Hi Everyone,

More pictures:

This one is for you Mikey, a Corsair!

Ken 

Here is some more:

Okay, I do know the next one.  An O-2 Cessna Skymaster.

There was a real one there.  I might have a picture of it.  But in the mean time:

Ken 

Those chinese marked aircraft are Nanchangs. The last ones a piper cub from the looks of it? And just to state the obvious. That mustangs not a real mustang. I thinks its a T-51 Titan.

Hi Everyone,

Here are some more pictures:

 Okay, I DO know what this one is:

Hi Everyone,

Here are some of the pictures from last weekend's Air Show.  Since most of these are World War II vintage, I do not know what they are for sure unless they had a sign:

 Okay, now this next one I know is a Mustang.

Okay, that is enough for now, I will post more later.

Ken

Jim,

I am so sorry for your loss.  I had no idea.  I don't get around on this site, just hang out here.

That is so terrible that you went through all of that alone.  That is the worst part.  Don't stay alone buddy.  You need to find someone to talk with.  You can send me a private message if you would like.  And like I said before, you don't have to be building something to be able to just come here and chat.

Ken

Thats a real shame Jim. Its rough losing a loved one, especially when your so close to them. And then to have selfish siblings on top of that. That really does suck dude. You look after you and yours. My thoughts are with you.

Hey gang, I posted this over at the Rhino build, but copy it here as well, as there are many I consider friends in this build as well, though I never got around to participating:

"Hello gang.

Just thought I would let you all know what has been going lately. I mentioned before, I spent a lot of time looking after my elderly mother and the fact that she had serious health issues. Early this month, I hospitalized her with an extremely bad case of pneumonia. She progressed though several stages, at first being delusional, paranoid, with hallucinations and more, then overnight became very lethargic and almost comatose. The bug she had was an antibiotic  resistant bacteria, and it rapidly became apparent that she was not responding to treatment. With the pneumonia, her age, and in an advanced stage of COPD,  (emphysema) she declined quickly and died on June 10th. She was 81.

I pretty much looked after her through the whole thing, while my sister barely even visited her, and I ended up having to make all the funeral arraignments on my own (not to mention the fact that I was the one who had to make the decision to end her medical treatment and allow her to go!) I alone sat with her though the night until it was time for the mortuary to come for her. It will be a June that I will keep with me for a long, long time.

The nightmare continues now as I begin to settle her estate, with the above mentioned sister believing she should move into the house, but as I am the Trustee and sole executor of her estate, she will have little to say as to what I do. The  house will need to be sold in order divide it evenly as Mom's will and the Living Trust she had established dictated.

I do piddle a bit here and there with the models, when I have the heart for it, but it may be a while yet before I have time or desire to worry about hobbies.

I haven't even looked over the progress you have made, but soon I will have to back and look at all the old posts.

Jim"

Okay, now I am bummed.    I just found out that WingXL is no more. They were supposed to be a new company planning on producing an 1/32 scale A-26 Invader.  They just announced that they have thrown in the towel.

Hey Dom, if you are still receiving these emails, I hope you stay with us.  It won't be the same without you.

Ken

He did a whole thread on it. I think he left more in frustration than anything else.

cs.finescale.com/.../148145.aspx

Thats his abandon ship speech.

I must admit im contemplating leaving for a couple months while they get the bugs fixed.

I don't understand why Dom would leave because of the new format?  It took me by surprise this evening when I got on but it isn't all that different.  In fact it seems to have a bit more in the way of options.  Did he give any specific reasons?

Ken

Gee guys guess I should stop complaining, loosing my hair but otherwise generally healthy.

Mike: hope you arm feels better and Rich hope you're feeling better too.

I haven't heard from DOM in a while.  Which worries me because we used to be in fairly consistent contact.  Maybe I'll try and call him if my Mom in Law says it's OK.

What the heck happened to the message bases??? 

Anyways...   We have the central AC installed now, which is good because it's been in the upper nineties to over 100 (F) most of the week. 

Camping would be difficult for me.  I haven't been able to acquire any gear other than a couple of propane Coleman Lanterns.  I just found out I mave a pretty good case of Osteo-Arthritis in both knees and shoulders.  So I am not able to walk as much as I have been up until now.  Camping would be complicated. 

I saw a couple of them fly at the last airshow they had at the ANG base at Toledo Express Airport, back in 2004.  A B17G, some P51s, a Texan, a Corsair, and even a sabre and a couple of MIGs (15 and a 21).  Some flew and did some aerobatics.  They had a P38 there but it didn't fly at the show.  I haven't been able to get to an airshow since.  Just too expensive to travel and they just don't seem to come around here anymore.

