I don't see a way to edit my post, but I would like to add that the RF-4B for Thunderbolt379's Rhinomania III group build  I am working on is still going forward.

Jim

Russ: Good to hear you've enjoyed your vacation/holiday. I'd like to see Thailand some day, so far I just eat Thai food every now and again.

Jim: Pretty cool A-7 there. I've built a few Hobbyboss kits and thought they were nice but I haven't been overwhelmed by them. Esp by their A-10 which comes with a beautiful nose cannon which can't even be seen once you close up the nose and horrific sink-holes on the wings that run right under the detail making it hard as blazes to putty and sand them.

BTW: You can edit your posts now by clicking on the tiny yellow pencil just under your post on the left.  

So guys:

Jim:

All my condolences to you.

Again, you have qualified as a man with a fully clear conscience. You served and

sacrificed for your family. Well done!!! Bear that with confidence!

In the final days, that is the only reason we celebrate our lasting torture,

it is the proof  and the means of our true commitment to life and liberty.

Getting too deep here pals? I believe in this stuff....

It is not about caring about ourselves, but caring about others,

without the expectation of personal gain, but rather, the next generation is independent.

"One day, you wake up, look in the mirror......

and it hits you...

you realize that you are no longer the most important

person in your life...."Author unacknowledged"

actually....estate planner....forgive me guys....I don't ever laugh at this stuff in real life.....

....when I do, it's because, I realize, in a way, I may have got off easy.....no disrespect

 intended for the lols.....

Yeah Jim, I feel better just knowing you did the same stuff I was compelled to do

for no other reason than it was the duty to my family name, forget any other

factor. You did the right thing by family.....many, many do not.

.

.

.

That, said, we must continue to feel perfect joy in building Fantastic Plastic!!!

Man,,,,,keeps us sane......

Yeah, so Ken displayed the Prima Donna of Aurora plastic.

Child of the Styrene God Romulus Aurorasas, (no not Ken, another guy....lol...Romulus....Romulus was a couple of guys searching to make a buck selling kids cheap plastic, cause their mom's didn't like all the wood chips and sanding dust on the furniture and carpet!!!! They ripped off the Hawk designs!!!) )

but the 'unplanned' child of his brother's (Remus, stabbed in the back by Romulus) wife, her name was "HAWK"....LOL.....

Here's a comparison between Romulus, i.e. Aurora,

and Remus, his brother, whom forgot to carry a sword:

Hawk, Remus, is above. They helped promote the innovation of the raised outlines of the decals.

Because, no one knew any different back then. These were among the top 12, the very first Complete Styrene Kits around.

Imagine waking up to that on Christmas or a birthday, after suffering years, yes decades,  of balsa torture......

think you got it tough pal????........lol.......Remus was meticulous:

Yeah, but Romulus, the schlub thug, gave us this:

Nice, huh?....lol....note the symmetry along the canopy lines....beauty, right?????

Wanna rescuplt that anyone.....lol.....

See, when that little pilot was looking to the Starboard, the whole injection tool moved that way, but when he was killed by the hot injection styrene at about 500 degrees, he froze in eternity, and so di the intakes of Romulus's casting!  Now you know!!!

Yeah, Remus is too detailed, looks too accurate, so, Romulus, the Hwak Meister, on the left, looks so much better!

Oh YEAH....thah's what I'm talikin' about,,,,,, see the bulge and intake manifold on the Starboard side....beauty....Mannnn.....lol..

Well truth be known, Hawk, er Remus, pralwey got this idea from a previous manufacturer. But mind you,

Aurora infringed on copyright and totally stole this innovation from Hawk, Remus:

Remus:

And Romulus:

So, last check on Romulus' great victory:

And on to Romulus' next great excapade, the F-9F Panther, same story guys,

except the tooling department learned how to use their micrometers:

The second kit Aurora ripped off Hawk, all kidding aside:

See the raised regalia, see that:

See, seeee?

Rich, my good friend, whom I respect, actually sands off the decal guides so meticulously placed by tooling craftsmen, over 50 years ago:

Rich, when he was stationed in Holland, actually sanded off those details, about 49 years ago....lol....

