ghodges

That came out super David! If I may ask, exactly how and what did you use to polish that canopy? Looks very sharp! GIL

You're off to a good start, and that color looks dead-on! Do you have any 1000 grit or finer wet/dry sanding pads or sticks? If so, you might try LIGHTLY wet sanding the paint job before applying the next coat. You can even use 600 grit paper IF you're really light on the touch, letting the paper do all the work. That should smooth out most of the orange peel look and that next coat of paint will look even better. I agree with Mark, regardless. This is coming along very well and is going to look the part! GIL

Great looking progress! GIL

Von: If you're talking about the 1/72 green Neptune with the open left engine, I can put you in contact with the builder if you have questions. Email me at: slowhandshodges@bellsouth.net if you want me to do so. GIL

You have to realize that this thread is SEVEN years old! The original question and "wish" was made back in 2012! Since then, his wish HAS come true in 1/48 for the 106 and the 101. Unfortunately, some of the rest of the thread has also been proven true as some of those "newer" kits are NOT better than the older, Monogram kits. Relevantly (to a degree), I'm currently building the 1/48 Eduard release of the Hasagawa A-4E/F AND the older Hi-tech Monogram 1/48 Skyhawk side by side. One of them is the "latest/greatest" kit complete with colored pe interior parts, a resin seat, masks, engraved panel lines, and an expanded decal sheet. The other is the old 70's plastic with raised lines and a few pe parts thrown in to spruce up the detailing here and there. So far, I've not found the engineering or the fit of the components to be much different between the two. Outside of the cockpits, the other detailing is VERY much equal. My advantage here is that since there's extra cockpit pe in the one, I've rebuilt the Monogram tub to take a resin seat and use the Eduard colored PE! My goal, as with my F-14 builds, my F-8 builds, and my F-16 builds over the last couple of years is that once on the shelf, you can't tell at a glance which one is the "new" one! Here's pics of them all.... Half of those kits above are "raised line"; and half are recessed panel lines....... As for "wishes"....part of the original post.....most things are so well covered in 1/48 that only the very obscure, or less popular (re: unprofitable) aircraft are left to cover. That said, I don't know why there isn't a 1/48 C-46 Commando in injection mold yet, or a true SLAT-WINGED F-86A or F-86E model Saberjet. My long desired FJ-2/3 is due out later this year. While they're SURE to be better than the old ESCI Fury, and easier to get and build than the nice 1/48 resin Collect-Aire FJ-3 Fury; it remains to be seen just how correct they are, and whether they'll be better engineered than the "newer" F-101kits were. GIL

Shhhhh! There was never a problem, nor is there any "cut line". Trust me, if you don't mention it, no one will see anything. I'm looking, KNOWING it's there, and having trouble seeing anything! Excellent recovery! By the way, do you have any Tamiya Fine White primer? If so, I'd recommend a coat of that before starting with the blue. It'll cover easier over the white than the gray. GIL

Here are the BIG winners from Jaxcon 2019... Best Aircraft Best Armor Best Automotive Best Nautical Best Figure Best Space/Sci-Fi Best Diorama Best Gloss Finish Best Camouflage Best Natural Metal Finish Best Detailed Best Junior Model That's all but the biggest of all ....can't post the Grand Award winner because the site says I've exceeded the limit, and even in another reply it won't do it (timed, perhaps?). So, I'll post that later. Meanwhile, y'all try to guess which of the above was picked to be the top dog! GIL

Jaxcon 2019 was another record setter for us, with 135 people putting 652 entries on the tables! Below is a link to pics of ALL of the models at the show last weekend. Hope you enjoy! https://gallery.ipmsusa3.org/index.php?/category/11518 GIL

