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....

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

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

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!?!

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!

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.

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!

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!

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

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... 

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

Hey Mike, nice work! I know what you mean about detailing a cockpit and then you can't even see the detail inside the blasted thing!

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.

Gamera

Hey Jim, sounds like you had a great weekend. You can always use more tools right? And good to see the two choppers coming together there.

Not sure where my weekend even went, it was Friday and now it's Monday again- what happened?!?! 

 

Hi Cliff,

I know what you mean about the weekend flying by.  Then the Monday through Friday goes so slow.

Ken

jimbot58

Busy, busy this weekend! Not only am I playing catch-up from being gone last weekend, and all the current chores! Plus I felt the need to go to the range and puch some holes in paper targets Saturday. I also ended up at Harbor Freight and picked up a few sale toys!

A 12V rotory tool set for 8 bucks: (the plastic box is mine)

And a cool digital caliper for $10! Mmmmm... What can I measure? Well, I had the range bag still out, so how about a .22 rimfire cartidge? Right on the specs!

I added another decal to the Huey - The rivets are overdone on this, so lots of decal solvent had to be used here. (Don't look at the mis-matched panel to the rear. The assemblies didn't quit match up. You really don't notice until you look head on like this.

Some assembly work on the 'Hawk. Only one side is cemented in - the other half held by bands for allignment purposes only.

And some rotor work. The Blackwawk rotor is only dry fitted for now as there is painting to be done. That baby's going on last as it's just begging to get broken! The Huey is below it, and the Xacto knife for size comparison. Both of these will be dull-coated eventually.

And how about an airshow picture?

The front office of the B-17:

More to follow!

Jim

 

 

Hi Jim,

I know my Dremel tool set comes in very handy when modifying for aftermarket parts.  But of course I deal with larger scales than you so it is easier for me.

Great deal on that digital caliper!  I need to upgrade to one of those!  My eyesight is not that great anymore and trying to read mine is a pain.

Is that Huey you are building USAF?

Those rotors look pretty square.  Nice work on those!      

That B-17 cockpit is so clean!  It shows the amount of pride they have in maintaining it.

Ken

jimbot58

Thanks Ken. It's often a drag to do things by yourself, and I considered calling the trip off a couple of times just for that reason. Perhaps we can figure out something in the future, time and money permitting.

Jim

 

I agree Jim!  I think that would be a great idea.  There is a show that I have never been to that someone referred me to that I would like to see.  The person who referred it goes to all of the shows in my area and rates this one as the best.  Here is a link:

http://yankeeairmuseum.org/airshow/ 

Ken

Hey Jim, sounds like you had a great weekend. You can always use more tools right? And good to see the two choppers coming together there.

Not sure where my weekend even went, it was Friday and now it's Monday again- what happened?!?! 

Busy, busy this weekend! Not only am I playing catch-up from being gone last weekend, and all the current chores! Plus I felt the need to go to the range and puch some holes in paper targets Saturday. I also ended up at Harbor Freight and picked up a few sale toys!

A 12V rotory tool set for 8 bucks: (the plastic box is mine)

And a cool digital caliper for $10! Mmmmm... What can I measure? Well, I had the range bag still out, so how about a .22 rimfire cartidge? Right on the specs!

I added another decal to the Huey - The rivets are overdone on this, so lots of decal solvent had to be used here. (Don't look at the mis-matched panel to the rear. The assemblies didn't quit match up. You really don't notice until you look head on like this.

Some assembly work on the 'Hawk. Only one side is cemented in - the other half held by bands for allignment purposes only.

And some rotor work. The Blackwawk rotor is only dry fitted for now as there is painting to be done. That baby's going on last as it's just begging to get broken! The Huey is below it, and the Xacto knife for size comparison. Both of these will be dull-coated eventually.

And how about an airshow picture?

The front office of the B-17:

More to follow!

Jim

Thanks Ken. It's often a drag to do things by yourself, and I considered calling the trip off a couple of times just for that reason. Perhaps we can figure out something in the future, time and money permitting.

