Bish

Some awesome models there Ken. I do like that Me 262, I have seen one in that sort of scheme, and a not often seen variant.

Thanks for posting those.

You are most welcome Bish!  Glad that you enjoyed them.

Ken

Some awesome models there Ken. I do like that Me 262, I have seen one in that sort of scheme, and a not often seen variant.

Thanks for posting those.

Son Of Medicine Man

jimbot58

Gamera

As bad as things are now thank God the Cold War is over. There's enough nukes around now but it's nothing like the Free World and the Soviets pointing guns with hair-triggers at each other's heads for fifty years.  

All I will say is watching the recent headlines is scaring the bejesus out me....

I hear you Jim!  I am wondering if at anytime I am going to see a great bright flash through the windows!

Ken

I guess we better get out those old educational films showing us how to "Duck and Cover"!! 

Ken

jimbot58

Gamera

As bad as things are now thank God the Cold War is over. There's enough nukes around now but it's nothing like the Free World and the Soviets pointing guns with hair-triggers at each other's heads for fifty years.  

All I will say is watching the recent headlines is scaring the bejesus out me....

I hear you Jim!  I am wondering if at anytime I am going to see a great bright flash through the windows!

Ken

mikeymize

Not sure why the other two pics didn't show up but here they are. This is the first time I used Acrylic overall and the stuff dried much faster than my usual MM enamels. It also seemed a bit more "pebbly" to me. There have been a few glitches with this kit so far which I'll bring up in my next post. It's all been good experience though so I won't complain too much.

Nice work there Mike!!      That looks great!  Very nice detail!

Ken

Gamera

Hey Jim, everything looks pretty darn good to me.

Ken, did you win any awards at the show or did you take anything? I got a third in Allied armour and I think either a second or third in figures at our show last year- which I was very happy considering the level of models there.

And  you gotta love the '50s - early '60s- I recall a magazine article from the time period using nukes to dig reservoirs and canals. Gee friggin' whiz...

As bad as things are now thank God the Cold War is over. There's enough nukes around now but it's nothing like the Free World and the Soviets pointing guns with hair-triggers at each other's heads for fifty years.  

Hi Cliff,

No, I did not take anything.  I went purely as a spectator.  Here are some pictures that I took:

 Ken

Yeah it is looking like the Cold War all over again, thankfully it will take time for Putin to build their atomic arsenal back up.

Gamera

As bad as things are now thank God the Cold War is over. There's enough nukes around now but it's nothing like the Free World and the Soviets pointing guns with hair-triggers at each other's heads for fifty years.  

All I will say is watching the recent headlines is scaring the bejesus out me....

Right about those Falcons! I was just reading that they only effective against slow moving bombers, and not very good for something like a Mig, which is why pilots argued in favor of on board guns. There were only 5 confirmed kills using the Falcons out of 54 launches. No proximty fuse, so only a direct hit would detonate the warhead.

Nice we sent our boys into combat so well equipped!

Not sure why the other two pics didn't show up but here they are. This is the first time I used Acrylic overall and the stuff dried much faster than my usual MM enamels. It also seemed a bit more "pebbly" to me. There have been a few glitches with this kit so far which I'll bring up in my next post. It's all been good experience though so I won't complain too much.

Great info on the weapons systems of old. Love the idea of blowing up communists with an atomic cannon! Look forward to any cool pics from the show Ken.  You mentioned a Falcon missile Jim and I wonder if that was the one that our guys used at the beginning of the Vietnam War. If so, from what I read the aircrews hated them as they only worked about 30% of the time. Apparently the rest either failed to track or didn't detonate. Imagine having a MiG in your sights and firing off a dud! I think that's why so many fighter jocks wanted guns instead. In spite of my being a little under the weather this weekend I did upload a couple pics of my project so here they are. At this point virtually no weathering just some initial prismacolor scratches that will be toned down later. The yellow on the leading edges are decals and even with solvaset they're being stubborn. In fact all were too thick as Tamiya ones seem to be. 

Hey Jim, everything looks pretty darn good to me.

Ken, did you win any awards at the show or did you take anything? I got a third in Allied armour and I think either a second or third in figures at our show last year- which I was very happy considering the level of models there.

And  you gotta love the '50s - early '60s- I recall a magazine article from the time period using nukes to dig reservoirs and canals. Gee friggin' whiz...

As bad as things are now thank God the Cold War is over. There's enough nukes around now but it's nothing like the Free World and the Soviets pointing guns with hair-triggers at each other's heads for fifty years.  

