Hi Everyone!

I apologize for being "Away With Out Leave" (AWOL).  Some personal matters have been occupying all my time.

Jim:  Very sorry to hear about your fish tank and carpet.  And very glad you did not get electrocuted!  So how much snow did you end up getting?  Our weather has been miserable too.  Not a lot of snow, but way below average temperatures. It is also good to hear you are still exercising and feeling better.  I have been keeping at it too.  I have lost 19 pounds so far.

Mike:  Glad to hear from you again!  We completely understand about not being able to keep in touch.  Also happy to hear that you are close to having things back to normal.

And to everyone:  It is time to move over to the "Fourth Annual Berny Memorial Group Build".  Here is a link to it:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/164145.aspx 

See everyone there, and looking forward to another fun year!

Ken

Gamera

Jim: Thanks, I loved fish as a kid but now days I've got so much hobby stuff going on I'm not sure where I'd even fit them in these days. I might be better off with an exotic fish screensaver.

Perhaps I take on too many things to occupy myself, but then I'm not much for sitting around doing nothing.

Jim

Mike and Duke: Good to see you guys are still around!

Mike: That Sherman sounds cool, would love to see her when you get a chance.

Duke: Someone here gave me the address to the cool rotating viewer that I've been using for forgot who now. I have it bookmarked on my home computer if you'd like to use it- pretty easy, you just copy and paste your images and it gives you a link to paste in your text line.

Jim: Thanks, I loved fish as a kid but now days I've got so much hobby stuff going on I'm not sure where I'd even fit them in these days. I might be better off with an exotic fish screensaver.

BTW: Didn't even notice the date- guess I'll be moseying along to Berny GB IV now...  

Don't feel bad. While I have copies of all my GB badges that I earned during my many years here; I have yet to post any of them since I have no idea how to make an acceptable-sized "fruit salad" or GIF that works on my signature line. Still, you should get yours going, you earned it.

Yikes! I just realized the date and it's time to move to the next group build!

I did chip away at the big fish tank tonight, but then took a break to work on the A-10, cleaning up the landing gear and bay doors. Lots of mold parting lines to clean-up and more than a few ejector pin marks and a few sink holes to fill as well! I'll have to get a few WIP photos up and posted in the 4th Berny build to help move it along.

Speaking of which, I still didn't update my badges by adding the third build to my GIF!

Jim

Gamera

Really cool, Jim. I've always though tropical fish were cool but it seems like a lot of work though.  

Don't get the wrong idea by my example. With all I've been through, I neglected the tanks far too long to the point where they became polluted and over run with algae and bacterial blooms. Once set up, a fresh water tank just needs a half hour of maintenance once a week or every other week to do a partial water change and tidy up the tank. I have kept fish for almost (yikes!) 40 years now.

They can be fun, and very relaxing to sit and watch as the fish swim and dart around the tank. It's a proven fact that doing this can actually lower stress and cause your blood pressure to drop by several points...

Jim

FYI ......I'm still here guys. I don't have full-time internet access yet so can't participate as much as I'd like. It's great to see all the progress y'all are making. Things are slowly getting more normalized for me in the new place and hopefully it won't be long and I'll be back up and running. I'm currently building Tamiya's 1/48 Sherman Firefly just to keep my skills up. I'll keep checking in as time permits. Take care!

Really cool, Jim. I've always though tropical fish were cool but it seems like a lot of work though.  

Gamera

Ack, wet carpet what a mess! Still glad to hear your fish are okay.

Ack! Yes, wet carpet! I have had fans running non-stop for two days, and they are about to drive me up the wall! It's amazing just how much even 15 gallons will do as the carpet was wet a good 8 or 9 feet out from the tank! It's also amazing just how much muck came up out of the carpet when I used the extractor on it! I use the Hover Steam Vac Cleaner several times a year and no doubt it must just get the dirt closer to the surface! What a way to deep clean your carpet. "Warning! Do not attempt to clean your carpet this way! Stunts like this are best left to total idiots!"

Well, it is done for the most part: Cleaned, fresh water, filter box cleaned, new heater in place, plastic plants cleaned and put back in, and new tacky ornaments!

Water is still a bit cloudy, but that will clear up in a day or two. All that is left it to install the new cover after I cut in openings in the back for the filter, air tubes and the wire for the heater! Next I need to add a few livestock as there are only 4 small fish left after I killed the rest of through neglect!

I'm telling myself it's time to stop as I have been at for going on 14 hours! This included a two hour walk about mid-day in the snow and cold! I told you I am more energetic these days!

Looks like I won't make it to the work bench again......

