MikeM: She looks great! More photos please!!!

Jim: Really nice work there, yeah I can't even see the repair work on the landing gear. I think I said before I really like the camo scheme, much more interesting than the new haze grey.

And sorry to hear about you friend, as Ken said you can't really help someone who seems obsessed with their own self-destruction.

Great work once again Jim!  The repair on the landing gear is transparent.  The flat coat looks great!  That A-7D is really coming alive!

You have my sincere condolences for your friend Cody.  That is sad news.  It is true, you can only help those who want to be helped.

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

jimbot58

Hmmmm...I don't have any channels. I gave up cable and satellite due to expenses and now I am reduced to watching old episodes of "The Burns and Allen Show" and "Perry Mason", cooking shows, plus the inane dribble that comes from the major networks.

Not too much going on. I did fix my Boo-boo- I didn't feather the paint too well, but figured most people will need their microscopes to really see it:

Plus I have been touching up other dings and divots here and there:

And started assembling the gear: Some challenges here:

I have to agree with you Jim, at 1/72 scale people would have to be hard pressed to find those paint chip repairs unless you pointed it out to them.

Ouch! How are you going to fix that strut and have it hold weight?  Or is it attached to something to help give it strength?  And those molding gates I would guess are going to be where you are going to flat spot the wheels?  Those things are huge!

Ken

Ken, most of the weight will actually rest on the main part of the gear. Here is the parts assembled:

The broken part is an actuator or something and will sit deep in the wheel well.

This where it will go below. The tab at the back will actually go into a hole at the back of the bay that I filled during assembly and forgot to re-drill, trying to fill the seam.

I also flat coated the rest of the fuselage after some masking to keep glossy parts glossy.

I also opened the cockpit to the light of day after many months:

Still have to figure how to prop that canopy open to show it off.

On a personal note: I just found out tonight that a fiend of mine took his own life on the 9th of this month. His wife, whom had been his high-school sweetheart, left him for another man a couple of years ago. He crawled into a bottle and never came out again. He lost his home, his job, a mountain cabin, and pretty much everything he owned due to his drinking. We tried to do what we could to help him, but when somebody goes this path, they pretty much have to decide they are ready for help. I know he tried to get himself together several times, but always went back to the booze. His mother passed away back in September, and I don't know if this was a factor in his final act, but I would think it could have been. A fatal combination of booze and pills ended his struggles.

RIP Cody

Jim

Ken, I'll try getting one with better lighting tomorrow.I think I put too much white in the mixes which caused it to lessen the contrast between the RLM 70 && 71. No big problem though; still looks better than I got with rattle cans!

By the way Mike M., is that the picture you would like to use for the front page?

Ken

mikeymize

Thanks to everyone for the compliments on my "Berta".  Was more or less a testbed for my new airbrush and  so far I'm very happy with it. Challenging in some ways but many more options. Ken the detail work you're doing is really going to pay off in the final product; can't wait to see it! Also, I've been TDY to Dover AFB several times and remember going to the shopette on the base housing side I also stayed at the new hotel there called the Eagle's Rest Inn which was outstanding. The Air Force definitely has the best accommodations!

Thank you Mike for the compliment!

I would say that you have got your new airbrush broke in very nicely!   

I went back to Dover AFB in 2005 which was the first time in 30 years.  Needless to say, a LOT changed!  I pretty much grew up there, moved there when I was 10 and left when I was 18.

I knew the area pretty well by the time we left though.  I got a job and bought my first car the day I turned 16 and spent just about every moment I wasn't in school or working cruising around with my friends.

Ken

Striker8241

Ken:  Great job on those handles! I don't know how you have the patience to wait so long between coatings. That would drive me crazy!

JimBot: Jim, good work on that A7! Still can't believe it's 1/72

MM: Stuka's looking real good! And congrats on snagging that C5. I've flown in one a few times and been through Dover a few times too.

Russ

I don't know what happened to my last reply to you Russ, but I will try it again!  It completely left out all of my text.

