Monogram Mafia Group Build

Kustommodeler PM received, I will get it in the mail Tuesday. I am paying it forward as someone was kind enough to help me out with this build. All I ask is that you do the same when you can.

Well gentlemen I have started the Mustang. I plan on dropping the flaps and having the gunbay open for this one. I was digging around the spare decals and found an original Detroit Miss sheet from one of the first D that I bought. I am hoping that they will be good still. I figure since I am only 100 miles west of Detroit why not a Mustang with the name Detroit. A couple of photos to show progress

Hey, Don Hammer, I would like to be a part of your ever-expanding enterprise..  I'd like to get in with a P-40B and a B-25J, both 1:48.  What do you think?

Thanks Vetteman! you got a PM!! just pop a note in and let me know how much I owe ya!!

This means a lot as the kit is a Birthday present from my son and I want it to be the best it can be

Here's a link where I introduced it.

/forums/t/134945.aspx

Kustommodeler1 this the old kit sheet and has a gazillion stencils on it. I need 9 of them for the Streak Eagle but the rest are yours if you want them. You may have to use a decal saver on them as the sheet is over 20 years old, copyright is 1979. But the colors are good, not faded, and the carrier film looks good. Gamera was kind enough to send me the rest of the markings I need.

PM me your address and I will pop the sheet in the mail for ya

Hey Vetteman42, since you are going to be building the Eagle as the Streak Eagle, are you going to be using any of the kit decals? My issue of the kit, being touted as a "C", with featherlesss burner cans, also got a cheap decal sheet that is quite lacking in the stencil department.....

I know where there are aftermarket Eagle stencil set for sale, but it's more than the kit retailed for.......

Good luck Hans on the surgery! Dont let 'em  -ectomy, -oscopy, or resect any of the wrong parts!

Troublemaker66 hey I thought is was funny too and decided to play no worries here Len Gotta be able to poke a bit of fun in the groups ya know.    

vetteman42

troublemaker66:

 

vetteman42:

 

Ok ok call me a bad boy but

I just finished a Monogram F-14A Tomcat copyright 1981, I also have Revells F-14A Tomcat copyright 1993 so I took me out to the mancave and opened the Revell boxing. I found the molds to be identical. The only differance is the manufacturer stamping on the bottom of the right elevator. Why do they always stamp them there geeze. The Monogram was stamped "MMI 1981" , the Revell is stamped "Revell China 1993". However as I said the molds are, or seem to be identical.

 

Hey Pal,get your own name.. 

Len

 

Oh my !! I beg your pardon Troublemaker66 I will correct that in short order, an never never ever do it again.

Hans best of luck to you sir on Monday, hope its not serious and hope to see you back with us soon.

Hans... on the best of luck...I`ll keep an eye on tings till ya get back!

troublemaker66

 

vetteman42:

 

Ok ok call me a bad boy but

I just finished a Monogram F-14A Tomcat copyright 1981, I also have Revells F-14A Tomcat copyright 1993 so I took me out to the mancave and opened the Revell boxing. I found the molds to be identical. The only differance is the manufacturer stamping on the bottom of the right elevator. Why do they always stamp them there geeze. The Monogram was stamped "MMI 1981" , the Revell is stamped "Revell China 1993". However as I said the molds are, or seem to be identical.

 

Hey Pal,get your own name.. 

Len

Oh my !! I beg your pardon Troublemaker66 I will correct that in short order, an never never ever do it again.

Hans best of luck to you sir on Monday, hope its not serious and hope to see you back with us soon.

Thanks.  I'lll do the white box kit.  I don't trust the old plastic anymore.  Hopefully I won't have issues with this one.  I really hate buying open box kits...

Rich

Hans von Hammer

BTW Sparrow, I updated you to the Mossie, vice the P-39..

BTW Sparrow, I updated you to the Mossie, vice the P-39..

Vetteman and Tony, your status is updated..

Sparrow, the Mossie's fine... It's been around since the 60's, just finished that one up myself (white box, 1978 issue) a few months ago, but it was destroyed on the ground by a Tomcat... Sadly, not an F-14 in some kind of wierd re-make of The Final Countdown, but the furry kind of cat... (He's responsible for a fair number air-to-ground kills, including a B-17, 2 1/2 ton truck, air cmpressor, and an entire recovery team)

Telsono's right about the E-Bee-Doo-See (S B Deuce C, get it? That's the Marine Corps nickname for the Helldiver, according to an old friend of my Dad's who was a rear gunner/radio op on one)... The kit we want to build is the one with all the "operating features", not the PM kit.  Dunno who made it, but was NOT a Monogram kit.  All the Monogram Navy aircraft of that period had the retractable gear, swiveling guns, folding wings, dropping bombs/torps, etc...

