Monogram Mafia Group Build

Thanks for everyones concern, we came through with very minimal damage and no flooding. Irene made landfall in Little Egg Harbor Inlet, only a few miles from home. My brother, who lives in Holland PA got more damage then we did when his electric went out and his sump flooded his totally and recently renovated basement....go figure....

Hi y'all,

First time in nearly a month that I've worked on the B-36. I laid on some Testor's silver and will try to hit it with the magnesium color before the humidity/heat hits again. After that, I'm laying the gear in so I can decal her on the kitchen table. Hope to have some pics available after the second color lay down.

Glenn

Glenn, you might know that I had family in Columbus for years. My first cousin Christopher was an active native of your state. Unfortunately he passed away last week at the age of 47. Chris was a really kind and gentle guy.

http://webster-assoc.com/3.html

No ones there anymore. My aunt died quite a few years ago, and Chris's brother moved north to Nantucket, where their father came from.

I last saw him exactly five years ago out here in the West. Don't know if I'll ever visit the Magnolia State.

troublemaker66

Thanks for everyones concern, we came through with very minimal damage and no flooding. Irene made landfall in Little Egg Harbor Inlet, only a few miles from home. My brother, who lives in Holland PA got more damage then we did when his electric went out and his sump flooded his totally and recently renovated basement....go figure....

Len, glad that you guys are OK down there.  Unfortunately things haven't been the same for us.  As you know, I'm not too far from your brother's place and we got a good amount of rain.  Power has been out since Saturday night.  I tell ya, it's not too fun modelling by candlelight.  When power is restored I'll get some pics up of the -25 and the -40.  

Mike

Well I took two steps forward and one step back today. Removed the offending Sea Blue with some Polly Scale ELO (Easy Lift Off). Unfortuantely some ELO also got where I did not want it on the canopy framing inner color so I will have to touch up that area before I proceed to a top coat there.

Here's my version of Captain Joe Foss' Wildcat.  Additions to the box include Eduard PE cockpit, vacuform canopy, True Details seat, Super Scale/homemade decals.  Also, added brass tubing for wing armament and underwing oil coolers from some old EA6B fuel tanks.  Gotta admit - this was my toughest build to date.  I know I didn't get it all right (e.g., no belly windows).  Finished with primer, Krylon and Tamiya colors, Future, and Testor's dullcoat.  My weathering attempt was with diluted tempera poster paint lights and darks dabbed on and wiped.

I know the boss met General Foss - hope he'll find this acceptable for the GB.

Here's a rerun of the pit -

Upper views -

And the belly-

Thanks for looking,

Ken

She is a real beauty...I like the blue...very realistic.

bondoman

Glenn, you might know that I had family in Columbus for years. My first cousin Christopher was an active native of your state. Unfortunately he passed away last week at the age of 47. Chris was a really kind and gentle guy.

http://webster-assoc.com/3.html

No ones there anymore. My aunt died quite a few years ago, and Chris's brother moved north to Nantucket, where their father came from.

I last saw him exactly five years ago out here in the West. Don't know if I'll ever visit the Magnolia State.

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. Please accept my deepest sympathies.

Glenn

Ken,

Super job on the Wildcat!

Glenn

Great looking Wildcat Glen!   I really like the pit details and finish.

know the boss met General Foss - hope he'll find this acceptable for the GB.

Yupper, I did.. General Foss and I even had a beer or two together at the O'Club... He got dinged for wearing his hat in there too. (There's a rule that all headgear MUST be removed in the O'Club. If you don't and someone see you wearing your cap, hat, whatever, he'll walk over to the bar and ring the bell there... Then the "offender" has to remove his head-gear, and buy the house a round...) Then that guy that dinged him saw the Medal and called the house to Attention and commanded, "Present ARMS"...  The General's money was no good there...

He was a fireball, lol.. And boy, did he hate President Clinton, lol...

I think he'd be proud of your 'Cat... I know I am...

Salutiamo..

Nice Kitty !!

Love that cat, Ken!  Great interior work!

Great job on the Wildcat. It can be a bear to finish. You have hit the nail right on the head.

Wow, Ken, from me, too--excellent job on the Wildcat!  Who says you can't make a good model from a Monogram kit!  Really nice, well done!

Power has finally been restored to Casa Donnarumma!  Woohoo!  Kbuzz, the 'cat looks great.  As for me, I've been plodding away slowly at the B-25 and P-40.  

First the P-40.  I decided to add some wire to make the pit look busy.  

Still some painting to do there.

Next, I took a look at the IP and decided that it needed something.  Oh yeah, .50s!  The panel on this kit doesn't have the nose guns sticking out.  Obviously that needed to be changed.  

Not great, but hey, it's the first time i tried it..  

Finally, I looked at the bucket of a seat and knew it had to be reworked.  I filled the nasty hole where the pilot's back is supposed to go.  Then I reshaped the curve of the inside, which now is unseen.  Finally I added a harness made from Tamiya tape and wire.  Not great, but not bad for a first time.

Then it was on to the B-25.  I've been working a bit slow on it as it's the summer and that means it's fishing season for me.  And shooting season.  That and SWMBO and I got a puppy, so my free time has been non-existent.  I don't know how some of you guys do it.  Anyway, the engines got a little wire treatment although I think next time I should step it up a guage or two in thickness.  

The IP and pit was painted up and put on display before it gets placed in the tomb that is the fuselage and is lost forever..

And before closing up everything.  I know it's not perfect, but you can't see most of it anyway..

Finally, how the heck should I deal with this?

Looks like part of the fuse melted at some point, and I'm not too thrilled.  I know it wasn't my fault, but I'll deal with it.  Just trying to figure out how.  Any and all ideas are welcome.

