mikeymize

Jim, thanks for the pics; the builds are coming along nicely, That B-17 interior looks great, more cramped than I would've imagined. The bomber crews had a rough go in those forts and what they accomplished in helping to win the war can't be overstated!

BTW, I have two pics of my recently completed Polikarpov I-16. It was an Eduard 1/48 kit. A decent build overall other than the landing gear which was difficult due to the lack of locating holes and a discrepancy with the instructions in that area. The other disappointment was all the work I did in the cockpit was realatively invisible once the fuselage halves were together.

 

Nice work Mike!      Looks great!  The weathering came out really nice!

Ken

Well, for a quick update I finished the Wildcat last weekend. And then the weather turned nasty before I could take any photos... 

Not surprising though, I swear every single time we went Trick or Treating as kids it was raining... 

Gamera

Well, for a quick update I finished the Wildcat last weekend. And then the weather turned nasty before I could take any photos... 

Not surprising though, I swear every single time we went Trick or Treating as kids it was raining... 

 

Hi Cliff,

I guess I was lucky as a kid.  I don't remember a single time it was raining on Holloween.  In fact, it seemed that it was always warm and dry.  But that was when I lived in Dover, Delaware.  Now here in Lafayette Indiana when we hand out candy to the little ones, it does seem that it is very cold and rainy a lot of the time.

Ken

Hey guys, hope everyone is well. I'm on vacation right now and hoping this one ends better than my last one. Anyway visited the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach today, beautiful weather and snapped a bunch of photos. Crazy thing about this museum is that the majority of the aircraft actually do fly and they do a show every year. I've got to make it out to one sometime!

Holy cow! That place has quite the collection; and to think many are airworthy is even more incredible. Thanks so much for sharing them Cliff!

No problem Mike, great museum and they're getting the Bf-109 in the background of one of the photos up and running. And they're working on getting a 'Kate' and two other Japanese aircraft added. Only issue is they really need to add a hanger or three, everything is squeezed in tight and it's hard to get good photos of some their stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to get out to the USS Wisconson and the Mariner's Museum this week.

Sounds like they're funded quite well and have very talented mechanics, electricians and so forth to be able to get those old warbirds back in the wild blue! Thanks again for all the pics and descriptions and enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Hey thanks Mike! Just for the heck of it I'll toss in some photos of the USS Wisconsin since I already have them on PhotoBucket...

And a very cool model, about ten feet/three meters long, says it's a kit you can buy. I forgot the price, about a thousand I think plus where would you fit the darn thing!?!

Gamera

Hey guys, hope everyone is well. I'm on vacation right now and hoping this one ends better than my last one. Anyway visited the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach today, beautiful weather and snapped a bunch of photos. Crazy thing about this museum is that the majority of the aircraft actually do fly and they do a show every year. I've got to make it out to one sometime!

 

Hi Cliff,

It figures, when I finally have enough time to look at your pictures, PhotoBucket is down.  I will check back later and hopefully it will be back up.

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

 

 

Gamera

Hey guys, hope everyone is well. I'm on vacation right now and hoping this one ends better than my last one. Anyway visited the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach today, beautiful weather and snapped a bunch of photos. Crazy thing about this museum is that the majority of the aircraft actually do fly and they do a show every year. I've got to make it out to one sometime!

 

 

 

 

Hi Cliff,

It figures, when I finally have enough time to look at your pictures, PhotoBucket is down.  I will check back later and hopefully it will be back up.

Ken

 

Photobucket is back online.  Wow!  That is amazing how great the condition those planes are in and that they can fly!  I would love to see them in action!  Do they ever travel to other cities for their airshows?

Ken

Hello guys!

Boy, this place is like a ghost town! I have not been very active myself, I admit. Many things have kept me busy, and to be frank, I just haven't felt all that social. The Holidays can be a tough time for some.

I have worked at the bench off and on and the Huey is very nearly done. I was going to post some photos, but thought I would just wait until it is complete.

I also sent away for a "D" model as the one I'm doing is a "B", the difference being the earlier version has a short fuselage and the "D" a longer cabin, tail boom, more powerful engine and larger rotor. There is also a CH-47D "Chinook" coming as well. I seem to be fixated on choppers for the moment.

I don't lack for Helicoptor projects it seems. I have been working off and on with the Blackhawk and I actually picked up the Special Hobby Cobra last night and did some work on the canopy. 2 incomplete Apache's sit off to the side along with another Cobra. I won't even mention the unfinished aircraft....

Ken: Ouch! Sorry I missed your last post there! Yeah, they do fly them at other venues- they flew the B-25 over a college football a few days before and had just got her back. And they have a Spitfire that they'd flown out at another show and had broken down and they were working on her so she wasn't on display.

Jim: Sounds cool, you're making me want to build a chopper now!

Hey Jim, I agree with you abou the holidays being not that great at times. It's going to be just me and my two dogs for Christmas which sucks but what can you do? I did get to have my mom here for Thanksgiving so at least I had that. Anyway, I'm still plugging away at my Lavochkin La-7 and trying to figure out what to build after that. Sounds like you have too many potential builds and I'm on the other side of that conundrum. 