The USN/USMC kits in the series were the F4F, F4U-4, F6F, SBD, SB2C, and TBF-1.  The others were the Zero, Spitfire IX and Me 109E. None had any cockpits to speak of.  I think that's about it for "working" models in 1/48th...

As for the data plaque in the kit, they got put about everywhere, the underside of the elevator with "MMI" being quite common... BTW Sparrow, I have a "1977 White box" issue F-80 and the data stamp is located on the bottom of the elevator (MMI), and on the inside of the lower wing.  The (MMI) is also on the elevator on the 1983 (Box art) issue, as well as the inside of the lower wing,lol.. 

Troublemaker has got it right though.. Any date-stamp 1985 and earlier is a GO,some 1986 kits are as well, since they're likely Monogram-engineered kits, but make sure that it's not a reboxing of another manufacturer's kit (like the 1970s WW1 Aurora kits)...  Some later ones are ok too, just don't get all bent about it.. If ya don't know, and can't find an answer, ask away... But it's much easier for all involved if you try to do some homework on your own first.

That's weird.  My Monogram 1/48 F80 has the stamp inside the left fuselage half..  Must have been made at a different plant or something I guess.

troublemaker66

 

 

BTW....I just had to hack the date off the same location on my Shooting Star!

Len

vetteman42

Ok ok call me trouble but

I just finished a Monogram F-14A Tomcat copyright 1981, I also have Revells F-14A Tomcat copyright 1993 so I took me out to the mancave and opened the Revell boxing. I found the molds to be identical. The only differance is the manufacturer stamping on the bottom of the right elevator. Why do they always stamp them there geeze. The Monogram was stamped "MMI 1981" , the Revell is stamped "Revell China 1993". However as I said the molds are, or seem to be identical.

BTW....I just had to hack the date off the same location on my Shooting Star!

Len

Ok ok call me trouble a bad boy but

I just finished a Monogram F-14A Tomcat copyright 1981, I also have Revells F-14A Tomcat copyright 1993 so I took me out to the mancave and opened the Revell boxing. I found the molds to be identical. The only differance is the manufacturer stamping on the bottom of the right elevator. Why do they always stamp them there geeze. The Monogram was stamped "MMI 1981" , the Revell is stamped "Revell China 1993". However as I said the molds are, or seem to be identical.

Monogram did put out a 1/48th scale Curtiss SB2C helldiver in the 1960's. Characteristics of this kit was like the TBF Avenger that they offered. Retractable landing gear, folding wings, sliding canopy, and an operating bomb bay. Here is a link to one on sale. I remember making these and it is quite different from the later release being a pure Monogram product.

http://www.oldmodelkits.com/index.php?detail=18728&cat=Military%20Aircraft&manu=Monogram&scale=1/48

There was also a series of sports cars that came with fighter aircraft decals. A Porsche was one of them that I remember.

Mike T. 

Well, I got a lot of work done on the airocobra when a major setback occured.  Apparently the plastic got very brittle over the years and it kind of cracked in about twenty or places when I glued it shut and put a couple of elastic bands on it to hold the pieces together...  I am pretty sure it's hosed..

So since I am running out of old Monogram kits, about the only other one I might get done in time is this one.

Is this one okay?  (1/48 Monogram Mosquito.)

I also have a more modern Monogram Mosquito (Copyright 1978, Monogram Models Inc. on the plastic.)  which I will have to use the decals from since the ones in this kit are completely bad.  Or I could probably just do the modern kit.  It's basically identical, just made quite a few years later.  I would kind of prefer to do the new one so I don't get any more nasty surprises with brittle plastic.  Let me know so I can get started on one of them.  Thanks

Rich

Hans von Hammer

Ok, People, listen up... Keep a bookmark (If you're still TBA on a kit) on Page 4 where the GO/ NO GO list is at the top..

Some Kits have been changed as Stik and I find out about some origins. What was a "GO" may now be a "NO-GO" and vice-versa...

Last nite while we were talking Back-Channel,  he discovered and informed me he came across the info that  the B-24D is a   "GO" ...   Doesn't matter if it's a ProModeler or Monogram, Monogram "Classic", or Revell boxing, it was first releaed in 1983, meaning pre-merger..

Here's the link to the page:

 /forums/t/135482.aspx?PageIndex=4

It's a "Living Document" until 31 March... Some other kits status has changed too, so check your builds..

Also, check the roster on Page One in the first post and make sure I have you listed and listed correctly...

Grazie..

