ghodges

I really like the weathering on this one, especially on the cowling. Nice Zero Ying! GIL

Delightful dainty Dauntless Chris! They'll be thrilled with your work once they return from slacking off! GIL

This is the Monogram/Revell 1/48 F-84G kit, backdated to an E with a retrofitted "G" canopy (couldn't find the "E" kit!). The kit comes with both canopies, but you have to fill in the air bleed doors on the fuselage sides, cut off the refueling probes from the tip tanks, and remove the refueling boom doors from the upper left wing to backdate the aircraft. The model was built OOTB and Cutting Edge decals supplied the markings for Col. Scott's Thunderjet. The markings for this late F-84E are basically the same as for his early E, except for the additon of the command stripes on the fuselage, the later canopy, and slightly different lightning bolts on the tip tanks. I was less than impressed with the some of the engineering on this kit, particularly with the nose gear. It really needs a wire pin for strength. Also, the instructions are very poor for the main gear, failing to show precisely how to fit the scissors links and the gear retraction links. You'll need close up pics from some reference of the main gear to see how the parts are supposed to fit! Out side of that, the fit of the kit parts is pretty good and the detailing is very nice. I used Alclad for the NMF and Testors True Blue for the tip tanks (a good match for the decal tail striping!) The tail stripes fit the tail quite well, while the command stripes were a bit fussy (a bit too long). The red nose flash didn't fit AT ALL, and so it had to be masked and painted. The stars/bars, stencils, and the USAF modex decals are from the kit and went down just as nicely as the Cutting Edge decals. Overall this was an enjoyable build, and it makes a nice companion to Scott's C-47 squadron hack (in the same markings) on my shelf! Comments, questions, and critiques welcome, as always! Cheers! GIL

Mark (and all): go to Hyperscale.com's "Plastic pics": http://www.clubhyper.com/forums/plasticpixframe.htm Paul has been posting for 3 days, so you'll have to scroll down pg.1 and back 2-3pgs to see all of his posts. GIL

Yep! Paul has always been a great builder. I admire his work because he seems to get the most from his OOTB projects (even if he does build in the wrong scale! ). Lots of nice pics of his stuff over there the last couple of days! GIL

Looking great Bill! Isn't this the old Monogram 1/48 kit with a bunch of resin/pe stuff added? GIL

Where's that jaw-drop emoticon when ya need it........Dang Duke, you just keep rollin' along! GIL

Eggcellent little Lightning! Does your friend know your giving his wife things?....... GIL

Looks great Ying! You obviously have conquered any "rust" from your time away from building. Thanks for posting! GIL

I'm in the same boat Jim! I live in Florida, and build and paint in my uninsulated 2-car garage. I have 2 solutions for you: 1) Start using nitrogen for you air supply. Invest in a 3ft tall gas bottle with a good regulator. It'll last for about 8-10 1/48 scale paint jobs (more, if you use your old compressor to clean the airbrush with instead of the air supply). It's inexpensive to refill, AND (best of all) there's NEVER any moisture in the line because there's no moisture in the supply! 2) Buy a "portable" a/c unit (Lowes, Home Depot has 'em) It sits on wheels, connects to any window nearby (without tools), runs on regular 120 volt house current, and doesn't need to have a drain line (unless you set it on dehumidifier). The cost will depend on how big your garage is (sq.ftge to be cooled), and they run from $250-$400. However, if I turn mine on in the morning when I leave for work, it will have my side of the garage at a tolerable 87-88 degrees, even though it's hit 95 outside that day. And, it does lower the humidity too! You're going to have to invest some money IF you truly want to build year-round out there. But, if that's your goal, and you can't move your bench inside, then at least the above offers some relief. Best of luck! GIL

Rotten luck! But, that's why I've never used 'em either! GIL

Very pretty Mike! The glass looks crisp too, and I know that couldn't have been easy. What gloss white did you use? GIL

Your last sentence says it all Jim! As long as you're having fun, you're doing it the right way, no matter the result with the model. Learn as much as you want, but don't feel like you HAVE to build like anyone else you see posting here. Glad to have ya aboard! GIL

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Zinc chromate is an American primer. The interior of your German stuff is either RLM66 (a very dark gray); or RLM02, which is a lighter greeninsh-gray. Both of those colors are available from a lot of paint makers. For the Bf-110, the wheel wells are more than likely RLM02. The cockpit is probably also 02. You can get away with a lot in modeling, but zinc chromate green or yellow in a German plane is NOT "in the ballpark" so to speak... Hope this helps! GIL