Hello friends!

First off, I hope Christmas finds you well and safe! I guess I made it through it. It was the fourth Christmas since Mom passed and still it's hard. It did drive out on the plains Saturday to spend time with my friends and their family. It's nice of them to do that, but still it's always a bit awkward for me. I've known my friend for nearly 40 years, but I still feel just a little out of place, as they all have connections as a family. I'm just sort of there.

The drive back was interesting: the weather report was for 1-3 inches of snow, which is no big deal normally, but coupled with strong winds and that snow fell in less than an hour! I was caught in a blizzard! I couldn't see past the bumper and I could only navigate by looking for the road side reflectors. I couldn't pull off as I was afraid of driving off an embankment or just getting stuck for the night! It let up outside of Denver and I finally made it home! I think I left imprints from my fingers in the steering wheel, not to mention a stain in my......

That aside, I did finally finish something! My UH-1B!

The pictures are a little dark, but the weather right now in not good for getting some decent photos. Maybe next wekend I might be able to try outside.... weather permitting.

My next project? Hard to say. I have worked on and off on the A-10, the Blackhawk, the F-8 Crusader, the Cobra, and then I have been piddling with this:

I was just test fitting a few pieces, and then a few got cemented in place, and before I knew it, an Eduard interior P.E. set got ordered somehow!

I just don't seem to focus on any one project!

Jim

Jim: Good to hear you're still hanging in there. It's getting to the point now I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to have my dad... 

On a happier note really nice work on the UH-1 and the CH-47 looks really cool. 

And we've had about 65-70 degrees here but with rain, rain everyday for about two solid weeks now and more forecast for next week. Guess I should stop complaining, I'd rather have it than your snow and ice. Glad to hear you made it back ok.

Mike: Guess I missed your post, the La-7 sounds cool, probably my favorite Soviet fighter.  

Jim, very nice work on that Huey! I just completed one myself. Yours looks far better though. Glad to hear you made it back; that reminds me of the times I drove through blizzards in Minnesota. I also have problems staying focused on one build too; that's why I have about 15 projects on the go all the time.... but at least I get a lot finished too!

Gamera, I'll be praying for you and your dad. Spend whatever time you can with him, family comes first. alos, enjoy the rain for now. I'm still hoping we get some more here in Southern California.

Rock on guys! I may not be getting much done for this Group Build, but I'm still following along closely.

Thanks for the compliment DM, about the Huey. I'm sure yours looks fine. We are all critical of our own work.

Gamera, sorry to hear that about your Dad. My thoughts are with you as well, what ever the future holds for you.

Well, we are actually supposed to go above freezing on Saturday! Break out the bathing suits and suntan oil!

I got the PE set for the Chinook and got started on some of the interior:

There are PE pieces that go onto the surface of the 2 black boxes on the bulkhead. (I assume circut breaker panels?)

Inside of the cabin. There are various pieces from the PE set to go in here. Kind of a shame as you won't be able to see much of them.

There is also an exterior set available, but I didn't want to spend another $30 for it, plus it just looked like way too much work.

Jim

Hey Duke, Jim, thanks guys. We're kinda just trying to trudge along day by day. 

Jim, looks really cool to me. And yeah see what you mean, even with an open door and those big open windows not much of the interior will be visible. 

Hey all, how's it going?

The other night I watched "Apocalyspe Now" for the first time. (I know, 30+ years after its release?) Very strange movie, but I love the footage of the UH-1D Hueys in action. Now when I look at my workbench and see this sitting there:

The sound of Wagners "Ride of the Valkyries" fills my head. Perhaps one more project to add to my already full plate?

Since the last post I worrked on filling those interior seams on the Chinook. Not the greatest job, but since you can't see much of the interior, it won't matter. They are just less noticable if you look in the back:

Work on the instument panel PE parts:

And I had to see what one of the bubble windows looks like. Should be fun to mask when I paint the exterior:

That's all for now....

Nothing like a little inspiration Jim! The instrument panel looks really good. 

Gamera

Jim: Good to hear you're still hanging in there. It's getting to the point now I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to have my dad... 

On a happier note really nice work on the UH-1 and the CH-47 looks really cool. 

And we've had about 65-70 degrees here but with rain, rain everyday for about two solid weeks now and more forecast for next week. Guess I should stop complaining, I'd rather have it than your snow and ice. Glad to hear you made it back ok.

Mike: Guess I missed your post, the La-7 sounds cool, probably my favorite Soviet fighter.  

 

Sounds cool Mike, looking forward to them! 

Well, here they are. It's the Academy 1/48 kit. I used MM Metalizer for the panels just aft of the exaust manifold and MM Ghost Grey, Gunship Grey and Russian underside blue as well as Russian red for the cowling.

There were a few issues with lack of definitive placement pins/holes but otherwise a pretty nice kit. Hope you like the pics. 

mikeymize

Well, here they are. It's the Academy 1/48 kit. I used MM Metalizer for the panels just aft of the exaust manifold and MM Ghost Grey, Gunship Grey and Russian underside blue as well as Russian red for the cowling.

