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80 Years of Airfix GB

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  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Monday, April 29, 2019 2:22 PM

Steve, Nick, TJ, Jack, & Bish -  thank you for your kind words! 

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    August 2015
  • From: the redlands Fl
Posted by crown r n7 on Monday, April 29, 2019 4:38 PM

my latest pics wih colorful decals before gloss coat and some weathering

 

 

 Nick.

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Monday, April 29, 2019 5:35 PM

Wow Nick, that’s really nice! 

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    June 2017
  • From: Winter Park, FL
Posted by fotofrank on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 7:52 AM

Mopar Madness

Frank, you sure are a fan of those Clippers!  The Navy livery will look great!

 

Thanks, Mopar. For me, the Clippers, both Martin and Boeing and even Sikorsky, are right up there with the Lockheed Constellation when it comes to good looking airplanes. If there was a Clipper still flying today, somehow I'd find a way to buy a ride!

OK. In the stash: Way too much to build in one lifetime...

  • Member since
    April 2019
  • From: South west, PA
Posted by Tomcat on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 10:53 AM

So I opened up my Lunar module kit today after a loooong stay in storage...

 

And a first look inside...

And a look at what I'm up against...

I see a lot of shades of silver, chrome, titanium, white and grey. I should have it done in plenty of time for the 50th anniversary of the landing...July 20th.

Mark aka Tomcat

On the workbench: Monogram 1/24 '69 Pontiac GTO and a Monogram 1/67 (box scale) B-26 Invader

  • Member since
    June 2017
  • From: Winter Park, FL
Posted by fotofrank on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 11:17 AM

Tomcat, I'm really looking forward to watching this build. The moon landing is still as vivid for me today as it was when I watched it happen fifty years ago.

OK. In the stash: Way too much to build in one lifetime...

  • Member since
    May 2017
  • From: Denver, Colorado
Posted by MrStecks on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 4:25 PM

Wow, I step away from this thread for a week to work on a big freelance gig, and when I come back in I feel like I've missed so much!  My hat's off to all of you on your great work, both completed and in progress.
I will be posting my final update on the Omnibus later tonight, or tomorrow morning.  Depending on if I find time to do the final photos today.

Now I have to get caught up on the work you guys are doing:

Chad - Love the Lightning, fantastic paint job.  And beyond finishing that one, you also finished the Jet Provost!  Excellent work. 

fotofrank - Love the Clipper, can't wait to see it done.

68GT - Thank you.

Svenne - Glad you're back.  Speaking as someone that has had a lot of dental procedures, I feel your pain. Sad    Back to good thoughts...  I love the Hurricane.

Nick -

Mopar Madness

Wow Nick, that’s really nice! 

Ditto

 

Tomcat -Your pictures are broken for me, not sure if it's a problem with your picture host or with my browser?  But looking forward to seeing this build.  Like fotofrank, I vividly remember looking up at the moon in July of '69 (I was seven-years-old), in amazement, knowing that people were walking on it at that moment.


On the bench:  Revel 1/48 B-25J Mitchell

In the queue: Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1A Corsair

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 7:21 PM

I think they are re-issuing that lunar module this year.  It’s going to come with a lunar base, figures, and the module.  I am definitely picking one of those up!

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 7:24 PM

Quick update on the 109. The front office is finished and the fuselage is ready to be sealed up. 

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    May 2017
  • From: Denver, Colorado
Posted by MrStecks on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 10:51 PM

Tales of the Omnibus - Chapter 7...  and Epilogue

And so we come to the final chapter in the Tales of the Omnibus.  After getting the wheels on there were only small a pile of bits and pieces that still needed to be painted and attached to the vehicle.  But, in keeping with the rest of the build, there were some parts that needed to be fixed, and/or thrown away and replaced.  lol.

Also, I discovered after I installed the fenders that they were supposed to be gloss black... not red.  D'oh!  Oh well, they're red now and red they will remain.

Here's a pic of some of those bits and bobs in fresh paint.

 

Here we have two parts, that are supposed to be identical.  Obviously, they aren't.  Oh Airfix.

 

I could almost forgive Airfix for having two parts not quite end up the same length, but when seen on the vehicle the scale of their shortcoming is more apparent.  Both of those parts are supposed to span entirely across those two windows, and overhang the other windows! 

 

So, I got out the sheet styrene and fashioned some new ones.  Not a difficult job, just annoying how often this kit's poor engineering crops up.  I subsequently rounded the corners a bit on these.

 

I'm not sure what these things are called that hang under the body.  I assume they are meant to keep pedestrians from falling under the vehicle?  Anyway, I've been calling them barge boards, a term I lifted from Formula 1 technology.  These things were very tough to install, but eventually they turned out okay.

 

Here we go again.  In this picture you can see two parts still on the sprue, that are both supposed to be the same length, represented by the yellow line.  These are the cans for the brass headlamps.  I decided this time to just look the other way and build them up like this.  So the headlamps are not the same length.  Sigh.

