Helo H-34

two Canadian  Achilles tanks sitting on the dock at Pusan ; However the caption say's they were never used in combat , so what were they used for I wonder ???.

John, John ... the answer is obvious ... they were used to hold the dock down to keep it from floating away ...

pepper

Cliiff , excellent progress on the M-46 ; The level of detail is awesome .

Andy , you certainly are stocking up on kits . I also have the Falcon Triple conversion set for the Hasegawa P2H Neptune , did the two seat F-86 see service in Korea ?

Yesterday I got the Armorfast Achilles tanks in the mail , the Squadron Armor in korea book you just mentioned has a pic of two Canadian  Achilles tanks sitting on the dock at Pusan ; However the caption say's they were never used in combat , so what were they used for I wonder ???

I've been sweating on my Centurion book to arrive , so I can start looking at the main difference's between the Mk.3 and Mk.8 versions . The Airfix Mk.8 kit looks like it has the 105mm Gun barrel , so I'll need to look around for a 1/72 20 pounder barrel . I was thinking of buying a couple of Hobbymaster die-cast 1/72 Centurions , I've seen both Korean War Mk.3's like Stikpusher built and IDF Suez War Mk.5's . With postage costs included there both up around $30 each , I was going to use them to take measurements from to kit bash the Airfix kits . 30 bucks seems a little expensive , especially when few a few dollars more I could buy some 1/35 scale Centurions kits .

It's nice to see a new modeller on the Korean War GB , I look forward to seeing M101's Mustang and Sea Fury builds .

                                                   John .

WOOHOO!

Just got my Heller T-33/RT-33 in the mail!  The last of the kits that I MUST take to Korea with me.  I've also replaced my Monogram USCG HU-16 that I'm bringing, and picked up another three Matchbox F-86A's.  As far as books, I've bought the Squadron Korean War Aces, the Mini-in Action for the OH-13, and a raft of books used off of Alibris.com.  I just got a Naval Press book "The Sea War in Korea", only cost $0.99[USD], although it is kinda water damaged.  Has some really cool pics, including one of an LCVP balanced on the SIDE of a 'sunken' LST at low tide.  Among other books ordered, was Squadrons Armor of the Korean War, the one thagt Helo keeps posting from.  I also ordered some stuff from New Zealand to be sent to my school in Korea, including canopies for my Privateer and Sunderland as well as the Falcon triple conversion for the AD5-W/P2V5/TF-86.  I may just build ALL of them!  If got enough Skyraiders and Sabres, why not?  As well as the paints and supplies, I've also gotten a few things for my collection at home, including the Hat WWII British Mortar Team.  they fit right in with the Korean War stuff.  Now, including the ERTL/ESCI WWII Tommies, I've got some heavy weapons for the limeys...  Just kidding!  And I picked up another Bren Carrier ahnd 6#'er to replace the SECOND one that was stolen by kids at school.  I don't know what or how I'll display things at my next school...I did decide to raid my collection of ICM "Battle Damaged" kits and will be bringing the Skyraider along.  As well as my Hasegawa LtJG G.H.W. Bush Avenger to mod into an air ambulance.  The ICM kit will be fun since I'm also bringing along my motor tool and accessories kits!

I think I'm going to be having a lot of fin when I get back to Korea! 

Well, not TOO HORRIBLY off topic...

Here's a link to a WWII German T-34/76 beutepanzer being recovered from a lake in Johvi, Estonia.  Kinda cool how it's in such good condition.  The lack of oxygen in the peat and the stagnant water has really done a good job of preservation.

www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/TPC/fun-pics002/1801-1900/073.shtm

Given what I've seen at the various displays and the museums that I've been to in Korea, this thing is beautiful!

Think I've finished most of the construction on the M46. Sorry the office computer won't allow me to edit photos so I'll try to reduce their size later.

MA101: Welcome aboard! They sound like some really cool subjects.

John: Hang onto that hedgerow cutter. A guy in our club built a end-of-civilization road warrior zombie killer car with one!

Temps here have dropped off to about 85F/30C and it's starting to feel almost like autumn. I want to visit Texas someday but I think I'll come in the early spring or late fall.

Welcome to the build, dude!