He sanded off the Starboard side entirely;

nothing like an accuracy zealot....lol.....he started on the front of the Port side,  but was re-assigned before he could destroy the entire USA - NAVY identity of the aircraft. Rich......???????

Yeah, see that, see that...? errr....see the French cheese mold on the box....LOL....seeing as it was in France, someone there prawley licked it's nose, like a French Boxer Puppy....lol.....err 50 years ago....lol...

Yeah, SEE that alright, see that....lol....

We are lucky to have benefited from the competition and innovation of such horrors.

But the guys that built these kits gave us joy unimaginable......not just nice modern kits...

but they were the guys that gave us all the great hardware we threw at the Soviets.....

they did this s**t in their spare time.......lol.....

Jim: my condolences about your mother as well, sorry I meant to say something and then it slipped my poor addled little mind...

Dom: interesting view of Aurora and Hawk. I didn't start modeling until Monogram ruled the roost here and Airfix controlled the UK/Commonwealth.  I guess if Aurora and Hawk were Romulus and Remus Monogram and Airfix would be medieval England and France? And would FROG be ancient Egypt???

Love those molded on decal locations, I guess if you wanted to build a Marine Corps F9F you had to sand the US Navy off? And if you were building a WWII lend-lease aircraft to the UK, NZ, Australia etc you had to sand everything off??? Bummer.......

Gamera

Jim: my condolences about your mother as well, sorry I meant to say something and then it slipped my poor addled little mind...

Dom: interesting view of Aurora and Hawk. I didn't start modeling until Monogram ruled the roost here and Airfix controlled the UK/Commonwealth.  I guess if Aurora and Hawk were Romulus and Remus Monogram and Airfix would be medieval England and France? And would FROG be ancient Egypt???

Love those molded on decal locations, I guess if you wanted to build a Marine Corps F9F you had to sand the US Navy off? And if you were building a WWII lend-lease aircraft to the UK, NZ, Australia etc you had to sand everything off??? Bummer.......

Yep, these kits were made for us "kids" who were not really caught up into making something authentic as much as making something to play with.  At least that was the way it was for my brother and I.  We would go to the local department store ("Woolco", "Woolworths") (showing my age here), of course Mom would have to drive us there.  We would spend the entire time my Mom would be shopping selecting the "perfect" model.  Then we would bring it home, (this is usually on a Friday night).  By Sunday both of us would have our models built and have many battles won and lost.

As we got older, paint started becoming part of the process of the build.  That is when we started getting interested in making the models look more realistic.  That is when we started building the Revell and Monogram kits.  Their kits were made with more detail and instructions for paint colors.

I can say I do remember becoming frustrated even as a kid with the fit of some of those kits.  That is when my Dad would help.  I would get really upset and show him the problem I was having and he would show me how to fix it.  In my eyes he could fix anything!

Ken

When i was a kid, dad could do anything when he was around (more often at work than at home) that was right up until the divorce.

God those kits are terrible.

The earliest manufacturer kit that i can remember (about my 3rd or 4th kit by this stage) was a revell Mi-24 Hind D Tigermeet kit. Didnt paint it since the plastic was already white. As a result the decals blistered and flaked off pretty quick. Also got my first modeling injury on that kit. Sent the craft knife through the pad of my thumb.

Speaking of revell and monogram. Ive got (Thanks to CallsignOWL) a 1:48 AH-64 Apache. Am i able to enter this? I want to get it finished before my Bugatti 100 arrives. (So 2 weeks, eek, hope i get there)    

Gamera

Russ: Good to hear you've enjoyed your vacation/holiday. I'd like to see Thailand some day, so far I just eat Thai food every now and again.

BTW: You can edit your posts now by clicking on the tiny yellow pencil just under your post on the left.  

Also, thanks for the tip on editing posts. I was scratching my bald head trying to figger out how. Now , how do you review your post prior to posting?

Hi, Rich,

I remember those days,  although they started in the 50's for me. I built a lot of Aurora and Revell kits too and yes, they were definitely fun. I built mostly planes, but I also ventured into armor occasionally. I remember most vividly a big Atomic Cannon model I got for Christmas one year - it was made by...ahh...darn! can't remember! What were we talking about?...oh yeah... I had a great time building it and it was huge! Two tractors facing in opposite directions with the gun in between. Wish I still had it - it would probably be worth a fortune unbuilt.

