Weekend Madness 2014-Stick a fork in it, we're done! See you next year!

Nice P-51, looks sharp!

lewbud...Thank you for hosting such a fun GB!!!  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what I, as well as everyone else can accomplish in such a short amount of time.  Everyone contributed a fantastic looking piece!  I cant wait to do this group build again.    

Done at 6:42.  Pics after work.

Scott - Way to go with U-Boat U built (hehe!  2nd try with that lame joke!)  She looks mighty fine and I'm amazed you completed it in less than 48 hrs! 

Caveman - I don't know diddly squat about proper markings for an A-4....all I know is that she looks great!  Congrats on finishing her on time!

ajd - the Mustang is looking good!  What type of OD did you paint her?  Looks like the perfect color for my upcoming Razorback!

Lew - git her done bud!  All the completed AC builds are inspiring me for the Razorback!  Gotta warn you all though...its my first aircraft build in 35 years! 

Scottrc-Great job on the U-boat!  Which pic would you like on the front page?

Caveman-Bummer about the decals.  A what if could be cool.  Keep at it!

Ajd-Your C model is looking good!  What markings will she wear?

To be honest, I kind of ran out of steam on this build.  However, seeing Scott finish his boat, and ajd's and Caveman's efforts spurred me back into action.  She has a full complement of flying wires, a little on the thick side, but good practice for when I get the Lost Starfighter upgrades.  I don't have the correct blue for the tail markings, but there are some blue stripes in the decal set.  About twelve hours to go.

Well it's midnightish and I had time to get some USN markings on it before the time ran out.  Calling her done.  Will post better pictures tomorrow.  As you can tell my lighting is very bad.

Until tomorrow......

Well, 2 hours to go and disaster has struck.  The old Monogram decals are useless.  Some shattered and others just simply fell off.   I don't have any spare USMC decals in low vis, so I may turn this into a fictional navy bird to make the deadline.  All she needs is the wheels and markings.

Caveman - your A-4 is looking good, nice job.  Looking forward to the finished product!

scottrc - Nice U Boat!  I am with Caveman, not sure if I could pull off a ship build that quickly.  I've never attempted one so I couldnt say how long it might take me and have it look nice.

Nice looking U Boat.  I don't  think that I would try a ship in 48 hours.

Its now 3:50pm and I am now declaring my build finished.  It was not a bad build and would like to try this kit again with PE railings and fittings that would be more to scale.  It was fun and I can now say I actually completed a build within a reasonable time.  Thanks for hosting this GB and I look forward to trying this again next year.

Well, here I sit.  8 hours to go.  Jet is out of paint and will require one quick touch-up around the canopy then on with the decals.

Lewbud I'm afraid the color scheme is rather drab.  Not overly interesting.  The tail code is YU from a Marine support squadron I believe.  Those were the only markings in the kit.  I would have preferred a more colorful bird, but this seems to match my reference photos.  I must also add that my camera seems to make my paint colors seem more stark than they actually are. They are quite drab to my eye.

Should easily get this one done in time.

Ajd-That's a good looking Mustang.  Keep it up.

Caveman-I like your Scooter!  What markings will she wear?

Scottrc-I really like what you're doing with that old kit.  I like it when someone takes an old kit that most people wouldn't give a dollar for at a contest, then turn that kit around and make a good build out of it.

Roughly twenty something hours into this build, I have something that resembles a teeny, tiny airplane.  The tires are painted, as is the interior of the cowl.  After breakfast, the landing gear will be assembled, and some real painting will begin.  Hopefully by the time that's done, the hobby shop and Michaels will be open so I can get some primer and beading wire for the rigging.  Keep up the good work gents!

Nice work on the cockpits in the Mustang and A4.  

Well, here is the morning update. Had a good time last night and watched Das Boot while building to keep me in the mood.   Painting went well although I got a little heavy with the overspray in some places. I am on the home stretch.  Got all the main parts installed and can now start on the little details and final finishing such as some weathering and final dull coat.  I think I will be done before my 7pm deadline.

Looking good ajd!  Nice work on the cockpit!  

