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ghodges

IPMS/USA Member
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Everything posted by ghodges

  1. Wow! That's some top notch NMF work there! Great looking build that captures all of the "innovations" tried after WWII and into the 50s. I don't know how, or even if it flew, but it looks like it'd made for a hellacious land speed racer on the Bonnyville Salt Flats if not! Thanks for sharing! Gil
  2. I'm on the side of I like being more informed than less informed. I also look at these early updates as an encouraging sign of what is (hopefully) an extremely well organized, communicative, and motivated host committee for 2024. I have two concrete requests/suggestions for when the 2024 hotel reservations do finally open up: First: ONLY ALLOW ONE ROOM RESERVATION PER PERSON MAKING A RESERVATION! One of the reasons that these hotel room blocks are selling out so fast is that there are members booking 2 and 3 (or more) hotel rooms at one time. I certainly realize that there could be a reason for that, being it either a larger party planning to travel together or a friend doing a friend a favor because they cannot be on the computer or phone the day/time when the reservations open. The problem is, that short changes those who can and ARE trying to make reservations at that time. Save the multiple room reservations for their SECOND time they get on-line or on the phone. Second: OPEN UP TO IPMSUSA MEMBERS ONLY FOR RESERVATIONS THE FIRST DAY, AND TO EVERYONE ELSE THE SECOND DAY. It's the IPMSUSA National Convention and IPMSUSA members ought to have this PERK as a part of their membership. If you want to include vendors on the first day, you could do so, but with a special code or ID that allows them. I don't know IF this can be done since it'd have to be tied into somehow being able to verify who's a current member and who's not, but it would seem with computer abilities, it's just a matter of adding a current list into the hotel's data base which then cross checks the person making the reservation against that list before letting the reservation even start to be made. Or, perhaps the "early" date and time would only be emailed to the membership by the Wild Apricot system so that only they would have that info to begin with, with regular reservations opened up a day or even a week later. Would it be fool proof? No, as there's always people looking to game any system. But it might help! More importantly, it would show IPMSUSA is trying to give something more of value for their membership money. Other than that, I'd like to repeat my request from early 2022 for the '23 show which went unheeded by the San Marcos committee: Please, Please, PLEASE "beta check" the hotel reservation "system" before opening it up to the membership. Be sure the membership KNOWS of any possible snafus inherent in the system (like trying to add a Tuesday to the preset Wed-Sat computer reservation, which the computer page would allow, but the "system" would then reject and not allow it to go through). It will help immensely if we know of any specific things to do or don't do when we log on to get a room. Thanks! Gil
  3. Looking good, but there sure isn't much contrast to the markings. Gil
  4. Excellent! I can fully appreciate all of the extra effort required just to finish it, let alone make it look as nice as an injection kit at a glance. I'm sure your friend greatly appreciated your help! Gil
  5. "Ron, you've done plenty for the Society over your decades of service & leadership. Thanks, but enjoy your "IPMS retirement" AMEN! James: IF y'all ever do get around to planning a Gulf Coast Nats, I'd like to help if I can. Gil
  6. WOW! That is an outstanding build and a loving tribute that I'm certain your daughter will treasure. Great camo work and I agree with the choice of a clean finish to help show off the Spit's clean lines. Congrats, and thanks for sharing the model and the motivation! Gil
  7. This is the Czech Model 1/48 Cessna T-50 twin engine trainer, built as Sky King's "Songbird", which markings come in the kit. It's a typical Czech Model kit with no locating pins, resin detail parts, and a nice fret of colored PE to enhance the interior detailing. It has the option of building 2 differently marked trainers, or the colorful civilian Songbird. The kit has two different colored kit PE main panels; one military and one civilian. The only addition I made was to sandwich a piece of cigarette pack cellophane between the front and back pieces. You have to cut off the molded on plastic rudder pedals to place the PE pedals. After building the panel and checking its fit to the cabin, I found the kit plastic