The unOFFICIAL 2011/20012 Veteran's Group Build

Oh man, stay away from me with that! You got the short end of the stick...I got hit with sinus congestion and upper respiratory mess....nothing like snotting and coughing all over your model.

Sure is quiet in here!  Busy Holiday I guess.  The Hasegawa P-51D is underway - not much to show, but the pit is almost done.

Ken

Having 10 days off for the holidays I got to actually do model stuff on one of those! 

Gonna try to do some more work on it this weekend.  I've still got some of the turret to finish before I can paint it.

Okay, I'm in!  I started this one in November, but she's been waiting on stencils from Maketar (they're finally here...)  Anyway, this started out as Panda's horrible 1/35th UH-1N.  Some of the work completed so far:

-Sanded off all the oversized rivets,

-Replaced the misshapen nose with the Cobra Co. update set,

-Completely scratchbuilt the inside of the doghouse and swashplate area,

-Cut out the incorrect 42 degree driveshaft cover at the base of the tail and replaced it with mesh,

-Stole the main rotor mast, swashplate, and main rotor gearbox from the MRC UH-1C

-Removed the stab bar to make it a SCAS Huey (Stability Control Augmentation System)

-Replaced the oversized Chaff/Flare housings with buckets from the 1/35 AH-1W

-Interior cabin/cockpit completely rebuilt 

...and a few other mods here and there.  Anyway, it's eventually going to depict BuNo 159202, "UV 30" from HMLA-267.  According to my Aircrew Logbook, she's the first Huey I ever crewed back in 2007.  She'll end up with a GAU-16 .50 cal and LAU-68 seven shot rocket pod on the port side and a GAU-17 minigun in the starboard door.  She sits on a custom base from 3 Wire Designs.  

Be gentle, she ain't done yet!

Semper,

Ski

Welcome to the GB Ski That Huey sure is a beauty... you would not happen to have any pics of the progress that got you to this point, would you?

Ski- scale down your photos. Old computers like mine can't boot them up.

Stikpusher- I do have some in-progress shots, I just have to figure out how to get them off my iPhone and post them!  Once I figure it out, I'll put 'em up....

bondoman-Sorry!  The site they were originally posted on had the photos as HUGE files, I'll try to get future pics shrunk down a bit!

Semper,

Ski

...on that note, how do you all upload your photos?  The only ones I'm able to post thus far are on other sites, (I can't post from my own media).  What sites are you all using to link to?

Thanks for any/all help!

Ski

Good to see people are gettin' busy. Feeling better Stik? I'm still fighting off some upper respiratory stuff but I've gotten some work done.

I have the paint down. Its a trick I picked up from one of DoogsATX's builds. I used to preshade, outlining each panel in black then lightly placing the base coat over the top. I've found Doogs' method to be a bit more forgiving and a little faster. I also find that my hand doesn't cramp as much when trying to trace precise lines. Any how, I just laid the base color down first, then used white to highlight the center of each panel. You can see in the picture that one side of the F-16 has the base coat and the other half has been highlighted. It does look ugly at first....

...but once that is complete and it looks as though your fighter has contracted some disease, you can put the thinned base coat back over the top of the highlights, like so....

Then I applied the gloss coat to prepare for decals....

I mix all the colors and eyeball them for correctness...so if something looks off, that is why. I think they look pretty close or close enough to me. I'm not a stickler for that sort of thing.

The decals came in right around Christmas, and I've applied them but I don't have pics of that quite yet. The guys from Afterburner Decals were really nice in sending me a sheet that they were able to track down...Can't thank them enough! Here they are....

They were easy to apply, and very thin. They blended well into the gloss coat and they should show no signs of silvering once I get the last gloss coat on it. 

What's left? I have to paint the ordnance and the wheels. Apply some weathering, shoot it with a dull coat and voila...

The countdown to basic training is down to 42 days!

usmcski

...on that note, how do you all upload your photos?  The only ones I'm able to post thus far are on other sites, (I can't post from my own media).  What sites are you all using to link to?

Thanks for any/all help!

Ski

I use PhotoBucket.com; but Flikr is another option; both being free.  I make a separate album for each model as I start it and just upload the pics I take there then post 'em in my WIP thread.

RESlusher

 

usmcski:

...on that note, how do you all upload your photos?  The only ones I'm able to post thus far are on other sites, (I can't post from my own media).  What sites are you all using to link to?

 

Thanks for any/all help!

Ski

 

I use PhotoBucket.com; but Flikr is another option; both being free.  I make a separate album for each model as I start it and just upload the pics I take there then post 'em in my WIP thread.

 

You have to use a photo hosting site, like Slusher I use Photobucket. You can email your photos straight to the site if you use your cell phone, like I do, to take some pictures. Or you can upload your photos from a memory card or desktop. Easy to use. Then just copy the IMG code of the image to the text box in your reply and there you have it...

Okay, got my Flickr account established, here goes nothing:

This is the reworked main rotor gearbox/drive shaft, mast, hub and blades from my UH-1N.  Most parts were donated from an old UH-1C I had in the stash.  I removed the stab bar from the head in order to make a SCAS Huey.  The mast is aluminum tubing, as the stab bar Hueys have additional hardware that is not present on the mast of the SCAS birds. 

Ski

second attempt!

Click on the little film strip icon then cut and paste the URL to the location where your picture is

For example:

This pic is located at:  http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu126/RESlusher/Models/In%20Progress/Trumpeter%20Up-Armored%20BMP-3/BMP-3-12.jpg 

photostream

Okay, last attempt before I start over!  Flickr is not being nice to me right now, my apologies for the multiple posts....

