3RD ANNUAL SECRET SANTA GROUP BUILD FOR AIRCRAFT

At least some one is keeping this GB going.

Great work John!
It might be fictional but I like how the interior tured out and the engine-detailing is great, too.

Yeah, this build kind of died. Seems our leader flew the coup.

Good work, John. I may have to build that kit someday. Dont' know if I want to go with the CA kit or not.

Well i havent died, but work has kept me humpin.  Progress is coming along on the Rhino.  Got to the decal stage, but havent had time to upload pics yet.  I do that later today after i get some more finishing touches done, 

Goood looking progress on all of your kits guys.

Jim

I talked to Jon today. His other ministry the Agape forum has kind of gone off the charts, 38000 hits, 131 countries, he doesn't have enough hours in the day let alone the year to crawl through what gets posted.

He does a nice thing and I'll remind you that this isn't so much a build as an opportunity to give. This was probably the last SS he'll do, as he's under water right now with members needing support from the others that Agape hosts. Drop him a line, he'll appreciate it I'm sure.

Another update.   Basic construction is done, spent about 5 hours yesterday masking all the bee-eye facets, the centers have masking film on them.  The exhaust locations are changed from what the kit had.

Hey guys-

I ain't been kidnapped by aliens....

Like Bill said, things have really been taking off at Agape, so I've been spending a lot of time there.

And he may have misunderstood me..... I'd thought after the 2nd SSBG I'd not do another....  then a few guys wrote me some very encouraging words, and that led to number 3- and if everyone is enjoying things, I see no reason why there won't be a number 4!!

(It's only March and I'm taking #4 already- LOL!)

And I have been checking in on the progress- great work on everyone's part!

I'll make sure to drop a line more often- don't want you guys thinking I've abondoned ship!

Jon

Well i'm back.  Not when i said i was gonna be, but you all know what life's like.  Good to see progress and to finally see you again Jon.  I'm up to the wash stage, and when that's done i'll attach all the missiles, landing gear and burner cans.  The seats are True Detail Resin.  Really nice for the price.  ON TO THE PICS!!!

I do believe my Do-17Z can be called finished.  I like the way it came out.  I tried a pin wash for weathering and I think it worked pretty well, and is easy and forgiving to do.  As usual the cruel eye of the camera reveals things I don't see until I have the photos to prove my ineptness.  So I will keep trying to do better and be happy with where I am at.  In one photo the prop is off center, but they are "good spinners".  My granddaughter is away this week so there are no running photos this time because she supplies the wind for that....

Full build details are on my web site here:

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/do17z/1do17z/1do17z.htm

John, really great job on the 17. It really looks the bizz and its a great looking build. I dont see any flaws in it, the construction and finish are great. Good job. How was the build by the way, any major problems with the kit

Steve

Nice build, John. I likeee a lot. Makes me want to add some German stuff to the to do list.

Good looking progress on the super bug, Mist.

Bill, I have this bottle of paint mixed up for the tires from RLM 66, flat black, and a bunch of other colors, and whan it gets empty I'll have to re-invent my tire color supply.  I tweak it a little to fit my mood on one model or another.  The skiddy looking thing is part of the step from a Monogram Fw-190 used to replicate an antenna I saw in may pictures of the Do-17 and other German WW II aircraft.  Can't remember the name of the radio it serves.

Steve, other than fixing the banana shape and altering the fit of the cowlings, it was pretty straight forward.  The plastic the kit is molded from is very workable, I liked that.  The instructions, clear parts, and decals are the weakest parts of the kit.  The building process is on my web site, if you want more than this bit.

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/do17z/1do17z/1do17z.htm 

Very Nice John!

So what? It's you and me so far? Come on you slackers

Nice job John! Looks great.

Very nice work John! Another top notch build.

 My son has two more hockey games to go for the year - tonight and tomorrow am. I have one more week of techs in the shop then I'm moving into my hobby room

firesmacker wrote:

Very Nice John! So what? It's you and me so far? Come on you slackers

Look back 1 page.  My Rhino is almost done.  Wash is applied and am waiting for a couple of launch rails to arrive to put on the missiles.

Slacker's huh? I completed my build on Jan 1, 09. You'll have to go back to page 49 to see it. NOW who's the slacker?

Congrats on moving into the man cave, Drew! You going to break a bottle of bubbly on the door jam before you enter?

Yeah, Jeff, it seems to be just me and you, Atlas and the Atlas II holding up the great weight of this GB so far!  Well, we better recognize Troy too, since he is the guy with the gun.

I''m sure all of the other guys will be here soon....

And thanks to all for the comments, even though Jeff's or Troy's airplanes will win the beauty contest every time.  That Do-17 is one bug-eyed monster, no matter how you build it!

firesmacker wrote:

Very Nice John! So what? It's you and me so far? Come on you slackers

Great work on your Dornier, John: it looks great!

Mist086, you're proceeding very well.

John,

Very nice job.  The canopy glass turned out great - must've taken some patience for that greenhouse. 

Mist,

The 18 is coming along nicely.  Good to know that all the work that went into those intake trunks will be visible.  Very nice indeed.

Me ? - I'm getting bogged down in finishing up some detail work on the monster 1/24 Hurricane I started back in July - so my work for this GB has taken a back seat.  I'm tring to finish up the Hurri for a local show in April - so after that I should be able to get back to the Phantom.

Chris

hkshooter wrote:

Congrats on moving into the man cave, Drew! You going to break a bottle of bubbly on the door jam before you enter?

I hope next weekend!!!!!! No bubbly, but may take a few beer with me

My appologies for no more progress from me so far.  Life has been getting in the way somewhat. Ive been having great fun with trying to find a job, lots of interviews but no offers yet. Some dont even get back to me. Im also having fun learning to drive, that is an interesting experiance. Also our house is a building site at the moment and i have nowhere to spray as the space i normaly use is occupied by some concrete blocks. To top it all off my partner has not been well and i have been spending as much time with her as i can.

Rest assured i will get around to this model some time though. The little  modelling i have done recantly has been trying to finish off various half finished models and tidy up ones i built a while ago. 

As for the Zero, i have not abandoned it. She is awaiting me to pluck up the courage to paint the crosses on her. I have finaly found out what colour they should be and brought the tinlet but i cant find it now. Doh.

ANd as promised, Here is the Super Hornet of VFA-143 THE Pukin' Dogs!!  This was a trying build as alot of seams tested my abilities but i think i did ok.  I really like these revell kits as they really keep your mind on the modeling!.  THanks to my SS for this and with the aftermarkets he also provided.  I added a True Details seat and the superscale decals.  1 hint for you about the superscales tho, what the instructions!!  THey have the wrong call outs and i didn't notice until after the glosscoat.  Enjoy