Jack: If I ever get to that point, well I'm not going to advertise the fact, that's one thing that would stay firmly in the closet (literally)! Esp those creepy 'caretaker' robots- um NO!!!

Jim: I did think about that weird 'Girls und Panzer' anime series. I watched a little but it was just too strange for me.

I love those Japanese Kaiju/giant monster movies but I don't 'get' the whole anime/manga thing. I have friends really big into it, so much that Japanese schoolgirl is a punchline to about a dozen jokes. When I saw them I just had to pick up a set. The figures are actually nicely detailed, and consist of about the same number of parts as a soldier figure in the same scale. I'm thinking of working the gal in summer dress into the scene with the Type 10 and the winter gal in with a Type 74 I'm thinking of doing the whitewash and winter stuff to- we'll see how it goes.

Jim: Karma, I don't know about it but what goes around does come around. I've seen people just exploit everyone in their family and community till there's no one left and then they move looking for fresh victims. I don't get that whole attitude, I'd guess that none of us do here. I'd just have way too much guilt and shame to ever try to pull something like that.  

Well the last few days have been an emotional roller coaster here. As I expected, the nephew was still in the house on Sunday when I went to check! I simply looked at him and told him to prepare himself because I was moving on to the next stage! I then left and a short time later his mother sent me a text that they had no way to move his stuff! My response: Not my problem! It was later that she called and said they had a truck and were moving him out. Plus she was taking some furniture.

I let that go as I just wanted him out.

I went to the house tonight to change the locks and was shocked to see just what they had taken! The house looked ransacked! They pretty much helped themselves!

I feel partly to blame as I should have stopped this train-wreck 2 years ago! It has just hit a curve and jumped the tracks!

This is what you get for being a nice guy! Karma? What is Karma? Getting bent over and given the shaft!

Gamera

Well I did order a little something for myself for my birthday a month ago and HobbyLink Japan got them in stock and got them to me a week or so before Halloween:

Not sure which is more disturbing, that they make such a thing in Japan or that I actually ordered it!!!

Maybe you could have the high school girls as the tank crew? The Japanese go for that sort of thing.....

Cliff, I'm cool with the tank, and  those figures are fine, since they  are considered scale figures that require  painting, and maybe some construction?  Now, on the other hand, if you had purchased one of those life size silicon rubber dolls being manufactured over there ... well, I'll just say I don't know you - lol!

regards,

Jack

Gamera

Well I did order a little something for myself for my birthday a month ago and HobbyLink Japan got them in stock and got them to me a week or so before Halloween:

Not sure which is more disturbing, that they make such a thing in Japan or that I actually ordered it!!!

Very cool tank Cliff!  I never did any type of figures, that takes a little more talent than I have to paint.

Ken

Well I did order a little something for myself for my birthday a month ago and HobbyLink Japan got them in stock and got them to me a week or so before Halloween:

Not sure which is more disturbing, that they make such a thing in Japan or that I actually ordered it!!!

Hi Everyone,

I started painting the cockpit on the Zero yesterday and ran into the same old problem.  Finding the correct colors.  So I have ordered a handful of reference books that will hopefully have enough color pictures to help me out.  I will let you know how useful they are when they arrive.

Ken

mikeymize

Holy cow Ken, you didn't skimp on your Halloween Treat! They're beauties.

Thank you Mike!  I can't pass on the F-104, especially in Vietnam trim!  And the price for the Bf-109E-4 was too good to pass up either.

Ken

Holy cow Ken, you didn't skimp on your Halloween Treat! They're beauties.

Gamera

Nice pair of Halloween treats there Ken!

I forgot to say "Trick or Treat!"

Ken

Nice pair of Halloween treats there Ken!

Hi Everyone,

Got very little work done on the Zero tonight.  Only managed to paint the boxes on top of the instrument panel semi gloss black.

Spent a good part of the evening picking peppers out of my garden to put in the dehydrator.  I will have to plant them farther apart next year.  I planted them so close together that it is hard to harvest.

