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.  

Gamera

Jim: Ahhhhh ok, so those are the slime lights! They looked so close to the same colour as Tamiya tape that's what I was thinking they were- sorry!

And if the Air Force doesn't want the Warthog hand 'em over to the Army- but of course they don't want to give up any fixed wing aircraft - even the ones they don't want. Gosh, makes my head hurt...

Reminds me of a documentary I was watching on the Korean War, the infantry were saying if you called in air support and the plane was blue nothing to worry about- if the plane was silver find a hole to jump into! Aka the US Navy was still practicing air support for amphibious invasions up though the '50s. The USAF though now claimed with the A-bomb tactical air support was pointless- we'd just nuke 'em and the war would be over. So therefore the USAF had stopped training pilots with any form of air support- if they came in with bombs or napalm God only knew where it would land...  

Hi Cliff,

I hadn't heard about the USAF not getting enough training on close air support.  But I am not surprised.  I did hear that during the Vietnam War the same kind of thinking was the norm for dog fighting.  The USAF brass had the thinking that with the missiles, we did not need guns anymore.  But the missiles were made to shoot down heavy bombers, not agile fighters.  And the problem was made worse when the pilots were not allowed to shoot their missiles until they had a visual confirmation on the bogey.

The USN was in the same boat concerning the guns.  But they did realize that they needed to send their pilots to "Top Gun" to learn how to dog fight.

Ken

jimbot58

Hi gang!

Not a great deal tonight as I went out walking for about an hour and a half. something I may be doing more and more of. Serious health concerns have made it imperative that I lose weight and get in better condition.

I did manage to put in a little work on the A-10, cleaning up some more of the pylons and painting after mounting them on my toothpick/alligator holders.Once they are clear coated, I can add what ever decals go on them, and work on mounting them to the underwing stations.

Eleven hard-points on these babies!

Just read that funding has been approved to keep them 9A-10's) flying through 2015. Congress isn't convinced that the F-35 can provide close ground support as the USAF claims.

Jim

I am right there with you Jim on the losing weight department.  I have been walking during my lunch hour AND going swimming after work.  I have battled my weight problem almost my entire life.  What has turned into a big problem for me is the type of work I do.  I sit in an office chair all day.

I always thought the perfect job for staying in shape would be a mail carrier that walked the route.  Walking 5 days a week all day would have to keep you in shape!

Ken

Gamera

Hey Ken thanks for asking. I am much better, almost back to 100% except this blasted shoulder. I went in and had some X-rays done the week before last and the collar bone instead of healing correctly has grown back with the two parts overlapping instead of a butt joint. It's still sore and stiff though no pain. I have an appointment to see the doctor again first of next month so I'll see what he has to say then.

I got the check for the car a few weeks ago and lost a pile of money on depreciation which I'm still bummed about. Still I guess it's only money and I'll be happy if my shoulder heals back up. I looked around a little but haven't really seen anything I want so far. Not sure I'd want a second Camaro after the accident, I want something different that doesn't remind me of what happened.

Wow Cliff, very sorry to hear about your collar bone!    I hope that you can get healed soon.  And another bummer about your car.  I have seen a commercial on TV that talks about not screwing you on the depreciation.  Obviously you didn't have that kind of insurance.

That is the sad part about if your insurance is covering your costs.  If it was the other person's fault, their insurance couldn't get away with that.

Ken

Jim: Ahhhhh ok, so those are the slime lights! They looked so close to the same colour as Tamiya tape that's what I was thinking they were- sorry!

And if the Air Force doesn't want the Warthog hand 'em over to the Army- but of course they don't want to give up any fixed wing aircraft - even the ones they don't want. Gosh, makes my head hurt...

Reminds me of a documentary I was watching on the Korean War, the infantry were saying if you called in air support and the plane was blue nothing to worry about- if the plane was silver find a hole to jump into! Aka the US Navy was still practicing air support for amphibious invasions up though the '50s. The USAF though now claimed with the A-bomb tactical air support was pointless- we'd just nuke 'em and the war would be over. So therefore the USAF had stopped training pilots with any form of air support- if they came in with bombs or napalm God only knew where it would land...  

Hi gang!

Not a great deal tonight as I went out walking for about an hour and a half. something I may be doing more and more of. Serious health concerns have made it imperative that I lose weight and get in better condition.

I did manage to put in a little work on the A-10, cleaning up some more of the pylons and painting after mounting them on my toothpick/alligator holders.Once they are clear coated, I can add what ever decals go on them, and work on mounting them to the underwing stations.

Eleven hard-points on these babies!

Just read that funding has been approved to keep them 9A-10's) flying through 2015. Congress isn't convinced that the F-35 can provide close ground support as the USAF claims.

Jim

Gamera

Jim: Looks good! I've used Two Bobs decals and liked them- the kit decals are really better printed though? Wow! And did you mask off the slime lights? I normally just paint over the them and then paint them in with a brush when finished.

Yes, surprisingly, the Two Bobs decals have technical information that just sort of looks like a blur, but the kit decals look more like printing. Granted, at 1/72 scale you can't read them anyway, but I thought they looked more realistic.