 

But... I am happy with how they came out.  They're painted with Tamiya X-31 Titan Gold, and I brush painted some Molotow Chrome Ink into the reflectors. 

 

And finally, the decalling process began.  The decals surprised me, in that I didn't have any problems with them.  They generally went on fine.  I could tell that a couple of them were slightly too big for the parts they were going on,  so I had to trim them back a little.  Overall, I was pleasently surprised by the decals.  Good way to finish this project.

 

Here are the final pics of the Omnibus.

 

Tales of the Omnibus, Epilogue

I had planned on doing a bit more weathering to this thing at the end but it's not going to happen.  I'm done with this kit.  I'm happy with how it turned out, and enjoyed some parts of the build, but overall I wouldn't recommend this kit to anyone.  I started this build at the beginning of February.  Took me a long time to slog through all the problems with this kit, and kept wishing I was making an airplane.
So that's it for the Omnibus.  It is certainly an interesting addition to my collection, but it's back to flying machines for me.

Oh, I had talked about adding a newspaper to one of the upper deck benches, but gave up on it.  Here's a pic of the 'paper' I made with Milliput, and the custom decal I built in Photoshop and printed onto decal paper, and how the paper would sit on the seat.

But when I put it in water the ink dissolved away.  After looking into it, I realized I was missing the decal film that needs to be painted over the decal to prevent that from happening.  I'm not going to purchase that just for this, so if I buy it in the future then I may come back to this idea and complete it.

 

Bish, feel free to pick any of those final pictures for the completed section.  And thanks for putting on a great GB.  I'll be hanging around to watch the great builds you guys are working on.

Thanks to all that followed along.  I appreciate your support and ideas.  Sorry for the super long posts.  Big Smile

Cheers,
Mark


On the bench:  Revel 1/48 B-25J Mitchell

In the queue: Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1A Corsair

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 6:39 AM

Nick, that is very nice, interesting markings as well.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 6:47 AM

Mark, what can i say. That is absouloutly amazing. And knowing the extra work you put into that makes it even more so. Its been totally worth it from what i am looking at. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, it has been a real pleaure.

What i do find striking is that even back then they did not miss a chance for some advertising.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 6:48 AM

Tomcat, afraid i can't see your pics either. Which hosting site are you useing.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 6:49 AM

Chad, nice start on the 109.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    August 2015
  • From: the redlands Fl
Posted by crown r n7 on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 9:31 AM

way to go Mark!! it is very interesting to look at.

Chad thank you and nice start on that 109.

many thanks  Bish. These cuban marking are freebies from error masters decals they are the wrong shade of blue but its the correct shade of blue on the cuban flag go figure.

 

 

 Nick.

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 9:34 AM

Mark - The Omnibus is phenomenal!!

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: ON, Canada
Posted by jgeratic on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 10:27 AM

Mark, that is a fantastic build of the Omnibus. Yes

It was a treat seeing it come together, along with the showcasing of your scratch building skills. 

About the home made decal for the newspaper, yes you do need some sort of protective coating on the printed decals.  I just airbrush a clear gloss over them and let dry 24 hours.  In a pinch, you can spray Future acrylic, but you will have to wait 3-4 days to cure as this clear acrylic can rejuvenate in water, or at least this my experience.

regards,

Jack

  • Member since
    May 2017
  • From: Denver, Colorado
Posted by MrStecks on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 2:10 PM

Bish

Mark, what can i say. That is absouloutly amazing. And knowing the extra work you put into that makes it even more so. Its been totally worth it from what i am looking at. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, it has been a real pleaure.

What i do find striking is that even back then they did not miss a chance for some advertising.

Thanks Bish.  Yeah, advertising was already uglifying the world at that point.

 

crown r n7

way to go Mark!! it is very interesting to look at.

Thank you Nick.  It's even more interesting sitting next to my 1/32 scale P-47.  The scales are the same, but the time periods are way off.  hahaha...

 

Mopar Madness

Mark - The Omnibus is phenomenal!!

Thanks Chad.  Nice work on the 109.  I'm sure it will be another beauty.

 

jgeratic

Mark, that is a fantastic build of the Omnibus. Yes

It was a treat seeing it come together, along with the showcasing of your scratch building skills. 

About the home made decal for the newspaper, yes you do need some sort of protective coating on the printed decals.  I just airbrush a clear gloss over them and let dry 24 hours.  In a pinch, you can spray Future acrylic, but you will have to wait 3-4 days to cure as this clear acrylic can rejuvenate in water, or at least this my experience.

regards,

Jack

Thanks Jack.  I didn't realize it just needed a clear gloss.  I thought it was something specific to decals.  Knowing that, I may give this another go.  Thanks for the info.  Smile


On the bench:  Revel 1/48 B-25J Mitchell

In the queue: Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1A Corsair

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 2:50 PM

Mark, if you could, it might be nice to get a photo of the bus and P-47 together. As well as the comparison of the time periods, would also give a nice idea of the size of the bus.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    April 2019
  • From: South west, PA
Posted by Tomcat on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 4:46 PM

I am using Google photos.

