Here's a question for everyone, although Helo might know more about it; I'm looking for kits in 1/72(6) scale of the M-18, the APC that was a derivative of the M-18, and the 'Duster' twin 40mm AA mobile gun (M-20?  M-42?) system.  Do they exist?  Even in resin or metal, I don't care.  They'd look awesome in my collection, that's for sure!

On a totally different note, I've bought the Verlinden treadway system floating bridge and the Airfix pontoon bridge.  I'm going to do a river crossing with both items and have all of my armour on them.  I've also purchased the Verlinden WWII carrier deck sticky back.  I'm going to put a couple of my naval a/c on that with the carrier deck figures from my old MPC release of the Airfix Skyraider.  And the Verlinden WWII aircraft revetment is going to get one of my USAF birds. I'd like to use my Long Tom and M5 along with a half track and M-30 to make a gun firing diorama.

I've FINALLY gotten a shelf unit in my classroom to place my models on, between that and the window ledge, I think I'm going to be okay for storage for a while.  I'll post a picture of it when I get back into my classroom and get a chance.

Gamera:

I've got the "Korean War" release of the B-29.  It comes with special Cartograph brand decals which include the bomb decals, nose art for two NMF and one black belly a/c.  Mine is going to have the flat black belly.  All of the other Academy kits I've built lately have decal issues, they don't stay on, don't shape to the kit, etc.  The Cartograph decals are da BOMB!  Sorry, couldn't resist...  And I know what you're saying about the upper seam.  Mine's gonna have quite a bit of CA glue and filler when I get done.  I really hate having to sand anything that gets NMF, but there you are...

Gee guys, about 40F / 5C here today. Chilly but no big deal. Funny that the north up toward NY and Chicago got a pile of snow and you guys down in TX got snow but here in the middle we've been having a bit a rain but otherwise very nice weather.

John: The Meteor looks like a nice kit. I've built the Tamiya one in 1/48th and it went together smooth as silk. I figure the MPM might be a little more work but still the engines look like they gave you some sharp detail there.

Draken: Did your Academy kit come with the bomb decals or did you buy them aftermarket? Mine didn't come with any, not that I'm complaining, I think she looks just fine with them painted simple OD green. BTW watch the upper fuselage seam. I've glued mine over and over but small places want to pop open every time I  sand the blasted thing. They're so small I'd never see them on a normal a/c but on a NM scheme they really jump out.

My kit:

SP: Looking forward to a Centurion update!

Not totally happy with the dio but #@$@ it looks close enough to asphalt to me now. I tossed a wash on it to try to bring out the detail but it turns out a little dark- well the road is now freshly paved - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Pulled out a old Tamiya Greyhound armoured car model and coated it's tires with mud coloured paint and rolled it back and forth to put some muddy tracks on the road. Looks ok I think, hope I got the colour right since all the mud around here is bright red due to the high iron content of the soil. In fact one of the nearest towns to here is named Ferrum from the term ferrous. I understand that most places have more tan-brown mud though so I'm aiming for that. Cross your fingers- God willing and the creeks don't rise I'll be done by the end of the month.......

stikpusher

Polar Bear Plunge PK?

Altho jacuzzi is completely iced over, the big pool is just fine ... heya, heya - what more can oone ask for ?? ...

pepper

Polar Bear Plunge PK?

Helo H-34

Thank's for the cockpit pic's on the Meteor , Pepper ;

WOW it looks cold where you guy's are ,Pepper , how do you hold the airbrush with those gloves on ....                           

Hi All:

With great difficulty ... when wearing them, I only paint large scale, such as the side of my house or a car ... don't need any finesse to do those  ...

Also, it's pretty hard to work with photo-etch as well :-) ...

Swimming anyone ? ...

pepper

Heya Helo!

I've got the same Meteor kit, I looked at the rockets and my only thought was, "FFFfffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." 

I bought the Academy Hawker Typhoon Mk. Ib and I'm using the rockets and launcher rails from it.  Same weapon, but two piece, and you have to trim off the front of the rails.  Makes it a _LOT_ easier on an already complicated build. 

Dang that looks cold there PK. I guess I wont go into too much detail on how I spent today in shorts, Hawaiian shirt, and sandals...

I did finish getting the tracks all glued up on my Centurion last nite. I did not trust those AFV "workables ' to be just snapped together. Now I just need to paint the outer surface of the tracks, apply decals, and weathring begins.

Thank's for the cockpit pic's on the Meteor , Pepper ;

WOW it looks cold where you guy's are , It never snows in Sydney , thankfully it doesn't get that cold .

I have only seen snow once , back in '81 I went with some mates down south to Mt. Kosiosko [snow fields] ,

Hung out on the tebogon slopes for a day and that was enough snow for me , never wanted to go back !