This is the Triumph TR-7, copyright MMI 1978. As you can see, it's a simple little curbside (kerbside) kit. I've been wanting to do one of these for years. Monogram also did a TR-7 SCCA racer, and a TR-8, which I also have in the stash. This is the only road ready TR-7 kit ever released in 1/24 . Gunze did a TR-7 rally car (stashed), later to be re-released by Airfix, and I think Entex did a 1/20 one too. I've completed a couple of TR-3s, and a TR-2, and this one will fit nicely into that theme.

Here's my start, nice and easy with the seats. Since taking this photo I've puttied it up, and also detached and tidied up the gear stick, dash board and steering wheel.

Ok I am calling this one started, did some test fitting and stuff like that. I did find that I will have to use a resin ejection seat as the kit seat just isnt close at all to the one in the Streak Eagle. I dont like working with resin but sometimes I guess......... There will be some gizmology goin on though, a camera mount and camera over the pilots shoulder and a few other bits an pieces. Anyway heres the box art and test fitting session, I need to get to the LHS and get some paint for the cockpit before I can do much more.

Well, the easiest way to stay within the rules to pretend it's 1969 and the only "hobby shops" are the local Five & dime store, grocery store and hardware store, and the only after-market parts are what you can find in those places, lol...

Lot of discussion about rules here. I brought home the few kits I could with paper route money. Didn't much like Monogram kits back in '68 because Renwal, Hawk and Lindberg were cheaper. Even that cool 904 was a slot car body at $ 2.99.

I have been at this post for 3 hours, I keep redacting stuff that I feel all led to why Mono is/ was.

I think that another good thread, or a couple, might be the decade when Strombecker made car kits, Hawk the same with planes, Lindberg the same with ships and Athearn or Marx with railroads.

Oh, and Cox with stinky little engine powered things.

I guess the point is look up, not down. Start with the basis of Monogram. Oh hell where did this start?

Wabashwheels

  I assume scratch building is OK.  What about aftermarket?  Limitations or none at all?  Decals.  I'd hate to waste a lot of good time only to paint it up with old brittle decals.  Rick.

Aftermarket parts, within reason, are ok too, as well decals... Seat-belts and the hardware, wheels/tires, vac-formed canopies, foil chrome strips, stuff like that... The main focus of the build is to show the folks who "poo-poo" Monogram kits what can be acheived with these classic babies, so "AM accordingly"....   Only thing about after-market parts is that major components, like wings, fuselages, car-bodies, tank hulls/turrets, ship hulls, etc., should be the original kit parts, and vacuform or resin upgrades should be kept to a minimum- ie:, no PB4Y-2 vac-form sets to turn the B-24 into a Privateer,  or turning the B-29 into a B-50...   Kit-bashing is ok though, provided both kits are Monogram, like adding the dual .50-cal turret from the Monogram M16 half-track to the M34 2 1/2 truck-bed for a Vietnam-era Gun-truck...

Personally, I'd prefer to see as much scratch-building, or "Creative Gizmology / Imagineering", as possible, but I realize that not everyone is inclined towards that type of detailing, being more comfortable with after-market stuff.. And that's perfectly fine, just don't go to the point where there are more AM parts than Monogram parts...  We wanna build with the cost in mind as well.. Turning a 12-16.00 kit into a 50-80.00 dollar kit defeats the purpose...  I'd say that, as a basic guide-line,  if the cost of your after-market part ideas equal or exceed the cost of the kit, you may want to re-think it... 

Decals are another story... I have no idea what the average cost of decal set are these days, so any amount is ok... However, if you elect to use kit decals, might I suggest that, on the older kits, you use a couple of squirts from a can of Testor's Decal Bonder... That stuff has saved many a set of old kit decals for me, and I swear by it... 

It's designed to be used on homemade ink-jet-printed decals, and works well on old kit ones too.. It has more "flex" than using any clear laquer or enamel or the like, works with some decal setting-solutions too, especially Testor's decal-set, as well as Solvaset, and my personal favorite, plain ol' white vinegar....

Just keep in mind that puts a clear film over the entire sheet, so you have to trim very close to the color...

The old war of raised verses recessed panel lines...... to me, a life-long Chrysler auto technician (or Mopar guy).... is as immature as the "My Camaro is better than your Mustang" argument.

If you have a kit with recessed lines in the majority (not counting control surfaces), it's pretty likely you even aren't building a Monogram kit..

Helo H-34

Hans Von Hammer ,

My apologies Sir , some family health issue's have come up , so I respectfully withdraw from the Monogram Group Build .

                     John .

