jimbot58

Been getting a little bit of time in at the workbench.

Some of the detail parts for the cockpits. I ended up separating the front and rear cockpits to make it easier to get the parts to line up where needed. Adding all the PE parts has added dimensions to everything making fit a bit of a chore.

This photo came out a bit on the dark side, but most of the PE parts on the deck have been added and painted, with the exception of the HUD. I'm leaving that until I put the windscreen in place. With these thick, over-sized sausages I call fingers, no doubt I would damage it anyway. This way I can play it safe. Also, you can see some of the inside PE panels in place.

On another note, I just wondered if anyone here knows any decent photo-editing software programs that would be free to download. I have some photos of Mom I want to copy, and the editing program I have now it very basic, It will lighten, darken, color correct and red-eye, but lacks tools to fix defects such as scratches.

Jim

Most excellent work Jim!!       That looks fantastic as always!

As far as free touch up software, I am not aware of any.  I did get some that came with my scanner that works really great, but it was not free.  The scanner is the Epson Perfection 4490 Photo.  It will scan old pictures, slides, and negatives, restore the color and remove the scratches and other blemishes unless they are really severe.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Today I worked out at lunch time instead of spending time trying to spread the word about the petition.  The results were that we did not get a single signature!  So I am busy making up for it now.  Plugging away, don't stop.  We are stuck at 103 signatures right now.

Ken

I got another signature!  Up to 104!

Ken

Gamera

Jim: The instrument panel and seat look great! I assume you've done both cockpits at the same time?

No actually I didn't do both. I will work a bit on it tonight. I just got off a 12 hour shift and though I am beat, I feel I am missing something unless I spend at least a little bit of time at the work bench. Got to do what's important in life

jimbot58

Gamera

Jim: The instrument panel and seat look great! I assume you've done both cockpits at the same time?

No actually I didn't do both. I will work a bit on it tonight. I just got off a 12 hour shift and though I am beat, I feel I am missing something unless I spend at least a little bit of time at the work bench. Got to do what's important in life

Guess I had more energy for recreation than I thought. I accomplished a few things tonight:

Started the PE parts for the rear office:

I will need to touch up the edges of those parts where you can see the metal.

Also I had to do a bit of fixing on the canopy-I had two problems: first was a blemish where a stray drop of solvent or something got away from me. Then there was a noticeable mold separation line mostly on the rear half of the glass, so it was sand, sand, sand and polish, polish, polish with a set of sanding and polishing pads I recently bought. (Isn't great when you finally get to use one of those tools you bought?) I still did a bit more polishing with the old toothpaste on a cloth cut from an old t-shirt. There were also the sprue attachment points I had to carefully trim away. A final dip in Future to make it nice and shiny!  (Can you see the reflection of the twin fluorescent tubes above my bench!)

I may have asked this in the past, but I forgot in the meantime: Now that I did all this, there are several PE parts that attach to the canopy. Should I still use CA with the Future protecting it from fogging? Plus as you remember, I paint my canopies inside and out.

I saw a story about the lack of air shows on Fox News and military,com so it's getting noticed Ken!

Jim, I love the cockpit, what colors are you using for the TEWS & Radar displays?

Intakes are coming along:

Head-on:

I hate dry fitting. Musta' crunched that wing section a hundred times, please see my

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/44/p/153311/1651690.aspx

for the details. I guarantee guys, you will either hate the process, or hate me.

Happy looking.

Errrrr,,,,,,,,will fill with putty.

Dom

mikeymize

Jim, I love the cockpit, what colors are you using for the TEWS & Radar displays?

Those are actually pre-painted Eduard parts.

No bench time last night as I was so beat, I hit the bed still in work clothes and slept away until morning. Nice to have extra money from the OT but still, I'm not as young as I used to be....

jimbot58

jimbot58

Gamera

Jim: The instrument panel and seat look great! I assume you've done both cockpits at the same time?

No actually I didn't do both. I will work a bit on it tonight. I just got off a 12 hour shift and though I am beat, I feel I am missing something unless I spend at least a little bit of time at the work bench. Got to do what's important in life

Guess I had more energy for recreation than I thought. I accomplished a few things tonight:

Started the PE parts for the rear office:

I will need to touch up the edges of those parts where you can see the metal.