I have been waiting on p[aint for that F104, which arrived today, as well as some for my F20.  The Sabre is slowly progressing.  Too much sanding and my hands cramp up.  I felt like something different so I started an old classic 1/48 Revell MIG15.  It's almost ready for paint.  A two day kit at most.  I may use it as an experimental bird for the Alclad before using it on the sabre.  I'll send up some images when I can.  I didn't think to take any images up til now on the MIG, but shes still not completely assembled so I can still get a few WIP images up.

Have a great weekend.

Rich

Lol we have a spare room for such circumstances. So bloody cold here today. Went ten pin bowling last night and now my right shoulder is comprised entirely of PAIN!.

As for building anything more. I might do. I want to get a couple of my other builds finished first.

SoMM Ken: The air show sounds great! I love those.

Is Dom still around? He stated he didn't like the new format and was going to leave. I hate to see him go, he's a great guy.

BTW: Super hot here too, I may end up arriving on your doorstep down there Mike asking to crash on your couch

No problem Mikey.  I will update the front page.  Most fitting that you were the first one to post and now the first one done.  Are you planning on building anything else?

Ken

Hey, can you use my latest photos as done? I wont be doing any more on it for a while. I dont want to add any more bits to it untill ive got a cover for it so i dont break anything. And thats likley going to be 2 or 3 months away.

Hi Rich,

That is looking pretty good!  I hope you are staying cool with all the heat we are having.

As far as the date for a trip, I would leave that for Dom.  If he is up for doing the camping thing we might want to wait for cooler weather.  Camping in 100 degree heat is not fun, especially when it only cools down to around 76 degrees at night.

I went to the Indianapolis Air Show last weekend and had a blast!  I took a bunch of pictures and I will post some of them later.  What is really cool is that there were several historical societies with WWII planes that FLEW there and had them on display before the show, then flew them in the show.  And you could tell that they were very proud of their planes.  All of them were kept very clean and the larger ones they would let you inside to tour and answer any and all questions about them.  I will be back again next year for sure!

SoMM (the other Ken)

Well, some more progress.  Main fuselage, tail,  wings, and wing tip tanks are completed, I also started the landing gear which will not be installed until after paint.  Lots of shaping and gap filling to do on the top.  the fuselage separated a bit as it dried for some reason so I need to re-open a seam and re-glue a small section of it just aft of the cockpit.  Then a few small gaps here and there.  All in all, the kit hasn't given me much trouble at all.  Although they could have designed the landing gear pieces a bit better.  But it's moving along.  The only other spots that are going to need a tiny drop or two of putty is the intakes.  They just need some evening out.  Here are some images.

The nose wheel.  A bit of paint touch up and a bit of sanding are still needed.

The wing tanks.  Some smoothing and minor gap filling still needed once they dry.  I really don't think I have ever put together a set of tanks that haven't needed any work.. lol

Looks pretty good to me.  The detail inside the air brake housings isn't all that great, so I might put them on closed.  Which would make for a whole lot less exposed and highly fragile parts to get broken.  You can see where some shaping is needed around the cockpit and the top of the fuselage, as well as the intakes.  I really have to say though.  the nose on this kit is probably the best fitting nose I have sen to date.  It's not going to require any gap filling or shaping.

That's it for now folks.  I'll keep you all posted.

Oh Yeh, Ken, Dom, we really need to settle on a firm date for the Museum trip.  I can do it on a weekday if necessary except Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Deb volunteers at our local hospital on those days.  Let me know what you think.

Rich

Many many thanks.  I am thinking Red Madder may be the color I need, I will look it up and see what it is.

Frightful6_7

Here's the list 

1 Howaido - White

2Burakku - Black

3 Reddo - Red

4 Ieroo - Yellow

8 Shirubaa - Silver

12 Oriba Drabu - Olive Drab

28 Steel Black

33 Flat Black as it says

47 Kuriaa Reddo - Clear Red

49 Kuriaa Orangi - Clear Orange

50 Kuriaa Buru - Clear Blue

54 Kaaki Gurin - Khaki Green

61 burnt iron

68 Monsarendo i could not figure this one out sorry.

92  Semi gurosu burraku Sami gloss black

137 Taiya Burakku Tire black

317 guree Grey

318 radomu Radome

Sorry for number 68 but that is Gunze MR. Color paint 68.

 EDIT i checked one of my old hasegawa kits and that is the main paint company they use. Probably testors Italian red but not sure of that.

Here's the list 

1 Howaido - White

2Burakku - Black

3 Reddo - Red

4 Ieroo - Yellow

8 Shirubaa - Silver

12 Oriba Drabu - Olive Drab

28 Steel Black

33 Flat Black as it says

47 Kuriaa Reddo - Clear Red

49 Kuriaa Orangi - Clear Orange

50 Kuriaa Buru - Clear Blue

54 Kaaki Gurin - Khaki Green

61 burnt iron

68 Monsarendo i could not figure this one out sorry.

92  Semi gurosu burraku Sami gloss black

137 Taiya Burakku Tire black

317 guree Grey

318 radomu Radome

Sorry for number 68 but that is Gunze MR. Color paint 68.