floor was too thick to allow the depth needed for the panel and the pedals. So, I built a new one from thin sheet plastic that solved the problem. The Songbird cockpit built up quickly after that, as most of the PE parts are the military versions. The only other "kink" in the build it that the landing gear have to be built before assembling the bottom nacelles around them. That means some care is needed in handling the model the rest of the way to avoid breaking them. As the plastic is soft, and I was afraid of the bottom gear legs bending during handling, I put a coat of superglue over the gear oleo area to stiffen each leg. The oleos were later redefined by wrapping them with a strip of Bare Metal Chrome. On to the finished pics! The kit decal sheet is very nice, with most of the Songbird markings in red and black, leaving you to interpret the black and white TV pics to determine which markings you think are right. The decals worked well, with the only problems being due to operator error. The kit gives you the red trim for the nacelles and the nose, but I chose to paint them instead. I then cut each small, white diamond from the kit decal flashing and slid them onto the painted scallops. This was just a quick build in order to participate with my local model club's build theme of Movie/TV subjects. It was one of the easier Czech Model kits I've built, though it does help if you have experience with low-pressure injection kits that are without locating pins and need some drilling and pinning by yourself. Critiques, comments, and questions welcome as always! Gil
  8. Wow, that is actually a pretty build, though I have to agree with it being one ugly aircraft! I especially like how smooth your aluminum dope finish came out as well as the wood work on the props. As for the rigging, if I know Ron, he used stretched sprue, since I've had the privilege of watching him stretch it as fine as frog's hair in the past! Gil
  9. Very sharp looking build! I agree that it's nice to build a Tamiya kit every so often just to have a much more relaxing experience. Thanks for posting! Gil
  10. HOLY COW, that is SWEET! What a super looking build and display to show off all of your superb detailing. Thanks for sharing this here! Gil
  11. Nice progress! What did you use for the anti-skid walks on the weapon wings? It looks like it has texture in the pics. Gil
  12. I haven't heard of that brand myself. My only concern would be the connection sizes needed to hook up that brand compressor to any airbrush hose, and generally a hardware store may be able to help you find something if you don't have it on hand. Gil
  13. Be aware that you may have a BAD BOTTLE! Your complaint is a rather common one, and it seems that there was a time period a few years ago when Alcad put out some of its Gloss Black Primer that just doesn't dry properly, if ever. I have 2 bottles of it myself, but both of them have performed well, drying hard within 24hrs. In fact, I've even been using it to paint gloss black trim on models, and not just for primer. I live and model in my garage here in Florida, and do have to be aware of the humidity, but I don't think that's your problem. In my opinion, you've just gotten one of the bad batch bottles. Ron is right in that although gloss black works best for the brightest NMF over it, ANY gloss primer can be used for a smooth surface. If you need to use a substitute, I recommend getting a couple of the SMALL bottles of Testors Gloss Black (or Model Master gloss black IF you have it or can find it still), thin it with lacquer thinner, and prime with that. It should give you a smooth, glossy black primer coat and dry within 24hrs with no problems. It's also cheaper than the Alclad brand! If you're thinking of getting more Alclad gloss black, you can give it a try. The complaints about the non-drying were first made 4-5yrs ago and have greatly lessened over the last couple of years. I know I got both of mine within the last 3yrs and they do dry properly. If your new bottle doesn't perform, then I'd contact Alclad directly to see about some sort of refund or replacement from them. Hope this helps. Gil
  14. Welcome to the forums! I'm right there with ya, at least generationally having built my first model back in the mid-60s. Make yourself at home and let us know how we can help you have more fun modeling! Gil
  15. I'd take this question to the car topics part of the forum here where there may be some people with experience with those paint types who might be able to help. It does sound strange that a paint with enough bite to "eat" a surface won't stick to it! Gil
  16. Excellent progress and a good tip on prepainting the pe! Gil