Thank you for the compliment.  Like I said in my reply to Cliff, I would like to have something to work on while I am waiting for the paint to dry, but I don't have enough room to work on two projects with all the aftermarket parts I have for this Phantom.  It would be nice to have a bigger work bench.

Ken

Gamera

MM: That does look cool, it's amazing how good some of those die-cast look these days.

Ken: Nice work, looks as good or better than the pre-painted Eduard stuff, and way better than I can paint.

Thank you Cliff for the compliment!  When this Phantom is done I might have enough room to do 2 projects at once.  The F-84 and the Zero!  The Phantom has so many after market parts laid out it is taking up a lot of space!  I know the Zero will be completely OOB and I don't think I have nearly the aftermarket parts for the F-84.

Ken

Ken:  Great job on those handles! I don't know how you have the patience to wait so long between coatings. That would drive me crazy!

JimBot: Jim, good work on that A7! Still can't believe it's 1/72

MM: Stuka's looking real good! And congrats on snagging that C5. I've flown in one a few times and been through Dover a few times too.

Russ

Thanks to everyone for the compliments on my "Berta".  Was more or less a testbed for my new airbrush and  so far I'm very happy with it. Challenging in some ways but many more options. Ken the detail work you're doing is really going to pay off in the final product; can't wait to see it! Also, I've been TDY to Dover AFB several times and remember going to the shopette on the base housing side I also stayed at the new hotel there called the Eagle's Rest Inn which was outstanding. The Air Force definitely has the best accommodations!

MM: That does look cool, it's amazing how good some of those die-cast look these days.

Ken: Nice work, looks as good or better than the pre-painted Eduard stuff, and way better than I can paint.

Ken:  Great job on those handles! I don't know how you have the patience to wait so long between coatings. That would drive me crazy!

JimBot: Jim, good work on that A7! Still can't believe it's 1/72

MM: Stuka's looking real good! And congrats on snagging that C5. I've flown in one a few times and been through Dover a few times too.

Russ

Hi Everyone,

Well here is the photograph of the finished two color photo-etched canopy release handles.  I glued them together using Future:

Next step is to attach them to the cockpit walls tonight.

Ken 

mikeymize

  Hi all, Jim, I must say the Corsair II's color looks spot-on, especially the avionics bays etc. Very impressive build. Also I read where you don't have cable and such but you mentioned Perry Mason, one of my favorites The cast with William Hopper, Barbara Hale and the rest were IMO the best!

I'm including the die cast Galaxy I snagged off Squadron; 40% off too.Ken I haven't yet been inside the M model yet but understand the cockpit upgrades along with all the other stuff inside are pretty remarkable for a plane that many thought would be in AMARC years ago. I am adding decals and such to my JU-87 and will post final pics when done. I messed up the original canopy with a blob of future drying on it. My attempt at cleaning made it far worse. Lucky I had a spare vacuum one in spares stash. Painted the framework free hand cause I was too lazy to tape it up. Didn't turn out too bad. The flu / cold bug I have is taking away my energy and patience. I'm not starting another build till this crud's over!

Hi Mike,

Very nice die cast!  That looks sweet!

You will enjoy watching that show on the C-5M then.  It shows the cockpit quite a bit (all glass of course!).  They also show the new engines and mounts.

Since we were stationed at Dover AFB for 8 years (that is where the majority of the show takes place) it made me miss being there.  We lived there back between 1967 to 1975.  Of course the C-5 wasn't there at first, it was preceeded by the C-141A.  I took it for granted being able to see those monsters "hanging" in the air all the time, circling the base, (we lived in base housing right across from the base).

Back then security wasn't nearly as tight as it is today.  We could park right under the landing approach lights to the runway and watch those babies come in!

Ken

  Hi all, Jim, I must say the Corsair II's color looks spot-on, especially the avionics bays etc. Very impressive build. Also I read where you don't have cable and such but you mentioned Perry Mason, one of my favorites The cast with William Hopper, Barbara Hale and the rest were IMO the best!