Pepper , how do you hold the airbrush with those gloves on ....

Stay warm guy's................

                                  John .

Helo H-34

I'm not sure what color to paint the fuselage interior ? , I suppose it would be interior green . .

Hey John:

Here are 2 interior shots of a Meteor (per Google) ... looks like green interior, black panel ...

The other shot shows me getting ready to head to the workbench to do some spray painting ...

pepper

I'm sanding the putty on the Phantom fuselages as well as the F-16's , so their coming along nicely .

I think yesterday must of been the first time in twenty years of building kits , that I had to give up because of the weather . Normally Sydney's weather is quite good all year round , in winter it never gets below 50F and very rarely does the mercury go over the 100 mark , I'm lucky that I can airbrush all year round but yesterday with the persperation running down my forehead and into my eye's , I just couldn't keep going .

Even the computer was struggling so I had to shut it down as well over night .

Thank's for looking up the magazine article for me Greg , I'll glue some of the engine pieces together and cut open the engine panel in the mean time .

BTW , Andy good luck with the B-29 , I hope she goes together without too many issue's .

                                     John .

Nice looking parts for the Meteor!  Those Aussie birds are cool.  I read a review in SAMI (I think) about that kit.  The author did it in target tug scheme.  I have the mag at home, I will check and see if there is any mention of interior scheme when I get home tomorrow.  If I remember right, the author had a hard time with the kit.  He complimented the detail and accuracy, but construction was tough.  Of course, reviews are rather subjective.  The SAMI reviews of a couple of planes contradicted what the FS reviews said!  What I like about reviews is if they tell you what is in the box, and what is not, and any trouble spots.  When they use supplies and AM that is not obtainable, that doesn't help much.  Fs is good about that, I think.  How's the phantom factory?  I am looking forward to joining in on the fun soon.

Cheers,

Greg

Greg , I was also thinking about one of those 1/48 Classic Airframe F3D-2 Skynight , they are rather expensive and I'm not sure if anyone has them in stock at the moment ?

Anyway I've been putting off starting my MPM Gloster Meteor F.Mk-8 RAAF 77squadron for a while now ; At first I thought the build would be too complicated . However last night I was going over the instructions again and I think I can make a go of it ;

I'm not sure what color to paint the fuselage interior ? , I suppose it would be interior green .

There is a nice resin seat with PE seat belts , would the seat frame be black or interior green with olive drab cushion ???

I thought I would use CMK's 'Rolls Royce Nene' engine and cut open one of the top engine access panels to expose the engine ,

The rockets that fit under the wings are a three piece resin affair with PE tail fins which make them look over complicated but I'll worry about those last .

I'll make a start today on the cockpit and engine assembly and see how things go from there !!!

                                                John .

The one (P-70) I have is the 1/48 AMT.  Cool plane, nice detail in some areas, devoid in others.  Overall, I think it is a neat kit, just a lot of work.  The only "easy" build I've had in quite some time was my F-51D for this GB.  I'm starting to think it is me...???  Good practice I suppose so if I can ever find/afford a Classic Airframes F3D-2 I won't botch it too bad!

I wish more politicians were, if any are to begin with, model builders.  As much thought and research, self critique, and peer review we do, they could learn from that!  My co-workers always tell me "I don't have the patience for that".  I tell that I am not a patient person, but this helps. 

Cheers,

Greg

Gregbbear

My P-70 for my NF GB is taking a lot more work than I thought it would

Sorry to butt into the wrong GB and list here, but, I found the easiest build for the P-70 (aeons ago!  It was 1981 and I was in eighth grade] was the Revell P-70.  I don't know if this helps yo at all, but I wish you the best!

OB Korean Build:  I finally pt the fuselage together on the Superfort!  Nasty fix, lottsa tape, gonna have even more filler!  Hopefully it'll workout okay, though! 

Just finished reading Pratchett's "Unseen Academicals", about to start reading something new for bed-time.

Dang John, that is hot!  That's Texas weather there.  Strangely, we had snow the other day.  I'm glad I wasn't working.  Stayed inside and hung out with my son.  I hope everyone down under is safe and doing good with all the extreme weather that seems to be hitting.

All the builds are looking good too.  I'm glad to here about Andy's bomb decals went good. 

As of now, I'm not working on anything Korean.  When I get caught up on some other stuff, I will start something and stop lurking.  My P-70 for my NF GB is taking a lot more work than I thought it would, and everytime I pick up my Panther for the Alley Cat Gb, I find more flaws.  Not trying to complain, I am just going slower than I would have liked.

So far, this is still my favorite GB.  You guys have made this not only fun, but interesting and informative too.  Thanks again fellas.