Jim

P.S. Should I mention that this is the smaller of my two tanks? I've already begun the cleaning process on the 29 gallon, but called it quits!

J.

Ack, wet carpet what a mess! Still glad to hear your fish are okay.

Well, I still never made it to the workbench as the aquarium project ended up being more than a clean.

I had decided that I should replace the glass canopy as all the plastic bits were in bad shape, so I headed out to Petsmart ahead of the storm. When I left, I carelessly left a bucket partially filled with water on top of the tank. While I was out, the bucket had slipped and fallen and in the process, knocked loose a hose, which one end of stuck into a filter. With the end dangling free, it turned into a siphon. By the time I got home, 15 gallons of water had drained from the tank, barely an inch of water remained inside.

I quickly filled some buckets of water to treat and add back to the tank, and then spent hours extracting water from the carpet with my carpet cleaner, and rounding up fans.

Surprisingly, the fish seemed to have survived this event and are actually behaving as if they are quite happy! Normally, they can be very sensitive to sudden changes to temps, ph, water hardness and all, but they seem unfazed. The thing that didn't survive is my heater. They can overheat and crack if left to run dry, which is what happened. I didn't know this until I stuck my hand in the tank and received a rather painful shock! The fact that I was standing on a wet carpet..... It could have been worse!

Now I will have to venture out into the blizzard to see if I can get a replacement!

Jim

Ken: Great article, I too am amazed that an aircraft that old is still our main strength bomber. Fifty-four years! That'd be like the Wright Flyer (1903) still being used in 1957!!!

Jim: You're probably better off cleaning than modeling. I really need to clean this hole up but never seem to get around to it. And I'm sure your fish will appreciate having a nice clean new home.

This evening threw out some bread crumbs in the snow for the small birds hoping they'd get some before the crows came and took it all. Didn't see any crows but a skunk showed up and ate it all! Didn't feel like trying to run him off... (hmm, need a nose-holding smilie!)

Hey Gang!

Sitting here today in anticipation of a 'perfect' storm that's suppose to hit us later today! Nobody seems to know just how much snow we are to get, but they keep speaking of "feet" not inches.

The rest of the time I find myself cleaning around the house! I have always been on the clean side, almost to a compulsion, although not always the neatest or most organized as you have seen by my workbench. During the last several years, with the stress I was under with Mom's illness and her passing, so much was let go! Now that I have made changes in my life style, ridding myself of the issue of mom's house, I find with the diet changes, and loss of weight, I now seem to have tons more energy. I have the need to keep myself occupied, and old habits are returning. (sitting around = boredom, boredom = snacking on something to occupy myself.)

I intend to get back to the build, but suddenly I find one of my fish tanks to be needing some care.....

Jim

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Here is a great article about for once a plane returning to service FROM the boneyard!  And it is a B-52!

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/i-ll-be-damned-these-boneyard-b-52s-can-still-fly-4eec4c8bf5cf 

Ken

Thanks for the article Ken! These aircraft are just amazing! They have been passed down to several generations of crews and looks like they will see several more!

I read somewhere of a guy who found himself assigned to the very same aircraft either his father or grandfather had been a pilot of.

Jim

Hi Everyone,

Here is a great article about for once a plane returning to service FROM the boneyard!  And it is a B-52!

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/i-ll-be-damned-these-boneyard-b-52s-can-still-fly-4eec4c8bf5cf 

Ken

Hi Everyone,

A little more progress on the Zero.  The photo etch that I purchased for the instrument panel also included the seat belts.  So today I assembled them.  I used Future for the "glue".  I will let this dry and then I will attach them to the seat.

Ken 

Ken: That does look like a pretty good book, always liked the look of the Voodoo.

Jim: Yeah I know what you mean about bad days- sometimes it doesn't seem worth getting up in the morning.

Gotta love the weather here in Colorado! Saturday was sunny with the high of 70 degrees! Today it is only get to around 40 with a winter weather advisory in effect and 3-6" of snow by Monday afternoon!

jimbot58

Did you ever have one of those days? Friday they stuck me up in reception to cover for the girl that's on vacation. That has to be the most tedious and boring job in the universe! Not to mention that I am not a "people" person and hate being on the phone!

Traffic sucked going home worse than usual!

When I got home, I was in front of the tube using one of the small tablets that someone gave me. It's a little cheapie. First it kept frezzing up on me, then it started flashing all kinds of bizarre colors, screen rolling up and down, and side to side. My attempt to fix it by giving it my best John Elway impression, and tossing it across the room didn't seem to help. In fact......