Russ

Son Of Medicine Man

Bockscar

 

 

 

Thanks Russ,

 

by the way, saw the B-52 bomb clip, what, with 28 loaded. Didn't catch the Mk or weight of those, I was thinking about 750 lbs each? Two clips per bay? -thanks

Dom

 

Hey Dom,

One thing that Russ is putting together is instructions on how to put together the bomb clips that go into the B-52.  It is pretty cool.

Ken

 

Hi Dom, Ken,

They were 500-lb MK-82 GP bombs. There were also clips for 750-lb M-117 GP bombs. The same dimensions for the clip should work as with the MK-82 clip, just with one less panel and different spacing for the bombs. The chafing curtain between the center bomb rows could be added if the total width of the clip isn't too critical. It must have been pretty narrow - only a couple of feet wide, since it doesn't show up in any of the angle shots. You can see it clearly from a front or rear view. Below are a few pictures of the 750-lb bomb clip. Each plane could hold three of either size bomb clip.

BTW, it appears there were small pins on the cradle that fit into the bottom of the clip panels to keep them from shifting around during transportation.

Ken, many thanks for converting the first version to pdf. If I'm not imposing, I sent you an updated version and would appreciate it if you can convert it as well. Then I can send it out to anyone that wants it. Again, thanks for your help on this, bud.

Russ

Ken:

Right on!!!

You and Rich nailed the experience. Our local Woolwoorths had the 'Lay Away' option and for me that was a big deal.

Some manager named Sheldon would sign a piece of paper i filled out and than after putting in 5 weeks of real, yes real silver coins, I could collect my prized Bismarck!

I'm stashing cash, dimes right now, as I am over drawn, ahem, to pick up some  authentic kit.

Jim:

Yeah; Romulus killed his brother to take his house, his village, and his tribe.

Julius is the popular conqueror of the British Isles. Airfix, as a Norman invader works as well as any other,

Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, cutting a swathe for King Rollo.

  Egypt might have won against Rome, had the Egyptians not long before Marc Antony been ascribing their agricultural products directly to Rome, anyways

Rome copied, it conquered, took its vanquished women and children, and put their artians to the task of

agrandizing Rome......

Airfix was a winner, it always made great kits, but the Romans saw it as ''Egyptian" so many in America shunned the kits.

I find Airfix of any decade to be fabulous kits.......Ab Fab........

I loved them all.............my paper route funded hundreds of dollars worth......it was worth it......

RUSSSSS!!!! JAHHOOOOOSEY FFATTTSSSS!!!!

Wow man, thanks for the reality!....shiiiisssh my hair is raising offa my neckkk....

YipYipyYiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeKKKKYYYYYOOOOOHHHHKKKYYYYAAAYYYHHHH!!!!

JJJEEEHOOOOSSSSSEEEEPPPHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTSSSS!!!!!!

Nice load out photos, I am archiving!!!!

Russ, many thanks, you and Ken have given me great photos...

I do not know what to say......

Scorpiomikey

When i was a kid, dad could do anything when he was around (more often at work than at home) that was right up until the divorce.

God those kits are terrible.

The earliest manufacturer kit that i can remember (about my 3rd or 4th kit by this stage) was a revell Mi-24 Hind D Tigermeet kit. Didnt paint it since the plastic was already white. As a result the decals blistered and flaked off pretty quick. Also got my first modeling injury on that kit. Sent the craft knife through the pad of my thumb.

Speaking of revell and monogram. Ive got (Thanks to CallsignOWL) a 1:48 AH-64 Apache. Am i able to enter this? I want to get it finished before my Bugatti 100 arrives. (So 2 weeks, eek, hope i get there)    

Scorpio......yesss terrible.......

I shot horrible little beasts off a stick with an elastic around the top.....

Those were the little nasty licks on your brain by the Styrene Dragon.......lol...

you think they wer horrible....lol.....but the Dragon licked your brain...........lol...

now, you, and do not fight it Mikey,,,,,you will seek styrene kits.......forever.....lol

The Styrene Dragon has you, Mikey, in his talons......

you are powerless but to do his bidding and build....build....build....until

after a million of us have built, the Styrene Dragon's domain is finished......lol....

