Maddog Manufacturing 2023 Grand Reopening

[Mark Deliduka]

I have a lot to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving Day week, some of which is the progress we made on some of these models that have been fighting me. So much has been done that it's time for another tour.

We have kept the Shipyards idle again, so this tour will start in the Hangar to show the progress made on a couple projects.

First, we got the decals on the Russian Shtormovik:

They went on surprisingly well considering the extensive age of the decals. Now all that is left is the final details before this can be called done.

Next, we discovered that the support struts for the wing on the Russian Be-4 were far too short due to the fact that we had to raise the center pylon to keep the propeller from chopping off the nose. So we cut some new ones from strip styrene:

The originals are in blue above the four strips. Then; using Silly Putty to hold the fuselage in place upside down, we glued the wing to the fuselage and added the struts:

In retrospect, we should have done the same with the outrigger pontoons. I may still do that later....

Moving on, the Spitfire VIII got the decals applied as well:

Yes, they silvered quite badly, so that was addressed and the main landing gear and the tail wheel were installed:

Getting close on that one.

That closes out the tour of the Hangar; as mentioned it was a short one. Now on to the Motor Pool where a lot has been happening.

 

Here in the Motor Pool, we were rocking out getting things done. First, I decided we needed to get a couple of the Shelf Queens out if the Motor Pool and delivered to their respective forces. We started with the Russian fire truck that had been sitting for a couple years. It's an old PST kit which says a lot. It started out getting a new coat of red paint:

Next the wheels and some additional parts were added after which some more paint was done on some of the larger new additions:

The new parts were painted and other details were painted up as well:

That one quickly arrived at the dispersal  depot after that.

Another Shelf Queen that had sat for three or more years was my Russian SCUD D. I had wanted to finish it alongside the SCUD C I was building in conjunction with it, but the serious lack of the proper parts for the C means it will take too long and there was no reason the-D should sit in limbo with it. First, a couple additional colors were added for a three-tone camouflage pattern; it was hand brushed as I wanted this done quickly and there were too many delicate parts on the launcher arms for Silly Putty:

You can see wheels were added as well. The missile was just dry fit for looks.

Later the missile was painted, the vehicle was weathered and later some small decals were added after this next pic was taken:

This one was sent to the dispersal depot after the last detail parts were added.

Concerning the two Russian tracked heavy guns; one was sent to the dispersal depot despite missing a few parts. They are not immediately noticeable, so until the missing parts turn up, it is being delivered. The second one, the 152mm gun was going to be delivered too, but the aiming scope was crooked. When we went to straighten it out, it broke off and disappeared. Since I was already so tired of these two guns taking up space, I scratched a new scope which is highly inaccurate, but screw it! It stays unless and until the right part reappears:

Moving on  to the next bay, we found the photo etch for the Israeli Sho't Kal Gimel, so it was added to the turret and hull. Here you can see the basket part is partially glued and was glued the rest of the way after the glue dried:

The Gimel then got her side skirts on and a coat of paint:

The Dalet, meanwhile, had her tracks installed. Yes, I used the Pactra cement on the black vinyl tracks and it held them together perfectly, as if they were made of styrene:

With that, it didn't take long to get both tracks on:

Later the Dalet got some additional photo etch added that had not been installed before:

Back to the Gimel, we installed the crew machine guns and added the barrel decals:

The decals were also applied to the rest of the tank and the detail parts painted. This allowed us to send the Gimel to the Dispersal Depot.

Finally, in this last bay, we assembled all the major components to the chassis and then painted the camouflage pattern on this cab. It was freehanded with an airbrush because I was just getting lazy at this point and wanted this truck finished:

After a clearcoat, the decals were applied:

While they were drying, we went to work on the gun stations. They were fairly quick and easy to do, despite having a lot of parts:

Some of the last final details were added, including the anti-RPG sheets, the wheels and several additional detail parts:

After completing the rear view mirrors, this truck was also sent to the Dispersal Depot.