Mark aka Tomcat

On the workbench: Monogram 1/24 '69 Pontiac GTO and a Monogram 1/67 (box scale) B-26 Invader

  • Member since
    November 2010
  • From: Florida-West Central
Posted by Eagle90 on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 6:37 PM

Wow!  Great work here everyone!  Very inspiring!!!!

Well I started the Nimrod.  It is a pretty good kit, but there are a few little issues with it.  I have found 2 or 3 spots in the instructions where it calls out the wrong parts and one where it never shows you when and where to install a part.  Very odd.  Never ran into that with any company to date.  Fit issue.  The only fit issue so far (and I haven't taken any pics up to this point yet) is mating the fuselage to the wing assembly.  I hacked off at least 3-4 mm of plastic and the crazy thing just will not mate up properly on one side.  The other side is not bad...a little filling needed, but nothng like the other side.  I'll try to get some pics to show everyone.  Other then that, it's actually a pretty nice build and not taking too long.  The painting will be the time killer because she is a big one.  LOL!  Had to build her with gear up since I have no shelf that would take her and I'll hang her when done.  I am having the bomb bay doors open to see the load out.  Here she is so far!  Enjoy.

 

 

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 7:45 PM

This Nimrod is going to look cool!

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    May 2017
  • From: Denver, Colorado
Posted by MrStecks on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 10:22 PM

Eagle90 - The Nimrod looks like a cool kit... and BIG.  I'm having the same issue with a B-25 I'll be starting soon.  It's going to have to hang from the ceiling since I'm out of display areas. 
Hope the fit issue with the wings doesn't give you too much trouble.

Cheers,
Mark


On the bench:  Revel 1/48 B-25J Mitchell

In the queue: Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1A Corsair

  • Member since
    May 2017
  • From: Denver, Colorado
Posted by MrStecks on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 10:42 PM

Bish

Mark, if you could, it might be nice to get a photo of the bus and P-47 together. As well as the comparison of the time periods, would also give a nice idea of the size of the bus.

 

Thanks for the great suggestion Bish!  As soon as I read it I took the models back upstairs to be photographed together.  Interesting results:

Initially, when I put the P-47 and the Omnibus together, I thought they looked in scale with each other.  But when I got them under the lights together in my little photo area, they looked close, but not quite right.

 

So I grabbed a couple figures from the omnibus kit (the only two that didn't have to suffer the abuse of my figure painting attempts), and put them next to the P-47.  Suddenly the scale difference was sharper.  I think the Omnibus is too small, by about a scale foot.  I haven't done any measuring to back up this guess, I'm not a math (or maths) whiz.

 

At this point I suddenly remembered that I had another 1/32 scale airplane, the Fokker D.VII from Wingnut Wings.  So I retrieved that one and set it next to the Omnibus.  Regardless of the scale inconsistencies, I should pair these two on display, since their time period is shared.

 

Not easy to get all these big models into my photography setup.  I put the standing omnibus figure next to the Fokker propeller and he definitely looks about 8 to 12 scale inches too small.

 

That was a fun experiment, and that last picture is just so colorful.  Smile
Great suggestion Bish.

Cheers,
Mark

 

 


On the bench:  Revel 1/48 B-25J Mitchell

In the queue: Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1A Corsair

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, May 2, 2019 10:11 AM

Stocks, the bus came out beautifully! Excellent work! And post it with some 1/32 aircraft, especially the Fokker, gives a nice size/scale perspective. Even if it may be off a bit.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    August 2015
  • From: the redlands Fl
Posted by crown r n7 on Thursday, May 2, 2019 11:30 AM

Eagle90 thats a nice kit !!

Mark beauitful planes.

my latest pics. I have a light oil wash and some exhuast stains but I'm having a hell of a time with wind shield every time I lift the mask the remaining paint is gummy tried with out gloss coat same thing the canopy came out fine on the 1st try cleaned wind shield again and try again but with lighter coat...

 

 

 Nick.

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Thursday, May 2, 2019 4:05 PM

Ok, now I have to crack my Sea Fury open!  Beautifully restrained weathering! 

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Thursday, May 2, 2019 4:20 PM

Its coming on well Bobby, thanks for those pointers, will have to remember them.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Thursday, May 2, 2019 4:23 PM

Mark, great pic there. Despite the size being out, not a surprise given its age, those are great comparison pic. Especially like the one with the Fokker.

Thank you, and that bus is realy one to be proud of.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Thursday, May 2, 2019 4:24 PM

Tomcat

I am using Google photos.

 

Ok, not familiar with that one.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

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