Nothing like that at NATS here in the states Noel....the "stash" sellers usually just buy a vendors table and sell their items. The table costs for the IPMSUSA Nats is too steep for most individuals to do that there, but those types of stash sales make up the majority of all the other local and regional model shows! Our club hosts a "kit auction" each November where people can put what they want up for bid at that meeting, and the club does take a 10% cut of those sales. But, since we do "pay-as-you-go", the seller gets paid as soon as his lot is done, and the club takes its cut at that time. There's no need to "inventory" anything that way. The down side is you're generally only going to get pennies on the dollar for what you sell, but you can also pick up some really great bargains! It's one of the more fun meetings every year! GIL

Jaxcon 2109 was another hit, with a record 135 entrants putting just over 650 entries on the tables. Here's a 13+ minute video on U-Tube posted by Tom Jackson showing highlights of the show. We'll have pics of ALL the models here within a week or so, so stay tuned for more! GIL

Holy cow! That's impressive and there's not even a model there yet! Looks like a well conceived "scene" and your figure painting is outstanding. The only item that jumped out at first glance is the side arm on the officer not in a flight suit. Looking forward to more on this one! GIL

Great looking start, though those pe belts sticking up and out into thin air look odd! GIL

Yep, a little filler, or even a strip of plastic in that front gap and you'll almost forget it was ever there. Way to persevere! By the way, in the future if you're updating a project (like this one), you can simply post the new pics and info at the bottom of your original post and it will jump back up to the top of the topics when you post it. That saves having to "add" a new post when you do an "update". Hope this helps! GIL

Noel: to answer your question, the IPMS Nats is judged on Friday evenings starting about 7pm. Thus, they have no time constraints on getting done for the public since the room is not due to open until the next morning. There have been times when the judges weren't done til after midnight and the final Grand Award winner wasn't picked until close to 2am, but that's rare now. Generally, they're all done by midnight. The ONLY time constraint I'm aware of is occasionally the VENUE will have a "lights out" policy for the entire convention center of midnight, and THAT does cause some headaches; but as mentioned it is VERY rare. By the way, many years ago judging was on Saturday morning and there was a "rush" to get done so that the people would have enough viewing time on Saturday afternoon. That's why judging was moved to Friday night, and it's worked very well; though it completely eliminates the ability for anyone to come and enter anything on Saturday. And Rusty, it IS possible to be overly zealous as a moderator. It's one thing if one member insults another directly by labeling them as deceitful, even if done with flowery language. But, making a point, even with a bit of sarcasm, is not entirely out of place. It's tougher to discern intent on a forum because there's no voice inflection, but I think a moderator can simply question a statement before accusing or warning someone about it. Stepping in TOO often can kill an ability to have a flowing dialog, which is the purpose of a forum like this! GIL

A few things..... 1) The video does seem a bit more "relaxed" in its presentation after your tweaking, but the pace is still good. 2) While it tells of an exhaustive step-by-step process in building the kit, you don't mention whether it includes any other references on the C-46 itself; such as walk around pics. Does it? The reason I ask is because I have the 1/48 Combat vac kit. While I could use the detail parts as good building "references" for my own build, having reference pics would make it more usable for my purposes. So, my point is that extra references for any subject you do may make an E-book desirable to people with other kits than the specific one you do. 3) As to how to limit what subjects you pick to do, I wouldn't limit it to what you can buy only in shops and on-line. Many modelers have extensive stashes and many models not available in stores. I think the criteria is if it's a popular kit of a popular subject that you know a lot of modelers have and build. I think it also applies to those that have a rep for being a bit more on the "difficult" side; such as the 1/48 Monogram medium bombers. Many modelers have them, many of those kits have not been replaced with newer editions, and an E-book with reference pics that also shows where the problems are and how to either avoid them and/or overcome them would be desirable. GIL

Sweet! That sculpt really captures his upbeat/laid back attitude. Is that shirt real, or painted? I cannot tell from the pics! Greta looking build and a nice homage....which reminds me.... GIL

Very well produced! I too concur that adding 2-3 seconds more per pic will make for a more relaxing "browse" for the captions. I didn't have trouble keeping up, but was prepared by reading Ed's suggestion beforehand. Very pleasant music too, by the way! GIL