Stop fighting the urge Mikey.....build.....

Ha, ive built hundreds of kits over the years. Not well, but i have built. Only the last few years have i upped the anty and started building quality kits.

Bockscar

RUSSSSS!!!! JAHHOOOOOSEY FFATTTSSSS!!!!

Wow man, thanks for the reality!....shiiiisssh my hair is raising offa my neckkk....

YipYipyYiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeKKKKYYYYYOOOOOHHHHKKKYYYYAAAYYYHHHH!!!!

JJJEEEHOOOOSSSSSEEEEPPPHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTSSSS!!!!!!

Nice load out photos, I am archiving!!!!

Russ, many thanks, you and Ken have given me great photos...

I do not know what to say......

LOL, my pleasure, Dom, and Ken's too, I'm certain .

BTW, I added one more to the previous post showing the loader and trailers set up. Looks like they've already loaded one clip. Must'v been a special lunch at the chowhall...

Russ

Hey guys,

I hate to be wishy-washy but I'd like to substitute my B-52 project for the FB-111 in this build. It's all I thought about while I was away and I have so many ideas I want to implement that I can't get focused on the FB-111.

Thanks,

Russ

Yeh, those were the days.   I had a limited modeling selection due to having to wait and save allowance money, which was only .50 a week.  So I had to be very choosy.  Although, sometimes my Mom or my Grandfather would surprise me with a little kit of some type.  My Grandfather was my best source while he was alive.  If I got a particularly good grade on a report card, he's get me something small, but whenever I got straight As, I got a big one.  That's how I got the old ginormous CVN-65 U.S.S Enterprise model.  That monster one with every detail under the sun.  I didn't get to build that for years because it was too big to put anywhere when we lived with my Grandparents.  He also got me the Cutaway U.S.S> George Washington Nuclear Polaris Submarine.  That monster took me nearly three months.

The good grade kits I remember the most were the old Hawk and Glencoe models.  I remember the Vanguard Satellite, the Manned space explorer, most of the Apollo and Russian Soyuz kits, including my favorite from that group, the Vostok Rocket.  I had a space station kit, most of the Aurora Monster kits, including the Godzilla with the glow in the dark head and hands..

These old kits were all great fun.  I always tried for as much accuracy as possible since my first kit ever, a Revolutionary War cannon my Mom bought me on a whim when we visited the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown MA.  Yeh, it's not actually in Boston itself, just outside Boston though.  And for you history buffs.  The Battle of Bunker Hill;l didn't actually happen at Bunker Hill.  It took place on Breed's Hill about 1/8 Mile away...

The younguns nowadays don't appreciate how good they have it. lol  Those old kits were fun, but a LOT of work...  And a lot of work with very limited resources.  No PE, no Resin, crummy glues, very limited paints, masking tape that bled paint badly, and kitchen knives instead of no.11 Xacto blades.  A lot of work, but immeasurable fun as well...

I wish I still had my old collection.  It burns me up sometimes when I see kit's I once had online, and remember them, and when they were stolen.  I'd be quite rich right now if I still had them.  Oh well, I have a new collection now and in 30 years it may be worth as much, but I'll never give them up.. never, never I tell you Muahahahahaha..... LMAO.

Rich

Striker8241

Hi, Rich,

I remember those days,  although they started in the 50's for me. I built a lot of Aurora and Revell kits too and yes, they were definitely fun. I built mostly planes, but I also ventured into armor occasionally. I remember most vividly a big Atomic Cannon model I got for Christmas one year - it was made by...ahh...darn! can't remember! What were we talking about?...oh yeah... I had a great time building it and it was huge! Two tractors facing in opposite directions with the gun in between. Wish I still had it - it would probably be worth a fortune unbuilt.

Russ

I love a loaded clip......

Russ:

Very strict rules here. Very strict.

We turned away thousands, just because they changed their minds.

We gave you a chance.......lol....

Russ, those clips, i am assuming becasue of the dteail you are putting into them,

is there any chance you could document a few of your stages of assembly

to give us guide as to how you are doing those?

I really appreciate the pics, and It would be great to see how you make those

bomb clips as you move forward.