And the slime lights are actually decals. At least they made them more greenish-yellow rather than the bright yellow provided in some kits.

Jim

Hey Ken thanks for asking. I am much better, almost back to 100% except this blasted shoulder. I went in and had some X-rays done the week before last and the collar bone instead of healing correctly has grown back with the two parts overlapping instead of a butt joint. It's still sore and stiff though no pain. I have an appointment to see the doctor again first of next month so I'll see what he has to say then.

I got the check for the car a few weeks ago and lost a pile of money on depreciation which I'm still bummed about. Still I guess it's only money and I'll be happy if my shoulder heals back up. I looked around a little but haven't really seen anything I want so far. Not sure I'd want a second Camaro after the accident, I want something different that doesn't remind me of what happened.

Gamera

Jim: Looks good! I've used Two Bobs decals and liked them- the kit decals are really better printed though? Wow! And did you mask off the slime lights? I normally just paint over the them and then paint them in with a brush when finished.

Shame to see Radio Shack go, back in the late '80s I was in there all the time buying switches, lights, and stuff for railroading and lighting Trek models. That was before LEDs were widely available and I melted a few kits with light bulbs!

BTW: Well I'm back to stuck on the Wildcat, she's decaled except for a pair of '2's on the cowling. I cut off the piece of decal paper with them on it to get to other decals and now that part has vanished. Grumble, I'm been searching all weekend for it and can't find it anywhere. I could just find another pair of '2s' but these were printed in an odd font and not sure I have more like that.

Hi Cliff,

Big time bummer about the decals!  I hope they turn up.

By the way, how are you doing with the healing process?  Did your insurance buy you another car?

Ken

Jim: Looks good! I've used Two Bobs decals and liked them- the kit decals are really better printed though? Wow! And did you mask off the slime lights? I normally just paint over the them and then paint them in with a brush when finished.

Shame to see Radio Shack go, back in the late '80s I was in there all the time buying switches, lights, and stuff for railroading and lighting Trek models. That was before LEDs were widely available and I melted a few kits with light bulbs!

BTW: Well I'm back to stuck on the Wildcat, she's decaled except for a pair of '2's on the cowling. I cut off the piece of decal paper with them on it to get to other decals and now that part has vanished. Grumble, I'm been searching all weekend for it and can't find it anywhere. I could just find another pair of '2s' but these were printed in an odd font and not sure I have more like that.

jimbot58

Hey all!

Continued with decalling the A-10, finishing everything on the port side, and transitioning to the top.

I'm actually using a lot of the kit decals as they seem to have sharper printing than the Twobob ones. The kit kit decals seem to be fine, and I think it just the first one I tried, which has that heavy blue paint.  The rest work fine with the solutions.

The "slime" lights on the wing tips. The recess gets colored clear lenses. I'm using Future tinted with food coloring to color the kit parts.

Also began working on the pylons, and as you know, the A-10 has a bunch of them! some of these get decals as well.

You can see the clips from Radio Shack that I use for this. I will have to stop and get some more for spares before they are gone.......

Jim

Hi Jim,

Great job on those decals!  They look great!   

Ken

Hey all!

Continued with decalling the A-10, finishing everything on the port side, and transitioning to the top.

I'm actually using a lot of the kit decals as they seem to have sharper printing than the Twobob ones. The kit kit decals seem to be fine, and I think it just the first one I tried, which has that heavy blue paint.  The rest work fine with the solutions.

The "slime" lights on the wing tips. The recess gets colored clear lenses. I'm using Future tinted with food coloring to color the kit parts.

Also began working on the pylons, and as you know, the A-10 has a bunch of them! some of these get decals as well.

You can see the clips from Radio Shack that I use for this. I will have to stop and get some more for spares before they are gone.......

Jim

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi again everyone!

I have the new group build page posted.  Everyone of course is invited!  Just visit the page and sign up.  I look forward to seeing everyone there:

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

Ken

Wow! Is it that time already?

I don't currently have anything  close enough to done to post on the wall of fame for this build, so I will transfer everything over one the new one starts.

Jim

Hi Everyone,

Tonight I cut all the parts from the sprue that I had air brushed earlier, smoothed the cut area on the parts, then touched up the paint.  Nothing really worth taking pictures of.  I did screw up and painted the control stick green instead of aluminum, so I will have to wait for the paint to dry and fix that.

Ken

Hi again everyone!

I have the new group build page posted.  Everyone of course is invited!  Just visit the page and sign up.  I look forward to seeing everyone there:

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

Ken

Hi Everyone!

Believe it or not, it is almost time for this group build to close and start the next one!    This one will end on Saturday, February 21 and continue on in the "Fourth Annual Berny Memorial Group Build" on Sunday, February 22.  That is just 2 weeks away!

I will do as in the previous builds.  I will leave it up to each individual where they want to post their "finished" project.  In this build or the next one.

I guess I need to start thinking about the next badge!

Ken

jimbot58

So long Radio Shack!

I see that they have filed chapt. 11 bankruptcy. Some stores will remain as "store within a store" as a part of Sprint.

