Merry Christmas to all the participants here. May you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday.

Thanks Stik.  I hope you have a Merry Christmas as well.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas!

Heres what I did part of the day, it didnt take long. I'm going to start painting the small bits tonight. All will be done then, pretty much just need the mask then.

In this picture everything is glued together except the tail section to the front.

Well, I finally broke down and got at the work bench for MODELS today.  Finished up the dodge WC-51 Ambulance (decals, detail painting), and started on completion of the Ambulance jeep.  Researching photos I've found that there was no single design, most were in the field conversions.  I stuck to the most common themes and made them work.  Two stretchers in front with a 'crash guard' and a single passenger side stretcher in the back with a smaller 'crash guard.'  With the added gear, field radio, and an empty stretcher, it's totally FABU!

The Dodge bambalanz has poles in the back for holding the stretchers and one empty stretcher in the back, as well as the detailed engine and a mechanic stepping on a crate to check 'under the hood.'

The stretcher bearers were from the IMEX US Korean War Troops set; the ammo bearers minus rifles and ammo.  The NKPA soldier on the stretcher is from the IMEX NKPA Korean War Figures set, the 'dead' soldier suitably chopped and reset so that he fits on the stretcher.  The stretcher itself is two stretched sprue poles with khaki painted kleenex glued on the poles.

Overall, I'm REALLY happy with my work on these two kits and the figures.  They're gonna look seriously epic next to the Italeri H-13 Sioux that I've modified into a MASH chopper.

I'm starting a photobucket account since my googlesites webpage has reached the picture limit (say WHAT!?!?!?) and won't accept any more.  And I' having issues with Ubuntu accepting the Photobucket uploader...  :(  I thought I was better at computers than this!

Anyway, photos when I can!

Hi All:

Hope your holiday was great ... cold here, but no snow as we had last year ...

The F-84G Thunderjet (1/48 Revell re-issue) is finally finished ...

I wanted to have a little fun with the 'Show and Tell' photos, so I shot in B / W, sepia and regular color ...

Enjoy and stay safe during the upcoming holidays ...

pepper  

Photo as shot in the Mathew Brady (Civil War photographer) style (caption below) ...

Jet - Korea - 1953

Photo as shot in the TIME Magazine style (caption below) ...

F-84G Thunderjet ready for another strike in Korea 1953

Photos as shot in the Life Magazine style (caption below)

Republic F-84 G Thunderjet of the  9th Fighter Bomber Squadron,  on its airfield at Tregu, Korea, 1953,  prepped and ready for another strike against the enemy ...

PK, your Thunderjet came out great. How did you like the kit? I have one I am still decaling almost done. I have added your completed shot to the page 1 roster. Very nice work!

Andy: The ambulance sounds really cool! Did you post photos on your site? Am looking forward to seeing her.

Pepper: Wow, great looking F-84! Your NM looks flawless and the decals give a nice splash of colour to her.

Here the tank crew figures are coming close to completion. Only issue is the camo pattern on the uniforms seems too bright to me, I'm going to try to use a filter on the uniforms like I did the tank! Worst comes to worst I can just repaint them.

The civilians are causing the most problems, never thought it would be so hard to scratchbuild a pair of high heels...

stikpusher

PK, your Thunderjet came out great. How did you like the kit? I have one I am still decaling almost done. I have added your completed shot to the page 1 roster. Very nice work!

Thank you for the exposure on Page 1 and the compliment ... this makes up for my frustration with the Sea Fury ...

I thought the kit was great all except for the nose gear ... a fragile part with a very small attachment point ... I fiddled with that more than anything else  and finally used metal gear struts at all 3 positions ... that helped simplify the procedure a bunch ...

The instruction sheet has several errors in it, but was easy enough to figure out ... the fit of all parts was great and I used no filler anywhere ... some gentle sanding on the top of the fusealage seam was all that was necessary ... the clear parts were excellent as well ... 

The decals went on flawlessly ... I didn't use them all as there are more than 100 of 'em in the kit and a lot are teeny-tiny to the point of being illegible ...

All in all, this was a great build and with so manyy color/decal schemes to choose from, I've already started looking for a duplicate kit  ... I found this one at my nearest  HobbytownUSA right on their shelf ...

Thanks again,

pepper

Gamera

Pepper: Wow, great looking F-84! Your NM looks flawless and the decals give a nice splash of colour to her. 

Thanks a bunch ... I tried something different on this build re the NM finish ...

I used Tamiya Titan Silver, thinned 80% paint, 20% distilled water ... shot at 20 lbs of pressure ... it was dry in less than 5 minutes, but I waitied until the next day to buff it all with 0000 (#4) steel wool ... the tailcone was brush painted with 'jet exhaust' (Model Metalizer) and 'clear orange' from Tamiya ...

The rest of the painting was done with acrylics as well ... I've started using them for 99% of all painting, finding their advantages far outweigh any perceived disadvantages ... I love 'em !! ...

The decals do add the finishing touch ... these were straight from the kit box and worked absolutely beautifully ... I just dunked 'em in water, dried off on a paper towel and then applied straight away ... went back over them later with MicroSet (?) in the red bottle ...