I'm including the die cast Galaxy I snagged off Squadron; 40% off too.Ken I haven't yet been inside the M model yet but understand the cockpit upgrades along with all the other stuff inside are pretty remarkable for a plane that many thought would be in AMARC years ago. I am adding decals and such to my JU-87 and will post final pics when done. I messed up the original canopy with a blob of future drying on it. My attempt at cleaning made it far worse. Lucky I had a spare vacuum one in spares stash. Painted the framework free hand cause I was too lazy to tape it up. Didn't turn out too bad. The flu / cold bug I have is taking away my energy and patience. I'm not starting another build till this crud's over!

You are welcome Cliff.  I intended to put up photos of the completed handles but there was some minor touch up (funny how the camera always shows that) I want to make before I post them.

Ken

mikeymize

 I believe I have that channel somewhere in my line-up; I will absolutely check it out! BTW I came across a die cast 1/400 scale Galaxy made by DragonWings Squadron had it in one of their ads. The really cool thing for me was that it was a "Patriot Wing" jet ,i.e., from Westover  where I first worked on the beasts. I'll post a pic of it next time. 

Meanwhile, here's a few shots of the JU87. Any and all comments welcome. Still fighting whatever "bug" that attacked me over the weekend so the Stuka should be finished completely by Fr.

 

Nice work on the Stuka Mike!  It is coming along quite well.  What do you have left to do to her?  When you are done, be sure to send me a picture you would like posted on the front page.

Yes, that show about the C-5 is on several times this week, so you should have no trouble catching it if you have the Smithsonian Channel.  It is about the newest upgrade to the C-5M Super Galaxy.  What I thought was very interesting was the fact they mentioned that they intend for the beast to stay in service for another 30 years or more!

Ken

jimbot58

Hmmmm...I don't have any channels. I gave up cable and satellite due to expenses and now I am reduced to watching old episodes of "The Burns and Allen Show" and "Perry Mason", cooking shows, plus the inane dribble that comes from the major networks.

Not too much going on. I did fix my Boo-boo- I didn't feather the paint too well, but figured most people will need their microscopes to really see it:

Plus I have been touching up other dings and divots here and there:

And started assembling the gear: Some challenges here:

I have to agree with you Jim, at 1/72 scale people would have to be hard pressed to find those paint chip repairs unless you pointed it out to them.

Ouch! How are you going to fix that strut and have it hold weight?  Or is it attached to something to help give it strength?  And those molding gates I would guess are going to be where you are going to flat spot the wheels?  Those things are huge!

Ken

MikeM: Nice work there! Looks like she's pretty much done to me.

Funny, I have friends in the nearby city that get the Military Channel that I don't get, but don't get the National Geographic Channel which I'm not sure I could do without.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Did some work on the photo-etch canopy release handles.  I will post pictures tomorrow.

I am in the middle of watching a show on the Smithsonian Channel about the C-5 Galaxy!  Mike M. I don't know if you have seen this one yet or get the Smithsonian Channel, but it is on again tonight at midnight EST.  It is a newer show made in 2012, "Mighty Planes".

Ken

Meanwhile, here's a few shots of the JU87. Any and all comments welcome. Still fighting whatever "bug" that attacked me over the weekend so the Stuka should be finished completely by Fr.

Jim: Looks good! The way things are going I think I'd put a couple of good clear coats down and not try to mask any more stuff, gee whiz!

Ken: Forgot to tell you thanks for your photos on how you're painting the PE pieces. The striped ejection seat handles look great.

MikeM: Hope you feel better soon, I haven't gotten anything yet but I know I will.  

Hmmmm...I don't have any channels. I gave up cable and satellite due to expenses and now I am reduced to watching old episodes of "The Burns and Allen Show" and "Perry Mason", cooking shows, plus the inane dribble that comes from the major networks.

