Yeah Cliff:

I never considered the BUFF to be either Ugly or Fat,

always thought it was rather sleek.

So I just call it the "Big Fellow", if yah know what I mean

Well everyone loves a Big Ugly Fat Fellow!!!!!*

*Not going to use the other acronym since this is a family friendly site...  

Jim: I hope things improve. Worst thing about getting old I've seen so far is to start to lose all those people you thought would be around forever when you're younger. 

Here's the headline :

Into the Deep Blue Yonder: Fighter pilot to visit undersea wreckage of jet he ejected from in '74

Try this link:

www.foxnews.com/.../into-deep-blue-yonder

Alright guys, I truly appreciate the comments about the A-7. I don't seek out praise, but it feels good to get it.I see a lot of amazing work coming out of all of you as well, though I don't always comment on it.

As to what airbrush I use, it's really a high-tech model: It is the deluxe airbrush kit offered through Harbor Freight tools, and I paid a whopping $14.99 for it! I was using an old Badger 350 single action external mix for the longest time. It's been retired for a while though the paint cups off the 350 work great for the harbor freight brush as the one supplied has its flaw: the siphon does not reach the bottom of the cup, forcing you to always mix more than enough paint to do the job. Other than that, I love it!

I also want to thank you for your support in what has proven to be a much tougher time than I ever imagined with Mom's passing, both in public and friends who sent messages to me in private. I now more fully understand how Mom felt considering she lost her mother, a husband, two daughters, a step daughter, a brother, several cousins who were more like brothers and sisters to her, and so on.

As to that link for the A-7, it's probably down or something. Servers change, web addresses come and go.... If I find anything else, I will post it.

Jim

For Jim:

Talk about weathering an A-7!

Sorry, can't get the link to load,

looks like management excludes certain media outlets.

See if i can get the A-7 story somewhere else they like.....lol

Back to work on the buff. I tried to add a little suggestive detail to the main struts between the tires in place of the little knobs they put there. It's no closer to reality than Monogram's attempt but at least they give a little more depth . The actual steering and braking systems are way too complex to model in this scale - at least for me.

Russ

Striker8241

Guys, the number of people viewing the Big Belly mod thread is up to 2729. I think there's some interest out there...

Russ

For sure Russ, the BUFF is big favorite. Couple that with a Vietnam type load out and you got a hit!

Ken

Lol, it's funny either way!

uh huh, i still cant get my head around this whole dialect thing lol. Oh well. my comment still stands. chubbier aircraft get more attention that skinny ones.

Scorpiomikey

Girls or aircraft? They both get called birds here lol.

Girls.

Girls or aircraft? They both get called birds here lol.

Scorpiomikey

oh god i just clicked what i said.

I was meaning aircraft. the chubby aircraft get all the attention. A-7, Mustang, etc. slender sleek aircraft dont get quite so much attention.

No worries, Mikey That's the way I took it. BTW, we don't call em "birds" here anyway .  

oh god i just clicked what i said.

I was meaning aircraft. the chubby aircraft get all the attention. A-7, Mustang, etc. slender sleek aircraft dont get quite so much attention.

Scorpiomikey

Yeah, the chubby birds get all the attention.

Lol! I didn't know that.

Yeah, the chubby birds get all the attention.

Guys, the number of people viewing the Big Belly mod thread is up to 2729. I think there's some interest out there...

Russ

Hey Jim,

that A7 is really coming along!

That is a sweet instrument panel,

wouldn't want to lose that fab detail however you

decide to mount the canopy.

As for your camera picking up dust,

heck, send it over here, i have a few years worth

lying around!

Wow, great job there Jim, that's 1/72nd??? Wowsers!!!

Great work, Jim! I still can't believe that's 1/72 scale! Looking forward to seeing that paint job. What kind of airbrush do you use?