Goferit dude! Like blowin' my doors in is any kind of accomplishment :P But, setting such low goals almost always assures success! GIL

Was just watching the "Color of War" on TV and saw some bombs on a flight deck with solid yellow noses instead of the circle, and the stenciling on the tail fin bodies instead of the bomb body. Just goes to show..... GIL

Well, as an a/c builder all I can say is that there seems to be great leeway in how you do them up. I've seen them with no markings, the yellow circles on the nose, and a circle on the body just behind the nose and just ahead of the tail. The stenciling is sometimes present and sometimes not (and is hard to see on an OD bomb body). A lot of the markings MAY have to do with whether or not they ever made it to a depot for storage before use (where markings would help catagorize, sort, and store); and may also be specific to certain depots (some adding all markings, others fudging the job due to wartime pressures). Or, the markings may be more specific to where they were manufactured....like I said, I've never seen a definitive reasoning as to WHY they're marked as they're seen. I've only seen pics of how they're marked. If you can find a couple of the WWII "color" pic books ("Fighter Command", "Bomber Command", Carrier Air War", etc.); you can find several good pics of bomb markings and painting to go by. The bottom line for me is that you don't have to worry about the markings on any bomb being "judged". I think the markings sort of fall into the same category as "detailing" on a model. If they're there, and they look good, you get positive mental points, especially if you painted them (a tough job!) The same goes for the arming wires, scale arming props, scale fin thicknesses, etc.. If you do all of the above well but miss the seam in the back of the tail, or down the side, you're still screwed..... GIL

Cool! I wasn't even aware that MY suggestion to have IPMS on Facebook had been acted upon. It was met with such a lack of enthusiasm at the business meeting (asking me to put my suggestion in writing DESPITE the Society Secretary sitting there taking meeting notes) I was pretty sure it would be by-passed. Or did another member bring this up since that time? Hmmmmm...... Regardless, I sincerely hope that this new "face" on IPMS exposes us to some folks who might otherwise never know about us. I fell that once someone joins and gets the Journal, we'll be able to keep them for some time! GIL

Thanks for the pics Brian, and congrats on your "haul", both on the contest table and from the vendors area! Nick makes a salient point that those of us who help organize shows are going to have to be much more judicious in the future. With fewer vendors able to travel as often, and less financial support (from fewer vendors and attendees), many will be hard pressed to continue to hold shows, or keep their present venues. We'll just have to adjust to the tougher economic times like everyone else. You, as members, vendors, and attendees can really help out by making it to all the shows you CAN afford, and also letting the hosts KNOW that you'll be there! The recently cancelled Atlanta show had to give up their venue because of a lack of commitment from vendors. This is NO fault of the vendors, as THEY have to conserve resources and make more last minute decisions. I believe that IF Atlanta had gambled and still held the show (providing they could financially even try it) they would have don OK. It's a popular and well located event. However, no one can fault them either for NOT gambling their club's hard earned and valuable treasury. Case in point: A few years back we held Jaxcon at a local hotel instead of our regular University Center facility; AND made it a 2 day event (as requested by many). We missed making our room nights requirement by 5 people; just FIVE people! THAT was the difference in making a profit and actually taking a small loss, as we had to pay the hotel 5x$79 for the missed room revenue. Yea, we all know how many of us attend shows and pick the cheapest motel nearby to save a few bucks. However, I also think that most attendees do NOT realize how razor thin the profit/loss margins are for most shows. That margin is even thinner in today's tougher economy! GIL

HERCULES! HERCULES! Duke, you nutty professor of speedy modeling, those look great! Congrats! Be sure to anchore those beasts to a ceiling beam! GIL

"IP is colored PE ala Eduard. Even you could do it, Gil :lol:" You obviously haven't watched me work! Especially lately..... But thanks for the optimistic support! ;) GIL

Looking good Duke! Did you hand paint the camo on the Bradley, or mask it and spray the various colors? GIL

I'll ditto Dukes praise of that panel! Are those kit instrument decals, or did ya punch some Mike Grant decals? Inquiring (and envious) minds need to know! GIL

Duke: In my Walmart the glues are hanging right beside the tapes, which are all usually one aisle over from the paint area. Gil

Great looking Nieuport Mike! GIL