WildBill50

Gil, nice work on the Bronco, cool fire bird. Not a big Iron Maiden fan but the jet rocks. Was the P-38 part of the CAF? I saw theirs fly when the were still the Confedrate Air Force, almost the same markings. Bill

Eureka! I have found the holy grail for my diorama. I finally found some pictures of the holdback area. There were some at the Prime Portal website (www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_​mason5/fg1_phantom) . They have a F-4K on a catapault ready for launch as a scene there. There are pictures underneath with the holdback in place. This is just what I was looking for. I am surprised at how far forward the attachment point is. Anyway, the build shall now continue with the diorame in mind. I have got the wings on and the leading edge slats are attached. Most of the seams are filled. Now to open the door for the hold back attachment point. Pictures to follow soon. Bill

SWEET!!! That is one of my favorite planes. I remember building the Monogram 1/72 plane and hand painting it in those markings. Yours is a job well done. Congratulations on this build. Bill

I say, GOOD SHOW, old chap. Really nice work Ron. Bill

Nice one Ron! I'd hate to get in front of that cutter. I was going to ask the same thing Gil asked about Patton. Your commander looks the part also. Bill

That does tend to happen in this hobby doesn't it? We'll see how brave I get.

Thanks Gil. The panel is a decal with drops of "Future" for the glass areas in the instruments. It looks pretty convincing that way.

Here are some pictures of the new 1/48th Airfix Lynx. The detail is really fantastic on this kit with raised rivets and recessed panel lines. Details pop out and the fit is tight. There are three different vesions you can make with the kit along with options of interiors, weapons and folded rotors and tail. The instruction shhet is a bit busy in trying to explain what holes to open and what options to add for each of the variants. Re-read them more than once to feel comfortable in your selection to build. The only problem to come up so far was when I wanted to close up the fuselage. There are lower windows to attach to the nose section and they had to be places inside before closing it up. Well, here goes my clear parts problems again...I was going to add them in until I looked at the clear sprue and one of the windows was a short shot. No window at all, just a little blob of clear plastic on each side of the sprue gates. I sent off an E-mail to Airfix customer service and told them of the problem. They sent me a reply that stated it may take up to 8 weeks to get the part. I put the kit away and started a Brit Phantom in the mean time. It was only three weeks when the parts showed up (last Tuesday). I put the windows in this morning and closed up the fuselage. The fit here is very tight and you must be very careful in attaching some of the interior parts so the the fuselage halves close up tight. This is where I will you for now as I am waiting for the glue to dry. This is a great little kit. If you ar into helicopters, I highly reccomend it (just check the clear parts). Bill

Here are some of the pictures of My Hasegawa F-4K Phantom. I've added DMolds one piece Spey engine intakes. These fit better than the kit pieces and really add to the kit. I have a "True Details" cockpit set that is going into the kit also. I added wires to the RIO's instrument panel and some details to the seats. This was more of an exercise in detail painting than anything else. So far it has come out very well. I've cut off the leading edge slats so that they can be positioned in their lowered state along with the trailing edge flaps. Since I can't find pictures of the holdback area, I am just going to build this with the extended nose gear and no launch scene. Maybe later on I will try this diorama again. So far, the fuselage is together and the wings are further along than these pictures. I need to download the new ones yet. Comments welcome. Bill

Nice one there Ron. Only the British could make something like that (why is most of their equipment just a little odd looking?). You've made it look quite acceptable. Chris, I hope you meant "kits". Otherwise, what kind of hobby are you delving in? Just wondering. Bill

INDY! With the 350th Academy kit coming out, it could make a nice contrast to see the differences between scales. Good luck on whatever you start...and finish. Bill

Thank you, John. Good luck on the "G". I have the 1/72nd one from Italeri to build. It looks like you have a little more work to do and problems to resolve with your "AirFrame" or "Classic Fix" kit (either name seems to fit). Let's see more while you work it out. Bill

Looks great Mark. Nice job. Bill

Thanks for the description. Something to try in the future, maybe with a few tweaks.

Looking good Chris. So what was the water made up of? I've been mulling over putting a ship in water instead of on a stand for a change. Bill

Very cool scheme. Goes great for the old name "Electric Jet", Well done. Bill

Thanks for the info. Long trip from Chicago.

I've gone so far as to look at pictures from the carrier holdback side besides the USN, USMC, FAA etc. All the pictures I've come across are all in shadow. You can see the holdback but not to where it connects to the F-4 as that is underneath and in the shadow and hot engine section. My search continues!

Chris, that is looking reraally good. What did you use to paint the deck? Did you just pick out individual planks after a general painting? BTW...When are the NOLA and Baton Rouge contests. My son lives in NOLA and I haven't been down to see him in awhile.

That's the area that I can't find a picture of.

IMPRESSIVE!!! Inspirational too. Great builds Gil.

I'll have to try that

Ed. Time for more pics of that helmet you've been chipping away at.

Masochist. I suppose you chain yourself to your workbench before starting each session also?

Hi Arthur, My AC-119 was one of the better fitting kit I have made. No problems at all. I added ammo feeds to those guns on that plane and also wired up the search radar. That was one of my favorite builds. Thanks for looking.