Thank you all for coming in and seeing the latest progress. Pics will be forthcoming of all the completed models, stay tuned for them later.  Meanwhile, comments are welcome, thank you for joining this latest tour.

 

 

 

[ghodges]

Excellent progress and a good tip on using the silly putty to secure and align a model for assembly!

 

Gil 

[Jmarc]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH RIGHT ..Productivity is the name of the game.. Just love to follow your WIP , definitly motivate me to advance more.. Last week I manage to advance on 31 projects one month left before I join this andover !..Go,go,goooo and looking forward to see your next moves ! 

[Mark Deliduka]

Thank you Gil! I have to say, Silly Putty is a tremendous aid to my modeling.

 

Thank you Jean-Marc! I'm trying to stay productive in between real life issues and responsibilities, but I can never match your 31 projects all at once. I might have that many going in the queue right now, but I only work on six to ten at a time for the most part. Stay tuned, upcoming tours will most likely pass through the Shipyards since I'm feeling the need to fire them up again.

[Jmarc]

HI MARK !

  It's normal , we all have our own thing to take care of 10 is also quite productive ,Cool ,go with the flow this way you keep the motivation on the go !.. If you are curious and view what I have done last week, the post is in french , but images speak by them self and there a link for each project to Google page I have made for them ..just follow these 2 links below  , you will also be able to view the other projects that are on the go ..

GENERAL PROJECT  (67 projects)

https://maquettequebec.forumperso.com/t4735-voici-mes-projects-en-courswip-2023-update-280

AVRO CANADA PROJECTS ( 27 projects)

https://maquettequebec.forumperso.com/t4736-voici-mes-projets-en-cours-wip-d-avro-canada-2023update-269

Enjoy and looking forward for your next update post !

  Jmarc

 

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Jmarc

[Mark Deliduka]

Thank you for those links Jean Marc! I will go see them sometime this week.

[Jmarc]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAny time !

[Mark Deliduka]

We've had three weeks of awesome productivity here, so it's time for another tour of Maddog Manufacturing. Once again this will be a bit of a long tour, so please remember all safety requirements and enjoy the tour!

 

 

Our first stop as always is the Hangar. We have a couple of started models, and a few Shelf Queens that are receiving attention too. 

 

 

In the first bay here is the British Spitfire Mk. XIV. We got all the paint damage repaired from when the paint cracked under the gloss coat:

 

 

Later the white stripe had to be painted on, so that was done. Yes, I decided to do it by hand:

 

 

After that dried, we shot the whole thing with a gloss and added the decals:

 

 

Other details were painted and most final parts were added. Later the rockets were added and this was declared done and sent to the Dispersal Field.

 

In this next bay we returned to the Fleet Air Arm F-6F Hellcat. This one got a shot of light RAF grey on the bottom:

 

 

Later, it was masked off and the upper green color was shot:

 

 

After some Silly Putty application we'll be able to shoot the second color. Looking forward to that!

 

In this next bay we have a shelf queen that was started some five or six years ago, packed up in the box again and promptly lost. While organizing and going through boxes, it was found again and so work commenced in this to get it done. This is an R-4D helicopter used in the Korean War and we had it built up to the basic fuselage stage. When we brought it out to work on it, the first thing we did was use this model to teach a couple kids how to airbrush. Later, we went back and painted the interior and then sanded smooth the seams that showed up in the paint:

 

 

Next was the addition of photo-etch parts and the assembly of the tail rotor:

 

 

Following that, we got the main rotor assembled, which was quite the ordeal given the weak attachment points on the blades. We got it done though:

 

 

A little dry fit showed us what we were dealing with:

 

 

Later we started on the main landing gear. We got the main support struts installed, but had lost the main gear legs so this is where we left off at the time:

 

 

You can see the main rotor is still dry fit. Now a day later, we found the main gear legs and added them, then added the tail wheel and strut along with a couple more detail parts:

 

 

Here you can see why this was packed away in the first place: Vac-Formed canopy. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, we got the frames painted first:

 

 

Any suggestions for installing those would be awesome. Meanwhile, we masked off the cockpit with more Silly Putty and got it ready for paint:

 

 

Which went on a short time later:

 

 

That was later shot with a gloss coat for decals which will go on later. This is where we stopped on that.