Ski

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73595836@N08/6635726113/in/photostream

The main rotor system installed.  You can see where I built up inside the area where the main rotor drive shaft enters the transmission area.  This is just a gaping hole in the original Panda molds...

Ski

usmcski

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73595836@N08/6635726113/in/photostream

The main rotor system installed.  You can see where I built up inside the area where the main rotor drive shaft enters the transmission area.  This is just a gaping hole in the original Panda molds...

Ski

Close!  When you move your mouse over the "film strip" icon it will say, "insert Media".

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]

Success!  Thanks a million, Richard!

Ski

Paydirt!  Ya got it! 

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]

Here's an "in progress" shot before the base coat was sprayed.  After I sanded off all the HUGE rivets and replaced them with Archer Transfer rivets, I sprayed the whole model with Mr. Surfacer to highlight any blemishes and smooth out the surface.  Hoping to get some serious work done this weekend, if my new compressor regulator/water trap shows up by then!

Semper,

Ski

oddmanrush

Good to see people are gettin' busy. Feeling better Stik?

Yes it's great to see activity here again. I figured with the holidays everyone would have a lot of various activities cut into their model building time. I did and knuckled down on the projects I wanted to finish by New Years. I got one done... LOL! And yes I am feeling better Oddman. Thanks for asking. I was back in the groove within 4-5 days after the bug hit. I'm very happy to hear that Afterburner took care of you and that your decals arrived. I know the personal connection will be much better there now. Its one thing to make a model of a military subject. Its another to make one of a military subject you have personal knowledge of.... I have a couple Air Guard F-16s in my stash, but no connection.... I am gonna do a 1st Gulf War ODS NY ANG F-16A, ( Boys from Syracuse) and a ADF F-16A that I will be doing in ND ANG markings (The Happy Hooligans with Teddy Roosevelt tail artwork). One day...

Ski, I know it's all out of sequence, but its great to see your Work In Progress shots and the effort you have put in to your helo. Great stuff!

I will be resuming work on my Vulcan track on my days off this weekend. I think I have gathered enough photos now where I can fake the camo I am wanting to paint mine. One thing I have noticed is that at first it seems there was not pattern to the scheme I will be doing and that the tracks had variations of it applied in the same colors in a similar style, but varying manner.

Stik,

Yep, WAY out of sequence, my apologies for screwing up the order, but it (obviously) took me a little bit to figure out the Flickr thing!  From here on, I should be able to post the correct way...

That said, I was a little hesitant to pre-shade the Huey before the base coat, so I'm thrilled that Jon posted his method of post-shading (or is it lightening?).  That's exactly what I was going to try on my UH-1N, thanks so much for posting your technique!  Now that I see how great your Viper looks, I'm excited to give it a try!

Semper,

Ski

Ski, great lookin' Huey so far. I definitely recommend that post-shading technique and I'm excited to see your UH-1 once you've finished it.

Speaking of finished, the Viper is complete! I don't have a fancy photo set up but I did you a real digital camera for these so they won't be as nasty as the WIP pics. I don't have a dedicated model space like a lot of you guys do, so I do every thing from the kitchen table....

Took some with the flash on, some without. Without a photo booth, sometimes having the flash on brings out a bit more of the detail...

Those are the nice decals from Afterburner Decals...representing the 177th Fighter Wing, 119th Fighter Squadron out of Atlantic City New Jersey!

I generally do not like having to paint ordnance which is why I try to stick mainly to WWII aircraft, but I thought I did a half decent job with the AIM 9s. I used some scrap decals for the yellow and black stripes.

And that's it folks, first model for me in 2012. This will be going to my father as a bit of a late Christmas gift. Something cool for him to have while his son is in basic training I think. Let me know what you guys think of the Viper!

Thanks! Keep the models coming!

Looks GREAT, Jon!  I'm stoked to try your technique on the Huey, thanks again for the tip!  I'm hoping to get some paint sprayed this weekend, I'll post pics when I do!

Semper,

Ski

Nice looking viper to me, Jon!

Cracked into my M1037 today - with playoff football on, I hope to have it ready for the paint stage tomorrow afternoon some time! Started with Academy kit 1362 (the M998 cargo hummer) and applied the Real Model conversion from there. Pics once I've got something to show.

Oddman, your F-16 looks great! I really like what you did with the Academy kit. Congrats on being the first completed build here. She is added to the front page. Take your GB Badge and the best of luck to you at training. I know that since the bad times of that part of my life have faded from memory I only have fond memories of the best parts of that stuff.

Dupes, looking forward to the progress shots of your 1037.

Ski, thanks for the additional photos of your work. You have been added to the front page roster and I suspect you will be the next across the finish line here.

Some minor progress on my M163 today. Thanks to asistance from a couple members here, I was able to properly place the pioneer tools on the top deck. Some came from my spares bins, some from an Academy Accesory set, and then I added the locator slots around the tankers bar from strip styrene.

I also scratch built the washers and bolts that secure the spare track shoes to the glacis using those little extra round plastic nubs you trim off and some hexagonal styrene rod. Both were glued in place, then once dry sanded to appropriate thickness. The bolts are a bit bigger than the 3/4" bolts would be in 1/35, but they look the part.

I also added a shelf where I can put a drivers top torso/head in the drivers hatch

I think she is ready for the base coat of Forest Green 34079 now....

Thanks guys, glad you like it! It was a fun build that I really can't complain much about. Thanks for the well wishes Stik, I now have 37 days left. It's creeping up on me. Any how, thanks for a good group build and I'll be popping in here to comment along the way! Who'll be next to finish? Who'll be next to start?