Cheers,

Greg

WOOHOO!  Gotta love boredom...  I've FINALLY buckled down and put on the NINETY SIX decals that are meant for the THIRTY TWO bombs in the Academy B-29!!!   This means that I can finally install the on the respective racks and attach the fuselage sides together.  WHEW!  I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get this far.  The Cartograph decals ROCK!  They slide of easily, have the proper amount of adhesive, and with just the SMALLEST touch of solvent immediately curl around the bombs.  So much different from the other Academy brand decals I've used. 

Whomever else is building this kit, the decals are a major bright spot!

Great work guy's on the two LA-11's

Cliff , I hope things work out for you with your base .

The temperature here in Sydney [western suburbs] is 104F today and upstairs in my domain there is no aircondition , I've been trying to get by with a couple of ocilating fans but it's just toooooo hot .

A cool change is expected tomorrow [sunday] hopfully I'll get back to the bench then . In the meantime I'll camp out downstairs with the oldies and the aircon and a cold brew

                                                         John .

Draken: Very sharp LA-11!

Dr. Win: Great looking LA-11 too! Really like the colourful decals on the grey paint. Thanks for posting the info on Bison decals. I've seen them at shows but thought they did pretty much entirely German subjects. I am going to have to pick up a couple of these sets for US/UK/Commonwealth AFVs.

After I noticed we have two Andrews and an Andy in this GB I went back to calling you guys by your callsigns, seemed like the least confusing thing to do. Hope ya'll don't mind

Cliff

Thought I'd copy and paste this in from the Bison decals website as it may be of considerable interest to you all... planned for 1/35th scale, I've already emailed the guy to ask if he has any plans to produce these in 72nd too... If any of you have useful reference material get in touch with him. God I'd love to get 72nd Korean aftermarket sets!

35131 8th KRIH in Korea - Centurion, Dingo, Cromwell, Cromwell Dozer.
35132 Lord Strachcona's Shermans in Korea - M4A3E8 and Achilles.
35133Commonwelth AFVs in Korea - British, Canadian, and NZ.
35xxx US Tanks in Korea (#1) 
35xxx US Tanks in Korea (#2) 
35xxx USMC Tanks in Korea (#1) 
35xxx USMC Tanks in Korea (#2) 

Suggestions for markings to a single tank or a whole set are welcommed (in any scale).
Maybe you have photos and information of any interesting subject or single tank.
Please contact me.Suggestions for markings to a single tank or a whole set are welcommed (in any scale).
Maybe you have photos and information of any interesting subject or single tank.
Please contact me.

 

. . . . . . . . . . . .

 

 

Do you have any material concerning Post WW2/Cold War British armour?
I would be interested in producing some decalsets for the period circa 1946 to the 1980s.
Markings for Cromwell, Centaur, Comet, Centurion of course, armoured cars and so on.
BAOR, UK, Palestine, Egypt, Suez '56, Cyprus, Jemen, Kuwait...
Korea, Hong Kong, Malaya, Borneo, Java...
Grateful for any help - with some luck these sets could be released in the years to come.
You can contact me (Johan) by mail; bison_decals@hotmail.com

 

 

As a start a A34 Comet set was released in January 2010.
British, Cuban, South African and Irish markings.
Also a new Suez 1956 set (35119) including some more british markings
are planned to be printed this year (2010). Update: This set are now available.
Some sets with British, Canadian and NZ tanks in Korea will be released in 2011.

 

 

. . . . . . . . . . . .

 

 

More help needed. 
All these small stencils, like shipping labels and different codes, and check the battery etc etc.
It would be very good to have a couple of these as decals, to add realism to the model.
At the moment I'm especially are looking for Sherman stencils, but everything are of interest.
Ammo box stencils might also be of interest.

Ah well, allow me to clear up (or possibly add to) the confusion with pics of the finished LA-11 and one of the Damiler armoured car which should be finished tommorow (the grey blob in the foreground is as far as I have got with the Dingo).

Andy

My deepest apologies sir! I don't know why I confused you with Dr Win in all honesty. Well my error has been corrected and your La-11 given proper credit! Enjoy your holiday there! I know our local Asian communities will be having their Lunar New Year festivals here. Large Viet and Korean populations just up the road here.

stikpusher

OKthen Doc, she is added to the front page. You Braile scale guys do crank out the kits!

Next!

Whoah, wait a sec, Stikpusher...

I figured that this would happen at some point in time, just not so quickly!  I'm Andy (the_Draken), the other Andy doing the La-11 is Docwin (Andy.  I'm not sure what Andrew is working on at the moment.  We've got three Andys on the build! 

Docwin (Andy) is currently in progress with the Gran kit of the La-11, I just up and decided last week to build the MPM.  I think the other Andy (Docwin) is the one that is supposed to go onto the front page when he's done.  I don't want to take his place and cause an incident. 