I believe that I can speak for all of us here that we're plenty glad to see you and wish you the best of luck and skill on your builds.  If you have any questions on kits, availability, resources, and building procedures just ask!  Although it's the first GB that I've ever participated in, I've noticed that everyone here's more than willing to lend a helping hand and constructive criticism.  Basically, if we can't say something nice, we don't say anything at all! 

And don't let us braille scale 1/72 builders discourage you.  Doc Win, Helo_34 and I don't have nearly the parts count to most of our kits that the 'big guys' do.  That just means we can crank 'em out quicker.

Ok then MA101... we look forward to seeing your work here!

I'm in with a 1:72 Academy P-51D (77 Sqn RAAF) and a 1:48 Trumpeter Sea Fury FB.11 (RAN)

Okay , no hedgerow cutter .

I went and looked at the Nitto M-36 build you did andy and as soon as I read "epic waste of plastic" , I started to feel better about not bidding any more on the ebay kit . In saying that , you still did an awesome job in getting yours together , especially given all the fit problems and it's kinda ironic she ended up sitting on the back of the M-19 Tank Transporter . It came out looking quite good despite all the fit issue's .

I bought the 1/72 Armourfast M-36 Jackson Tank kit , I also stumbled across a Matchbox F-86A and snapped up that one as well ..........Following your lead again Andy .

Slightly off-topic but I bought one of those 1/72 Retrokit resin IDF Sherman VVSS Ambutank kits and it arrived today . You get the complete hull and just need to add the suspension , road wheels , tracks , front crew hatches and head lights . They suggest the Italeri M4A1 kit but I think any M4A1 kit might work .

The resin hull is absolutly flawless , there are molded on tools which look really good , I'm quite impressed with the quality , I think it's a lot better than the Solfig/Millcast M32 resin tank .

It really is very , very nice .

                        John

Stik is correct, no hedgerow cutter for Korea.  On another note, seeing the Hat/Armourfast kits for $15 is quite normal.  I have seen that to be pretty much the Mfgr Suggested Retail for them all over.  They're VERY easy, often snap together, and the detail is more often than not incredibly good.  I can't say what it would be like for an open top GMC...  I would imagine that a lot of the detail for the interior and the gun would be missing, but I've not built one of them yet. Here's where I do a build of the Nitto/Fujimi Jackson:

http://sites.google.com/site/modelingthekoreanwarin172scale/home/ground-vehicles-of-the-korean-war/allied-armour/us-fighting-vehicles/m-36-jackson

I'd be very interested to know what the Hat/Armourfast is like in comparison.  It can't be NEARLY as difficult to build! 

I would say no hedgerow device. No pics of Cromwells in Korea show them, and I dont believe Korea has any hedgerows.

Awesome link Andy , thank's for posting it .

I didn't increase my bids on those two Nitto tanks .I too wonder sometimes about the price of items on ebay being pushed up ???  I did see that Hat/Armourfast have those fast assemble M-36 Jackson tank kits for $15 and you get two in the box . So I'll think about that for a while .

This arrived in the post just now ...

I'm not sure if that hedge cutter on the front of the Cromwell was fitted while in use in Korea , I can easierly leave it off . Looks like a nice kit though .

                                           John .

Here's an awesome site I found for Helo and Doc Win!

Since we're all three 1/72 scale dudes, this site should be of eminent value:

http://designer.home.xs4all.nl/models/models72.htm

It's got all sorts of links for all sorts of aircraft, but what really intrigued me was a comparison/contrast of three of the several F-84 kits.  He does the Academy, Heller and the Hobby Boss Easy Kit in the same article.  I only wish that he'd done the Tamiya as well.

Have fun dudes! 

Helo H-34

Hey Guy's ,

There's a 1/76 Nitto/Fujimi M-30 Cargo Carrier and M-36 Jackson Tank on ebay that I was bidding on . I had $16 down on each one but have now been outbid at $16.55 . I'm not sure what each kit is really worth ?

Heya Helo!

With the Oz$ close to the Murcan$, I myself don't go over $10 USD for armour like those.  They're out of production, but there's tons of them out and about.  It just takes time for them to appear.  I didn't pay anything over $10 for ANY of my armour off of eBay.  Some I had to specifically buy from shops in the UK or such, and that was regular price.  Most of the Nitto/Fujimi kits I only pad about $5-7 USD for.  If someone wants them for $16.55, they must need them a lot more than you, or the other buyer is the seller.  Illegal as heck on eBay, but I've run into it.