Also I had to do a bit of fixing on the canopy-I had two problems: first was a blemish where a stray drop of solvent or something got away from me. Then there was a noticeable mold separation line mostly on the rear half of the glass, so it was sand, sand, sand and polish, polish, polish with a set of sanding and polishing pads I recently bought. (Isn't great when you finally get to use one of those tools you bought?) I still did a bit more polishing with the old toothpaste on a cloth cut from an old t-shirt. There were also the sprue attachment points I had to carefully trim away. A final dip in Future to make it nice and shiny!  (Can you see the reflection of the twin fluorescent tubes above my bench!)

I may have asked this in the past, but I forgot in the meantime: Now that I did all this, there are several PE parts that attach to the canopy. Should I still use CA with the Future protecting it from fogging? Plus as you remember, I paint my canopies inside and out.

Hi Jim,

Great work once again!!     

Sorry for the delayed response to your question.  I am no expert, but thanks to Cliff, I like using "Gator's Grip Hobby Glue" when attaching photo etch parts.  Since it is acrylic, it would be a good choice to use on the canopy since it won't cause fogging.  I have also used Future itself as a glue for small PE parts, but I don't know if it would work very well on larger pieces.

Ken

mikeymize

I saw a story about the lack of air shows on Fox News and military,com so it's getting noticed Ken!

Jim, I love the cockpit, what colors are you using for the TEWS & Radar displays?

Hi Mike,

I am getting less responses on my posts for signatures on the multiple Facebook pages that I keep updating.  We are only up to 106 signatures.  It seems that the last couple of days that I spent what very little free time I had updating the posts, I only got a couple of signatures out of them.  At this rate it is going to expire before we get enough.

Ken

Bockscar

Intakes are coming along:

Head-on:

I hate dry fitting. Musta' crunched that wing section a hundred times, please see my

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/44/p/153311/1651690.aspx

for the details. I guarantee guys, you will either hate the process, or hate me.

Happy looking.

Errrrr,,,,,,,,will fill with putty.

Dom

Wow Dom, it has been a while since I have seen those!  Looks like you are making some great progress.  Nice job scratching!!     

Ken

jimbot58

mikeymize

Jim, I love the cockpit, what colors are you using for the TEWS & Radar displays?

Those are actually pre-painted Eduard parts.

No bench time last night as I was so beat, I hit the bed still in work clothes and slept away until morning. Nice to have extra money from the OT but still, I'm not as young as I used to be....

I know how you feel Jim!  I have been putting in a lot of extra time at work and at home on other things than the work bench.  And I am not done yet.  I am just finally taking some time to get some updates.  My review is coming up at work and I have a new boss.  We will see how that goes.  Stress is pretty intense right now.

Ken

Bockscar

Intakes are coming along:

Head-on:

I hate dry fitting. Musta' crunched that wing section a hundred times, please see my

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/44/p/153311/1651690.aspx

for the details. I guarantee guys, you will either hate the process, or hate me.

Happy looking.

Errrrr,,,,,,,,will fill with putty.

Dom

Nice, Dom!  I'll be watching your progress!

Russ

Son Of Medicine Man

jimbot58

mikeymize

Jim, I love the cockpit, what colors are you using for the TEWS & Radar displays?

Those are actually pre-painted Eduard parts.

No bench time last night as I was so beat, I hit the bed still in work clothes and slept away until morning. Nice to have extra money from the OT but still, I'm not as young as I used to be....

I know how you feel Jim!  I have been putting in a lot of extra time at work and at home on other things than the work bench.  And I am not done yet.  I am just finally taking some time to get some updates.  My review is coming up at work and I have a new boss.  We will see how that goes.  Stress is pretty intense right now.

Ken

Ken: All the best with the review, if you're at least as good at your day job as your are with the kits, you should be okay. Man it's tough out there, I understand the stress levels. Best of luck.

