AIRCRAFT - USMC Group Build (ends 7/30/04)

Hey Drew,
Any chance of a relation to Raoul (?) Lufbery of WWI fame? I came across an article that mentioned him and immediately made a connection.

QUOTE: Originally posted by wibhi2 Hey Drew, Any chance of a relation to Raoul (?) Lufbery of WWI fame? I came across an article that mentioned him and immediately made a connection.

Yes, kind of. Lufbery is just a screen name (my last name is Ames), but I chose it after reading about Raoul Lufbery. He was quite a man.

My avatar is a photo I took of one of the squadron emblems for the Lafayette Escadrille -- a squadron of American pilots flying for the French in WWI. Lufbery flew with the LE.

After America entered the war, the LE became the 103rd Aero Squadron, but Luf flew with the 94th Aero Squaron as a combat instructor. He took Eddie Rickenbacker, Reed Chambers, and a host of other American pilots on their first trips over the lines.

Luf died almost over his home aerodrome when he either fell out of, or jumped from his Nieuport 28 which had lit up after a hit form an enemy two-seater.

Now, talking about relations: about 10 years ago I was working at the Kinko's in State College, PA (home of Penn State). I waited on a woman whose last name is Nungesser. I commented to her that she has the same name as a famous French WWI ace and she replied that her husband is that man's great grandson!

I thought that was pretty neat.

Regards,

Very cool indeed.

Drew, wish we all have stories to tell like that.

ok, ok,
I know I haven't posted here except the very begining posts before it was a sticky. I am here now and I will have to check here more often. my wife and I started (finally) our F-18A's. We are doing the same plane in 1/48 scale to see how she likes modelling. So far we have another modeller for the world. We are working at the same pace so I can coach her along the modelling process. We are doing planes from, hopefully if everything works out, VMFA 134. It may have to be VMFA 53. We'll see how it goes. We may post some in progress pics, but I have to find the resources to do so. We misplaced the picture taker. Oh well, we will definately post the finished product. They will be two different individual a/c out of the same squadron. So far so good. Good luck everybody.

Jeff,

That's awesome! I hope your wife really enjoys it.

All,

I finally got the landing gear doors painted. Now I need to make the edges red. I may use a micro brush, but I'm thinking of using a red felt-tip pen. The gear doors are very thin.

Regards,

Jeff what kit are you guys working on? I think you said 1/48 right? Revell, Testors, Hasegawa? Let us know. i have a pair of F-18's from Hasegawa in 1/48, one A and one C. Take care and good luck bringing the gentler half into the hobby.

we are doing the revell kit, raised lines and all. I didn't want to spend too much on a better kit, and this will also see if she may want to try and scratchbuild. I figured if I went for a better kit and she liked it then got a less detailed kit and didn't then that may discourage her. So we went with revell and so far no real problems, but if there are, then she won't be disappointed on a kit in the future if the detail is less then she would have been used to.
Man my head is spinning, I think I said the same thing here like 3 or 4 times. Let me sit down for a minute. Sorry for the rambling

Thats ok will forgive you THIS TIME. But this time only, he he.

folks,

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACK!! Just got back from Pensacola, FL, EARLY in the morning of 1 April 2004 (0400, to be exact). Helluva drive. Thirteen hours each way. Had a GREAT time while there, though. Did some parasailing and some jet-skiing. But, most importantly, I went to National Naval Air Museum!!! Took a little over 100 pictures while there, including the S-3B that President Bush landed on the USS Lincoln last year!!! Many, many up-close-and-personal shots of that plane. It's sitting there in its as-he-landed-on-the-carrier paint job, with no alterations whatsoever. The story is: the Navy is getting ready to retire all S-3s, as there is no more Soviet submarine threat, so the squadron commander of VS-35 calls up the curator of the Naval Air Museum, and asks him if he wants the plane. Supposedly, the curator almost fainted........... Anyway, as soon as I found out that the plane was there, I took lots of pictures. So, if anyone wants copies, just let me know. I can put them on a CD-R and mail them to you. The files are rather large (average 2.5MB), so sending them via e-mail would be rather impractical. I already have the Italeri 1/48th S-3B kit, AND the Cam Decals set for this plane, so I'll be starting on this one very soon (maybe tomorrow).

I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to doing some modeling, after being away from it for over a week.

QUOTE: Originally posted by willuride we are doing the revell kit, raised lines and all. I didn't want to spend too much on a better kit, and this will also see if she may want to try and scratchbuild. I figured if I went for a better kit and she liked it then got a less detailed kit and didn't then that may discourage her. So we went with revell and so far no real problems, but if there are, then she won't be disappointed on a kit in the future if the detail is less then she would have been used to. Man my head is spinning, I think I said the same thing here like 3 or 4 times. Let me sit down for a minute. Sorry for the rambling

Jeff,

Glad to hear from you again. I thought that your wife and you had changed your minds about the Group Build. Hope your Hornets come out better than my F7F-3N did. Good Luck!!!!