Hope that this helps!

deafpanzer

Maybe this will help you...

http://photobucket.com/faq/?catID=80&catSelected=f&topicID=632

First you need to click on the thumbnail so you can have the actual photo on your screen... then you will see a tab on top of the photo.  Your cursor has to be on the photo to make the tabs appear. 

Thanks for the tip ... I read all the way through and saw nothing that I'm already not doing ... I use PhotScape to manipulate my images - cropping, resizing and so forth ... and again, as I've said, nothing larger than 500 pixels in either direction ...

My images have a lower pixel count than a 640 x 480 ... all in all, I have no complaint with what I post; rather, I was just curious why some images are hug (need to scroll to see) and others aren't ...

Oh well - back to the kitchen table and the Shooting Star ...

Thanks,

pepper

Hey Guy's ,

There's a 1/76 Nitto/Fujimi M-30 Cargo Carrier and M-36 Jackson Tank on ebay that I was bidding on . I had $16 down on each one but have now been outbid at $16.55 . I'm not sure what each kit is really worth ?

Most 1/72-76 armor kits retail for around $20 at the hobby stores here in Sydney , I can't decide if these two kits would be worth paying up to twenty bucks each . Lately I've picked up a few IDF 1/35 Armor kits off ebay for $25 with free shipping ; It seems I can find big scale stuff for just $5 more than braille scale ......

Mmmmm what to do ........

                         John .

Maybe this will help you...

http://photobucket.com/faq/?catID=80&catSelected=f&topicID=632

First you need to click on the thumbnail so you can have the actual photo on your screen... then you will see a tab on top of the photo.  Your cursor has to be on the photo to make the tabs appear. 

deafpanzer

Pepper, I use Photobucket and I usually set all pictures at 640 X 480.  Sometimes at larger size 800 X 600 for those final pictures or with alot of details such as interior or figures.  3,600 sounds way too high... it will take longer time to download those pictures especially for those who have slower internet connections. 

Hi dp:

That's what's confusing ... I use Photobucket as well and never have my pictures bigger than 500 x 500 at the absolute max ... most are smaller ... yet, I see pictures that fill my whole screen and I even have to scroll to see the whole thing ? ...

I'm aware of folks' slower intenet connections and that's why I size my pictures accordingly ...

'Tis a mystery to me for sure,

pepper

Pepper, I use Photobucket and I usually set all pictures at 640 X 480.  Sometimes at larger size 800 X 600 for those final pictures or with alot of details such as interior or figures.  3,600 sounds way too high... it will take longer time to download those pictures especially for those who have slower internet connections.

A question for the group ...

When I prep photos to add to this list, I resize them to 500 pixels wide ... ofttimes (almost always), when I post them, I see that tag underneath that says they've been 'resized' ... that's OK by me, but I wonder what size photos everyone else posts ...

I noted with stik's last set of pictures of his Centurion, that several were large and the rest were small, with the 'resized' tag underneath ...

Should I keep sizing the way I've been doing or post them in their original size - some as much as 3,600 pixels wide - or ?? ...

Thanks,

pepper

PS  our temps have gopne back over the 100+ mark - we had 1 day at 99.9 - what relief :-) ...

Gregbbear

Pepper, looking forward to seeing your F-80.  Is it me, or does the kit come with both Lockheed and Misawa tanks?  It also looks like there are Mustang tanks too.  Napalm? 

Greg

Hiya:

Yes, Misawa tanks included ...I'll check on the tanks ... since it's been so hot this summer, I build on the kitchen table Mon - Fri while my wife's at work but everything is put away for Sat - Sun ...

Our big heat wave finally abated - 40 straight days over 100 ... however, the temps have dropped only to the very high 90's :-) ...

I'm going to start the helo build in the morning and after a review of the instructions, it looks as if there's going to be a lot of detail painting off the main body of the kit ... because of it's construction, most of the fiddly parts are in places that can't be reached after the top is put on the fuse framework ... so, lots of teeny tiny strips of masking tape to keep some edges paint free to aid  the gluing process ...

pepper

I was at a hobby store the other day with John Eaton "Jeaton" and he snapped up a T-33 rerelease.