Dom

Ken, Russ;

Thanks for the compliments guys, sort of like a renno on a house, very ugly for now, but actually am very near to having all the major components completed, which is actually exciting for a change.

Those ducts are a once in a lifetime essay, I'll never do that again, but I would never want to go back.

What was it Kennedy said, something like 'We're not doing it because it easy, but because it is hard'  I have lost my fear of styrene entirely, if you know what I'm saying, and Ken, as you know from experience,

it's all just body work. The really next big challenge is painting the inside of those ducts, and the re-scribe.

I found out the hard way, I'm not too good at scribing.......we'll see.

Dom

Jim: As Ken said Gator Grip works well on canopies, I use Micro Crystal Clear too since both dry clear.

Dom: Nice work, can see she's coming along.

Bockscar, I don't know what happened to some of my pictures. I tried to go in and find it and got a sever error message. Trying again:

Odd that it won't show in the original post-it's the exact same link!

Cliff; Thanks, I finally feel I've got past half way, you know what I mean....i have no idea what this bird is going to look like completed. She won't be some fab super detailed kit, but, as I've said before, she will exceed the tolerances i was handed, so that and $2 will buy you a cup of coffee.....

Jim: Thanks for the re-post, I like that look, nice tub!

Dom

Hi Everyone,

I scored again!  That very same kit with the art work of my Dad's squadron the "Cotton Pickers" emblem on the tail that Dom was teasing me with was on eBay this morning.  With shipping I snatched it up for $25!  Once again the mouse buttons were smoking from my super fast clicking to grab it when I saw it!

Here is a couple of pictures:

Sweet!  This will go good with the other two kits that Dom already sent me!

Ken 

SHISSSH-KA-BOB!!! LOL

Good one Ken!

Keep that mouse outa' the rain!!!

F-4 Pilot: "Hey WISO, did you see that?"

WISO: "See what??"....lol

Dom

Nice score Ken! I should look into searching e-bay for things that might be nice to have. Does anybody ever use oldmodelkits.com? Sometimes they have kits I would like, but they do seem a bit pricey.

I should be ready soon to button up the cockpits-rear cockpit and seat all but done:

There are a couple of other teeny little parts, but for the most part, just 99.9% done. Trial fittings have been made with necessary adjustments done. I should be able to move on soon. Cockpits are so tedious to me, PE parts considered.

Also did part of one of the afterburner cans. I used the flash for this picture:

There is also a sort of mesh grill that goes in that I think may be referred to as a flame holder? You can see where I had to grind out the inside of the exhaust.

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

I scored again!  That very same kit with the art work of my Dad's squadron the "Cotton Pickers" emblem on the tail that Dom was teasing me with was on eBay this morning.  With shipping I snatched it up for $25!  Once again the mouse buttons were smoking from my super fast clicking to grab it when I saw it!

Here is a couple of pictures:

Sweet!  This will go good with the other two kits that Dom already sent me!

 

Ken 

Nice score, Ken! Congratulations!  Hasegawa too - couldn't ask for better .

Russ

jimbot58

Nice score Ken! I should look into searching e-bay for things that might be nice to have. Does anybody ever use oldmodelkits.com? Sometimes they have kits I would like, but they do seem a bit pricey.

I should be ready soon to button up the cockpits-rear cockpit and seat all but done:

There are a couple of other teeny little parts, but for the most part, just 99.9% done. Trial fittings have been made with necessary adjustments done. I should be able to move on soon. Cockpits are so tedious to me, PE parts considered.

Also did part of one of the afterburner cans. I used the flash for this picture:

There is also a sort of mesh grill that goes in that I think may be referred to as a flame holder? You can see where I had to grind out the inside of the exhaust.

Amazing detail work once again Jim!  That is just fantastic how you can do that at 1/72 scale!!     

Ken

Ken: Congrads! As I said I love that recon Voodoo!

Jim: Again nice work, esp there in 1/72nd scale.