There were a few issues with lack of definitive placement pins/holes but otherwise a pretty nice kit. Hope you like the pics. 

 

Nice build although I have to admit that I don't know a lot about planes with those things that spin on the front, esp. Rusky ones. What is this plane again so I can look it up?

I have continued my current obsession with those aircraft with the things that spin on top, with some work done with the PE parts on the Chinook. Boy are they getting tough to do anymore! The parts get smaller and smaller! (I know it's not me getting older!) Once I get a bit more done I'll get some pictures up. I had better anyway, because once the cockpit is closed up, nobody will be able to see much of it! I'll be able to look at the finished kit and think about the $25 worth of unseen detail parts inside...

All I know for now is that my desktop is covered with choppers - I said it was an obsession, didn't I?

Jim

  Hey Jim, the model is a Lavochkin La-7; it was the pinnacle of Soviet aircraft designs in WW2. The markings are from an aircraft flown by Maj. Amet-Khan a Russian ace from late 1944. Like you, I'm not as familiar with Soviet aircraft but always thought the La-7 was one of the cooler designs.

As you indicated being on a helicopter binge I too am on a binge, mine being an armor one. I'm up to my elbows in a M4A3 Sherman build now and have ordered the new Tamiya Panther Asf. D After that's done I'll go back to my first love; fixed-wingy thingys!

Best of luck on your chopper builds!

mikeymize

  Hey Jim, the model is a Lavochkin La-7; it was the pinnacle of Soviet aircraft designs in WW2. The markings are from an aircraft flown by Maj. Amet-Khan a Russian ace from late 1944. Like you, I'm not as familiar with Soviet aircraft but always thought the La-7 was one of the cooler designs.

As you indicated being on a helicopter binge I too am on a binge, mine being an armor one. I'm up to my elbows in a M4A3 Sherman build now and have ordered the new Tamiya Panther Asf. D After that's done I'll go back to my first love; fixed-wingy thingys!

Best of luck on your chopper builds!

 

Ha Ha! I did an armor binge for a time as well, mine being 1/72! I trried a 1/35 scale tank but all those little links and tracks that had to be cemented together whupped my tail! The smaller tank have those simple rubber band tracks!

Here is a photo of the Chinook cockpit so far. I think the lap belts are a bit out of scale myself.....

I also got the left and right sides switched on one of the shoulder belts. I'm not concerned as you won't be able to notice through the glass anyway. Those tiny little loops are supposed to be bent at a 90 like the ones on the left. Missed that too.....

Mike, she looks terrific! I've built a La-5 but not a 7 yet. One of the amazing things I've read about the fighter is like the British Mosquito most of the fighter was built out of wood but the performance was better than most German fighters of it's era.

Jim: Very nice work there, the seatbelts look perfect. Are they PE? I can barely handle 1/48th PE seatbelts, 1/72nd they must be the size of a gnat's whiskers.

jimbot58

 

 

 

 

Ha Ha! I did an armor binge for a time as well, mine being 1/72! I trried a 1/35 scale tank but all those little links and tracks that had to be cemented together whupped my tail! The smaller tank have those simple rubber band tracks!

Here is a photo of the Chinook cockpit so far. I think the lap belts are a bit out of scale myself.....

I also got the left and right sides switched on one of the shoulder belts. I'm not concerned as you won't be able to notice through the glass anyway. Those tiny little loops are supposed to be bent at a 90 like the ones on the left. Missed that too.....

 

Jim, that looks fantastic! So clean and sharp, I could swear I'm looking at the real thing if it weren't for the background.

I also build 1/72 scale armor for one of the reasons you mentioned: 1/35th scale tracks! I love building the small scale stuff!

Keep going guys, everything is looking fantastic!

Seatbelts look fine to me Jim, as does the rest of the "front office". I'm in agreement with everyone else here on the frustration and tedious nature of individual-link tracks. They certainly look more realistic to the trained eye but I'm more about having fun with builds and so that's one area too much like work for my taste! 

As for the La-7, I'm not real sure on the materials used but it would make sense that wood would be used as that was one natural resource Mother Russia had planty of

By the time it came along, the La-7 and to a large degree the La-5 were both worthy advesaries to the 109 and 190. Also the quality of Soviet pilots was ever improving while the Luftwaffe aircrews had been decimated by attrition.

mikeymize

Seatbelts look fine to me Jim, as does the rest of the "front office". I'm in agreement with everyone else here on the frustration and tedious nature of individual-link tracks. They certainly look more realistic to the trained eye but I'm more about having fun with builds and so that's one area too much like work for my taste! 

As for the La-7, I'm not real sure on the materials used but it would make sense that wood would be used as that was one natural resource Mother Russia had planty of

By the time it came along, the La-7 and to a large degree the La-5 were both worthy advesaries to the 109 and 190. Also the quality of Soviet pilots was ever improving while the Luftwaffe aircrews had been decimated by attrition.

 

Interesting! I did do some reading and they say the La-5's were mostly wood, but the 7's incorporated more aircraft alloys as builders became more confident of the supplies. That's according to Wikipedia anyway.