Not too much going on. I did fix my Boo-boo- I didn't feather the paint too well, but figured most people will need their microscopes to really see it:

Plus I have been touching up other dings and divots here and there:

And started assembling the gear: Some challenges here:

Scorpiomikey

Smithsonian channel? WHY DO I NOT HAVE THIS YET????????

Of course we have discovered that your programming is different than ours.  But if you can get it, it is on several times this week.  Next week they are featuring the LC-130 Hercules!

Ken

Smithsonian channel? WHY DO I NOT HAVE THIS YET????????

Hi Everyone,

Did some work on the photo-etch canopy release handles.  I will post pictures tomorrow.

I am in the middle of watching a show on the Smithsonian Channel about the C-5 Galaxy!  Mike M. I don't know if you have seen this one yet or get the Smithsonian Channel, but it is on again tonight at midnight EST.  It is a newer show made in 2012, "Mighty Planes".

Ken

mikeymize

Jimbot I'm lovin' the A7 wonderful paint and panel lines look great as well. I'm assuming you used some type of wash? Also, the outstanding unit award under the canopy sill gives it a nice splash of color.

I'm suffering through a bad cold/flu right now but have made some progress on my Stuka. I had to redo the spinner tip 3 times trying to get the line straight. Ken, you mentioned about the PE color stripping and although I wasn't planing on it, that's pretty much what I had to do except I used Testors thinner to clean it up. Finally got it well enough by using a circle template; tape and my other techniques weren't up to the challenge. I'll have pics later this week but just need sleep for now.

Not too sure what those unit award are for, but I agree, those and the Gun smoke awards do give a nice bit of color to what could be a very plain color scheme.

What I use for those panels is kind of a wash using equal parts acrylic paint and Ivory dishsoap and thinned with water. It is important to have a smooth gloss finish for this. I brush it into the panel lines and over the rivet hole and it tends to flow and even follow the grooves of the panel lines. I allow it to dry for a few moments, and the excess can be wiped away with a slightly dampened cotton swab. i usually use the tip of my tongue to moisten it. Too much drying time gets harder to remove and sometimes a bit of Windex has to be used used to wipe it away. 

I hope you get to feeling better soon. I avoided getting a flu shot this year as there seems to be a lot of controversy about them lately. Mom got very ill after she had one.

Jim

mikeymize

Jimbot I'm lovin' the A7 wonderful paint and panel lines look great as well. I'm assuming you used some type of wash? Also, the outstanding unit award under the canopy sill gives it a nice splash of color.

I'm suffering through a bad cold/flu right now but have made some progress on my Stuka. I had to redo the spinner tip 3 times trying to get the line straight. Ken, you mentioned about the PE color stripping and although I wasn't planing on it, that's pretty much what I had to do except I used Testors thinner to clean it up. Finally got it well enough by using a circle template; tape and my other techniques weren't up to the challenge. I'll have pics later this week but just need sleep for now.

Hi Mike M.

Wow, I hope you get some rest and start feeling better.  That flu is all over the news.  We look forward to seeing those pictures when you do.

Ken

Jimbot I'm lovin' the A7 wonderful paint and panel lines look great as well. I'm assuming you used some type of wash? Also, the outstanding unit award under the canopy sill gives it a nice splash of color.

I'm suffering through a bad cold/flu right now but have made some progress on my Stuka. I had to redo the spinner tip 3 times trying to get the line straight. Ken, you mentioned about the PE color stripping and although I wasn't planing on it, that's pretty much what I had to do except I used Testors thinner to clean it up. Finally got it well enough by using a circle template; tape and my other techniques weren't up to the challenge. I'll have pics later this week but just need sleep for now.

Geat method, but my eyes ached just looking at it, lol.

Gamera

Rich: Cool, looking forward to seeing her.

Did you see this post where this guy recast the pilot in transparent plastic in such a way he can build a lighted helmet like in the series!

Mum was a librarian in the RNZAF for several years. Not sure what the service medals about. I think its just a recognition of her service. Dad got his "20 years of crimes unpunished" medal when he hit the 20 year mark lol.