Hey Jim, just got back from Nashville and read the posts. That Eduard PE looks great as well as all the other non-PE stuff you've done. I completely empathize on the work situation you referred to. It's somewhat ironic that there seems to be a correlation between the need for bench time i.e., "therapy" to balance out the excess work even though there are fewer hours for it. If that makes any sense!!

jimbot58

Nice score Ken! I should look into searching e-bay for things that might be nice to have. Does anybody ever use oldmodelkits.com? Sometimes they have kits I would like, but they do seem a bit pricey.

I should be ready soon to button up the cockpits-rear cockpit and seat all but done:

There are a couple of other teeny little parts, but for the most part, just 99.9% done. Trial fittings have been made with necessary adjustments done. I should be able to move on soon. Cockpits are so tedious to me, PE parts considered.

Also did part of one of the afterburner cans. I used the flash for this picture:

There is also a sort of mesh grill that goes in that I think may be referred to as a flame holder? You can see where I had to grind out the inside of the exhaust.

Nice work as usual, she's going to be pretty!

OldModelKits.com is a good outfit, run by a guy named Al Bussie.

Yes, some of the kits can be pricey, true enough. But sometimes he's the only guy with the old stuff.

I get about 2-3 kits from him a year, and you always get exactly what he says you will. He inventories every kit. One of the best things I got from him was a 1/48 plastic resin F-105D Thud from a Republic sub-contractor, a sales model from pre-production days. i usually only get kits I cannot find on Ebay or LHS's.

Other great kit was a mint condition LST from Lindberg, absolutely fantastic. His Revell 1/72 Space Shuttles were less expensive than ones on Ebay, depends on what you are looking for. He does answer emails.

Again, nice cockpit work,

Dom

Well, the weather here in Denver has been interesting. I measure the snow piled on my porch at about 12"! I live on the north end of Denver and some reports have the snow totals at up to 2' the further north you go! The drive home from work took over an hour and a half, where normally it's around 20-25 minutes. I stuck to side roads and back ways, but still had to turn back a couple of times where accidents or stranded cars blocked my way. As a native, I have had plenty of experience dealing driving in the bad weather, and my little 4 X 4 Ranger gets around pretty good. I spent a little extra on tires last year and think I made a good choice. 

But, I made it home, waved a frozen dinner and headed for the workbench. I was able to accomplish a good bit tonight:

There are a few touch-ups to do, like around the small panel that faces the rear crew member (is he a WSO or does he have another title?) at the top of his console. Have to wait for the epoxy to cure first. There will still need to be the HUD display to do, and a couple of small levers to add just inside the cockpit. I still need to Future dip the windscreen before attaching it. That, of course is after I paint those inside frames.

I also want to send out my thoughts to the victims of the events that took place Monday. I feel those affected in my heart....

jimbot58

Well, the weather here in Denver has been interesting. I measure the snow piled on my porch at about 12"! I live on the north end of Denver and some reports have the snow totals at up to 2' the further north you go! The drive home from work took over an hour and a half, where normally it's around 20-25 minutes. I stuck to side roads and back ways, but still had to turn back a couple of times where accidents or stranded cars blocked my way. As a native, I have had plenty of experience dealing driving in the bad weather, and my little 4 X 4 Ranger gets around pretty good. I spent a little extra on tires last year and think I made a good choice. 

But, I made it home, waved a frozen dinner and headed for the workbench. I was able to accomplish a good bit tonight:

There are a few touch-ups to do, like around the small panel that faces the rear crew member (is he a WSO or does he have another title?) at the top of his console. Have to wait for the epoxy to cure first. There will still need to be the HUD display to do, and a couple of small levers to add just inside the cockpit. I still need to Future dip the windscreen before attaching it. That, of course is after I paint those inside frames.

I also want to send out my thoughts to the victims of the events that took place Monday. I feel those affected in my heart....

Great work once again Jim!  You are a machine!     

Yes, that was a sad thing that happened yesterday in Boston.  Many innocent people hurt or killed.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for not posting very much lately. I have had a tremendous amount of things going on in my life to keep me away.  Tonight I will be working on the servers at work so I know already that I won't be able to work on my model AGAIN!

I hope to be talking with everyone again real soon!

Ken

Ken,

Not to worry, bud. We all know RLI come first. Just hope you have a chance to get enough rest.

Take care,

Russ