Hi Guys.  I put up the thread for this years Secret Santa Build.  Here is the link.

cs.finescale.com/.../150747.aspx

Let me know if you are interested.  And please feel free to pass the address around.

Striker8241

Bockscar

Russ:

That F-4 build is a Revell 1/32 Phantom from way back a' when.

Here's the link to the J-79 engine build here on FSM, not sure you got that:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/44/t/144655.aspx

Struggling with work and time to get this putty-bird done and

move on to OOB builds....lol

Dom

 

My God, that's fantastic scratchbuilding, Dom! I saw pieces of your work in the GB but this is the first time I've seen the whole build. That is some innovative use of available resources too! .

 

Outstanding effort, bud. I can't wait to see it finished!

 

Russ

The life-saver on that project was to get my swollen cranium

around the idea that my scratch work didn't have to have closer tolerances

or accuracy Than the original, as some of the engineering mistakes on that Revell

kit were down right Aurora.

Dom

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Once again your research is as thorough as ever!

Ken

 

Thanks Ken!  But you're too kind. If my research had been thorough, I would have made the cut in the right place .

 

Russ

 

 

Now c'mon Russ, now you are talking like you expect to be perfect.  Anyone here who pretends to be that is lying.  You are being thorough in the fact that you caught it, and have a plan on how to correct it!

Ken

Those long pieces of aluminum were pre-bent starting at the inboard engines and matched the dry-fit training of the wings themselves. Wen everything was satisfactory i used cyanoacrylate to seal the whole shebang up, and must of used and ounce in each wing in progressive stages to ensure the aluminum struts were 'stuck real good' to the insides of the wing.

That was the last time I ever used super-glue, I got so sick we thought I had contracted asthma.

It turned out okay.

This crft is as persnickity as watch making, so the most important thing is not to get ourselves too bent out of shape when we take a wrong turn in the process. i think what makes it so humbling is that, as Ken said, none of us are perfect, but we do what all men instinctively do, and strive for perfection.

Dom

Hello once again all. Just a quick question concerning NMF. I have used an undercoat of gloss black before but it's been years ago.If I'm using any kind of metalizer type paint is it advantageous to do this?

Also, thanks for the comments on the Panzer, Ken and yes I would be more than happy to have it on the first page.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Russ,

It is cool to use acrylics on top of enamel.  That is in fact what I use.  I use "Xtra Color" enamel because it comes in gloss, which is the best choice if you are going to use a wash on top.  The wash will wipe cleanly off of a gloss finish.

Ken

Sparrowhyperion

Hi everyone.  I'm still alive, sorta..  This bug has gotten worse, so if you don't hear from me for a while it means they put me in the Hospital.  I managed to do a little putty sanding on the Revell kit and my wife surprised me with a new tube of green putty so I would stop "beotchin" about it. lol   Apparently the one who trashed the last tube eventually stepped up and paid for it.  Now I am getting the "Santa better be good to me this year" suckup face. lol

Hey, Rich,

Sorry to hear that. Hope you can shake this thing without going to the hospital. Get well soon!

Russ

mikeymize

    Well, it looks I have some catching up to do; so far everyone's projects are looking great. I'm amazed at the level of expertise and am somewhat humble by it to be honest. I look at it though, as a chance to learn some techniques that may be new and to appreciate all this hobby of ours has to offer.

    As promised I have the finals shots of my "diversion" ,aka Panzer II. It was a pretty straightforward build as  many Tamiya ones are. That's good too cause I was definitely out of my comfort zone doing this. I also remembered what I hate about tanks: TREADS! They're kind of like armors' version of canopies for me. I did screw up on the tiny decals and had to wing it with what was left on the sheet but other than that and the aforementioned tracks it was a nice change.....now to the real build; the dreaded MiG 17!  

mikeymize

Hello once again all. Just a quick question concerning NMF. I have used an undercoat of gloss black before but it's been years ago.If I'm using any kind of metalizer type paint is it advantageous to do this?

