AIR RACER GROUP BUILD BECAUSE WE FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED

bigfoot01 wrote:

flashbacks of Kermit the Frog singing "It's not easy being green" and "Rainbow Connection"

  Thanks for dragging that from the locked vaults in my brain!

Boy, John, you work fast! That sure is one green Mustang. Now... get some decals on it stat before these clowns start in on ya...

jmabx wrote:

Boy, John, you work fast! That sure is one green Mustang. Now... get some decals on it stat before these clowns start in on ya...

Yeah like, 'I'm green with envy' HAHAHAHAHAHA

  Bigfoot01- John, that is one sweet , green Mustang. Cockpit looks great. Man! how do some of you guys build 'em so quick!?

 Actually, I used to build them quick. Still can sometimes.

BTW I remember seeing the CAF's F-82 in the summer of 76 ,after I graduated high school before entering Air Force.

 The (dare I say it) Confederate Air Force main headquarters was at Harlingen ,TX then. The Twin was parked in the Fighter hanger , outside on the ramp was Fifi . I would love to have seen it fly. At least the AF museum is still a good home for thier Twin Mustang. She'll be cared for, I hope.

 I was all set to post some primer pics of my racer yesterday , but forgot the scheduled site maintainance date. Soooo, here they are today.

 Still some sanding between primer coats to do , but I want to build the cockpit and get the radiators/ belly scoops in place. Then I can tackle the final bodywork and build the props

 The cockpit should be fairly easy since it'll be a strickly pure function/no frills/ racer cockpit. Not unlike what you might see in an Indy or Sprint car. I'll pretty much scratch build it from some kit parts along with parts box and some sheet plastic ,sprue, wire , what ever will work.

 In the background of the pics you can see my other "project" . I'll have the wings on her and be painting in a couple more days. I'll work on my F-82R during the overnight drying stages of the Lib.

 TTFN God Bless,

Howard

bigfoot01 wrote:

Had a relatively quiet weekend of Ambo Duty, only two runs, so I got quite a bit done this weekend. It is actually a relatively dark green, but the light in the pictures gives me flashbacks of Kermit the Frog singing "It's not easy being green" and "Rainbow Connection"

Oh come on now.. we would never do something like that.. 

Daddy1 Howard I don't know what to say about this build I really cant find the words it seems. I look at it, have been all day, and my chin just hits the desktop. This is gonna be a racer dreams are made of me thinks. It just resks of speed and power and doesnt even have the props on it yet. Those wing tips really make those short stubby wings. Damn I am rambeling here. Can't wait to see more !!!!!

Gentlemen, and Lady, We Have a RACE!

This is the P-51C flown by Jacqueline (Jackie) Cochran in the 1946 and 1948 Bendix Trophy Races. The kit is the Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale kit built OOB. The markings represent the aircraft as it appeared in the 1946 race.

Howard - Love the way she's looking... you sir, are a talented man!   The wingtips on that bird are insane. Do you mind sharing more on how you went about making them?

John - I can't believe you've cranked out two pretty racers and I haven't even decided what I want to build next! I'm green with envy!   (couldn't resist)

Well done!

Well, I've pretty well finished the Turner Special, and I'm pleased with the result.  I should have done a bit more work on the ailerons and flaps, but I won't tell if you don't.  The markings are as the airplane was for the 1939 race, sponsored by Champion Spark Plugs. Sorry about the no pilot in the flying shots, but Roscoe never let anyone else fly the airplane and I couldn't get him on the phone.

Thank you for the kind words everyone! I always like to build "clean" models anyhow so show planes like these are right up my alley. The P-39 "Cobra II" is next on deck. I picked up an Eduard kit cheap for the clear parts I needed so I am good to go.

Jeaton01, Awesome work on the Turner Special! The polished aluminum finish looks perfect. Nice work!

Jeaton01 Beautiful build Jeaton !! The NMF as flawless, and I can even see your hard work in the cockpit. All your work and attention to detail really stands out on the Turner, very very well done. Oh and if you cant find space on your shelf I have some room on mine I will have your build on the front page today, just gotta decide which picture it will be now. How did you get the prop blur effect I really like that.

Jeaton01 Glad you were able to find the space for the Turner, my loss I guess . Your build is on the front page. Again it is an awesome build Jeaton you did the Turner Special proud.

I gotta tell ya, you guys have all been making it hard to pick a picture for the front page with all these great builds.