Giving up on that I headed to the hobby room. I was working on attaching those A-10 pylons. I had my readers perched on the end of my nose, and as I looked down, they began slide off my face. Grabbing for them, I dumped an entire bottle of Testors cement into my lap and all over the carpet! The fumes were so bad, I had to put my pants outside to dry and run fans all night in the room!

No damage to anything there, just to my disposition!

After that, I decided to hit the sack....

Wow Jim, that was a bad day.  I don't blame you for wanting to take a break.  Hopefully today will be a better one.

Ken

jimbot58

Not much going on here this week it seems. So much to do, such as the taxes, taking evening walks and also having to deal with stupid sh*t with my sister.

I am happy to report that I have managed to loose almost 20 pounds since I saw my Doctor. I just hope I can keep it up and maintain it. It's a lot tougher than some people think to change behaviors learned over many years. I am a stress eater and when I find I'm bored, lonely, stressed out, depressed, etc. I eat as it is something we do for comfort.

back to the build...

I finished painting and glossing the pylons (all eleven of them!) You can see where I have the kit part numbers marked on a strip of tape below, so I can keep track of where they go.

Also my A-10 needs an ECM pod from Hasegawa's weapons set #4, an AN/ALQ-131. This will go on an outside station with a brace of sidewinders mounted on the opposite side.

(There's those clips I use from Radio Shack!)

Jim

Hi Jim,

Yes, congratulations on the weight loss.  And once again, I am right there with you on that mission.  I am lucky that there is an exercise room where I work that I can take advantage of during lunch time.  I usually use the tread mill, but I will occasionally use a stationary bike or elliptical trainer.  I have also joined the university's gym and go swimming occasionally after work.  So far I have lost 17 pounds.  It has been a life long battle for me.

That IS a lot of pylons!  Egad, that has got to be close to the number on a A-1 Skyraider!  And I am sure each one is going to require at least one decal!

Ken

jimbot58

Son Of Medicine Man

Jim and Cliff, I could not agree with you more!  And even buying a used car is the same way.  A very good friend of mine works for a dealership picking up and delivering cars.  They buy used cars at auctions and resell them on their lots.  It is a bigger market than the new car market!

I wanted to pass along some info on a great reference book if you are into the Voodoo like I am!  It is a new book called "The F-101 Voodoo:  An Illustrated History of McDonnell's Heavyweight Fighter" by Ronald Easley.  I just received it today and have not had a chance to read it, but it is chocked full of color photographs.

It is also full of information about the Voodoo's life, from birth to death.  This includes the RF-101C that served in Vietnam.

Ken

Cool book Ken! No doubt  you will enjoy it a lot considering your dad! You know, I think people dismiss recon versions of aircraft, and instead pay more attention to the flashy fighters and bombers. I watched a program one evening about a squadron of Spitfires used for recon in WWII and the people who interpreted the photos they brought back. Without the work they did, the war could have lasted much longer than it did.. It was after I watched that that I started the RF-4B. Recon planes fly alone, unarmed into enemy territory.

Jim

Hi Jim,

10-4 on the role of the recon missions!  The USAF needed them so badly that they used several planes converted to the recon role.  Here is a list that covers what was used during the Vietnam War:

RB-26C Invader

RB-47H Stratojet

RB-57E Canberra "Patricia Lynn"

RB-57F Canberra

RB-66B Destroyer

RC-135C Big Team

RC-135D Rivet Brass

RC-135M Rivet Card

RC-135U Combat Sent

RF-101C Voodoo

RF-4C Phantom II

SR-71A Blackbird

U-2C Dragon Lady

U-2F Dragon Lady

U-2R Dragon Lady

Of course the SR-71 and the U-2 were built for the mission, not converted.  But still, that is a lot of aircraft committed to just the role of reconnaissance.

Ken

Did you ever have one of those days? Friday they stuck me up in reception to cover for the girl that's on vacation. That has to be the most tedious and boring job in the universe! Not to mention that I am not a "people" person and hate being on the phone!

Traffic sucked going home worse than usual!

When I got home, I was in front of the tube using one of the small tablets that someone gave me. It's a little cheapie. First it kept frezzing up on me, then it started flashing all kinds of bizarre colors, screen rolling up and down, and side to side. My attempt to fix it by giving it my best John Elway impression, and tossing it across the room didn't seem to help. In fact......

Giving up on that I headed to the hobby room. I was working on attaching those A-10 pylons. I had my readers perched on the end of my nose, and as I looked down, they began slide off my face. Grabbing for them, I dumped an entire bottle of Testors cement into my lap and all over the carpet! The fumes were so bad, I had to put my pants outside to dry and run fans all night in the room!

