Man, tht's waaaaay   cool!!!!

I'd like to use that as wall paper.

That is neat! What kit did you use?

Thanks, JayJay.  BTW.  If you are serious about the wall paper, I could send you a higher resolution copy.  You would just have to send me your email.

Thanks as well, Mis.....

I used Academy's USS Bunker Hill.  Just a note about that though.  I made several mods to get the theme I came up with. The kit is made for gear down and the bomb bay open. Also, I ordered the pilot and decals on-line.  And of course, I used MM gloss Deep Sea Blue paint.  That is the recommended color that was used on those Navy planes.  It was a fun project.

That's pretty neat.  I'd like to do this with a few of mine that I have gear up.  I just never take the time to learn and play with it all.  =]

Thanks for sharing! =]

That's very cool, Steve!

That is really cool. The Avenger is one of my faves. I have two in my stash, a PM and a AM, TBF and TBM. Wow, that background is very cool. Nicely done!!  

That's some very nice photoshopping. It almost looks like a painting!

Very nicely built and awesome presentation!

Toshi

Well done!  Very dramatic!

Indeed it looks like a Stan Stokes or Roy Grinnell painting.  Nice work!

Joe

That's really cool photo work!  It definitely looks like a painting!

Groot

Hey, guys...thanks for all the kind words.   I am glad you are enjoying them!

I just want to comment on the background.  I took that image on a warm, stormy evening, in 2014. The clouds were towering upwards that day, a result of some very unstable air.  I always look for that evening scenario because as the sun begins to set low,  it's golden lignt reaches the tops of these storms, with the lower portions being more subdued.  In short, it makes for some very dramatic scenery.  Of course, software, brought out more of that hidden detail.  

I am sure my neighbors thought, "what the heck is Steve doing now!  Taking pictures of clouds?  He's crazy..."  Or how about while in the park photographing the model in the early morning light....    I thought, I would have a better chance of not being seen at the park, especially that early.    Even there, I received a few dumbfounded stares, mostly from park workers.  One girl, to her credit, came up and asked about things. She seemed genuinely interested.   I say, the heck with the others!  

Ah, what us modelers must endure.

Lol.

On second look, just noticed that you remembered to have the light on the plane match the light on the clouds. Thought that is worth a second comment especially since most folks making composites miss that.

Pretty funny about shooting in the park.

That's too cool. I really like the second photo with the spaceship in the background.

Hey Greg, thanks for that.  Yeah, not only the direction of the light, but the intensity and color of the light.  Those three things should be considered.  That is mainly why I chose the early morning light.  Not only to avoid onlookers, but also, that it closely matches the intensity and color of the light that the background was shot at.  If you do those three things, it will make for an easier job at it, but more importantly, a more convincing final image.  Just as an example.  I went to the park twice this week to try different things. On my second attempt, the sun was just a little higher in the sky than my first day out.  When I got back, and I looked at what I shot, I found that the images were pretty much unusable.  With taking the images a little later than I should have, the Suns light was already a little too bright, causing deep shadows.  Along with that, the color of light shifted from orange, to white.  In the end, I chose to go with the first images that I took.   It takes a lot of trial and error.  I had an especially bigger problem with my Avenger because I made it with such a high gloss. I was getting a lot of reflections, and even color castting from nearby objects.  

It's all part of the journey.  

Wow, talk about attention to detail!

Impressive.

Super work, I too would have sworn I'm looking at the painting there!

Great pictures!

Thanks, Jim.  Thanks to everyone-else that commented too!

Steve

Update:  All of your positive feedback encouraged me to take this image a step further.  I spruced up the image a bit more, and then I ordered a print so that I can display it on a wall. I think that for people like me that have limited space to display their builds, this could be another option. A person can certainly hang a lot of pictures up without using a bunch of real estate. Maybe this posting will spur others with space issues to do the same.  I got artsy with mine, but I don't feel a person has to do that in order to make it nice. So...for what it is worth, here is how it turned out.

Below:  Here is the final modified image. I added borders surrounding the image, along with some vignetting and text. One other thing.  You know how as kids we would look at clouds and try to find shapes in them? Well, I didn't notice this at first, but I found a face staring back on the first images that I posted. Egads. Once that I noticed it, I couldn't keep from seeing it when looking at the image.  It is creepy to me because it is so defined. I at first thought that maybe the software I used created it as some happy accident, but that was not the case. The face was in the original RAW file as well, just not as pronounced. Anyway, I did not intend it to be there, and I managed to hide the "thing" in the new image below.  It seems the Bermuda Triangle strikes again... 

Below:  On my wall.  

Below:  Here is the original image that I posted.  Do you see the face?  It seems to be looking at the lead plane.  Did anyone else notice this?

Wow! You did excellent work.  It looks like a painting.

Moose

That's awesome and also a very cool idea, Steve.

A good response to the why photoshop our models thread, too. This would be one for the "for" column of the debate, methinks.

Say Moose...thanks for the kudos!

Greetings Greg.  Thanks as well! I will have to look for the photoshop thread that you are talking about. I missed that one.

I have received some comments from people that they were unable to see the face that I was talking about. I marked up the image below to show what I see in the image.  Not that any of this means anything, it was just a fun fact.  This should close things out.  Thanks for viewing.

Steve

Steve,

Most excellent work! I love the photo of the clouds and yes, I can see the face, very cool. It kinda looks like Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill. What scale was the Avenger that you built?

Steve

Hey Steve--thank you sir.  I already have plans to do this with my Mayflower build.  If I ever finish!  Thanks for confiming about the face.  I was beginning to think I was losing my mind and seeing things.  LOL.

The Avenger is 1/48th scale.  I was part of the Pacific Carrier Aviation Group Build when I built this.  It was a lot of fun.