of the real colors we sprayed. Moving on to the next bay, I was not happy with the main wing on the Russian Be-4. Therefore, we put about a quarter tube of Tamiya Putty on top and bottom where the discrepancies were: Later, this was sanded smooth, another coat of putty added and finally repainted: That wing has since been clear coated and the decals have been added. That one should be done fairly soon. Our next tour of the Motor Pool starts in a bit. Meanwhile, comments are welcome; thanks all for stopping in!

LOL! I didn't think my fan was that strong blowing the paint out my window! LOL! Thank you for the compliments! More coming soon!

Thank you Jean-Marc!

Thank you Jean-Marc! Stay tuned....

James, it is a thrill to see your masterful work again! Magnificent job on that plane! I use the same type of oil wash, Windsor Newton oils mixed in Mona Lisa thinner. Keep them coming James!

I love it! Brilliant idea to use window blinds! Sweet!

Sensational work Jean-Marc!

Those rock! I never knew there were four versions, I learned something new today!

Thank you Tony! Maybe so, but your figurines are masterfully done compared to what I could do.

Thank you Doc! I did figure it was about 1/48 scale, thank you for the confirmation on that. This was a fun build to do; if I find any of the others from that line for a reasonable price, I will build them as well.

I know it is November, but these were finished on October 31, and so now I've found some time to post them. For simplicity's sake, they are all listed here. First: a David Brown VIG-1 tractor from the British RAF re-supply set from Airfix: And just so you can see how small this is in 1/72 scale, here's a shot of it with a No.11 Exacto blade: Next is a French AMX DCA anti-aircraft system from ACE: Third is an ancient AMT (formerly ESCI) kit of the M48-A5 Patton tank: The drooping searchlight has already been fixed. This final one is the Hobby Boss Russian T-28 tank; also a Shelf Queen started twelve years ago and finally finished now: That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have at least this many; if not more, completed in November. Stay tuned....

It may be November but this was finished in the last week in October. I also am not quite sure where this would go, so here it is. This is an ancient UPC model of the Roman Racing Chariot circa 34AD. It was actually fairly easy to build; the most difficult part being cementing the horses down in the proper position so the harness would fit right. Aft6er some work, it is done well enough to call it completed: And here is a little close up shot of the crew: My apologies for the poor pictures. I got a new camera from my nephew, but the instruction sheet was missing. I'm still experimenting with it to get the best possible results. Thank you for looking in, comments are welcome.

LOL! Thank you guys! That collection is certainly still growing. James, I did! They had reserved all the center tables for me at Vegas, not knowing how many I was going to need. They were most exceptionally accommodating allowing me to come in and set up the day before and pack up the day after. Otherwise, I would have missed almost the entire con trying to set up and take down.

Wow that is magnificent! Way to go!

Man, what incredible realism here! Way to go!

Gil, thank you ever so much! Yes, it is a Matchbox Hellcat. It was given to me by a couple friends at my IPMS meeting when I couldn't attend the Distressed Kit Auction. It is a blast! Now to find the colors I need to make it a Fleet Air Arm bird. And yes, I'm looking forward to showing off that Chariot soon. Meanwhile, here's another tour for you to enjoy.... Well we have had a pretty productive week this past week, so now it's time to host another tour of Maddog Manufacturing. The trams are boarding now, so all aboard and remember to keep hands and feet inside at all times. As always, we start in the Hangar. We had a great opportunity to bring out the spray gun and so base paints were shot on all aircraft needing it topside. First were the two Spitfires: Then the Russian Be-4: You can see the paint was a bit too diluted so we took another shot. The second shot was far better: And the Be-4: While we had the better paint in the sprayer, we also shot the Il-2M3: While all that was drying, we switched and shot the final Navy blue onto the Avenger: Later that masking came off that and now the Avenger is ready for clearcoat and decals: Personally, I do not know why the turret frosted like it did. I was certain the masking was sealed properly so I have no idea what happened. I will try to buff it out and shine it as best I can, but I am not going to go to outlandish lengths to make it as perfect as possible. So that is all that has been done in the Hangar so far. You can see everything has been set up for the remaining camouflage patterns before clearcoat and decals. There might be a few aircraft crossing the finish line this month! Since nothing of note has been happening in the Shipyards, we'll move on to the Motor Pool. Here in the Motor Pool quite a bit has been done. To start with, here in Bay One, we found an ancient ESCI kit of a Hetzer that we were trying to sell. The box was busted up, and the thing had no nibbles, even when priced at a buck. So, out it came and the basic first steps were made. You can see here the main lower hull was assembled, but when it came time for the front plate to be installed, it broke while we were cleaning it up. So this is where it stands now: Moving on to the next bay, we have the first shot of green on the base of the Russian 280m tracked artillery piece. Like the aircraft, I didn't like it. Besides, certain pieces were left off so they had to be added before we shot it again. You can see it here with the gun dry-fit into place: Later, the base part got it's second coat: Meanwhile, I felt it was time for the second tracked artillery piece to be started so we pulled out that and assembled the main gun first: Later the base part was started, but a semi-vital piece is missing. I might just say 'screw it!' and move on anyway.... That is as far as we got on that one. In this next bay, we shot the base coat on the French DCA anti-aircraft system. It does NOT look this blue in person: Later came clearcoat, a wash, and decals: This one was later driven out onto the parade ground for breaking in by it's crew. In this next bay, we decided to move forward on the Sho't Kal Dalet by completing the basic turret. For some reason, this turret was far more rough than the Gimmel turret was: Later after some cleanup, the main gun was added to the turret and the fenders were added to the sides: Now this is more or less caught up with the Gimmel. Moving on to the next bay, we have the M48-A5 Patton. The base had already been shot on, so the masking went on and the second color was shot: Additional Silly Putty was added to cover the second color when it was dry: And the third color was shot: When it was dry, I hand painted some black shapes on the edges for the fourth color. They may be a bit hard to see in this pic, they look like shadows: Finally, everything came off when it was all dry: Later a clearcoat and decals went on: After that, some dullcoat was applied, and the final details were added and this was driven off by it's crew for familiarization.... In another bay over here, the M1070 gun truck finally had some progress done. Base paint was applied to the inside of the cab and the outside: The windscreen and side doors were masked off, both inside and out: Finally, base paint was shot on the rear gunner's box, the clear parts and the other sub-assemblies, as well as a lighter OD on the anti-RPG panels: That is where we left that one, but there's more. While organizing my parts, I found a small machine gun turret for my T-28 kit. I had just put that kit up and so I found it again and was able to finally have the whole kit again! This tank had already been basecoated green before the turret got lost, and so now, I am finally able to finish this Shelf Queen after ten years! Silly Putty was added for the second color: Then the tan was shot: Finally the unmasking: This one then got final details added and was then turned over to their crew for breaking in. That's all for today. Nothing esoteric this time, but still hopefully some interesting items in the tour. Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