No damage to anything there, just to my disposition!

After that, I decided to hit the sack....

Hey Jim congrads on the weight loss. And dang that's a lot of pylons but then again I guess that Warthog carries a lot of stuff that goes BOOM!

Not much going on here this week it seems. So much to do, such as the taxes, taking evening walks and also having to deal with stupid sh*t with my sister.

I am happy to report that I have managed to loose almost 20 pounds since I saw my Doctor. I just hope I can keep it up and maintain it. It's a lot tougher than some people think to change behaviors learned over many years. I am a stress eater and when I find I'm bored, lonely, stressed out, depressed, etc. I eat as it is something we do for comfort.

back to the build...

I finished painting and glossing the pylons (all eleven of them!) You can see where I have the kit part numbers marked on a strip of tape below, so I can keep track of where they go.

Also my A-10 needs an ECM pod from Hasegawa's weapons set #4, an AN/ALQ-131. This will go on an outside station with a brace of sidewinders mounted on the opposite side.

(There's those clips I use from Radio Shack!)

Jim

Son Of Medicine Man

Jim and Cliff, I could not agree with you more!  And even buying a used car is the same way.  A very good friend of mine works for a dealership picking up and delivering cars.  They buy used cars at auctions and resell them on their lots.  It is a bigger market than the new car market!

I wanted to pass along some info on a great reference book if you are into the Voodoo like I am!  It is a new book called "The F-101 Voodoo:  An Illustrated History of McDonnell's Heavyweight Fighter" by Ronald Easley.  I just received it today and have not had a chance to read it, but it is chocked full of color photographs.

It is also full of information about the Voodoo's life, from birth to death.  This includes the RF-101C that served in Vietnam.

Ken

Cool book Ken! No doubt  you will enjoy it a lot considering your dad! You know, I think people dismiss recon versions of aircraft, and instead pay more attention to the flashy fighters and bombers. I watched a program one evening about a squadron of Spitfires used for recon in WWII and the people who interpreted the photos they brought back. Without the work they did, the war could have lasted much longer than it did.. It was after I watched that that I started the RF-4B. Recon planes fly alone, unarmed into enemy territory.

Jim

Jim and Cliff, I could not agree with you more!  And even buying a used car is the same way.  A very good friend of mine works for a dealership picking up and delivering cars.  They buy used cars at auctions and resell them on their lots.  It is a bigger market than the new car market!

I wanted to pass along some info on a great reference book if you are into the Voodoo like I am!  It is a new book called "The F-101 Voodoo:  An Illustrated History of McDonnell's Heavyweight Fighter" by Ronald Easley.  I just received it today and have not had a chance to read it, but it is chocked full of color photographs.

It is also full of information about the Voodoo's life, from birth to death.  This includes the RF-101C that served in Vietnam.

Ken

Yeah Jim, same BS that kept me driving the same old car for 12 years before I bought a new one. I'm thinking now of having that car repaired instead of buying another new one. Frankly to be honest I liked it better anyhow.

Son Of Medicine Man

Gamera

Ken: I see that TV car insurance ad all the time- there has to be some fine print or catch. I don't think it's the insurance company as much as the car dealerships that push the whole depreciation thing - I've been told if you buy a new car and then trade it in a week later you will lose a pile on it. Planned obsolescence seems to be the main scam here. Anyway what a waste of a brand new car but I can always make more money. I'm just hoping this shoulder feels better, I guess there's always surgery if needed but it has it's own problems.  

I totally agree on the car dealerships gouging everyone.  I think 99% of them are crooks!

Keep us posted on the progress of your shoulder.

Ken

I'm all in favor of people making money for what they do, but some take to extremes, such as car dealers. Esp. when they add all sorts of B.S. fees for "handling" and "dealer prep" and such. And that whole deal of "negotiating" and having to make offers, counter offers, etc. Why can't it be like buying a model airplane or a pair of pants? We make our buying choices based on which store has the best selection, prices and service. Why should a car be different?

Jim

Gamera

Ken: I see that TV car insurance ad all the time- there has to be some fine print or catch. I don't think it's the insurance company as much as the car dealerships that push the whole depreciation thing - I've been told if you buy a new car and then trade it in a week later you will lose a pile on it. Planned obsolescence seems to be the main scam here. Anyway what a waste of a brand new car but I can always make more money. I'm just hoping this shoulder feels better, I guess there's always surgery if needed but it has it's own problems.  

I totally agree on the car dealerships gouging everyone.  I think 99% of them are crooks!

Keep us posted on the progress of your shoulder.

Ken