ghodges

Looking good James! It's been a hoot following your build and the "others" on other forums who are also building this beast. It's my guess that how impressed you are with its "quality" is directly proportional to how badly you wanted a 1/32 Ta-152! GIL

The 1/350 Trumpeter USS Saratoga in pre-WWII fit, with the wooden deck and all of those yellow wing airplanes on it. Well yea, this IS the same model I listed as a must build for 2010. ....so what's your point? GIL

My 2-speed rechargeable battery powered Dremel motor tool. I use it for drilling, cutting, and grinding. It's relatively inexpensive as motor tools go and as versatile as whatever you can fit into the collette and use your imagination on. GIL

Nice job Ying! And congrats on graduating school! Now (hopefully) you'll have even more time to build models. Thanks for sharing! GIL

A lovely and timely gift that will be appreciated! I'm sure they'll value it even more knowing the work you put into it. GIL

Beautiful and intricate work on both! I find it interesting that both scultpures use such sad countenances, as if they'd seen the future and what it held for their tribes. You painting really brings that emotion to light. Congrats! GIL

Who's Panther is that Duke? Hasagawa's? Love the Marine markings! GIL

Good lookin' Airacobra Duke! Knowing how fast you build them, having a hangar queen for 3yrs must have kept you up nights! Congrats for attaining peace of mind! GIL

MIke: While I know you plan to build this for the Omaha Nats, you'll probably take it to other shows too. Keep in mind that for most shows, you be limited to 1 of 2 categories: dioramas (all); or aircraft dioramas. The composition of the diorama will not really matter outside the US Nats, where that distinction is made. Build it the way you envision it and then consult the rules and/or head judge for each show you enter ahead of time. Cheers! GIL

Hi Tom! You have some sage advice from the guys above about where to start, so I'd like to address your last question about the airbrush. 1) No- not having an air brush will NOT keep you from building nice models and enjoying the hobby. As Ron pointed out above, rattle (spray) cans and good quality painting with a brush can go a long way; especially as you get back into the hobby and resharpen your skills. The airbrush is simply a tool that allows you to do some things that are difficult or impossible to do without it. 2) Yes- IF (and that is IF) your goal is to put paint finishes on your models like you see from a lot of the folks on this forum, then you WILL eventually need an airbrush (eventually). It allows you to do soft edge camo, intricate splotchy camo jobs, and allows you to put the thinnest and most even finish on your models. It's an investment in money and time, that with practice, will allow you to build models that you MAY derive more satisfaction from. It can also be a frustrating teacher and task-master-until you learn to use it! My advice is to follow the advice above and start simply. Get a few models under your belt. Get a feel for what you like to build and how you like to build. Do NOT feel pressured by the models you see on the forums! We all have varying skill levels and varying amounts of experience. It will take you a while to develope both of those, so cut yourself some slack, build models, and do it in the way that gives you the most FUN! We'll be here to help you along the way if and when you want it! Cheers! GIL

Thanks for the info Andy. The finish is so nice I'd have never suspected such problems if you hadn't mentioned them. GIL

That's a fine looking Frank! Tamiya made nice kits even way back then. Are you going to levae it glossy, or hit it with a flat coat? Congrats on another nice build! GIL

Our website, ipms-firstcoast has been updated with all of the latest Jaxcon 2011 info. Once again this year, you can pre-register (but not pre-pay) on-line. There are also forms you can call up and print out if (like me) you're "old school". Cheers! GIL

Generally, diorama size deals witht he number of subjects in the dio. A pilot climbing into a single plane with the crewchief standing by with a fire exringuisher would be a small diorama. The same scene, but done with 3-4 planes and multiple pilots and crew personell (like "pilots man your planes" on a carrier) would constitute a large a/c diorama. Go to IPMSUSA.org and click onto the National Contest Committee and then click onto the Contest Categories and then scroll down to Dioramas. You'll see that they use the term "composition", which may help your understanding a bit. Hope this helps! GIL

Nice group of models Duke! Cute, colorful, and civilian....congrats! GIL

Hello Tom! I thought I detected the minty fresh smell of a newbie on the forum! Glad you started modeling again and that you're here on the forums with us. As for a suggestion to narrow down what to build.....how about starting with a piece of nostalgia? Find and build one of your favorite models you built way back when. In any case, always remember rule #1... RULE #1: HAVE FUN!! Cheers! GIL

Well, after almost 2 more weeks, I v'e done some decalling on the tail fin, and then ripped them off with tape because I didn't like the way they looked. Thus, the model (after repainting the tail fin) looks EXACTLY like it does above! Well, that is, exept for the windscreen getting knocked off! I was trying to use some very small white letters and numbers for the ac/serial and designator on the top of the tail fin. Tedious work; as they have to be applied individually (20 decals). However, as small as they were they weren't really small enough, so I tried compromising their postion on the tail (etc) and it just didn't look good. Also, the decal "B" squadron codes I made didn't go down well either. That's why I started over! The solution (I hope) is a set of Woodland Scenics dry transfer decals that are VERY VERY tiny and will have to be rubbed into place individually (for the most part). I've got new decals, and the paint on the tail fin is drying (with the "B"s masked off this time), so perhaps I'll have this puppy decaled by the end of the weekend. I'll post some progress pics after I have pics that look like I made some progress! Cheers! GIL

DOH! Ah yes! The 1 pound tube of Acrly-Green (I use the blue!) auto body putty. Great stuff when applied in thin layers and not used like epoxy putty....ask me how I know.... . Thanks! GIL

You're making much faster progress than I did on my conversion. What putty is that I see along the nose spine? GIL

Terrific Tiffie! Looks like a great result, so what issues did you have to overcome? Congrats on a beautiful build and thanks for sharing! GIL

I don't know if I would weather it. Looks pretty good as is, and being a presentation aircraft, you can use the excuse that it was either brand new or very well maintained! Cheers! GIL

Good lookin' build! I like the presentation markings too. What gray (or gray-brown, or sepia, or whatever they call it now) did you use for the overall scheme? Thanks for posting! GIL

That looks like some major progress to me. I like the looks of the single seat Voodoos. The stubbier nose on the recon version is really different from all of the other 101 versions too. Nice wrok! GIL

SWEET looking camo! GIL

I'd advise going with a flat paint Tony. In real life, any sheen would wear off quickly, and in "scale" it would appear flat anyway. GIL