 

Moving on to the next bay, we have the start of an Egyptian Tu-16 Badger. I have a second one that will be done up in Iraqi Air Force markings too. For now, we got the cockpit assembled and dry-fit inside the cockpit module:

 

 

We then assembled the wings since they were so easy to do:

 

 

Further progress required paint that we did not have so we put this aside to start another fast and relatively easy kit; one I had never previously built before. This is the Heller F-94D in 1/72 scale and we started with the cockpit which was then cemented inside one half of the fuselage:

 

 

Later that cockpit was painted but before that, we built the main wings:

 

 

Later on, after adding the right amount of nose weight, this was all assembled together; puttied and sanded and readied for paint:

 

 

Later the cockpit canopy was masked and installed and this got a coat of flat black paint as a primer so we could see what issues this was going to have:

 

 

That's where we stand now with that. This completes the tour of the Hangar,now on to the Motor Pool.

 

 

 

Here in the Motor Pool, we have a number of things happening, some of which are new, and some are borderline shelf queens.

 

First up is this frustrating Armory ZSU-23-4 Shilka. Amazingly enough, we managed to get the torsion bars and wheels installed, followed by the individual link and length tracks. In fact one of the road wheels does not have a torsion bar because when I was trying to position it; the torsion bar sprang from the tweezers never to be seen again. So, I realized that the tracks touch this wheel top and bottom so it was cemented into place with the tracks themselves holding it into place. 

 

Later photo etch parts were added to this:

 

 

Once they were all dry, we sent this to the spray booth where the base coat was shot. Honestly, I never thought I'd ever get this model to this stage, but here it is, shot with a darker green than it's supposed to have due to me being out of the proper green:

 

 

In order to try and lighten it up, we took some Euro Dark Green and modulated the color over it. This is the first pass, later we did more and it improved a bit:

 

 

Once that was dry, we shot a gloss coat on this, gave it a wash, decals and other attention:

 

 

After this a dullcoat was applied and weathering done during it's shakedown run. Then it was sent to the Dispersal Yard.

 

In the next bay is another shelf queen, started some six years ago, packed up again in it's box and promptly lost. It was found in the same box as the helicopter so I figued it was time to move on this one. This is the Trumpeter SdKfz-9 with a crane. The basic chassis had been already done, so we continued to finish up that part, mostly adding the roadwheels, drive sprockets and idlers:

 

 

The main floor was then worked on, mostly assembling all the parts for the driver's and passenger's compartment. It's just dry fit on that chassis:

 

 

The base of the crane was then built as seen here:

 

 

That's as far as we got on that one. In the next bay we started another German truck, the Steyr 1500. The box was so messed up we just had to build it. Basic assembly was pretty good for a short run kit:

 

 

The remaining parts and some photo etch was then added:

 

 

Later this was shot with paint in the spray booth, but no pics of that.

 

Moving to the next bay we have the start of another easy model; this time another german armored car (more modern this time) made by Revell of Germany. It was left behind at the hobby day hall, so I decided to build it. First was the chassis:

 

 

Next the whole body and interior was assembled. Then we added Silly Putty to the interior and added the roof so we can shoot the base paint on it:

 

 

That came later. 

 

Finally in this last bay we went back to work on the little ACE Ford Stakebed truck. Some dry fitting was done to the chassis after we had painted the stakebed slats and the leather seats in the cab:

 

 

Later we finished the cab, except for the roof so we could get the windows in there later. The cab and stakebed were then glued to the chassis:

 

 

That's as far as we got with that, along with some touch up to the paint here and there. Hopefully thi swill be done soon!