Oh, by the way, you need to put a / in the last [img] of your picture URL in your messages. That way, your picture will show up.

ay least i got the dreaded red x. still don't know how to do this picture thing. oh well thanks for the help.

Yay!!! The Phantom is Phinished!

Now I'm going to paint the figure and put everything on a base.

I must say that the plane looks really good. I can't wait to post the photos.

Regards,

Great job Drew, Now I have got to kick my ___ in gear. I have slacked off the last month or so. I have got to get going. I have been looking for a job though. So that has taken some priority, as I haven't worked in nine or more months.

Drew,

Can't wait to see the Phantom. You gonna start on anything else for the Group Build?

QUOTE: Originally posted by garydmason Drew, Can't wait to see the Phantom. You gonna start on anything else for the Group Build?

Probably not. It took me a year, working off and on, to finish this kit. This was the first time that I:

1) used various techniques to fill and hide seams,
2) used a primer after major assembly was finished,
3) used an airbrush,
4) used acrylic paints,
5) used Future,
6) applied aftermarket decals using Micro Set and Micro Sol,
7) used a liquid mask on the canopy,
8) used Pactra tape on the missiles,

and a variety of other minor techniques.

I'm really happy with the result. There are, of course, things that I wish I'd done better, but I'm satisfied overall.

I still want to make a base for the plane and try my hand at painting the figure that came with it.

We'll see how that goes.

I expect that the next model I build will go faster now that I've got a lot of these techniques under my belt.

Regards,

okay folks here's my update on the harrier family before the dreaded 15th

we'll start with the RM ancient kit of the AV-8A (found it on ebay dirt cheap) - I am going to try to finish this off in VMA-542 markings


next is the RM OOB AV-8B (VMA-311)


This is the RM AV-8B with the AMRAAM AV-8B2 conversion set (I chose to use the 100% LERX, but you could go either way I think, with the old black box cockpit set.(VMA-223)


Coming to Hasegawa's most excellant AV-8B2+ (VMA-231)


And finally rounding out with the 2 seat version TAV-8B (VMAT-203) - I used the C&H Minatures conversion on the RM kit. I have some issues with this conversion set based on what it cost. It is very expensive for what you get, but the castings are good.


Have fun everyone and happy Easter

wibhi,

Great-looking Harriers so far!!! You are FAR braver than I am to build that many at one time!

Incidentally, anyone know what a REAL harrier is? Let's see how many people know the answer.

oooh.....oooh....oooh....Ido, Ido.

Why thank you Gary. It's not really that difficult (then again, I'm used to juggling multiple projects because of my choice of professions). Everything goes in cycles.

now off for the fun stuff.....bulk seam work - ugh

Sweet looking birds Wibhi!!! I think I know what a real harrier is....isn't it a hawk of some sort? Now that I look at that last sentence, it sounds wrong. BTW, anyone see our favorite Gunny in the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre?? Got it this weekend, it is a Bad A@@ movie, if anyone likes that stuff, and nothing like watching the Gunny cussin' and spittin' to bring back good ol' bootcamp memories!!

Actually, a harrier is a dog bred to hunt hares, hence the name "harrier". Originated in England.

QUOTE: Originally posted by garydmason Actually, a harrier is a dog bred to hunt hares, hence the name "harrier". Originated in England.

Right, that's the first definition. But the second one is:

QUOTE: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Main Entry: 2 harrier Function: noun Etymology: alteration of harrower, from 1harrow : any of a genus (Circus) of slender hawks having long angled wings and long legs and feeding chiefly on small mammals, reptiles, and insects

From everything I've read, the plane was named for the hawk and not the dog.

Regards,

You too never stop arguing do you? Do I have to send you both to a corner? HE HE.

Sorry guys I couldn't resit.

He started it!

Never heard of the hawk reference before. Did it also hunt hares?

Hares are just a bit too big for harriers. Ducks are pretty much the limit for them. Here's a picture of a pair who are transferring prey. The upper one is the male, the one below is the female. The male has caught the prey, then gives it to the female who brings it back to the nest.

Sounds like my wife when I get my paycheck...............................

There's also a runners' group called the "Hash House Harriers", who took their name from the hare, or so I've been told.

QUOTE: Originally posted by garydmason Sounds like my wife when I get my paycheck...............................

BWAHAHAHAHA.......mine too.

Now if we combine the definitions we get one badass 4 legged wingy thing that beys and squawks.

You guys are Crazy