USAF 60th Anniversary Group Build--(non-aircraft subjects allowed)

This is my finished project, took a while to put her together but her she is.  Canopy, camra window, were dipped in future so they have a nice shine.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Heres an update on my BlackBird,  I know I've not posted here in a while.

Hey guys, very sorry I wasn't able to work on my project for this GB.  It's been a tough year for the family health wise so my modeling time has been very sporadic and will continue to be so for at least the forseeable future. 

Thanks for hosting this GB, there was some great work done here!

Avus wrote:

So yesterday was the deadline ... gess that makes me dead! Sorry I didn't manage to work on my helo, guess I severely misjudged my time. Thanks to all for sharing their progress and completed models.

 ......I too am sorry I couldn't get more done on my F15. But some family health problems had priority.  

One of these days I'll get something into a GB!!!

Nice looking F-106 there cdclukey

Another Group Build that I miss the deadline!   My TF-15 is started, but not anywhere near completion.

Very nice looking aircraft you got there, cdclukey!

So yesterday was the deadline ... gess that makes me dead!
Sorry I didn't manage to work on my helo, guess I severely misjudged my time.

Thanks to all for sharing their progress and completed models. 

Hey guys! Sorry it's been awhile since I checked in, and more importantly...<P>

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USAF!!!

Avus asked about in progress pics. I took them, but the camera they were in was involved in a gravity-related incident and they were exposed. The good news is, I have completion pics. I hope you like them!

Great work on your B-1 Pruz!

Your progress sounds interesting cdclukey ... any pics are there, perchance? 

My progress went as far as getting Eduard's PE set for the pavehawk and Cobra's MH-60 update and UH-60 correction kits. I won't be using all the aftermarket I got since I have some scratch built part, but there are some tiny details I couldn't deal with.

Hope to get back to my helo late next week ... but since I'm moving it might not work out! 

A further update on my F-106. Most of this work was done last night.

1. Painted the burner can. I had already brush painted the interior with flat black and sprayed the turbine and flame ring; last night I put a black acrylic wash on them.

2. Sanded off the very, very inconveniently located ejection pin marks inside the intakes and brush painted the intake interior.

3. Painted and washed the ram air turbine. Painted the insides of the turbine door, main gear doors, nav door, torsion links, retraction struts and cylinders. Painted the red nav light that foes in the nav door and the clear ones (painted the back silver) that go in the outer main gear doors.

4. Painted the arrestor hook.

5. Painted and assembled all the gear wheels. Put a coat of white on appropriate portions of the gear struts, but it needs at least one more coat to cover.

6. Assembled drop tanks.

7. Painted speed brake actuator cylinder and the interior green portion of the speed brake.

If I can sneak away from the room renovation I'm doing the rest of this weekend, I'll spray the metal parts of the intakes and air ramp, but I definitely won't get anything else done until Tuesday or later. In fact, it will probably be next weekend because I need to get the text of my quarterly magazine over to the designer, and I'll probably need to put in an evening or two on that. The good news is that with the exception of the main aircraft gray paint job, I have almost every part in the kit painted, so once I actually get the fuselage together and spray it I'll probably be able to complete assembly in a single evening and complet the decals the next.

Update on my F-106:

I have finished the wings and aircraft bottome, and will be gluing the tailpipe and upper fuselage on soon--tomorrow night if I get enough work done tomorrow. Lots of putty...but again, I was warned. I've also painted a lot of the parts that will go on after the fuselage is put together.

I definitely want to get this thing moving faster though...I want to finish it by mid-August at the latest, including the display base.

Hi All,

I have started an F15E Strike Eagle, 1/48 scale Revell kit. Kinda stumble upon the group build and would like to join in, if thats OK. Always wanted to join a GB and this one seems like a fun one with a fun bunch of fellow modelers. I'm a long time lurker, and this is my first aircraft kit in a lot of years.

Thanks,

 Chris

Some great work on display here!

Is it too late to join up?

Well, got started on the TF-15, Bicentennial scheme; Hasegawa 1/72 kit.  I decided to build the cockpit first, then paint.

I am considering applying a white primer now with the parts still on the tree.  Is this a good 'train of thought' for the overall Gloss White finish that is called for?

GREAT JOB on the B-1B Pruz!   Did a great job of detail, and you gave it just the right amount of "dirt & weathering".  Swift Justice looks ready to go hand out some serious justice to the bad guys.