OK. 24 hours in.  Finally got the pit painted and installed.  Then I was able to start getting stuff together.  Closed up the speed brakes which needed no work at all, then the fuselage which hardly fit at all.  Wings and stabs on now.  Need to mask the canopy and ready for primer.

More to follow.

I forgot to add, I'll keep it open one more week.  There are a couple of stragglers left.

ajd3530

Lewbud, how are those HobbyBoss E-Z builds? I've been interested in them, especially the bubble top Jug and the P-38.

It really depends on which kit you get.  For example, I've got the F4F-3 (which is really a -4 with Yellow Wing era decals) which is basically a big hunk of plastic.  The fuselage is one piece with a basic tub molded in (complete with seat and basic control stick), with the wings and landing gear bays as a separate single piece which mounts on the bottom of the fuselage.  Good points, no fuselage or wing half seams to fill.  Bad news, a really ugly seam running through the lower half of the fuselage (horizontal halves, not vertical like normal).  I thought I had some build pics in the 2010 Pearl Harbor build, but I didn't.  If you'll mosey over to the Braille Scale GB, you'll see my build of the P-38 which I've sort of backdated to a J.

Ernest,

Many of us know how you feel.  Hell, I still feel like Thanksgiving was last week.  

Well, furnace is fixed, cat is fed, beer stocked in the fridge, and I started painting.  Except for the lower hull falling off the paint turntable after a fresh coat of German Dark Gray was applied, rolling off the base of the paint boot and onto the floor, what worse can go wrong now?  The paint is about dry enough to sand all the cat hair out of it.  Just got the upper hull primed and forgot to sand some seams.  No biggie, primer is cheap.

Thanks for the compliments guys, I love looking at everyone's outstanding work as well.  

lewbud

Scott-that U-boat is looking great!

Ajd-when I build the Hobby Boss EZ-builds, I usually cut off the snap together stuff.  It makes it fit much better.

Bufflehead, was planning to close her down for the holidays Sunday, but will extend it one more weekend.  Look forward to your build.

DOH!!!  What was I thinking???  For some reason I thought NEXT weekend was the 19-21!!    Kriminy, X-mas is Thursday!! 

Sorry Lew, I simply had a brain fart!  I'm hand painting some Christmas cards right now to send out thinking I had over a week to go....$H!%@  better get those done today and sent out ASAP!!

Not a big deal if the build ends tomorrow, but if you're cool with extending it til next weekend, I'll definitely build the Hobby Boss 1/72 P-47D Razorback!

What a dummy I am.......

Lewbud, how are those HobbyBoss E-Z builds? I've been interested in them, especially the bubble top Jug and the P-38.

Sorry guys, progress has been slow.  Nephews Birthday party was today.  Ready to get down to business.  This is the first kit that I have seen with a rather strange feature.  The entire seat is molded into the cockpit tub, which is slowing progress considerably.  Need to do a lot of paint work before I can close up the fuselage which is causing me some grief.  But things should start moving along rather quickly now.  

More to follow soon!

Scott-that U-boat is looking great!

Ajd-when I build the Hobby Boss EZ-builds, I usually cut off the snap together stuff.  It makes it fit much better.

Bufflehead, was planning to close her down for the holidays Sunday, but will extend it one more weekend.  Look forward to your build.

The Madness continues!!

Wayne - Nice looking T-55!  Very fast build even with the minesweeper assembly!  The paint job and weathering look great! 

Caveman - Looking forward to your quick build Skyhawk!  What is this, number 4 for the Group Build?  You're going to win an award for most builds completed in this GB!!

scottrc - The Type IX U-boat is coming along nicely!  Nice to see another U-Boat to compliment the one Stikpusher built earlier!

ajd3530 - nice selection for the GB!  Don't know much about Pegasus kits, but hopefully it builds up quick! 

Me?  I'm just cleaning up the bench in preparation for next weekend and my 2nd build for the GB!  Happy Madness all!

Got must of the upper works done, filling with putty, and pre-shading completed before going to bed. Today I will be painting the lower hull and priming the upper works.  Of coarse. had to set up my computer and now the furnace just through a belt, so its going to be a fun filled day of house maintenance with breaks in between to paint.