Thank you Jean-Marc!

Despite more issues happening, we managed to get more progress done. The next tour of Maddog Manufacturing is preparing to start. All aboard the trams for this next trip through Maddog Manufacturing. remember to keep hands and feet inside the trams at all times. Once again, we'll start in the Hangar. Some time before, knowing that the weather was going to improve, we masked off the various aircraft that we planned to paint. The Hellcat got Silly Putty in the cockpit and wheel wells: The Avenger was masked off the same, with tape and Silly Putty: With the weather more amenable to airbrushing a couple days later, some of these finally got their first paint. The two Spitfires got their undercoat: [IMGhttps://modelersalliance.org/galleries/wip-british-spitfire-mk-ix-a-jpg.129969/full[/IMG] Followed by the Russian Il-2M3 Shtormovik: Then we shot the blue on the Russian Be-4 flying boat: Followed by the white underneath the Avenger: Once the paint dried sufficiently on the Avenger, more masking was applied for the second color: I masked the tail wrong; it was supposed to be an angled white section; I masked the entire moveable part. That's how it's gonna stay. The intermediate blue went on next: Finally, when the intermediate blue was dry, we masked off the blue for the final color which will hopefully go on later this weekend or next week: That finishes the tour of the Hangar, now on to the Shipyards.... This next one was a kit I got in a Distressed Kit Auction; I had thought it was a 1/72 scale boat. So we got started on it, getting the hull and some major parts assembled: That took all of five minutes. Another fifteen to twenty minutes later, it looked like this: That's when I realized this is actually more like 1/96 scale, The crewmen and stubby torpedoes kinda gave it away. Oh well, it is all finished assembly and ready for paint so I will finish it and leave it on the shelf. That's all that was done in the Shipyards, so on to the Motor Pool.... Here in the Motor Pool, things have moved on better. First off, the little Russian fire truck got a better coat of red paint on it, prior to moving forward on the finishing: The M48-A5 has been finally masked with Silly Putty for the second of three (or four) colors on the camouflage: Meanwhile, further progress was made building the detail parts and sub-assemblies for the Russian 280mm tracked artillery piece: Still a lot more pieces and sub-assemblies to do for that little gun. I feel like it's taking forever, but at least I can see progress every time I take more pics. Moving on to the next bay we have the French DCA getting it's tracks on: Later on we added almost all the photo etch to this. I wanted to let the turret P/E dry before adding the last P/E part on the other side of the turret: Finally everything dried enough to add the final piece of Photo Etch.This one is now ready for paint: Moving to the next bin, rapid progress was made on the Israeli Sho't Kal Gimmel. The upper hull plates went on, the wheels went on, and the basic turret was assembled. Then I noticed we put more than half the wheels on backward and had to pull them off and re-install them properly: Later we tried to get the next Israeli Sho't Kal Dalet caught up but only got the upper hull plates on, the wheels installed (correctly!) and half the turret assembled: Hopefully further progress can be made soon. I want to get these both in the spray booth at the same time. Finally, in our separate Assembly Yard, we have progress done on a couple of unique and different models. First is the Packard in 1/24 scale. This beastie has been causing so many problems. First off, the instructions say to place the engine cover on and then glue the radiator assembly on since the engine cover is supposed to come off to show the engine itself. After adding the fire wall, we did just that, making sure it would dry right with tape: You can see it didn't quite make it. That is mostly because the engine cover itself wasn't seated properly. While it was drying, we added half of the parts to the rear of the car. Some parts were missing, so I just need to find them somewhere in the hobby room to finish this part: Naturally I wanted to see how well the wheels lined up and touched the ground. What I found was disappointing to say the least. This rear wheel was so misaligned that the car looked like it was lifting the back wheel to water a fire hydrant! Our attempts to fix it resulted in a shattered leaf spring , some of which was re-glued on: Then I thought we should build the canvas top, and found this issue when we did: Look on the left and you'll see how warped this was. Just like everything else on this warped brittle model, it was one more thing that made me box this up and stick it back on the shelf for now. Finally, we did make some progress on the last fun little project. The horses and chariot are now glued together and mounted on the base. Now all that is needed is the reins and whip and we can call this done: And that now concludes this latest tour of Maddog Manufacturing. Thank you all for stopping in and taking the tour, it's a pleasure to have you aboard. As always, comments are welcome.