Yeah, it bothered me at first too. But as Len pointed out there are a lot more flyable P-51s out there so I assume they used what they had. I'd rather see a real P-51 than some cartoony CGI P-47 myself so I'm not complaining too much.

In the movie 'The Great Raid' the Rangers call in a C-47 to buzz the Japanese POW camp to get the guards to look up so they won't see them crossing an open area to liberate the camp. In the real raid the plane was a P-61 Black Widow flying at either twilight or early morning to give the Rangers cover of darkness. Guess a C-47 was the best thing the movie makers could find though!

I know it's all Hollywood, but sometimes it seems having a bit too much knowledge can kind of spoil the movie for some. Probably 95% of people would never know the difference and just enjoy the movie, but some of us are doomed to watch and say, "Hey, now wait a minute...!" Just like the movie "Top Gun" and those 'MiG's' the went up against......

jimbot58

I know it's all Hollywood, but sometimes it seems having a bit too much knowledge can kind of spoil the movie for some. Probably 95% of people would never know the difference and just enjoy the movie, but some of us are doomed to watch and say, "Hey, now wait a minute...!" Just like the movie "Top Gun" and those 'MiG's' the went up against......

Oh yeah, the list can go on and on.  Then there are exceptions.  I watched the 1969 classic "Battle of Britain" where the producers actually took painstaking attention to detail to obtain actual authentic aircraft or make the aircraft look like it should.

Ken

Lol, don't watch 'Flyboys' then, I can suspend my disbelief but this movie pushes it to the edge. First World War biplanes climbing straight up and making turns that would have a modern acrobatic plane jealous and waves of dozens of blood red Fokker triplanes attacking! Baron von Richtofen painted his planes red to stand out, all Fokker triplanes weren't red!!! Gee friggin' whiz...

BTW: AH-64 is almost together, not sure if I should try to attach the canopy for painting or mask off the cockpit and paint separably. I'm leaning toward the former.

And may I point out Squadron has the new Encore Models 1/48th F-102A marked down on today's one-day sale from $57 to $23. I know Ken is a big fan of the VooDoo - not sure if any of you guys are interested in the Delta Dagger but thought I would point it out. 

F-102 Delta Dagger

So right of the BOB movie Ken. They may have taken liberties with other things but the aircraft depicted make this film worthy of a look. I never saw "Flyboys" or that debacle "Pearl Harbor" that came out about ten years ago with Ben Affleck et al. I sometimes wonder who the heck the technical advisors are on these. I think any of us in GB could do better than some of those knuckleheads!

mikeymize

 I sometimes wonder who the heck the technical advisors are on these. I think any of us in GB could do better than some of those knuckleheads!

Probably true, and I am anything but an expert! All I know is what I learned on my own, because of my interests. There are plenty of people, some here, who have first hand experience with these things. If I can see these errors, what about an actual pilot of an F-14 watching "Top Gun" or other such films.

In the mean time, in my non-expertise way, I have put in a bit of time painting: The tails got a shot of black gloss and will eventually have Scorpion tails;

Just like these on the 'real deal' here:

My model will represent this squadron.

Also painted a little more on the underside this time. Time to dig out the Silly Putty and paint around those wheel bays!

On a different note, today was an tough day. I went to the county court house to set myself up as the personal representative for Mom's estate. As they talked to me about closing her estate and removing her name off everything. It all hit me a bit hard what I was there to do. It sort of hit me in a bad way, so I ended up having an emotional meltdown right there in the courthouse. Much of the rest of the day was trying to maintain and hold myself together.

Though it's kind of late, I'm going to spend a little time in the hobby room to try and relax maybe a little.

Jim

Gamera

Lol, don't watch 'Flyboys' then, I can suspend my disbelief but this movie pushes it to the edge. First World War biplanes climbing straight up and making turns that would have a modern acrobatic plane jealous and waves of dozens of blood red Fokker triplanes attacking! Baron von Richtofen painted his planes red to stand out, all Fokker triplanes weren't red!!! Gee friggin' whiz...

BTW: AH-64 is almost together, not sure if I should try to attach the canopy for painting or mask off the cockpit and paint separably. I'm leaning toward the former.

 

She is looking mighty fine there Cliff!  And mean too with those armament in place!

Ken

Gamera

And may I point out Squadron has the new Encore Models 1/48th F-102A marked down on today's one-day sale from $57 to $23. I know Ken is a big fan of the VooDoo - not sure if any of you guys are interested in the Delta Dagger but thought I would point it out. 

F-102 Delta Dagger

I would have jumped all over this if it hadn't been for the fact I already own one.  That is a great deal!