 

 

That completes the tour of the Motor Pool, but the tour isn't over. We're going to detour into the Shipyards briefly so you can see the start of a new project that I'd been wanting to do fora very long awhile. This is the ancient Pyro kit of the Robert E. Lee Paddle wheeled Riverboat. We started with painting the waterliine on the hull and then adding the main deck to it. While that was drying, we started the paddle wheels. These required us to cement every paddle to each if the wheel sides as such:

 

 

You can see where we started by adding a few paddles to certain quarters of the wheel to hold it together first. Then all the rest were cemented into place. That was the first one. The second one is here:

 

 

Both wheels eventually got done:

 

 

This final shot shows the paddle wheels and the boilers dry fit in place on the main hull:

 

 

By the way, that model is a little over two feet long. It has been and interesting and fun build so far.

 

 

 

And that completes this tour of Maddog Manufacturing for this second week of December. I hope you enjoyed it and remember comments are always welcome.

[Jmarc]

I said a HIP HOP,HIPPIE to the HIPPIE, the HIP HIP A HOP and you don't stop !...

That was quite a tour , just love it and can't wait to buy my ticket for the next one !.

 

Just can't wai t...

.. Go,go,gooooooooooo 

[ghodges]

Wow.... you've got my 6mos to a years worth of projects going in just the last month!

As for the vac clear parts..... here's my advice:

1) Coat or dip them entirely in Future. You can do that while they're on the sheet or after you cut them out; but BEFORE you try to glue them on.

2) I've found it easier to cut out clear vac plastic with cuticle scissors rather than with a knife. It tends to be on the tougher side as compared to plain white vac plastic and is also harder to sand its edges. The scissors give you greater cutting control.

3) Initially trim close to but not quite up to the part outline. It sometimes helps to use a fine tipped black sharpie and draw your intended cut line around the part so as to better see and follow the outline.

4) Once cut out, test fit, trim, test fit, trim, and repeat until you get the best fit possible. Remember it's MUCH easier to cut away more material than to fill and blend in a gap.

5) Once you're satisfied with the fit, put the part in place and tack the corners with a drop of superglue to hold it. 

6) You can now use any of the following depending on how strong you need the joints to be: Super glue applied with a wire if it's going to be bearing any load and needs to be strong; liquid cement if you just want to be sure all the edges are somewhat welded but won't be subject to much strain; white glue/canopy glue to simply glue/fill/seal the seams; or even some Future for the same purposes if the seams won't be subject to any strain.

 

The main idea is to take your time, get the best fit, and glue slowly and carefully. Hope this helps!

 

Gil 

 

 

[Mark Deliduka]

Thank you Jean-Marc! Yeah, why stop right? There should be at least one more tour before year end, possibly two; then we'll do the End of Year Pass in Review.

 

Gil, thank you for the compliments and for the incredibly thorough instructions for the canopy!  That is worth it's weight in gold for me. I will print that out and use it when I get to that point. Thank you again!

[Jmarc]

WWWWWWWWell deserve .. and you are right unless you trip at the local gentleman bar..HO,HO,HO  ...lol  

Edited December 20, 2023 by Jmarc

[Mark Deliduka]

We'll see.....

[Mark Deliduka]

Well, as promised, here's another tour. It'll be a short one as I have Christmas activities coming up. Merry Christmas everyone! All aboard the trams!

 

 

 

First off, in the Hangar, we have a coat of black primer added to the F-94 to see what seams and issues need to be addressed:

 

 

Later we added the silver overcoat:

 

 

Followed by the decals. These were not too hard, only one broke four times:

 

 

Getting close on that one. Meanwhile, in this next bay, we have the canopy being painted for the Nigerian Mi-24 Hind shelf queen:

 

 

That is the replacement I got from the Hasegawa kit. You can see there's gonna be some serious adjustments to make this fit the ancient Airfix kit:

 

 

 

 

That completes this short tour of the Hangar, now on to the Motor Pool....