That's a terrific looking Tweety! Great job on the SEA camo too; did you free-hand it or use masks? Congrats on a sweet looking build! GIL

Tough way to build it, but I have no doubt you'll salvage it and we'll never be able to tell the difference. As I recall on the Monogram Panthers, it's the intakes that determine the order of the wing assembly. I believe I altered the construction sequence with the intakes (finagled them somehow) so I could put them in the wings and then add the entire assembly later on; which allowed me to work them and blend them into the wings easier. If I remember, all you need to do is saw off those protrusions at the rear of the wing roots and you can slip the entire wing in place. Looking forward to seeing you overcome this setback! GIL

Oddly......many times the judges will move a model thinking they are doing the builder a "favor". This most often happens when a model is in a gray area of definition; like a 1/32 biplane, that's a "primarily rigged a/c" but also a "1/32 prop". Some judges will move it to the "less" populated category thinking: "it fits in there too and has better odds at winning with less models to compete against". A figure diorama with a vehicle or two on the base might just be moved to the vehicle diorama category for that reason..... I've never known a head judge, or a judge tasked with making sure things are in the "right" category to be capricious or arbitrary. They take that job very seriously. The people doing it generally have WAY more contest experience than the builders plopping stuff down on the tables (that's how they get the job of head judge/and or model mover; experience!). Also, in almost all cases, those moving models DO try to get the attention of the builder to notify them, or even (when time allows) to ask THEM to move it. In my many years of experience, the guys wandering around in the rooms pay little to no attention to announcements! Don't get me wrong...judges can make mistakes. The new rules for what turns a "display on a base" into a "vignette" or "diorama" has really muddied up the waters. Builders aren't always sure anymore, and judges are still learning EXACTLY how strict or lenient their head judge is about them. But it's usually the builder who thinks he's entering one thing, but has left it open to be seen and interpreted as something else. Or, you can do what we've done at JAXCON: got to GSB! There are NO categories, only Display Zones. So as long as an airplane or a car is among the other airplanes or cars, it's in the right place! And even if it's not....as long as the judges see it and judge it, no harm/no foul! GIL

Welcome David! Glad to have you here with us! I think you'll find modeling it like riding a bicycle.....sure, you'll lose your balance and scrape a knee as you regain your balance; but you'll be popping wheelies in no time! Be sure to post your work as you start getting models built again! GIL

That close to 60yr old kit is about as classic as they come, and you shined it up spectacularly! I'm with you....I've built no less than 6 biplanes and triplanes over the last 2yrs, most of them the newer releases from Eduard and Rodan. Their detailing is nicer, but Aurora beats them hands down when it comes to logical, easy assembly! Taking your route, with a little creative scratchbuilding and elbow grease, is just as good; as your beautiful result shows! Thanks for sharing! GIL

Here's some of the Special Awards and the Ace of Aces awards..... Hope you can make it to the show! GIL

That's a lot of swag Duke! I managed to pick up one of my "holy grail" kits last week...The resin CollectAire 1/48 FH-1 Phantom. Although I didn't get a bargain, the price was surprisingly reasonable and near the original cost; which was nice since it's l-o-n-g out of production, and the ONLY one in 1/48 (except for an even more obscure and impossible to find vac). It's nicely molded with hollow castings for the fuselage and wings, and also has the option of folding the wings. This one may get built for the 'Nooga Nats! GIL

Finally finished the Hasagawa F-16C kit.....added a resin seat and resin exhaust. I also had to modify a couple of pylons for the Harms, and actually make the Harms from spare box Shrikes since I'd robbed the Harms and AAMRAMS for my Growler build last year. That's also why it has two sets of sidewinders....the markings are an aftermarket set. The kit itself is quite nicely detailed and fits well. It's essentially their "A" Viper kit with some extra sprues that contain the "C" parts. So now I have two Vipers in my collection spanning from its inception until now after having none for the entire career of the real ones! Comments, questions, and critiques welcome, as always! GIL