Ken

jimbot58

mikeymize

 I sometimes wonder who the heck the technical advisors are on these. I think any of us in GB could do better than some of those knuckleheads!

Probably true, and I am anything but an expert! All I know is what I learned on my own, because of my interests. There are plenty of people, some here, who have first hand experience with these things. If I can see these errors, what about an actual pilot of an F-14 watching "Top Gun" or other such films.

In the mean time, in my non-expertise way, I have put in a bit of time painting: The tails got a shot of black gloss and will eventually have Scorpion tails;

Just like these on the 'real deal' here:

My model will represent this squadron.

Also painted a little more on the underside this time. Time to dig out the Silly Putty and paint around those wheel bays!

On a different note, today was an tough day. I went to the county court house to set myself up as the personal representative for Mom's estate. As they talked to me about closing her estate and removing her name off everything. It all hit me a bit hard what I was there to do. It sort of hit me in a bad way, so I ended up having an emotional meltdown right there in the courthouse. Much of the rest of the day was trying to maintain and hold myself together.

Though it's kind of late, I'm going to spend a little time in the hobby room to try and relax maybe a little.

Jim

That is going to be a sweet looking Growler when you get done!  I like those markings!  Very cool!

That was a sad moment for sure to go through at the courthouse.  At least you have it done and you have it behind you.  Maybe you can see if your fishing buddy is available this weekend and get away for a while.

Ken

Jim: Looks good! Love the scorpion tails.

Yeah, you might want to spend some time modeling or fishing or something, anything to take your mind off things for a little while.

Well it's Fri. night and I'm working on my KV-2 tracks and checking the postings....too tired to do much else and have no desire to drive anywhere. Jim, I think the consensus is good choice on the tail art. I always thought the Navy had the best stuff on the modern jets. Seems we in the AF always had some micromanaging General who kept some really cool art off our birds. I think they were always concerned about "offending" someone. Anyhow, I'm enjoying the way all these builds are coming together. The Patton is great looking, especially the tracks and searchlight ; awesome job!

I would love to get out of town and go fishing or something, but it looks like I've made some spending misjudgements the last few weeks and cash flow is going to be a bit tight for a bit. I probably didn't really need that Panzer right now, and a few other unneeded purchases, so time to tighten the old belt. Just have to spend time modeling.

I can certainly understand tired. I don't sleep all that well, and with the fact that it was extra busy at work, (we had a lot of freight come in today.) and added stress, I was so beat, that when I got home, I sat there listening to the radio in the driveway and fell asleep. (Ken, I know what you will tell me about that!)

I was going to add some pictures, but it seems Imageshack isn't working for uploads right now. Have to try later.

By the way, anybody see that 'Sharknado" movie? Weren't we just talking about factual films?

Finally figured out the Imageshack thing, seems they changed the link a bit.

Scorpion decals:

And Silly Putty:

One thing I haven't been able to tell is whether or not those tails would end up with a flat finish or would they remain glossy? I've never been sure with all the colorful schemes the USN/USMC has used.

Jim: Yeah gotta love Silly Putty! I'd figure the tails were probably painted glossy but the salt air corrodes paint so badly if you did a dull finish I think it'd look fine.

A bad movie site I frequent had a bunch of posts about 'Sharknado' - I skipped it since I wasn't sure if it'd be 'so bad it's good' or 'so bad it's awful'. And I consider myself a bit of a fanatic on bad movies.

Gamera

Jim: Yeah gotta love Silly Putty! I'd figure the tails were probably painted glossy but the salt air corrodes paint so badly if you did a dull finish I think it'd look fine.

A bad movie site I frequent had a bunch of posts about 'Sharknado' - I skipped it since I wasn't sure if it'd be 'so bad it's good' or 'so bad it's awful'. And I consider myself a bit of a fanatic on bad movies.

I admit to enjoying bad movies of the 'so bad it's good' category. On of my all time favs was one called "Night Patrol". Had Pat Paulsen, Linda Blair and a guy was billing himself as the unknown comic (wore a bag over his head while performing). The movie was nothing but bad jokes and one-liners from beginning to end, and I couldn't turn it off when it came on. Loved Billy Barty as the overly flatulent police chief!

More painting last night:

The difference between the dark and lighter greys are hard to pick out in this photo.

I know the canopy and the windscreen don't match up. The PE parts kind of kicked up the rear end of the canopy. It won't matter anyway as the canopy is going to be posed open. There are PE parts that are going on both sides of the opening as well.