I did manage a couple of purchases this evening.  The first one is the new Italeri 1/32 F-104 A/C Starfighter:

Completely new tooling and lots of detail.  Here is a link describing it:

 http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/it/kit_it_2504.shtml 

Also made another purchase, the Trumpeter 1/32 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4. 

Here is a link to a review:

 http://www.hyperscale.com/2012/reviews/kits/trumpeter02289reviewbf_1.htm 

Of course tomorrow is Halloween, so the evening will be busy answering the door for the little trick or treaters!

Ken

Jim: On pre-shading I normally spray the bottom colour on the whole model as a primer coat, pre-shade that and then spray a few mist coats of thin regular colour over that.

After masking you can either paint the uppers with your regular colour and then then pre-shade and mist or just apply the pre-shade to the primer coat of the belly colour and go from there.  

That's how I do it anyhow, no guarantee it's the fastest or best way for anyone else.

Looks good so far, I think I've said before I hate canopies, you've got a nice clean job there on yours.  

jimbot58

Canopy and windscreen of the A-10. Painted inside and out.

There are a couple of instruments that will mount inside the windscreen that are part of the PE set.

Seen here:

Most excellent work once again Jim!     

Ken

jimbot58

I guess what I worry about is that since I agreed to one extension, they may push for more delays. I'm always a pessimist. Nothing has gone right so far....

Jim

I see your point.  I guess if he asks for another one then you will have to say no.  You are right, you can't let this drag on.

Ken

Just found this. Thought it is a really cool picture with the Alaskan landscape, complete with mountains and glaciers!

Click here for the full size pic:

A-10's!

Canopy and windscreen of the A-10. Painted inside and out.

There are a couple of instruments that will mount inside the windscreen that are part of the PE set.

Seen here:

Ok, a question for the pre-shaders here. Am I to understand you spray the panel lines right on the bare plastic first, then spray your color? The last time I tried it, by the time I was satisfied that I had given it a good even coverage, my lines were completely covered. Did I miss something?

Jim

Son Of Medicine Man

jimbot58

Well, I hope I didn't make a mistake. I agreed to allow the kid until the end of the month, Friday, to go. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the backside....

Well Jim, that is only a couple of days.  So unless I am missing something, that shouldn't make any difference.

Ken

I guess what I worry about is that since I agreed to one extension, they may push for more delays. I'm always a pessimist. Nothing has gone right so far....

Jim

Hi Everyone!

The paint showed up today so I wasted no time.  I painted the cockpit tonight (cockpit green).

The airbrush was clogged and I didn't know it before I started.  I ran a cup of the acrylic thinner through it first before I started so I thought it was good to go.  But as soon as I put the paint in, it clogged.  I took the cup off and ran lacquer thinner through it.  Put the cup back on and clogged again.  I kept fighting with it and started to get some paint to flow.  So I started spraying the parts when it broke loose.  Thought I was going to have some sags or runs but it looks okay.

Ken 

jimbot58

Well, I hope I didn't make a mistake. I agreed to allow the kid until the end of the month, Friday, to go. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the backside....

Well Jim, that is only a couple of days.  So unless I am missing something, that shouldn't make any difference.

Ken

Well, I hope I didn't make a mistake. I agreed to allow the kid until the end of the month, Friday, to go. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the backside....

jimbot58

Well, all that aside, I have been working here and there although Sunday I was laid out by some bug or something. Headache, dizzy, lightheaded, a bit of a fever. Don't know what it was but thought for a bit, that it was my time! Still have some of the headache tonight, but nothing like it was.

This is work from the past week or so....

I took the liberty of creating some interest on the rear deck of the A-10. I couldn't locate any pictures of what it actually should look like, so i took a bit of artistic freedom...

Windscreen work

Looks foggy as some of the masking is still on the inside. The camera makes it look sort of pink. I am not creating a pink Warthog!

Inside masked and painted:

On to the canopy:

I used MM Acryl paints thinking that since I dipped the parts in Future, maybe the Acrylic paint would stick best to it. So I am learning how to use them I guess. One thing I know for sure, as cleaning up the airbrush takes a little more effort. They do spray well once you get the thinning correct.