I was at an airshow a couple of years ago with my buddy Airman Jim, who's retired and restores old radios for a hobby. They had a T-33 and he's talking to the guy...

"Ahh cud restoor thet radio for yall". Jim is from Memphis.

"That'd be swell, but who would be listening?".

Greg, that kit does (or did) come with the standard and Misawa tip tanks, as well a couple of Napalm tanks or 1000lb bombs for the wing racks. And yeah "Saggin Dragon" had some great nose art! The Sherman is coming along great. Careful now, once you start down the path to the dark side (armor kits), forever will it dominate your destiny... consume you it will!"

Pepper, looking forward to seeing your F-80.  Is it me, or does the kit come with both Lockheed and Misawa tanks?  It also looks like there are Mustang tanks too.  Napalm?  I really think the F-80 is super cool, and I hope to get one or two done for this GB also.

Stik, "Saggin Dragon", my all time favorite!  Cool!

Here is my Sherman as of a couple of days ago:

I haven't been able to touch it since I took the picture.  Getting there though.  For my first tank in a long, long, time, I am happy with it so far.  Makes me want to build more!

Cheers,

Greg

Pepper, it builds up quite nice. I did this one about 15 years ago. My first use of Metalizer paint on that build. I built the front and rear fuselage portion and left the rear free for removal as the instructions showed. Too bad I broke and lost the rear fuselage dolly...

Hi Guys:

Started the Shooting Star ... ugh, lots of flash and big connectors on the sprues ... have spent a great deal of time doing parts cleanup and sanding parts that mate ...

Here are some photos of work to date ... paint starts tomorrow ...

For a way-old kit, everyting looks pretty good but for the flash ... appears  to be pretty accurate in measurement ... I don't ike the idea of gluing two parts together to make each fuse side ... seems as if when I have to do that, something always comes out crooked :-) ...

pepper

PARTS TREES

RIGHT FUSE SIDE SHOWING BREAKDOWN

COCKPIT

....and never enough time Draken. I love those old battle damaged kits. Built most all of them when I was a kid and have a definite nostalgic spot for them. I did all the fast movers I could get..Phantom II, Super Sabre, Skyhawk, Fishbed... I dont think I ever saw the Skyraider. That one would be perfect for here!

Bondo, I understand about the family history. On my father's side I am the second generation American Soldier, considering that he was an immigrant here. He joined the Air Guard after his stint in the Regular Army, I think to get him close to avaition. He loves planes and worked around them most of his adult life. He ended up in a unit that had come back from Korea, the 452nd Bomb Wing, as aircrew on B-26s. I hope that my son will one day serves as well, but I do not push that on him at all. It will be his choice of his own free will as far as I am concerned.

Gamera, I'm gald you like the weathering. I was trying to go with a not so heavy dust look, as this is supposed to be a winter tank when dust is not so prevelant.

Stik, AWESOME Centurion!  Way better than mine.  I'M UNWORTHY!

On another note, the postman arrived today and brought another kit.  I now have the PST 37mm AA gun.  I took a few pictures of this item when I was at the Korean War Memorial Museum and noticed one on eBay.  Yesterday's mail brought two more Matchbox F-86A's and a replacement F2H-3 Banshee for the one that the kid stole and destroyed.  I think that the first kit I'm going to build when I get back to Korea is going to be either the Lindberg LSU or the Revell-Ger. Privateer.  I noticed on the web that a guy in Japan kitbashed the Privateer with an Academy B-24.  Since I can get the Liberators dirt cheap in Korea I may have to do that.  I'm also considering breaking a collection in my stash here at home and including the old ICM 'battle dmaged' A-1 Skyraider to my Korean War kits.  That would be seriously sweet to have sitting on my Verlinden resin aircraft maintenance diorama base.

TOO MANY IDEAS!  TOO MANY KITS! 

SP: Very sharp! Really like the way you did the dust cover over the mantlet and the overall weathering. Very convincing, subtle and not overdone. Great job sir!

Bondoman: Thanks- great story. Never served in the military myself and I thank God for the guys that did so I haven't had to.

On the darker side I spoke too soon about the MM matte finish. I sprayed a tank I've been painting and weathering for over a month the other night and must have put the matte finish on too heavy since I've got white areas where it pooled. Thankfully I was able to use fine sandpaper to remove some of it and hope I can use a few pin washes to cover the rest.