A preview of the vertical tails in place temporarily:

*Had to edit as my first pick didn't show. You also may have noticed my signatures a the bottom have also gone away and I just haven't gotten around to fixing them... very odd!

Finished up the tracks on the KV-2; decided to go with the vinyl after all. mostly because I screwed up on the rigid ones. I love having the option. This is the first Zvezda I've built and so far really impressed. The connection point on the left track will be hidden. And yes I did mean to add that much putty; to seal gaps as well as strengthen the rigidity of the sides. Hard to tell but the track color is MM gunmetal. 

Jim: Looks good! I can see the difference between the two greys but it's nice and subtle.

Hmmm, 'Night Patrol'? I'll have to look out for that one.

Mike: Hmmm, never built a Zvezda kit, built a few Eastern Express ones that kinda soured me on anything eastern Europe/Russian except Czech Republic ones. But maybe I'll have to give 'em a try!

jimbot58

More painting last night:

The difference between the dark and lighter greys are hard to pick out in this photo.

I know the canopy and the windscreen don't match up. The PE parts kind of kicked up the rear end of the canopy. It won't matter anyway as the canopy is going to be posed open. There are PE parts that are going on both sides of the opening as well.

A preview of the vertical tails in place temporarily:

*Had to edit as my first pick didn't show. You also may have noticed my signatures a the bottom have also gone away and I just haven't gotten around to fixing them... very odd!

Nice work Jim!  The tails look great!  So does the grays!

I don't know what the deal is with the pictures not showing up all the time.  You also lose your documentation.  And if you type very much there is no way to get it back.  It is very frustrating!

Ken

mikeymize

Finished up the tracks on the KV-2; decided to go with the vinyl after all. mostly because I screwed up on the rigid ones. I love having the option. This is the first Zvezda I've built and so far really impressed. The connection point on the left track will be hidden. And yes I did mean to add that much putty; to seal gaps as well as strengthen the rigidity of the sides. Hard to tell but the track color is MM gunmetal. 

Nice tread Mike!  Looks great!

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I had to work yesterday until 10:30 PM last night.  Then I had to spend today at my Mom's house doing odd jobs that she needed done.  I am exhausted.  There is a chance I will have to work again tomorrow night.  I might have to take a day off from work to get some rest!

Ken

Ken you definitely need to take a day off; work is starting to interfere with model building. That's unacceptable!

Yeah won't hurt to take a real day off Ken. Take the phone off the hook, lock the door and take a long nap!

Just had 2 more pics of the KV-2 aka "Destroyer of Fascist Invaders". Though it's not for this GB thought I'd chime in with some updates and occasional look sees. This is my first Zvezda kit and the only thing I'm finding is a tendency to over-complicate some things. More fidly bits than needed for stuff and some lack of specificity in illustrations. Overall though I'm happy but certainly this is not a kit to rush thru. Enjoy!

Thanks MM for the update. I've been curious about some of those kits, but was afraid to try one. Do they have instructions in English? One of the kits on my 'wishlist' is a Mig-31. I read that the Zvezda is a very large manufacture of toys and games.

Looks good Mike! The KV-2 was the one with the gigantic turret wasn't it? Lots of room to go crazy with the weathering.

Hey Jim,  the directions are pretty much just pics and numbers, the only narrative is on the first page in both Russian and English. I've found on this particular build they have quite a few smaller pieces that have to be assembled prior to putting them on the tank, i.e., machine gun attached to hull has to be constructed with ball and socket etc. These parts are super tiny even in 1/35 scale so a magnifier is a must. (at least for me)  Ive got more pics showing interior. I'm going to have one hatch open on top so I did a mediocre job as it will be hard to see. 

Gamera, yes this is one tank with a huge turret; almost too big as it turned out. Lots of area and no sloping makes German AT crews happy! If only they had some bigger guns! My research tells me the only thing that could really penetrate the damn thing was 8.8cm. which the Germans had few of at the time. Anyway, this is going to be one dusty tank when I get done.

Mike: Cool! I love facing these things in the World of Tanks online game. It's not strictly accurate because you can punch holes in the turret with a 75mm-76mm. And the KV-2 turret is so honkin' big you can't miss it!!!

mikeymize

Just had 2 more pics of the KV-2 aka "Destroyer of Fascist Invaders". Though it's not for this GB thought I'd chime in with some updates and occasional look sees. This is my first Zvezda kit and the only thing I'm finding is a tendency to over-complicate some things. More fidly bits than needed for stuff and some lack of specificity in illustrations. Overall though I'm happy but certainly this is not a kit to rush thru. Enjoy!

Looking good Mike!  You are most welcome to post pictures anytime here!

Ken