Russ

jimbot58

Well, I seem to be doing a bit better for now and managed to not only work on cleaning up some of the paperwork associated with Mom, a little house work and even managed to work on the hobby

I finished with the cockpit, finally putting in the cowling fiddling with the tiny square of plastic that simulates the HUD screen.

I'm amazed at how the camera picks up all the dust!

I'm debating as to try to open the cockpit or not-no strut or anything was provided to do this so I would have to scratch it. The canopy is so large on the A-7 that the detail might be visible enough with it closed. (This photo is from before I painted the inside frames of the canopy and wind screen.)

I also managed to mount the windscreen, and started to experiment with the colors:

I'm going with a scheme that will be Gunship Grey and Dark Green, which according to the AirDoc decals, is how the aircraft was painted when it attended the "Gunsmoke" competition at Nellis in 1981. The other choices were an SEA scheme, which I already have done on other AC or one that was dark grey on grey (boring). That was the choices for the Colorado ANG aircraft I'm trying to model. I picked the "euro"

Hopefully, I won't have another episode like I did the previous week, as I always have had issues with mood swings in the past, and the events this Spring and Summer have not helped. Trying to keep busy as best I guess. I dread the coming of Winter and the Holidays....

Jim

Hi Jim,

Very nice work there, once again!

I sent you a PM.

Ken

Fantastic Jim. Hope things start settling down for you soon.

Well, I seem to be doing a bit better for now and managed to not only work on cleaning up some of the paperwork associated with Mom, a little house work and even managed to work on the hobby

I finished with the cockpit, finally putting in the cowling fiddling with the tiny square of plastic that simulates the HUD screen.

I'm amazed at how the camera picks up all the dust!

I'm debating as to try to open the cockpit or not-no strut or anything was provided to do this so I would have to scratch it. The canopy is so large on the A-7 that the detail might be visible enough with it closed. (This photo is from before I painted the inside frames of the canopy and wind screen.)

I also managed to mount the windscreen, and started to experiment with the colors:

I'm going with a scheme that will be Gunship Grey and Dark Green, which according to the AirDoc decals, is how the aircraft was painted when it attended the "Gunsmoke" competition at Nellis in 1981. The other choices were an SEA scheme, which I already have done on other AC or one that was dark grey on grey (boring). That was the choices for the Colorado ANG aircraft I'm trying to model. I picked the "euro"

Hopefully, I won't have another episode like I did the previous week, as I always have had issues with mood swings in the past, and the events this Spring and Summer have not helped. Trying to keep busy as best I guess. I dread the coming of Winter and the Holidays....

Jim

Bockscar

Gosh Russ, you buy a new 5,000 square foot home so you can put that diorama on display?....

No, but I'm considering adding on another room  for it... . The preliminary layout dimensions are 37in W x 39in L. I figure if I double the width of the display, I could rent out the second half to other modelers to help pay for the new addition . 

its not much of a story, but prolly inappropriate for the forums lol.

We'll have to save that story for over a beer for sure....lol

Nice, almost like the Tesla of his time.

And my cure for the backwards letters from the sign was a cute young lady by the name of sam.

Crossfield invented the X-15.

he piloted the Skyrocket.

He was fishing with a friend and heard on the radio

that a new rocket engine, XLR, was being developed.

He flew it too, but left the big ticket break through speeds

to other pilots.

What a guy.

Almost fer got:

http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19610108000

Sky Rocket.....That is a beauty plane tooo.....

Id never heard of him till today. The only reason yeager was as famous as he was (there were plenty of other pilots out there just as good) is because of his eyesight and his sound barrier breakage.

Scorpiomikey

Hey ive been there, I woke up the next morning to discover id won the street sign door prize lol.

say..... how long before the backward letters from the sign

finally disappeared from your forehead............lol....

Jess 'tween yooz n' mee,

Always liked Crossfield bettern' Yeager.......

Hey ive been there, I woke up the next morning to discover id won the street sign door prize lol.