These birds - Korean War - were the beginning of the end for the colorful aircraft we love so much ... the basic gray or digital camo schemes used now are more than boring ...

Thanks again to one and all for your help and support ... I've learned a whole lot from reading all the posts and have already used some of the very good tips and suggestions posted here ...

Now - a quandry for sure - what to build next ? ...

pepper

Excellent work on the F-84 Thunderjet , Pepper .

I agree with the others the metal finish looks flawless .

I also like the decal markings and the B/W photo's look awesome .

A great build all round and a great way to finish off 2010

Well done Sir

                           John .

Helo H-34

Excellent work on the F-84 Thunderjet , Pepper .

I agree with the others the metal finish looks flawless .

I also like the decal markings and the B/W photo's look awesome .

A great build all round and a great way to finish off 2010

Well done Sir

                           John .

Thank you, John ... I really had fun shooting the photos using the different modes - sepia, B / W and color ... really changes the appearance when you shoot the different ways, doncha think ?? ...

Since posting a few minutes ago, I've decided to build the Academy F-86-30 in 1/48 and then a tank and a ship TBD later ...

Thanks again,

pepper

Thanks for the advice Pepper I'm going to have to give it a try for my next NM build. Somehow I keep getting dust in my paint, using fast dry acrylic and buffing it with the steel wool sounds like it would take much of the contaminates out of the paint.

Helo H-34

Excellent work on the F-84 Thunderjet , Pepper .

I agree with the others the metal finish looks flawless .

I also like the decal markings and the B/W photo's look awesome .

A great build all round and a great way to finish off 2010

Well done Sir

                         

  Couldn't have said it better myself.  Great build.

Great work on the T-jet PK!  I'm going to be rebuilding mine over my winter break.  The Academy decals just didn't have enough glue on them and wanted to curl back as they dried.  If you see the pics on my web page you'll see what I mean.  I've since bought another kit and have different decals.  I don't think mine will be up to yours, but it is a danged fine kit and almost falls together!

My next decision is also what kit to build next.  I want to start on something 'big', like one of my bombers or cargo planes, but not sure what.

Also, I love what you did with the photography!  I wish I had something more than my cheapy scuba diving camera here.  I may have to talk to one of my friends who has a GOOD camera and to take a few shots. 

Andy ,

Italeri's 1/72 C-47 pratically falls together itself .

She's a very pleasing build , you could probably get her built and painted in about a week .

Like you I'm busting to get stuck in on some of the large transports but I still have a ton of work to do for the Air America fleet .

                              John .

Nice work on the F-84 Hope my build comes up as nice.

Progress? Well with 5 kids and christmas, not much. Have gotten some done here and there (only kit I have). Just a few more parts to go then the paint.

Andrew

WOOHOO!!!

Got Photobucket to work for one of y pictures, FINALLY!  Here's a sweet@$$ picture of my bamabalancez!  I'm not sure how to make a bandage in 1/72 scale, so I didn't put any on the DPRK soldier.  The idea is, the truck broke down, so they're conveying him to the jeep.  I'm going to display them next to my H-13 that's converted to a MASH chopper.  See my website for that one.

?action=view&current=Bamablancez.jpg

Looks great

Hi All:

I've a question for the group ...

I've started on my 2nd project and am using some resin parts ... why are the pour stubs on aftermarket parts so HUGE ? ... geez, the pour stub/block on the cockpit tub is bigger than the tub itself ...

I cast a lot of parts in resin myself, both for my models and my train layout, and I can clip the pour stub off with sprue cutters ... the thing I'm working on now, has already taken over an hour of sawing back and forth and I'm not even half way finished with it ...

In fact, I've decided to just chunk it into the spare parts box and use the tub from the kit .. .I am going to use the seat and instrument panel though as they are far superior to the kit versions and their rpour stubs are teeny-tiny too ...

Thanks,

pepper

Lookin good Andrew.  Can't wait to see it all painted up.

Andrew: Sharp! Nice clean build. Looking forward to seeing her in some olive drab.

Andy: Great work. They'll look great with the chopper. Gee, your hands are steadier than mine to paint figures in 1/72nd.

Anyway, not the best photos and I've still a good bit of work to do as yet. But here's the K1A1 crew. Am going to bore you with details here so if you don't want to know or care what went into the figures skip down to the photo

The driver on the left has a body and arms straight from Academy's ROK Tank Crew set with an East Asian head from Hornet mounted in a helmet I took from the K1A1 figures where I removed the molded head with a motor tool.

The commander in the centre was the commander figure from the tank kit with a Hornet head and beret I made from putty. I wish every solder wore a beret since it's the easiest hat in the universe to make. Just stick a blob of putty on the guy's head and SMOOSH it !!! The arms were from the parts box.

The gunner on the right consists of the body from the tank kit again fitted with a head from the Academy ROK K-9 howitzer kit. Again arms from the spares bin.

Gamera

 Just stick a blob of putty on the guy's head and SMOOSH it !!!