Jim

jimbot58

Hey gang!

Working a bit here and there at the bench, mostly on the choppers:

And the interior of the Blackhawk:

And a teaser:

I took a tour of the inside of the B-17, but found it was very cramped. It was just not a place for a 57 year old, 6'1" 280# claustrophobic man to be. I took a few picks inside, but I had to get out.

More later

 

Hi Jim,

Very nice to hear from you!    

The Huey and the Black Hawk are looking great.  Nice work so far (as always!).

Very glad to hear you had a good time at the air show.  I wish we lived closer to each other.  I would have gone with you.  Nice pictures too by the way!

Ken

Thanks Jim! 

The two choppers are coming along great! 

And you're right about the B-17. I have to wonder sometimes about how many injuries were from enemy attacks and how many were from accidents of crewmen falling or banging into something inside the plane. 

Gamera

Here are some finished photos of the Hellcat I took a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't that happy with them but it looks like we're not having any sunny weather for awhile so anyway here they are:

 

 

The Hellcat looks hella good to me! I think the photo at the top is my pick!

Jim

Hey gang!

Working a bit here and there at the bench, mostly on the choppers:

And the interior of the Blackhawk:

And a teaser:

I took a tour of the inside of the B-17, but found it was very cramped. It was just not a place for a 57 year old, 6'1" 280# claustrophobic man to be. I took a few picks inside, but I had to get out.

More later

Good to hear from you again Jim and those are great photos! 

Here are a couple to start:

Arrived on Friday and visited the GJ airport where they have a couple of retired planes on display:

Sorry about the sun glare on this one. Standing underneath the A-6, it's hard for a persons brain to grasp the idea of flinging this huge hunk of metal off the end of a ship.... and it flies!

Worse yet, is the idea of flying this thing onto the deck of an aircraft carrier in the middle of the oacean.... and it's moving! I really need to get down to the Wings Over The Rocky's Museum and check out the EA-6B Prowler they put on display here recently...

More soon!

Jim

Thanks Ken!

Jim, looking forward to your pics!

Duke Maddog

That ia a great looking Hellcat. Way to go! Seeing it nose-to-nose with a George just rocks!

 

I know it's been months since I posted anything, but I finally was able to pull out the F-35 that I'm doing for this and get something done. It ain't much but at least I'm back in this thing.

 

Here is the F-35 after I shot a basecoat of gunship grey on it:

 

Okay, I hope to get more done on this a little later. Thanks for looking in.

 

 

Hi Duke,

Good to hear from you again!  The F-35 is looking good!      

Ken

Hey Duke thanks! And good to hear from you again, I've been wondering where everyone went. Nice job there on the F-35, love to see how she looks all done up. 

Ken: Yeah, the Zero had a 14 cylinder engine developing 1,130 horses vs. the Shiden/George's 21 cylinder with 1,990hp. Which thankfully due to the low-octane gas the IJN was using around the end of the war it never got anywhere near it's full performance. 

The 'George' is about a third larger than the Zero with a fuselage about twice as thick. The Zero was sorta like the Bf-109- simply too small to fit a larger engine. Kinda like shoving a Corvette's V8 into a Volt- you just need a bigger machine to fit it in there!  

The Japanese were developing a replacement for the Zero, the A7M Reppu (Allied code 'Sam') which was about a third larger with actual cockpit armour for the pilot and self-sealing fuel tanks. Only eight prototypes were constucted and none ever saw combat use since we were bombing the snot outta Japan at the time. 

That ia a great looking Hellcat. Way to go! Seeing it nose-to-nose with a George just rocks!

I know it's been months since I posted anything, but I finally was able to pull out the F-35 that I'm doing for this and get something done. It ain't much but at least I'm back in this thing.

Here is the F-35 after I shot a basecoat of gunship grey on it:

Okay, I hope to get more done on this a little later. Thanks for looking in.