Hi Everyone!

Yes, the military had all kinds of uses for nuclear devices.  The USAF also had the BOMARC missile for destroying enemy bomber formations:

It was typically armed with a 10 kiloton nuclear W-40 warhead.  They were deployed at 9 USAF bases and 2 bases in Canada.

One of those USAF bases was a base that my family was stationed at, Suffolk County AFB in New York.  My Dad was assigned to the 98th Fighter Interceptor Squadron as a crew chief on the F-101B.  I have an 8mm film that my Dad took at an "Open House" while we were there and one of the exhibits was a BOMARC missile!

The US Army also had a nuclear tipped shell that was shot from an artillery gun for use in battle.

Ken

Look forward to seeing those pics Ken.

Jim, I'd be more than satisfied with that, sweet.

Oh! Also of note:

I went looking for a reference for "ADC" Gray, for the color of this plane. I Googled and was referred back to this forum and Guess Who? for an answer.....

Click below!

ADC Gray

Jim

Hi Gang!

I never did get over to Hobby Lobby to look for poster board. I did make another picture outside with the Growler AND the fill-flash on. I also angled to hide the back ground.

Is this Wall Of Fame worthy? Don't know if I'm satisfied or not yet. Looks slightly out of focus to me.

In the mean time a bit of an update on the Voodoo.

I finally got the cockpit to fit where I wanted it and once it was in place, I went for it and gooped it place with place with some thick CA and accelerator.

The cockpit is not loaded with detail, so it's getting closed up on this build.

Here is the weapons bay and it's rotating pallet. One side is supposed to be a pair of Falcon missiles and the other side a set of Genie AIR-2 nuclear tipped missiles. The pallet doesn't turn very well, and I read that the Genie's on this kit are too large to allow the pallet to turn anyway. I'm probably just going to cement it into position anyway with the Falcons showing, though the Genies might be more interesting.... you also see where I fit a wedge between the halves to get the fuselage to match the wing assembly correctly, and where I had to trim away a bit of the structure to be able to slide the weapons bay in.

I was reading of the Genie missile and how the US was concerned about large groups of Russian bombers flying high speed, one-way missions to the US and the rocket and cannon equipped planes of the day would be unable to stop them all. So the Genies were intended to be able to take out these groups in a mile wide fireball. Shows how much I know: I had never heard of them and always thought of atomic weapons as primarily for use against ground targets.

Here is the intake and engine fans being worked. Nice that they did include trunking and fans as many kits don't. The fans are almost impossible to see once mounted, but it's better than a hole of blank partition.

Here you see I had to insert thin strips of sheet styrene to keep everything lined up.

The wings and intakes are actually assembled now, painted and drying. No pictures but thought I would use this time to catch up on WIP. Also having to do some adjustments on all that as the fits aren't perfect, or up to my standards anyway.

Jim

I

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone!
I am currently at the Indianapolis "IPMS" chapter annual contest. First time I have attended one. Lots of great deals from vendors. Too bad I don't have any money. Taking pictures and will post later.
Ken

Sounds fun! Hope you're having a great time!

We had a show here some months ago, but I couldn't make it mostly because it was about 75 miles from here and I was a bit short on cash for gas.

Would have been nice to go or to even to enter something. Nobody really sees my work other than you guys!

Been kicking myself ever since!

Jim

Jim, you shouldn't apologize for buying the model over the brace. It's called priorities and you did the only thing you could! The ankle was injured in the fall so yes it has been a very long time. I am now running a fever as of this morning so not sure how much bench time I'll get. Right now I'm content to bang this out on my laptop while watching reruns of Hogan's Heroes with my faithful dog Cosmo keeping me company. My mom always tells me dogs can sense when you're not feeling well and I absolutely believe that.. I did  get some pics uploaded to photo bucket so those along with my final shot of the Lee tank from months ago should find their way here soon. 

Very true Ken! I went out last night and had a big plate of Thai food to celebrate. I've been steady plugging away at a couple of things just not the two choppers here though.  

Gamera

Mike: It's good to hear you're doing much better, hopefully you'll be well in time to get out and enjoy this summer.

Jim: Ouch, it's bad to hear that you're not feeling well. Good luck with the knee, I know what a pain they can be at times.

Just got though a friggin' lab inspection at work today by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. I've been dreading this for a month or so - thankfully we passed with only minor issues- very VERY HAPPY!!!

Congratulations on making it through your inspection Cliff!  That must have been a stressful experience.  Now you can relax and build models!

Ken

Bish

Ken, belated happy birthday.