-Dom

Hey, Dom,

I have a procedure already written. I can send you a MS Word version if you can provide me an email address - my email is rfeldt@cfl.rr.com. Otherwise, we'll have to wait for Ken to convert it to pdf, if he doesn't mind doing so.

Andrew, if you want the Word version, let me know and I'll forward a copy to you.

Russ

Mikey,

that was a show grade kit you just completed, I love the Corsair, as many of us here do, and you really nailed the detailing....shows off yours years of building experience.....had to clean up the coral dust from my desk after looking at that.

tell us about your first kit, or kits.....please & thanks,

-Dom

Russ many thanks,

I'll post you PM's,

Thanks again

Hmm, first kits. Dad always had his hobby room off the basement playroom. After showing interest dad took me to the local warehouse (Our equivalent of walmart) and we got a snap together F-15.

Shortly after that mum and dad got divorced so my memory is a little hazy (I got really sick and ended up in hospital)

The next kit i remember was a Dassault Mirage, molded in silver. Im guessing it was a 48 scale kit. No idea who made it. But i remember the pilot was holding his gut and had bullet holes in him.

I didnt paint it, but it hung from my bedroom ceiling for years.

The next kit i built was the USS John C Stenis. I painted the hull bright red. I had a thing for red when i was a kid. I remember painting the deck crane bright orange and then driving it along nan and pops fence. It caught and flipped into the neighbours flax bush. Never saw it again. I would have been 9. Nan and pop bought it for me to try and get me through the divorce. That was a visit that i managed to pinch all of dads modeling gear, there were about 100 pots of humbrol enamel. Glues, files, sanding sticks. After that it was the usual airfix spitfires and stuff. I took a break about 6 years ago when i met my current partner. Took it up again about 3  or 4 years ago when we moved back to CHCH. You guys have pretty much seen everything ive built since then.

Mikey:

Those were the magic words

"get me through the divorce"

styrene kits got me through lots of stuff....

as is the same for the guys here......all the crap in the world was flying,

but the kit always was like an anchor of reality, and sanity, for us.

Says it all.  

Thanks for that Mikey

Thanks man. I dont really like to remember those days much. But your right, when all else goes to hell, the plastic stays true.

Scorpiomikey

Thanks man. I dont really like to remember those days much. But your right, when all else goes to hell, the plastic stays true.

Again, you summed up the reality of life.

I just hate recounting or retracing the steps to the parlor,

but then a guy like you, regular guy,

says it all over again. So that's just how it is.

The scars tell the story of our lives.

I love the Century 100 aircraft, because they

tell the story of our scars in a big way.

There was a reason why those aircraft were built.

I still believe in that reason. I will gladly bear the scars.

Besides, I worked real hard to earn the silver to

buy all those kits, and I liked the process so much

I still re-trace the steps, gladly, today.

I don't think I lived a day after getting my Aurora

F9F Panther, that I didn't want the next kit.

Until 10 years ago, I didn't know so many people were

still into the hobby......we all have similar stories,

especially the stories about how the kits anchored us,

they really did keep us sane, the kits needed us as

much as we needed them...it is a culture.

-Dom

Scorpiomikey

When i was a kid, dad could do anything when he was around (more often at work than at home) that was right up until the divorce.

God those kits are terrible.

The earliest manufacturer kit that i can remember (about my 3rd or 4th kit by this stage) was a revell Mi-24 Hind D Tigermeet kit. Didnt paint it since the plastic was already white. As a result the decals blistered and flaked off pretty quick. Also got my first modeling injury on that kit. Sent the craft knife through the pad of my thumb.

Speaking of revell and monogram. Ive got (Thanks to CallsignOWL) a 1:48 AH-64 Apache. Am i able to enter this? I want to get it finished before my Bugatti 100 arrives. (So 2 weeks, eek, hope i get there)    

Hi Mikey,

Sorry for waiting so long to reply to your question.  Yes, you can enter the Apache.  I will update page 1 now.  I have been caught up with my Mom's brother who is close to the edge with cancer.  I took my Mom to see him yesterday (it is a three hour drive one way) so it took up the entire day.

Ken

Hi Russ,

No problem, I updated page 1.  I assumed that it is a Monogram 1/72 B-52D?

Ken

Yup Thanks Ken.

Thanks Ken. No worries, family comes first. As my cuz says "Blood is thicker than water"