ROFLMAO, Classic mate

Andrew

PK, I cant answer you as to why the pour stubs are so big. I suppose that is just how those things work. Resin has its advantages and disadvantages. Using select parts is  probably a wise choice.

Gamera, the figures are looking great. Nice work with the Hudson heads. Looks like your nearing the home stretch. As far as berets go, they can be one nice looking piece of headgear, but other than that, they don't have much use. Yes they do keep the top of your head warm, but they don't keep the sun out of your eyes or rain off your face, ears,and back of your neck...

SP: Sorry just going from a modeler's perspective the beret is so simple to make out of putty. Not going to argue with the fact that's it's not the most practical form of head gear.

stikpusher

PK, I cant answer you as to why the pour stubs are so big. I suppose that is just how those things work. Resin has its advantages and disadvantages. Using select parts is  probably a wise choice.

No problem ... I guess I just don't understand why they have such huge pour stubs ... as I said, I cast parts all the time and can clean them up with my sprue cutters ... oh well !! ...

I've just started my F-86 - pictures below - and have plenty of time now to work diligently on it ...

Hope to have it done before the New Year rolls in ... the only thing that's going to hold me up is painting ... 'tis mighty cold right now and I have great difficulty getting paint to spray correctly when the temps dip ...

Anyhoo, I'm off to the races with this Sabre Jet and am anticipating a smooth build ...

pepper

Heya Pepper;

Looks like that's the 1/48th version.  Least wise, mine doesn't have an engine in it.  :)  I hope it's as nice as the 1/72 scale version.

Everyone else;

Well, it looks like Google-sites has a maximum image limit.  I'm not sure what to do about my web site at this point.  I'm considering opening up a second Google-sites site and just linking everything to it, But I'd rather not do that.  It would also be a major pain to transfer everything over.  In the meantime, I really just want to get my pictures up and visible to people.  I've opened up a photobucket account at this location:

http://s1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa345/the_tunnan/

and it has all of my up to date pictures on it, including pictures of the Jeep Ambulance WIP and the Dodge Ambulance WIP with the litter bearers and patient.  Of note to some are the F3D-2 and some of the armour pics.  Out of all of the pictures, Ii have to say that this one of the ambulances is my favorite.

[View:http://s1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa345/the_tunnan/?action=view&current=75mmgunncrew-1.jpg#!oZZ172QQcurrentZZhttp://s1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa345/the_tunnan/?action=view&current=Bamablancez.jpg:550:550]

Build what you want, they'll flame you every time!

Great work everyone ;

I'm still thinking of building some type of truck/crane ; So I was going through the spares box and found a old Airfix Coles MK 7 crane .

I'm not sure how accurate this will look , I'm thinking of mounting the boom section to the chassie of the Diamond T [M19] Transporter . I sat the pieces together to see how things would look , so far this is all I can come up with ???

Anyone have any comments .

                             John .

Heya Helo!

Not so sure about the M-19, I'd say go with either a Mack Chassis (check out http://stores.ebay.com/smallmilitarymodelsandmore )or go with the Scammel from the Airfix Airfield Recovery Equipment set.  That would look more realistic.  Although I don't know that they ever had that crane unit, they WERE used for cranes at one point or another.

Also, I've just finished two more kits!  WOOHOO!  How did I do this so quickly?  I kinda sorta cheated.  Both were mods of Shermans (Dozer and USMC flame tank) used in Korea, so I used the appropriate kit from Armourfast (Hat).  for the dozer I used the resin conversion from Calibre 72 in England (available from Hannants) and applied it to an M4A3 105mm to make a US Army dozer chassis.  The other was an M4A3  which received an additional barrel to the right and a little below the main gun barrel.  I was a straight tube and closely resembled a 90mm gun tube, but not as long as the standard barrel.  Extra stowage was added, included a 55gal drum on the back deck.  I've still got a few Shermans left to build after this!  The standard M-4A3E8, the M-.7 GMC, and the M-32 ARV. 

For the M-32, I've got the instructions from the Italeri 1/35 scale kit to go as a guide and for some detail info.  So that I can focus on the scratchbuilding, I'm going to be using the second M-4A3 standard gun kit from Armourfast.  I actually like these kits because they have really nice fit, decent detail, and I can focus my attention on developing my finishing (and other) skills.

So, in my week off I've finished my two ambulances, litter bearers, started and finished my dozer tank, started and finished my flame tank, as well as opening, uploading pictures to, and captioning a photobucket account.  I'm feeling pretty proud of myself!

I'll hopefully get the natural metal painted on the mig15 this weekend. Does anyone know if you can use future to hold clear parts together? I thought I remembered reading it somewhere but cannot remember where.

Psycho, yes future does work for holding parts together. It is not as strong as clear glues are in most cases, but it will work.

As far as my model work goes, I am knuckling down on the few builds I have that can be completed before sundown tomorrow brings the model building year to a close here. This morning I completed Monogram's 1/48 F-8E. It is semi Korean War related due to the F-8 being developed off Navy combat experience in Korea and what their fighter pilots wanted in a fighter.

and here posed with another Vought fighter and Korean War bird, the F4U (built many years ago).