So, that's pretty much it for me now.  After a week that saw the rumblings of an earthquake, rain from a hurricane, and questionable tornadic activity close by, I'm ready for a nice, relaxing week of sunshine.  See ya guys.

Mike

Swingr,

My best guess would be to cut the offended part square so the bent molten part is gone. Then cut a piece of styrene sheet to its proper size. Glue that in and add Filler as needed...

Richard

Nice Wildcat kbuzz! That scratch cockpit is very impressive!

Well here is my take on the Wildcat's younger sibling, the Panther, so far... Lower surface paint corrected...

Thanks for your kind comments, guys.  The Cat turned out ok - better than I expected while in the process.

Also, thanks Hammer for the great story about Gen. Foss.  I suspect that most of the guys here know about Joe Foss and his war record in the Pacific.  There's a lot more great stuff in his life, tho.  Col. Foss organized the S. Dak. ANG in 1946 with P-51s, C-47s, A-26s, AT-6s, and L5s.  After Korea, Joe became General Foss and was Chief of Staff for the S. Dak. ANG.  That was about the time I joined the unit.  He later served as Governor of S. Dak. and Commissioner of the NFL.  While with the Guard, he formed an acrobatic demo team with P-51s painted red called the "Red Devils."  When he was Governor, I recall hearing him tell tales in our ops center, and specifically one particular comment that kinda personifies his character, "I calls 'em as I sees 'em."  He was a heckuva guy!

Ken

Yeah, I got him to autograph my copy of his book, Joe Foss-A Proud American...  Over the course of the conversation, I asked him if he'd mind if I did a model of his Wildcat for him, and he replied, "Jezuzz Kee-rist, son... You have any idea how many models of those damn airplanes I get , just sent to me? I toss 'em in the trash, I get so many.."..   Feeling a little red-faced, I just was gonna let it drop... Then he said, "But damn-straight you can.. You're the first person that ever ASKED me first...". 

I read about his bout with the TSA at the airport and The Medal with some amusement, thinking that, "Boy, is HE ever gonna give 'em a history lesson from Hell...". Turns out he didn't, but he was rather saddened that they didn't know what the Medal of Honor was..  He may have been saddened, but I was PO'd... There's no good reason why any AMERICAN over the age of 13 shouldn't know what the Medal is...  ESPECIALLY during wartime...

That's a hilarious tale, Hammer!  Did you build him a Wildcat? 

Ken

Base coat of Sea Blue on. Bombs. Speed Brakes, and assorted other fiddly bits painted...

kbuzz01

That's a hilarious tale, Hammer!  Did you build him a Wildcat? 

Ken

I did indeed start on it... Unfortunately, he passed away before I was able to get it to him..

kermit

Swingr,

My best guess would be to cut the offended part square so the bent molten part is gone. Then cut a piece of styrene sheet to its proper size. Glue that in and add Filler as needed...

Richard

Ditto..

Hans von Hammer

 

kbuzz01:

 

That's a hilarious tale, Hammer!  Did you build him a Wildcat? 

Ken

 

 

I did indeed start on it... Unfortunately, he passed away before I was able to get it to him..

Hans von Hammer

I read about his bout with the TSA at the airport and The Medal with some amusement, thinking that, "Boy, is HE ever gonna give 'em a history lesson from Hell...". Turns out he didn't, but he was rather saddened that they didn't know what the Medal of Honor was..  He may have been saddened, but I was PO'd... There's no good reason why any AMERICAN over the age of 13 shouldn't know what the Medal is...  ESPECIALLY during wartime...

 

Are you kidding me?

You know, I think he actually was pretty sanguine abt the whole thing. If the terrorists got an old guy and a CMOH from the internet, why not run him through security.

No exceptions. Gotta face the fact that life will never be the same again.

bondoman

You know, I think he actually was pretty sanguine abt the whole thing. If the terrorists got an old guy and a CMOH from the internet, why not run him through security.

No exceptions. Gotta face the fact that life will never be the same again.

The TSA's concern was that it was a "weapon", like a "Ninja Throwing Star"..... They kept passing it around, puzzled by it, according the General Foss... He told 'em "Flip it over, read it,  and it'll explain everything. That's my Congressional Medal of Honor"....

They should've, at the VERY least,  known what it WAS, is my point...  

BTW,  If you buy a Meal of Honor off the internet (or anywhere else, for that matter, and then take posession of it, you're commiting a crime... It's illegal to posses the MoH if you weren't the one that received it, or an immediate family member of the recipient...  It's also illegal to sell the real, received Medal.

Most replicas are one-sided, die-stamped steel as well.. That hasn't stopped posers from using it though... It's good enough to pass in a photo.. But there are some good ones out there too..

That's outstanding work you're doing on that P-40, Mike..

Stik & Mike-great work.  Seeing your builds makes me want to build more of the older Monogram classics.

Some progress on the P-51D.  Decals on the prop & cowl gave me fits.  I'm not happy with them, but I'm lacking the time and alternate scheme to repaint & decal.  Maybe at a later day...for now, it's all good. And I want to attempt some NMF weathering techniques from a FSM article I saw a while back, so this will work.

For my second build, the Cobra has been painted and decals applied.  I remembered to spray the decals with the Testors Decal Film so they turned out fine....no breaking up.  Also, I noticed that where the hood and trunk stripes had openings, the white would have shown through.  I painted black around those areas, so it worked out well.  I had time today to assemble the engine & suspension components, get those parts primed and drop some of the chrome parts in some Simple Green to strip off the plating.  Most of the exposed chrome parts (wheels, bumpers, roll bar) of the Essex Wire Cobra were flat black/gunmetal. If the Simple Green doesn't work, then I'll pick up some Castrol Super Clean. 

The hood could use a shim at the front, but I'm not going to take the time....that and I lack the skill to do it right.....