John - You sure did a nice job on that one! I didn't think that old kit could look so nice. That Turner Special is such a gorgeous plane.

 bigfoot01- There have been many fine female aviators in our history. You just built a wonderful tribute to one of them. Great job.

 jeaton01-A fine Turner Special. I really love those vintage racers, the personality of the pilots of the day seemed to fit the "seat of pants" contraptions they flew. Roscoe was something else.

 Jeremy-Here's a quick wing tip how-to I threw together.

 I originally used some thin sheet stock , but had problems with the trailing tips wanting to break , so I went to a little thicker material. Worked out fine.

 The Modelcraft 's thick plastic and thicker end stock helped to really round up the bottem surface. This idea can be altered and adapted in so many ways and is very easy.

 My inspiration are the tips on Precious Metal and Dago Red. I'm glad you guys like them. I think they add some visual speed.

 I've been playing with some cockpit layouts the past couple nights on the F-82 . It's going to be simple, pure function. Still figuring out some ways of getting a consistent right and left twist for the prop blades, but I'm sure I'll come up with something .

 God Bless,

 Howard

OK, I see we are well under way.

I have gathered the parts for my Whiff, extreme racer....a race variant of the Boeing P-26.

The donor kit is a revell 1/72 P-26, the cowling a revell/lodela 1/72 Machi 202 (I really like those 1930's cowling with buldges)

I am trying to decide if I should keep the gearthe orignal width:

 Or make it wider:

I have made a canopy using the "heat smash" method over the feul tank of a Folland Gnat (last pic)

I am now glue some pieces together, pics will follow. I am also thinking of shortning the wing, making it more "racy".

Howard - Thanks for the "how-to"!

Borg - So far, that's the best looking P-26 I've ever seen! Never much cared for them but at least you giving it a sleaker look.

  Borg-Interesting , verrrrrryyyy interesting. I think a little wider on the landing gear for a more aggresive sit, but keep it close to stock for a cleaner look. Notice the width of the gear on the Gee Bees, Laird , Turner Special, and others. The gear's not too spread out.

 Looking good.

 Howard

Daddy1 Man you make custom work on these kits look so easy ! And your work on the B-24 is making me think about a B-25 I have in the closet. I want to thank you for the how-tos you have written for the group, makes things for us beginners (me) much easier.

Borg R3-MCO Oh I am liking your build ! Its very interesting, cant wait to see more of it. I think I would have to agree with the other guys a bit wider on the landing gear would look better and in fact would make for much easier ground handleing if you do decide to clip the wings. In looking at the old racers convinces me those pilots had their hands full on the ground with the narrow gear track as well as in the air flying them. Borg I added your build to the front page as a 1/72 Revell P-26 highly modified.

Man you guys are gonna have me cutting plastic soon and I am just now playing with scratch building parts. Nice thing about this hobby is there is always something to learn or try.

Borg R3-MC0 wrote:

OK, I see we are well under way. I have gathered the parts for my Whiff, extreme racer....a race variant of the Boeing P-26. The donor kit is a revell 1/72 P-26, the cowling a revell/lodela 1/72 Machi 202 (I really like those 1930's cowling with buldges) I am trying to decide if I should keep the gearthe orignal width:  Or make it wider: I am now glue some pieces together, pics will follow. I am also thinking of shortning the wing, making it more "racy".

I think the gear would look good a bit wider but not so wide as you have them.  Remember the P-26 has a wire braced wing and the spars were not heavy enough to carry gear loads too far out.  A bigger tail fin and rudder would be on my list too, but it is your whiff and an interesting one, too.

I think I will make the gear widher (what's the correct spelling for that?) but not as much as on the pic.

I looked at pics from contemporary race aircraft such as the Wedell-Williams and the gears are not that wide on those. This is indeed because of the bracing. But I figure this is a lightweight variant and shorter wings will make the wings more stiffer. So a bit widher is reasonable.

Another "problem" is the engine. I think it look to much "bolted on" and gives the aircraft a hunchback. I am going to work on it to make it more aerodynamic.

Okay, Randy and fellow group builders... for my next trick...

Put me down for Pegaso's 1/48 Howard "Pete".

This thing is a pretty basic kit with no cockpit... not even an opening. Hopefully, in the end, I will get her looking something like this...

jmabx wrote:

Okay, Randy and fellow group builders... for my next trick... Put me down for Pegaso's 1/48 Howard "Pete". This thing is a pretty basic kit with no cockpit... not even an opening. Hopefully, in the end, I will get her looking something like this...

 Time to polish up the scratch building skills. Slick little airplane. I like it.