Thank you Bish!

Ken

Tal Afar Dave

Hey Ken!!

Happy belated Birthday!! I wish you a happy year of building and honcho'ing more killer group builds!!  Go ahead and add me to the list with an ancient  Revell (think 4 Blue Angels in diamond formation) 1/72nd scale F-4B/N Phantom II in still yet to be decided Navy or USMC markings from VIetnam!

Thank you Tal Afar Dave and welcome!    And the front page will be updated in a few minutes.

Ken

jimbot58

Mike, I'm glad to hear that you seem to be well on the way to a final recovery! Didn't this happen way before Christmas?

This week has not been productive for me at the workbench. First is the time change that seems to be kicking my backside. Then, I have been having a lot of issues with my knee and by the time I spend the day hobbling around, I am literally exhausted when I get home and have been hitting the sheets not long after I get here. It even makes it difficult to sleep as it's hard to find a comfortable sleep position.

I have a brace, but it is worn out (like me) and I can't use it anymore. I can't find a new one to fit in the meager selections available locally, so I am waiting for payday to order a new one online that will fit from Walgreen's.

I hear the Voodoo calling for me, but I'm just too pooped to answer its call.

The F-100 arrived today, and I didn't even crack the plastic wrapper on it. (I know! If I hadn't bought the kit, I could have the brace already!)

Jim

Well Jim, who needs knee braces when you have such cool kits!   

All joking aside, I hope your knee starts feeling better soon.

Ken

mikeymize

I'm down to one day a week of therapy and one last visit to the Doc next week. Girlfriend situation still a work in progress. (No she's NOT pregnant) , just some issues to work out....or not.

I have done some more work on the Hyakushiki and will get some pics up NLT this weekend. BTW GB badge looks cool!

Thank you Mike for the compliment!

Ken

Mike: It's good to hear you're doing much better, hopefully you'll be well in time to get out and enjoy this summer.

Jim: Ouch, it's bad to hear that you're not feeling well. Good luck with the knee, I know what a pain they can be at times.

Just got though a friggin' lab inspection at work today by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. I've been dreading this for a month or so - thankfully we passed with only minor issues- very VERY HAPPY!!!

Ken, belated happy birthday.

jimbot58

Bish

Sorry I missed the kick off of the GB, just so much to keep track of.

Jim, that's brilliant work, she's a real beaut. what's with the name Growler, I have not heard an F 18 called that before.

I will be getting to my F-16 later in the year, but I will try my best to keep up in the mean time.

Thank you for the compliments!

The E/A-18G is the electronics warfare replacement for the E/A-6B Prowler, that has since been retired.

The Growler is based on the F-18F Super Hornet, but the internal gun has been removed, and the wing-tip missile rails have been replaced by a set of ECM pods. The Growler can carry 2 AGM-88 anti radiation missiles for attacking radar installations. It also carries a pair of AIM-120 AMRAAM's against the fuselage for defense. Up to 5 ALQ-99 pods can be carried under the wings and fuselage.

The Scorpions are the first fully operational squadron to be deployed.

In service, the call sign for the Growler, is actually "Grizzly" so as to not confuse it with it's predecessor, the Prowler.

Jim

Jim, thanks for that info. As you can tell, modern US aircraft are not my strongpoint. I didn't even know the E/A-6 had been with drawn. But Prowler to Growler, makes sense.

Hey Ken!!

Happy belated Birthday!! I wish you a happy year of building and honcho'ing more killer group builds!!  Go ahead and add me to the list with an ancient  Revell (think 4 Blue Angels in diamond formation) 1/72nd scale F-4B/N Phantom II in still yet to be decided Navy or USMC markings from VIetnam!

Mike, I'm glad to hear that you seem to be well on the way to a final recovery! Didn't this happen way before Christmas?

This week has not been productive for me at the workbench. First is the time change that seems to be kicking my backside. Then, I have been having a lot of issues with my knee and by the time I spend the day hobbling around, I am literally exhausted when I get home and have been hitting the sheets not long after I get here. It even makes it difficult to sleep as it's hard to find a comfortable sleep position.

I have a brace, but it is worn out (like me) and I can't use it anymore. I can't find a new one to fit in the meager selections available locally, so I am waiting for payday to order a new one online that will fit from Walgreen's.

I hear the Voodoo calling for me, but I'm just too pooped to answer its call.

The F-100 arrived today, and I didn't even crack the plastic wrapper on it. (I know! If I hadn't bought the kit, I could have the brace already!)

Jim