Now, where is that bad boy going to live?  That is one big plane.

Here's an update on my F-106. I finished the wheel wells, have finished the filling and sanding on all the upper fuselage gaps and glued the aircraft bottom and wing top together. Looks like more gaps between those two, but that's the way it goes. Despite the good weather, I'm expecting to get a lot done on it Sunday afternoon (during the NASCAR race I watch the TV with one eye and model with the other) and next week. I expect to be laying down fuselage paint before the week is out. From here I think this one will be going much faster than the car I was working on.

BTW, if you're building one of these and you're cheap like me... ...Rust-oleum sells a farm equipment paint that is a dead on match for the yellow on the 1962 bird in the Revell kit. Its formal title is "Yellow 7449" but the can label says it's a match for "Old Caterpillar Yellow." After this project's done I think I'll find another use for it...I can do a Cat model or find a car that would look good in a butterscothish yellow.

Apart from a few small details I think we're about finished! I'll post the final pics at the end of the GB.

Here is my rendition of Revell AG's 1/48 B-1B dressed as 86-0125 "Swift Justice", 34th BS, Ellsworth AB, SD:

I still have to do the various aerials, pitot tubes, static wicks, and the crew ladder needs to be fitted, but I'm just relieved it still fitted together ok and seems to stand reasonably straight on its own legs. I made a small support to relieve the weight on the main gear as I am still not sure it will take the full weight of the plane for long.

I'll be following the progress of this GB, but for now thanks very much to cdclukey for modding it so far.

All the best,

Al 

Hi again,

espins - I managed to fill the gaps using a little miracle called Mr White Putty (from GSI Creos). It doesn't shrink when dry so it is great for filling big gaps and steps - no Revell modeller should be without it!

So here's the big bird primed and with the first coat of Tamiya Med Gray (FS36320) and pre-shading with Gunze Mr Color 337 FS36237 Grayish Blue: 

I also finished the Cutting Edge nozzles so the engine pods are all painted ready for fitting:

The only real challenge ahead for this kit (among the many so far) is to finish all the painting on the exterior and then add all the extras - vanes, antennae, aerials and sensors which are on modern Bones but not in the 1988-vintage kit (not Revell's fault, after all times change).

The final touch is on its way to me from Shawn Hull (shull24.com) - a Sniper XR pod to bring this build right up to date!

Just one observation - am I the only one still building for this GB? Only three months to go people!

All the best,

Al 

It's coming along nicely Al! 

Good luck with those gaps, you going to use putty, strip styrene, a pleasant combination of both? 

Getting a bit quiet in here!

Well I joined the old Bone bits together and .... WOW! it is a big beast!

There are a few "issues" with fit however:

I started painting as well - I used reverse shading for the first time. Start with the lightest colour (Tamiya Med Gray spray can), add details with a darker colour (Gunze FS36237 Grayish Blue) then overspray with a thin coat of the darkest colour (White Ensign FS36118 Gunship Gray)

I reckon after washing and drybrushing this will get the faded look I'm after.

Still need to see a lot of builds - how's everyone doing?

All the best,

Al.

Hi everyone!

Bit more done on the engines:

First shaved off the nasty lumps round the nozzles: 

Then built up the very unsightly intake trunks with plastic card to eliminate the awful big gaps which would have been unworkable with putty and sanding:

Finished the compressor fans (altho they will be invisible with the radar cross-section vanes in place)

And finally the Cutting Edge burner cans and nozzles - which altho fabulously cast, are about 1mm too narrow for the Revell kit they were intended for!

More soon I hope - depends if this lovely weather continues or not!

All the best and keep em coming!

Al 

Guys - thank you very much for your supportive comments, they are highly appreciated and give me the motivation to keep going cos the Bone is getting quite tedious right now (lots of repetitive construction like 6 bomb bay doors each requiring up to 6 ejector pin marks to be cut, sanded, puttied and sanded again, then each door has four struts which need to be filed, ejector pin marks removed, glued into position, jiggled to line up etc etc ).

So - - - - Thanks!

Al

PS. few more pics of the bombs loaded on the launchers! 

Going back to work on Friday so this is probably it for a few weeks,

All the best and thanks again,

Al 

Al,

Great work on both the BONE and the HUN.  The weapons detail on the B-1 is truly awesome to behold.

Darwin, O.F.