Your killing it. Nice 

You continue to amaze Nick!!!

A pic of the landing gear bays. As said lotsa parts and I'm painting a bunch of this stuff before closing up the fuselages so it's slowing me down...

Gamera and Nick,

Nice work on the P-38 and T-33!

I've been very slow in working on the F-104.  Life gets in the way, and I haven't felt up to 100% for the past few weeks.  Still, progress has been made.  I have a few more decals and some touch-up work to do before she can be called finished, but she's getting there.

Hopefully, she'll be finished soon and I can get on to other things.

Gary

Wow, that looks great Gary

Steve,Gamera and GAF. thankyou. Gamera the P-38 is shapping up nicely, I had no idea it was so detailed, I have one that is still unopened. GAF thats one beautiful F-104 !

I gave a thin coat of tamiya clear flat some small stuff to do yet.

Yikes! I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! Before I share the latest progress, let me say that I'm impressed with the work going on. Quality work all around, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's finished builds. Keep it up, everyone!

OK, so I was able to get some progress made on my Lightning. I was able to get the resin wheels and landing gear painted up. I also got the prop assemblies done. Oh, and some decals and detail painting. I did have one minor setback though. During decaling, my kit slip off the jig and knocked the canopy and armored glass loose. I was able to repair the canopy, but in an effort to avoid marring the inside of the windscreen with glue, I decided to leave off the armored glass. Oh well. It wouldn't be one of my build if something didn't go wrong. 

Anyway, here's where I'm at. Keep in mind that the prop and landing gear assemblies are just dry-fitted for the sake of the photos. 

Slowly but surely my Lightning is getting there. Of course, comments, questions, and criticisms welcome.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

-O

Looks good O. I like the wing root wear.

O: Thanks for the update! Love the root wear too, the paint work just looks perfect overall! 

Nick: Looking forward to the finished photos! 

That P-38 has a great look to it O.

Gamera here they are..

Hobby Craft 1/48 T-33A.

Paints A/K interactive ADC grey &  Tamiya paints.

decals Caracal Models Air National Guard series.

T-33 is from the 159th FIS Florida Air National Guard 1983.

thanks for watching.

Steve your choice of pic. thanks again.

Really nice job.  Best looking T-33 I've seen.

Beautiful job Nick. I'll put it up when I get home 

Wow, oh wow! She looks flawless Nick!!! 

Great job!!! 

Got you up Nick and again beautiful job 

Ortiz> Good job on the P-38.  I especially like the early markings.

Nick> That's a beautiful T-33!  Well done.

Here's the finished photo's of the "Missile With a Man In It", done as a NASA F-104.

The Academy model is easy to assemble, but lacks detail in the wheel-wells, cockpit and engine.  The pilot seems to be too small for the cockpit, and I imagine there is a midget that somehow managed to become a test pilot.  But, overall, it looks like an F-104.

The history of NASA's F-104s is an interesting read:

It was Monday, Aug. 27, 1956, at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station (HSFS) located at Edwards Air Force Base. Several employees anxiously watched as crew chief D. Payne made sure that chief test pilot Joe Walker was properly strapped in the cockpit of the HSFS's newest research aircraft, the No. 7 F-104, SN 55-2961.

As Walker taxied the aircraft off the ramp onto the dry lakebed runway for take-off, anxiety began to build. Soon the canopy closed, the pilot moved the throttle forward and the aircraft responded to the thrust of its powerful state-of-the-art jet engine.

This first NACA flight lasted approximately 30 minutes, and it ushered in a legacy that would span portions of five decades, ending Feb. 3, 1994. It was the legacy of the "Starfighter."

The F-104 aircraft series designated "Starfighter" was a product of the Lockheed Burbank Skunk Works. It first flew in February 1954 and was the first jet aircraft capable of sustained Mach 2.0 speed in level flight. Previously only rocket planes had been flown at speeds this great and not for sustained periods of time. A General Electric J-79 engine powered the F-104 aircraft. The F-104 was developed for a primary Air Force mission. However, as history would show, it also would become perhaps the most versatile aircraft ever to grace the skies over the Mojave Desert and to reside in the hangars of the NACA/NASA unit at Edwards AFB.

You can read more about the NASA F-104s at

http://www.916-starfighter.de/F-104_NASA%20legacy.htm

Thank for looking!  Now onto the Martin B-26!

Gary

Gary. Thats a beautifully done F-104, very clean and well done.