  17. I used AK Metallics Aluminum for both of them, over Alclad gloss black. Gil
  18. Since I was already building 2 Texans, I decided to tackle my 1/48 BT-14 conversion at the same time. This is the Belcher Bits kit release that comes with the resin parts to back date the 1/48 Occidental T-6G plastic kit (included in the box) to the earlier fixed landing gear BT-14. The kit also includes a choice of 5 different markings. The resin parts are pictured here after there pour stubs were removed. The vac canopy I made myself since the kit pilot's sliding canopy section is too thick to fit down properly over the center fixed canopy section. This shows the work needed to convert the forward fuselage This shows the new resin center section for the Texan wings The resin forward fuselage fit well, but it took some trimming and fitting to get the wing to fit well to the fuselage The model was painted with Model Master Chrome Yellow and Bright Blue, glossed with Alclad Klear Gloss, and the sprayed with a home mixed Alclad semi-gloss to finish things up. Comments and critiques welcome! Gil
  19. I decided to build 2 1/48 Monogram Texans at the same time, one as a USAF T-6G and the other as a Navy SNJ-3. They were built primarily OOTB except for the addition of seat belts, new IFF lights on the bottom, and a vacuform pilot's sliding canopy as the kit clear part doesn't fit over the center canopy part. I also used clear packing tape to make the wing light covers in place of using the kit clear parts. I made my own IFF lights by heating colored plastic and then shoving it into a hole in my Waldron Punch base plate, creating a nub that could be sawn off and then placed into the same size hole drilled into the bottom of each model, after which they were sanded and polished to fit. All of the markings for both of them came from the spares box using a combination of regular decals and dry transfer lettering. The NMF USAF T-6G is marked to represent a squadron hack used by Robert L. Scott's fighter group in Germany in the mid '50s; and the SNJ-3 is marked in 1942 colors and copied from the rear cover of the "T-6 In Action" book. Critiques, comments, and questions welcome! Gil
  20. That's a couple of major accomplishments! Both are nice, but that "Itsy Bitsy" scheme is one of my favorites. Congrats on both builds! Gil
  21. Looks good to me and somewhat menacing with those scimitar props! I know the feeling of just being glad to put something on the shelf and move on.... congrats! Gil
  22. That cannon looks phenomenal! Nice progress! Gil
  23. I think there is one misnomer here going unsaid; and that is that there's supposed to be a category for "everything" at the Nats. That's not so.... The Nats categories were established based on the most popular basic modeling genres and have since evolved based on two things: new genres (such as Anime and/or Gundams) and modeler participation in those genres. There never has been an intention to create categories to make sure that there's someplace to put everything that shows up. There's stuff that people build that's out of the ordinary, and then there's lot's of "gray" areas, which is where you're treading. That is why there's a Miscellaneous category. I like Ron's reasoning, and IF there was an automotive vignette category, I could see it being put there. However, short of that split being created (and it won't happen for 1 entry), I see the judges offering YOU the following option: Put it in motorcycles and have the figure ignored; or put it in Misc.. I do not see it being allowed into the "mounted figure" category. Not only do I think it's not what that category was created to serve in competition for, but I also believe it would raise a ruckus with those who build traditional mounted figures; and IPMSUSA does NOT need to ++++ off another genre group who already looks on IPMSUSA as a modeling group who puts them as second class Society citizens to planes, armor, cars, and ship builders. Your best course of action would be to consult the Chief Judge or one of the Head Judges BEFORE putting it on the table at the show. That way, you have no worries about putting it in the wrong place AND you avoid possible breakage from them having to move it at least once, if not more times. Gil
  24. Welcome Chad! Glad to have you here with us! You sound like most builders, no matter their genre, looking to add some critical details and improve from build to build. I also like the way you've mapped out your plans for the Nats. Seems like you have solid, concrete ideas on how to have some fun! Let us know how we can make your modeling more fun when you're here on the forums. Gil
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