 

 

 

 

Here in the Motor Pool, we decided to start one of the GAZ AAA tracks. The chassis was mostly built up:

 

 

Moving on, we got the camouflage painted on the German Dingo scout car and then added the decals:

 

 

The decals above are a generic marking set I got since I acquired this kit for free at the St. Crispin's Hobby Hall. It was a donation and the decals were missing from the kit. So it was offered to me and I'm building it as a version that has the M.19 grenade launcher....with generic markings.

 

All the final bits were added, so detail painting later can be done:

 

 

Finally in this last bay, we have the '37 Ford Stakebed truck. The front fender mounts were all photo-etch parts:

 

 

Once they were dry, we were able to mount the fender. We also added the headlights and horn:

 

 

Afterward, the decals were added to this. I figured it would be easier to get them on now and then later finish this off once they were sealed:

 

 

 

That's what's been happening in the Motor Pool, now on to the Shipyards again.

 

 

 

 

Here in the shipyards, work has been slowly moving forward on the Robert E. Lee. First off, in order to move forward, we needed to get the lettering done on the side of the ship. Here's our first attempt:

 

 

Pretty sucky, even with a very fine brush. Second attempt went a bit better as seen on the bottom:

 

 

 

Still not to my satisfaction, so more work will be done on that. Meanwhile, work on the paddlewheel cabin commenced. As you can see from this pic, the sides are quite warped, so we made a start gluing the ends into place on the curve:

 

 

The other side was added and when the ends were dry, we cemented the rest of the walls down, using the clamp and some tape to help it maintain the form it's supposed to have:

 

 

You can see some of the reinforcement applied inside to hold it into place. Another view from a different angle; the white is Gator Grip Glue applied to reinforce the extra thin CA glue that was used to keep the rear part in place:

 

 

What an ordeal that was, and it's not over......

 

Meanwhile, work on the forward part of the main deck was done while waiting for the rear cabin walls to dry. First, the boilers were installed:

 

 

Later the boiler walls and wood piles were cemented in place, along with the catwalk around the boilers:

 

 

The remaining main deck braces were added next:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that completes this short tour of Maddog Manufacturing on this Christmas day! Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome!

 

 

 

 

[ghodges]

Lots of nice progress! If I might suggest trying for the RE Lee lettering... I've found a Sharpie to be useful on raised lettering. You just have to be careful to keep it above the sides so it only touches the raised lettering; but there's also no danger of it "running" like paint can. And, a finer tipped red Sharpie might do the job neatly on the inside of the lettering too.

 

Gil 

[Jmarc]

SSSSSSSSSSorry for the delay , I was stuck with the soft drink vending machine, man those machine sometime..lol  That ROBERT E LEE ship will be quite something..I agree with GIL on the lettering issue , another trick that might be helpfull it to to a wash in the lettering before you do the painting , this way it you have an  helpfull delimitaton contour, you let it dry, gave a coat of clear and than you do the sharpie lettering but again if you feel confortable with your technique it Ok by me !  

   Guess all the employe(e)s are off for the christmast holiday and come back to work only after the paid NEW YEAR brake ..lol ! 

 

[Mark Deliduka]

Gil, thank you ever so much for the fantastic idea for the lettering! I will certainly give that a shot as all other techniques have failed. I want it to look as perfect as possible as that is such a prominent feature on that ship.

 

Thank you Jean-Marc! I will definitely take all suggestions for the lettering; as mentioned, I want it to look as perfect as possible with my limited skills. And no, the "employees" are not off; they are too eager to work and get more stuff finished!

 

So, stay tuned, more coming down the line.

[Jmarc]

CCCCCCCool !