Also, thanks for the comments on the Panzer, Ken and yes I would be more than happy to have it on the first page.

Hi Mike M,

I have never painted NMF, but I did have a lengthy email discussion with one of the engineers of Alclad on the subject.  If you are going for a nice shiney finish using Alclad, you will need to use their black base.  But I believe Cliff has some experience painting NMF so he can probably give you some personal experience tips.

Ken

Bockscar

That was the last time I ever used super-glue, I got so sick we thought I had contracted asthma.

Dom

mikeymize

Hello once again all. Just a quick question concerning NMF. I have used an undercoat of gloss black before but it's been years ago.If I'm using any kind of metalizer type paint is it advantageous to do this?

Also, thanks for the comments on the Panzer, Ken and yes I would be more than happy to have it on the first page.

Hi Mike M,

Do you have a picture of your Panzer II with the entire tank in the picture?

Ken

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Russ,

It is cool to use acrylics on top of enamel.  That is in fact what I use.  I use "Xtra Color" enamel because it comes in gloss, which is the best choice if you are going to use a wash on top.  The wash will wipe cleanly off of a gloss finish.

Ken

 

Hey, Ken,

 

That sounds good. Where can I get acrylics reasonalby cheap?

Thanks,

Russ

Hi Russ,

My favorite place is Scale Hobbyist, but you need to buy at least 5 bottles to make up for the price of the shipping.  Less than that then Sprue Brothers.  Here is a link to Scale Hobbyist:

http://www.scalehobbyist.com/manufacturers/Testors_Models_and_Paints/Paints/browse.php?s=3&t=1&micr=212&pg=1&ppp=24&sb=stocknumber&so=a&man=tes 

And here is a link to Sprue Brothers:

http://store.spruebrothers.com/category_s/1982.htm 

Ken

Thanks, Ken!

Striker8241

Thanks, Ken!

You are more than welcome Russ!   

Striker8241

Bockscar

That was the last time I ever used super-glue, I got so sick we thought I had contracted asthma.

Dom

 

Dom, what do you use in place of super glue?

 

Russ

There is no replacement that comes close, but I have used various acrylic polymers for different situations.

Future Floor finish works pretty good, as the basic polymer in super glue is an acrylic base. I have tried this thick stuff, Gator's Grip, but it is thick like Elmer's White glue.

I can't really do resin work or anything that requires a strong bond and is able to fill gaps through capillary action.

Of course, over the years I have found any bond made with super glue to be very fickle, it is easy to snap, and then you can't use regular glue to fix it until you remove all of the cyanoacrylate first.

My ultimate glue is MEK for styrene, followed by lacquer thinners(toluene) and anything from industrial acrylic sealer to epoxy for the rest. There are glues that use acetone as a solvent, and they are good for non-gap situations, they sometimes come filled with iron or aluminum or copper.

I didn't realize that even a small whiff of cyano, and I have lung disease for half a year.

Dom

Hi Everyone,

Today was a busy day.  First I washed the Aires wheel bay set with the vinegar and water solution.  Next I cut off the resin base stub from the front wheel well:

Another thing I plan to install is the Verlinden open avionics panel:

It also has excess resin that needed to be removed:

Here it is with the excess removed:

 The Aires cockpit includes the side panels that are molded into the sides of the fuselage as shown in the next two pictures:

And here is the fuselage halves with the molded instruments filed off:

Ken 

NIce

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Today was a busy day.  First I washed the Aires wheel bay set with the vinegar and water solution.  Next I cut off the resin base stub from the front wheel well:

Another thing I plan to install is the Verlinden open avionics panel:

It also has excess resin that needed to be removed:

 

Here it is with the excess removed:

 The Aires cockpit includes the side panels that are molded into the sides of the fuselage as shown in the next two pictures:

And here is the fuselage halves with the molded instruments filed off:

 

Ken 

Great job cleaning up those intake duct areas.

By the way, I found a dozen or so dead birds on my lawn, resin dust poisoning Ken.

Shame on you....lol....