I'm not sure what stores will be closed, but there is a list they will be closing by March and I read that there is a motion filed to close the rest of them eventually.

Be sad if they all do go, even though I haven't purchased a lot from them in recent years, they were a source of supplies when I was working in model railroading, and a Go To place when I needed to hook up a car stereo or something. When I got my new TV, I needed a specific cable adapter to mate it up to my audio and went to Radio Shack.

Guess I missed my chance to buy that TRS-80 computer and my "Free battery a month club" card will no longer be valid....

Jim

That is sad news Jim.  I am with you on many points.  I can count on one hand how many times I frequented Radio Shack each year.  But it sure was handy to have that convenience.  Now I will be forced into waiting for something to arrive in the mail.

Ken

jimbot58

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Made a little progress.  I applied Future to all of the dials on the front instrument panel.  I am going to let it dry overnight.

Ken 

Nice work, Ken!

Does look a tad bit nicer than the decal you had issues with!

Jim

Thank you Jim!  Yes, just a "tad" bit nicer!   

Ken

Bish

I like the look of that IP ken.

Thank you Bish!  I appreciate it!   

Ken

So long Radio Shack!

I see that they have filed chapt. 11 bankruptcy. Some stores will remain as "store within a store" as a part of Sprint.

I'm not sure what stores will be closed, but there is a list they will be closing by March and I read that there is a motion filed to close the rest of them eventually.

Be sad if they all do go, even though I haven't purchased a lot from them in recent years, they were a source of supplies when I was working in model railroading, and a Go To place when I needed to hook up a car stereo or something. When I got my new TV, I needed a specific cable adapter to mate it up to my audio and went to Radio Shack.

Guess I missed my chance to buy that TRS-80 computer and my "Free battery a month club" card will no longer be valid....

Jim

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Made a little progress.  I applied Future to all of the dials on the front instrument panel.  I am going to let it dry overnight.

Ken 

Nice work, Ken!

Does look a tad bit nicer than the decal you had issues with!

Jim

I like the look of that IP ken.

Hi Everyone,

Made a little progress.  I applied Future to all of the dials on the front instrument panel.  I am going to let it dry overnight.

Ken 

jimbot58

I was just reading about these: inflatable tanks!

Wouldn't it be fun to set one of these up in your driveway overnight and scare the bejesus out of your neighbors?

"Hey! Didn't I ask you to turn down that stereo?"

Used for misleading the enemy and for training simulations as well. (A lot cheaper to blow up a $3000 dummy than millions of dollars for a real one!)

I guess you can actually buy one on-line!

Jim

I think they would make GREAT lawn decorations!!   

Ken

jimbot58

 

It was like time travel in a lot of ways. Right there was the sugar factory, the industry they worked in, both farming and the production of.

It's odd to say, but I found I loved that little city, as I am so tired of living in the "big" city. Really, how many people can say they want to move to Nebraska? I think if I knew how to get a decent job there, I would move in a heartbeat!

Jim

Hi Jim,

I would say if I could pick anywhere to live right now, it would be Arizona.  Two reasons. One, no snow.  The second, no grass to mow! 

Ken

Lol Jim, if I only had $3000 to throw away 

I was just reading about these: inflatable tanks!

Wouldn't it be fun to set one of these up in your driveway overnight and scare the bejesus out of your neighbors?

"Hey! Didn't I ask you to turn down that stereo?"

Used for misleading the enemy and for training simulations as well. (A lot cheaper to blow up a $3000 dummy than millions of dollars for a real one!)

I guess you can actually buy one on-line!

Jim

I have heard Academy decals have a reputation for being difficult to work with. I have done only one other Academy kit and that was an F-117 stealth fighter. Hard to judge from that as there are NO curves on that plane. A few of them did silver on me, but that was more inexperience on my part. It was one of the first kits I completed.

Jim

You're making good progress there Jim. I know what you mean about company decals, I generally end up replacing most of them with aftermarket. Seems like it wouldn't be much more expensive for them to replace them with quality ones like Cartograph. I've used Two Bobs a few times and really liked them.

BTW: I am using the box decals by Hobbyboss on my Wildcat and oddly enough they're working quite well. Should be done decaling by the end of the weekend. 

jimbot58

Working at the bench the couple of days was painting and decaling.

The RF-4B gets a white tail:

And this area ahead of the cockpit will be black:

And as to decals! I tried using the kit-supplied decals for the A-10, but typical of many of the decals supplied with Academy kits, they were thick and I couldn't get them to conform, no matter how much solvent I threw at it!

It was one of the blue ones as seen below:

I finally gave up, and used a piece of tape to remove it. I went ahead and switched to a set of TwoBob decals I bought a while back. They depict a training unit out of Nellis AFB. I think I only paid 3 bucks for it as they seem to be dropping all their 1/72 scale line.

They are printed by Microscale, and work well the set and solvent.

The down side is that several of the markings are two-parters!

These for example:

First layer down:

Finished vertical slab:

More to go......

Jim

P.S. Luckily, the F-8 kit came supplied with Cartograph decals and work great!

J.

Hi Jim,

Big bummer about the Academy decals!  But great job with the Two Bobs decals!  They look great!

Ken