John,Gamera,Steve,O and Gary. Many thanks for watching and your comments..

I'm almost done with the solar arrays of my Orion, after lots of painting trial and error. Here's what I have so far.

Hopefully I can get them done this weekend. I'll probably work on the heat shield once the arrays are done.

B.L. very neat paint work.

crown r n7

B.L. very neat paint work.

 

Agreed. 

Gary I'll get you up momentarily. As long as Imageshack is working. 

Hey gang, I just wanted to post some proof of progress. I haven't have much bench time as of late, but I have been plugging away at my Lightning. I was able to get it flat-coated and demasked. Unfortunately, I found that there's a small blemish on the interior of the port window. I'm not sure how that got there. I considered pulling the canopy off and seeing if I could fix it, but I didn't want to run the risk of making things worse. I was able to get the Lightning up on her legs. My biggest complaint with Hasegawa's Lightning is the main gear door attachment. It's terrible! Not much left to do. Hopefully, next time I post, I'll be showing photos of my finished build.

Sorry for the quality of the photos. These were snapped in a hurry. I promise to post better photos next time.

As usual, comments, questions, and criticisms welcome. Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

-O

Really shaping up to be a war weary Lightning O 

Gary, I got your 104 up 

BL & O> Nice work on the paint jobs.

Thanks, Steve! Now onto the B-26.

Gary

Gary: She looks fantastic! Great job! I love the NASA scheme. 

BL: Looking good! 

O: Great job! Looking forward to the finished build! I wouldn't worry about the issues- everything looks perfect to me. 

My kit is actually starting to look like a P-38. A few little quirks here and there but still the kit fits like a dream. A little more stuff to add and then I need to figure out how to mask the gear bays and cockpit. 

Hey Gamera, great work on your Lightning! I wish I could snatch up a Tamiya Lightning for myself. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Anyway, as far as my Lightning goes, it's 99% done. I just need to add the belly's colored formation lights and the gun barrels. I have a set of Master Model brass barrels, but they're the "smooth" jacket type for later Lightning variants. I've ordered the "early" types with the perforated jackets. They should land on my porch by the week's end. Once they're here, it'll be a matter of slappin' 'em on and snappin' some photos! Anyway, as a teaser, here are a couple of shots of where my build stands.

Of course, comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome. 

Cheers!

-O

OK gang, since I'm just sitting around waiting for some parts to be delivered to finish up my Lighting and Tigercat (for the Animalistic GB), I've decided to jump back in with another submission. (You know what they say about idle hands...)

I was able to snatch up Hasegawa's F-16B and some additional goodies for free. I bought a few things from a vendor at a swap meet, and he threw in the kit as a bonus. Apparently, he got it from someone else and he couldn't sell it. He told me that it was a mix of parts and wouldn't  build up to an "accurate" -B or -D model. There was a resin "covered" exhaust, some resin ejection seats, and a sheet of Two Bobs decals in the box. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, a brought it home. 

I know very little about F-16 variants and their assorted blocks. From what I have been able to figure, this is a -B with the "big" engine but not the big intake. Or, if you prefer, a -D with the small gear doors, intake, and incorrect main wheels. I didn't even try to figure out any cockpit differences. Eh...I don't care. I build for fun. I come from the If-It-Looks-Like-A(n)-(Insert Select Aircraft Here)-Then-It's-A(n)-(Insert Select Aircraft Here) school, so I'm going to build it. Only the hardest of the hardcore will know that my F-16 is "wrong." 

So...away we go!

No, it's not "accurate," but when you can't build the one you want, build the one you got. Right?

Happy modeling!

-O

O> It's a "concept" aircraft based upon a "B" model, but not yet a "D".  Think of it as a "test" aircraft, and you'll be fine. 

Gary

That'll be great O. I love the 16 but not really familiar with the variants other than the intake.

I read somewhere that of newer ones 50% have the GE engine an the other half have the PW. From what I understand it's to keep half the fleet flying incase on engine has parts issues or Airworthiness Directives.

I could be wrong though. 

The-16B used the Pratt/Whitney F-100 engines generally and had the 'small' mouth intakes. I'm not familiar with what the box title of -B Plus refer to in variant. The box art does not show the ADF (Air Defence Fighter) variant. It does show a travel/baggage pod outboard of the wing external tank and the plane in the landing configuration.

O, what's the scale of that 16 kit?