Sorry to hear about that... No apologies needed, and I hope the health issues are quickly and sucessfully resolved.. 

kustommodeler1

Wabashwheels:

Gentlemen,   Interesting Group build.  I haven't read enough to know the ground rules.  I think I understand the rules for the kits, but what about how they are built?  I assume scratch building is OK.  What about aftermarket?  Limitations or none at all?  Decals.  I'd hate to waste a lot of good time only to paint it up with old brittle decals. Sorry if this has already been established.  I just wanted to find out.  Rick.

 

 

If I may take the floor for a minute.... Hi Wabashwhels, if my reckoning of the group build is right it's this.....

 

Any kit ORIGINALLY tooled and released by Monogram Models, Inc. is welcome. Re-issues by Revell of these kits is welcome, as long as the kit is basically unchanged from the pre-merger days. All types are welcome, aircraft, ships, helos, autos, it's all good.

 

Your assumption of scratch building is great, as indeed that is the spirit of this GB, without resorting to lots of aftermarket resin and PE parts to make the kit a real winner, indeed the basic spirit from my point of view is scratch building shows the modeler's ability to make the finished model an attractive product to be proud of. Monogram's kits most of the time just need the few extra touches like this to make them shine.

 

I would say that aftermarket decals are fine indeed to use on your build, they are the finishing touch to the craftsmanship that REAL modelers add to Monogram's beauties.

 

And on a side note...... The old war of raised verses recessed panel lines...... to me, a life-long Chrysler auto technician (or Mopar guy).... is as immature as the "My Camaro is better than your Mustang" argument.

 

Thanks for listening

Wabashwheels

Gentlemen,   Interesting Group build.  I haven't read enough to know the ground rules.  I think I understand the rules for the kits, but what about how they are built?  I assume scratch building is OK.  What about aftermarket?  Limitations or none at all?  Decals.  I'd hate to waste a lot of good time only to paint it up with old brittle decals. Sorry if this has already been established.  I just wanted to find out.  Rick.

Hans will probably be along in a bit to verify, but my understanding is pretty much anything goes as long as it is a real Monogram kit. 

The main point is to show off the fact that inexpensive Monogram kits can stand side by side with high end "Tamigawa" kits whether that is done out of the box, with scratchbuilt enhancements, or the use of aftermarket bits. 

Wabashwheels

Gentlemen,   Interesting Group build.  I haven't read enough to know the ground rules.  I think I understand the rules for the kits, but what about how they are built?  I assume scratch building is OK.  What about aftermarket?  Limitations or none at all?  Decals.  I'd hate to waste a lot of good time only to paint it up with old brittle decals. Sorry if this has already been established.  I just wanted to find out.  Rick.

If I may take the floor for a minute.... Hi Wabashwhels, if my reckoning of the group build is right it's this.....

Any kit ORIGINALLY tooled and released by Monogram Models, Inc. is welcome. Re-issues by Revell of these kits is welcome, as long as the kit is basically unchanged from the pre-merger days. All types are welcome, aircraft, ships, helos, autos, it's all good.

Your assumption of scratch building is great, as indeed that is the spirit of this GB, without resorting to lots of aftermarket resin and PE parts to make the kit a real winner, indeed the basic spirit from my point of view is scratch building shows the modeler's ability to make the finished model an attractive product to be proud of. Monogram's kits most of the time just need the few extra touches like this to make them shine.

I would say that aftermarket decals are fine indeed to use on your build, they are the finishing touch to the craftsmanship that REAL modelers add to Monogram's beauties.

And on a side note...... The old war of raised verses recessed panel lines...... to me, a life-long Chrysler auto technician (or Mopar guy).... is as immature as the "My Camaro is better than your Mustang" argument.

Thanks for listening

Gentlemen,   Interesting Group build.  I haven't read enough to know the ground rules.  I think I understand the rules for the kits, but what about how they are built?  I assume scratch building is OK.  What about aftermarket?  Limitations or none at all?  Decals.  I'd hate to waste a lot of good time only to paint it up with old brittle decals. Sorry if this has already been established.  I just wanted to find out.  Rick.

Thanks, Hans.  Put me in for the F-102 and I'll see if I can find another.

Ken

Hans von Hammer

 

kbuzz01:

 

Hans - does this one work?

 

 

 

Yepper, it was initially released pre-merger, around 1983.

 

Also, how about the 1:48 Monogram EA-6B?

 

 

 

Nope, it was a Post-merger kit, 1992..

Hans Von Hammer ,

My apologies Sir , some family health issue's have come up , so I respectfully withdraw from the Monogram Group Build .

                     John .

HvH,

Just an FYI, I have both my kits selected:

1/48 F-15C Eagle & 1/48 Mi-24 Hind (Iron Curtain Series)

for update on page 1