 EDIT i checked one of my old hasegawa kits and that is the main paint company they use. Probably testors Italian red but not sure of that.

That would be great!

Here is a scan of the color list.

Here is a higher res scan of the decals themselves

I found two colord I think are close.

One is Humbrol Ferrari Gloss Red Enamel, and the other is Testors Model Master Chrysler Engine Red Gloss Enamel.The missing ones are just the control and instrument panels.

I read japanese if you want me to try to translate for you.

Yeh, I like Hasegawa kits, when I can find one I can afford that is.   LOL  I like the red, but my main problem with it is that the primary language of the instructions are Japanese.  And they don't specify which color red it is in English.  Since on the red version, the main paint has to match the decal color red, it's going to be a royal pain trying to figure out which one it is.  The only issue with the other set is that, as you can see from the images, the decals are in a yellowish color, when they should be silver.  If I had a spare set of any Natural metal US version decals here, I would probably do one of those, but I will probably end up stuck with one of the Italian versions.Has anyone ever heard of GSI Creos Aqueous Hobby Color?  They give the color number for that brand but I can't find any info on it to try and find an equivalent.  One other thing is that the kit has two different exhaust nozzles.  One is a longer nozzle which is what the kit call-out is for.  The other is shorter, but has a lot more detail.  I really think it would look better with the shorter nozzle, but I need to find the difference.  I am guessing that they probably used a different engine in the Italian version.  I will zip around the net tonight and see what I can find out.

I got a LOT done on her today.  The cockpit is completed and the fuselage is all buttoned up with the engine installed, and the landing gear bay installed.  I have assembled the wing components.  Each wing came in 5 parts.  Kind on tricky becuse of the really thin styrene, but they came out well.  Tomorrow will be gap filling and this time I will mask the ENTIRE plane....

Here are some images from today.

Here is the completed and painted cockpit module and the stbd fuselage half with the landing gear bay and engine installed.

A closer shot of the cockpit module.  Smetimes I think Hasegawa TRIES to make construction difficult...  If I had completely followed their instructions to the letter, I never would have gotten the seat bottom ejection seat safety actuator loop in there at all.

Here is the fuselage buttoned up with the cockpit installed.

Here we have the nose on as well as the af part of the cockpit and fuselage section.  I also had preliminary painting done for putting on the air intakes.

One of the air intakes before assembly.

And the other one.

And finally, the assembled wing modules, ready for installation after drying overnight.

Rich

Gamera

Rich: I dunno, kinda like the Italian Ferrari red there but I can understand how you want something slightly more practical. Looks like the typical high quality Hasegawa kit there.

KBuzz: Kit looks great and it's good to have you back. I think you're insane to try adding those tiny fins though

Ken: Great photo there, heck of some memories behind it I'm sure.

I always loved the Dagger and the Dart.  Two of the coolest looking planes ever to grace the skies.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Buzz (the other Ken),

I was beginning to wonder what happened to you.  Great work there once again!     

As a welcome back present, here is a picture my Dad took of a F-102 getting ready to take off from Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam circa September 1964:

 

SoMM (the other Ken)

Rich: I dunno, kinda like the Italian Ferrari red there but I can understand how you want something slightly more practical. Looks like the typical high quality Hasegawa kit there.

KBuzz: Kit looks great and it's good to have you back. I think you're insane to try adding those tiny fins though

Ken: Great photo there, heck of some memories behind it I'm sure.

Hi Buzz (the other Ken),

I was beginning to wonder what happened to you.  Great work there once again!     

As a welcome back present, here is a picture my Dad took of a F-102 getting ready to take off from Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam circa September 1964:

SoMM (the other Ken)

Hello everyone - I've been MIA for quite awhile with travel, family things, etc., but am trying to get back to the model bench now.  Hope you are all doing well.

Rich - sorry to read about your putty disaster.  I guess I'm a little late to try to help, but have an idea that might have helped (?)  I have found that when I apply putty to a seam that is bordered with tape, I can smooth it out very easily by wiping the excess putty away with regular nail polish remover (the kind with acetone).  Then, it requires very little sanding.  I don't know how that might work with totally cured putty - just a thought.  And good luck with the F-104.  Had a cousin that flew one after his time in F-86s.  He said he transitioned to the F-104 by the book without benefit of simulator or dual.

Have put a little paint on the TF and hope to keep the progress going now.

Also, have been trying to craft the tiny vortex fins that go on the canopy.  Tried to build them from scrap PE at first, but was not too successful so am now trying to fashion them from thin aluminum as follows:

This nonsense is much too tiny for these old eyes and fingers!! 

More later (if I can still see the keyboard).

Buzz