Dom

Bockscar

NIce

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Today was a busy day.  First I washed the Aires wheel bay set with the vinegar and water solution.  Next I cut off the resin base stub from the front wheel well:

Another thing I plan to install is the Verlinden open avionics panel:

It also has excess resin that needed to be removed:

 

Here it is with the excess removed:

 The Aires cockpit includes the side panels that are molded into the sides of the fuselage as shown in the next two pictures:

And here is the fuselage halves with the molded instruments filed off:

 

Ken 

Very nice resin parts, but you have to line up those pictures with the picture frame orthogonally, because when I scroll them to fast i get motion sickness.....lol....

Great job cleaning up those intake duct areas.

By the way, I found a dozen or so dead birds on my lawn, resin dust poisoning Ken.

Shame on you....lol....

Dom

Thanks for the compliments Dom!

(As far as the birds are concerned, they are filthy disease carrying pooping varmits!  )

Ken

Guys, just got back home, and am typing this finally on a real keyboard instead of a tiny friggen' smartphone!!!

Lemme first say great work all around guys, love what you've got going there Ken and MikeM.

Rich: Seriously hope you're feeling better soon, sounds really rough.

MikeM: well Alclad needs an undercoat since it's 'hot' enough to attack the plastic. MM Metalizer does not need an undercoat and I'm not sure about Talon. For the Alclad I just spray down a good coat of MM gloss black. You really need the gloss black only for a super shiny chrome look but I generally use it anyway, it's easier to make it duller than shiner. Frankly a coat or two of Tamiya primer works fine as an undercoat as well.

Bad news though, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, Ga only has a handful of aircraft.  

B-17 being restored

Mig-17 on grounds

F-4 on grounds

B-47 Stratojet on grounds

Trainer (forgot which model)

Two replicas of a P-51 and a Bf109

I snapped photos of pretty much everything, will try to get them uploaded to photobucket soonish.

Gamera

Guys, just got back home, and am typing this finally on a real keyboard instead of a tiny friggen' smartphone!!!

Lemme first say great work all around guys, love what you've got going there Ken and MikeM.

Rich: Seriously hope you're feeling better soon, sounds really rough.

MikeM: well Alclad needs an undercoat since it's 'hot' enough to attack the plastic. MM Metalizer does not need an undercoat and I'm not sure about Talon. For the Alclad I just spray down a good coat of MM gloss black. You really need the gloss black only for a super shiny chrome look but I generally use it anyway, it's easier to make it duller than shiner. Frankly a coat or two of Tamiya primer works fine as an undercoat as well.

Bad news though, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, Ga only has a handful of aircraft.  

B-17 being restored

Mig-17 on grounds

F-4 on grounds

B-47 Stratojet on grounds

Trainer (forgot which model)

Two replicas of a P-51 and a Bf109

I snapped photos of pretty much everything, will try to get them uploaded to photobucket soonish.

You're right about Alclad, it's 95% solvent, 4% resin, and 1% metal powder.

Glad yer' back!

Dom

Hey Ken,  I was just getting some final stuff done on my other model (VNAF A-1) and saw your request for a full view of the tank. Glad to oblige. Hope this one will work!

Now Ken;

We all know that research has shown, by a million scientists, that birds flap their wings and that offsets damaging global weather effects.

We also know, that research has shown, by 10 million scientists, that bird poop is critical to enriching the nutrient soil infrastructure of urban, city, and country areas, and that millions of farm animals would starve every year because the nutrient replenishment within critical high turn over soil matrix complexes is severely compromised by recreational and industrial activities that impose toxic intrusions into an otherwise healthy and sustainable bio-environment.

errrr.....we do believe in recylcing, so i featherd a few of those squab an' we rosted 'em and washed 'em down with beer and the company of sleezy female folk.

Thanks for the windfall Ken!

Dom

Shiiiish Mizer!

Put that in a show,! Great work, i like the weathering on the paint, tools, and rusty details,

errr......looks like the troops just hosed her down after combat, she's so clean....