Lemme know what's up.  It's Chinese Lunar New Year and everything's shut down in Korea, I'll be having a dinner with a friend and celebrating until late night.  Type to you folks later!

OKthen Doc, she is added to teh front page. You Braile scale guys do carnk out the kits!

Next!

Heya Stikpusher,

It's as done as I'm gonna get it.  A very difficult build for me, I'm not 'pro' and this was my first short run kit.  Found lots of things that I'd do different on the next bunch.  I've got a Sea Fir F.47 in the stash and that's going to be a LOT easier to do now that I've got a short run kit under my belt.

Thanks!

Are ya calling that La-11 done there Draken? If so I will add her to the front page.Interesting looking aircraft. The fuselage shows the La-5/7 heritage, but all new design on the wings. Thanks for taking that one on!

On a previous plane of existence, Gamera said:

"Is there ANYTHING a Korean won't put hot sauce on!?!?!?!" in regards to Korean food.

Nothing I have seen so far...  Pizza has sweet corn, sweet pickles and Hot sauce.  Kaegoggi (dog meat) has onions mushrooms and hot sauce, Live squid gets hot sauce, Bibimbap (fried egg on top of rice and veggies) gets (you guessed it!) HOT SAUCE!  Weirdly enough, though I hate cabbage and cabbage related products (kimchi!  URGH!) I've begun to have an affinity for hot flavored items!  I order everything with either Tabasco or jalapenos when I get US style food, and put the same on all of my own home cooked items.

And chili is a WHOLE new ball game for me!!!

Keep up the good work folks!

Sorry, 'bout your weather issues.  I gots 99 problems and a 'sleat' ain't one.

I grew up in ND/MN area.  Driving/living/surviving in snow and low temps is what we're about.  I just don't have patience with people who can't drive in poor weather.  Wait, lemme clarify that, I have no patience with people who can't drive.  Wait, I better clarify that again, I have no patience with people who drive!

Living in the RoK, one of the things I've SERIOUSLY come to admire is the mass transit system!  I can take a train/bus/taxi/walk anywhere for less than $5.00 (USD).     So much better than the states where I had to drive or ride a bicycle everywhere. 

Anyway, OB publication, my MPM La-11!

Dr. Win: She looks pretty good to me in the photos, if you hadn't told me about the problems I would have missed them

Draken: Yeah, limited run kits are fun aren't they? I love that snack food package, I bet you wouldn't have them named B-29s in Japan... And curry flavour, just ate some Korean food last week and forgot to tell them to make it mild.  Is there ANYTHING a Korean won't put hot sauce on!?!?!?!

Not to make light of the problems ya'll have had with those limited run Eastern European kits but I finished one off about two weeks ago and took it in for our club meeting. It wasn't too bad for a limited run kit and I said so. One of the guys had to rag me though about 'Gee Cliff, why don't you build a Tamiya kit or something, you always bring in that limited run krap and complain about what a PITA they are.'

BTW: Still working on my base. I'm laid down about five layers of plaster so far and can't see to get it to suit me.

Well, I've been actually working on models today!  It's kinda surprising, since I haven't worked on anything in the last four nights and three days...  Here's a shot of my ICM 1/72 Yak-9 in progress. 

Something to note on this kit, it comes as either the Yak-9D or P  Both fuselages are present, but the 9P doesn't have the DF aerial or a window, you're supposed to paint that area silver.  I cut it out and included a stretched sprue made areal.  Also, for some bizarre reason, the instrument panel is far wider than it should be.  I had to seriously trim it down, and then the decal doesn't fit right...  Imagine that.  I bought mine as a dual kit called "Korean War, 1950-1953" which also includes a Chinese marked Tu-2.  I went with the Yak because I thought it looked easier and would go quicker.  The Tu-2 looks a bit convoluted, and even though I've washed it two times already, it's still got this really tacky sticky mold release goo on parts of it.  I'm seriously considering getting some mechanics hand cleaner to use on it!

Here's a shot of the in progress B-29, I'm just at a stopping point prior to putting the FOURTY EIGHT decals on the bombs.  Seriously gonna suck...

And because I can...  This is a really cool thing I found here in Korea, ripples of the war are everywhere!  These are a snack called (aptly) B-29's!  And believe it or not, they're like Cheeto's Cheese puffs, but CURRY flavoured!  Yes, I bought them, yes, they aren't too bad.  Unfortunately, there just isn't much curry flavour to them, it could be a lot stronger, I think!

Have fun folks!  Sorry, but I forgot to take a pic of my La-11.  Also, I've been reading that book, "Crimson Sky" and it mentions specifically that some of the kills in the early part of the war were La-9's as well.  The only significant exterior difference (okay, from a 1000 yards) would be the external radiator under the fuselage.  Although, I'm not so sure how much I trust this source...