Jim

Wow Jim, I sure hope you start feeling better real soon.  First your arthritis, and now this.

But it hasn't affected your model building quality.  Great job once again!     

Ken

Well, all that aside, I have been working here and there although Sunday I was laid out by some bug or something. Headache, dizzy, lightheaded, a bit of a fever. Don't know what it was but thought for a bit, that it was my time! Still have some of the headache tonight, but nothing like it was.

This is work from the past week or so....

I took the liberty of creating some interest on the rear deck of the A-10. I couldn't locate any pictures of what it actually should look like, so i took a bit of artistic freedom...

Windscreen work

Looks foggy as some of the masking is still on the inside. The camera makes it look sort of pink. I am not creating a pink Warthog!

Inside masked and painted:

On to the canopy:

I used MM Acryl paints thinking that since I dipped the parts in Future, maybe the Acrylic paint would stick best to it. So I am learning how to use them I guess. One thing I know for sure, as cleaning up the airbrush takes a little more effort. They do spray well once you get the thinning correct.

Jim

Gamera

I think most if not all of them like Micheal's sell more 'lady's hobby' stuff like scrapbooking supplies etc than models.

Probably true-seems they are missing a demographic there that they could be selling things to. But I guess the ladies need something to do once they have finished my laundry and made my dinner.....

Just kidding ladies!

Boy! If I was married I'd be sleeping on the couch tonight for sure!

I think most if not all of them like Micheal's sell more 'lady's hobby' stuff like scrapbooking supplies etc than models.

Son Of Medicine Man

Everyone has good points about why Hobby Lobby won't post the flyer. What made it such a disappointment was that they have the best selection of models, paint, tools, etc. for modeling here in town.  Hence they would be the most likely to have any local modelers come in.

The locally owned shop is geared almost 99% toward the R/C market.  They only carry a small number of models, a dismal amount of paint, and no modeling tools.  But they were the ones that were very receptive of putting up the flyer.

We don't have a Hobby Town here.  Just the two I spoke of.

Ken

I have a Hobby Lobby and a Hobby Town fairly close to me. The HL is as I said, big on home accents and HT has RC planes and cars as their main offering. Between the two, they are able to furnish my basic needs for paints and tools and not much else.As far as kits, both are a big zero for me. If I want a particular kit, AM parts or any other specialized items, it's off to the internet. I do have a very well stocked Colpar Hobbies across town, and they have a great selection of kits! Their prices are a bit higher, and sometimes I have to balance between the cost of gas and would it be cheaper with shipping to order on-line. Sometimes I have found things there that I couldn't find on-line, such as that 1/72 scale Lee tank. It was too bad it turned out to be a dud.

Colpar does have one thing: they often times buy estate sale items and bargains can be found!

It's a shame there are so few shops anymore- so many I knew went away.

Jim

mikeymize

Hey Ken just read your post. I think Cliff's probably right; one flyer from you and they would have to accept dang near anything no matter how irrelevant or risk a lawsuit from some moron wanting to put up a flyer for the local anarchist club!!!

Also, I have used Tamiya's metallic blue and clear green to make the Japanese color found in the wheel wells etc. I think it's called "aotake"

Thank you Mike about the color.  Cliff said the same thing on his Japanese Group Build.

Ken

Everyone has good points about why Hobby Lobby won't post the flyer. What made it such a disappointment was that they have the best selection of models, paint, tools, etc. for modeling here in town.  Hence they would be the most likely to have any local modelers come in.

The locally owned shop is geared almost 99% toward the R/C market.  They only carry a small number of models, a dismal amount of paint, and no modeling tools.  But they were the ones that were very receptive of putting up the flyer.

We don't have a Hobby Town here.  Just the two I spoke of.

Ken

I've also wondered why this site doesn't offer any kind of a community bulletin board. You know, a place where if the XYZ Model club was hosting a swap meet on Saturday the 14th, they could post it. Probably a lot of work for a mod though.