Dom

mikeymize

Hey Ken,  I was just getting some final stuff done on my other model (VNAF A-1) and saw your request for a full view of the tank. Glad to oblige. Hope this one will work!

Hi Mike M

That is a great shot!  I just updated page 1.  Looks nice!!

Ken

Bockscar

Now Ken;

We all know that research has shown, by a million scientists, that birds flap their wings and that offsets damaging global weather effects.

We also know, that research has shown, by 10 million scientists, that bird poop is critical to enriching the nutrient soil infrastructure of urban, city, and country areas, and that millions of farm animals would starve every year because the nutrient replenishment within critical high turn over soil matrix complexes is severely compromised by recreational and industrial activities that impose toxic intrusions into an otherwise healthy and sustainable bio-environment.

errrr.....we do believe in recylcing, so i featherd a few of those squab an' we rosted 'em and washed 'em down with beer and the company of sleezy female folk.

Thanks for the windfall Ken!

Dom

You are more than welcome!!  Glad to contribute to your bounty!!   

Ken

Dom: I DID get plenty of photos of the a/c that are there, just need to get 'em uploaded to photobucket.

MikeM: Looks really good to me!

Gamera

Dom: I DID get plenty of photos of the a/c that are there, just need to get 'em uploaded to photobucket

It's easy to take too many photos, and miss the scenery....

Yes, awaiting boto**ucket photos, and if you do not mind, a few treasured downloads for

my collection.

Dom

Gamera

Bad news though, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, Ga only has a handful of aircraft.  

Not a problem, Cliff. Thanks for taking the time to photograph those that were there.  BTW, there's a B52D over in Orlando on display so I'll make a trip over there next week and post some pictures.

Hope you and your family enjoyed your vacation.

Russ

Bockscar

Striker8241

Bockscar

That was the last time I ever used super-glue, I got so sick we thought I had contracted asthma.

Dom

 

Dom, what do you use in place of super glue?

 

Russ

Russ;

There is no replacement that comes close, but I have used various acrylic polymers for different situations.

Future Floor finish works pretty good, as the basic polymer in super glue is an acrylic base. I have tried this thick stuff, Gator's Grip, but it is thick like Elmer's White glue.

I can't really do resin work or anything that requires a strong bond and is able to fill gaps through capillary action.

Of course, over the years I have found any bond made with super glue to be very fickle, it is easy to snap, and then you can't use regular glue to fix it until you remove all of the cyanoacrylate first.

My ultimate glue is MEK for styrene, followed by lacquer thinners(toluene) and anything from industrial acrylic sealer to epoxy for the rest. There are glues that use acetone as a solvent, and they are good for non-gap situations, they sometimes come filled with iron or aluminum or copper.

I didn't realize that even a small whiff of cyano, and I have lung disease for half a year.

Dom

Thanks, Dom! Good info! So far, I haven't had any noticible problems but I would like to minimize my exposure as much as possible. I 'll try some of your suggestions.

Thanks again,

Russ

Looking good, Ken!   I think the only ECM box we had in that compartment in those days was our RHAW (radar homing and warning) receiver. Any jamming or deception repeater capability was provided by pods.

BTW, one of the joys of being in the ECM shop was pulling weekend duty and getting called out to download our pods with the jammer and upload luggage pods so pilots could make "test flights" to places like Florida and Arizona. Amazing that there always seemed to be a golf bag in those luggage pods .

Russ

Striker8241

Looking good, Ken!   I think the only ECM box we had in that compartment in those days was our RHAW (radar homing and warning) receiver. Any jamming or deception repeater capability was provided by pods.

BTW, one of the joys of being in the ECM shop was pulling weekend duty and getting called out to download our pods with the jammer and upload luggage pods so pilots could make "test flights" to places like Florida and Arizona. Amazing that there always seemed to be a golf bag in those luggage pods .

Russ

Thank you for the compliment Russ!

Hmm..., "test flight" to Florida and Arizona.  Now that is what I call a real job "perk"!   

Ken