All Subjects - Aussie Group Build 2005

I'll make sure i tell him exactly that Tom

Sean - yeah thats the worst part of every supervisory role I ever held... especially when it was someone with two left feet (clumsy or always said the wrong thing at the wrong time).. or someone who honestly tried and just couldnt make the grade...

Hang in there and focus on the good parts of the job! It's hard sometimes but when you can it makes the job seem like an easy thing...

By the way... can you guestimate what size the roundels should have been on the kit? maybe we can get you something out of our spares? If you have to go for the wording, a little red roo decal to personalize it would definately make it an Aussie thing!

Jules - I'll have to buy him a Martlet for his 10th birthday! Tell him it's from his illegitimate uncle Tom who ran off to the states to join the circus, way before he was born.

Darren, Mate after this i'm never gonna pic up a shovel again, but i am just about finished Mate is the buffalo your doing the vintage tamiya one or the new tooled one
Sean[b] good to see your close to nailing the Bell And yeah i reckon haiving to Sack someone would totally suck I imagine it would'nt be a good feeling, thats why i like to work alone.......

[b]Mike My LHS have just recieved some Airfix Boomerangs in 1/72 and while i don't build 72nd scale i'm gonna buy one for my boy to build when he is a little older, i already have a Heller Spit MK 1 in 72 stashed for him

QUOTE: Originally posted by darson Sean I read your post and though no probs it's only Aussie roundels he's after, then I read the 1/35 part. The only place I could find in a quick search was Aussie Decals who do a sheet in 1/35 for the Blackhawk but it is all Low Vis. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Thanks Mike and Darren.
I kinda thought the decals might be a hassle to get, and luckily for me the Bell was released with both wording and roundels, or just lettering.
If I cant find roundels, then I'll just bang on some stencils.
Unfortunately, just the wording version of the Bell makes it look like a US army rig, and I really prefer an Aussie look.
Beggers cant be chosers.

QUOTE: Oh and by the way, have you settled into your new job a little more now?

Jobs going pretty good now.
Getting more resilient to the stress I think.
Either that or I'm too numb to care
Has it's high points and low points.
High was jumping onto our new 12 tonne excavator and digging a ruddy huge hole for an abortoir(we are a pretty diverse company)
Low point was sacking someone on Thursday
Never enjoyed doing that part

Sean I read your post and though no probs it's only Aussie roundels he's after, then I read the 1/35 part. The only place I could find in a quick search was Aussie Decals who do a sheet in 1/35 for the Blackhawk but it is all Low Vis.
Sorry I can't be of more help. Oh and by the way, have you settled into your new job a little more now?

Mike I know what you mean, aside from the fact that Tamiya has almost disappeared completely when it comes to new 1/48 aircraft kits, there is little (read no) chance of Hasegawa releasing a Boomerang.

Jules, how's that new house of yours coming along and when are you going to start renting yourself out as a landscape gardener?

:::progress update:::
I got the Buffalo fuselage together last night and I was really pleasantly surprised. I was expecting an appalling fit that was going to need a lot of filler but in fact the fit is pretty good, which is not bad for a 30 year old kit. Next step will be (very) carefully cutting out the canopy masks that Tamiya supplied, applying them and than maybe I can clap on some paint.

Cheers
Darren

Tweets

Hawkeye do a 1:35 ADF Blackhawk sheet, that would have the roundels you seek, though Hawkeye decals are becoming increasingly rare now. Alternatively 1:32 would work as the scales are fairly close.

cheers

Mike

Ok, I'm after some 1/35 scale Aussie roundels.
Which company makes em/sells em, anybody know???

I am upto the decaling stage for my Bell, so after placing the decals, I can flat coat, mount the engine, and finish running the cables etc.

Help please?

You have very limited choices in 1:48.

The scarce and tad innacurate LTD kit. Easy to build, at least mine was , or the Tasman one which is still available but a bear to build.

All we can hope for really is that one of the Eastern European manufacturers tool a kit, as Tamigawa will NEVER release one.

cheers

Mike

I prefer 1/48 scale but what are the chances that Tamiya or Hasegawa will do a Boomerang.............

Special Hobby are releasing a 1:72 Boomerang in the near future or so the story goes.

Might be better to wait for that kit instead!

cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike, i was planning on doing a Boomerang in the future but given the trouble the little bugger is causing you i think i'll add it to the not to build list

You're a better man than me Mike to stick with it like that.. I usually have to sit them aside for a bit when they begin to get to me.. I build something easy in between to remind me I have a small set of modelling skills to me...

well this little Bomerang has a number of times gone for a one way trip against the wall without coming back!!

I will get there though

cheers

Mike

Sounds like you having fun with that one Mike

A little milestone achieved early this week!!

Canopy attached to the fuselage. Since this picture was taken I have filled the gaps between the canopy and fuselage with PVA and painted the frames interior green.

I will beat this little monster if it the last thing I do!!



cheers

Mike

I have managed to attach the canopy and the Mosquito has received it's first coat of 'One Go'. So there is actualy forward progress.

Darren i've been so caught up with other builds the Spit VIII is a little neglected lately, As soon as i nail the BoB GB 109 i'll give the Spit my undevided attention

I just noticed the date yesterday and thought I had better extract the old digit and get some work done on the Buffalo if I'm going to get this kit done by the due date. So gathering up all the bits and pieces I have painted so far, I assembled the cockpit last night. It's OK but somehow the gorgeous Ultracast seat just looks wrong in a cockpit with a decal for an IP. However, once the closed canopy goes on you won't much anyway.

Cheers
Darren

thanks darren iam clad u dont mind me asking question....u have to sometimes....thanks again...ill leave u alone now ...regards jazz

QUOTE: Originally posted by jazzbot hey darren ive got photobucket... this sounds dumb where do you get pic,s from to put in your album..... please advise man....and one day i might get to aftermarket....jazz

Jazz the pics in my Photobucket account come from a couple of different spots, 1 pics of my models that I take with the wife’s digital camera, 2 group build icons that people make up so that I can put them in my sig and the Aussie flag which I err sort of found (if you know what I mean ) also for my sig.

Cheers
Darren

Dave - I had one on a build recently.... it really seemed that even if I got a rotary sander and hit it, it still would be there... finally built up with putty around it and did it that way...

QUOTE: Originally posted by harvs73 Has anyone ever had a seam that just wouldn't go away? I can't seem to get rid of the seam on the top of the Mosquito even after a number of applications of filler, Mr Surfacer 500 and Mr Surfacer 1000. I now have a 'ghost' seam along the top of the fueslage that won't go away.

I had a couple of these big time on the Mirage wing root. I ended up laying down a strip of thin styrene on one side & plying filler over that, which sort of worked. Mr Surfacer seems particularly poor with this problem. The other side is still visible (but the Mirage in Willytown has a really rough seam there, so I figure I'm just being accurate ). Not good news on the top though, sometimes with that issue I've laid down a cord of styrene rod, used Testors liquid glue to blend/weld it in the slot & then fill & sand it. The Tamiya putty seems better at this as it has aluminium particles in it so it's less prone to sink back into the gap. I found Squadron putty fills the gap really well but is just way too hard to sand (& has vicous toluene fumes).

hey darren ive got photobucket... this sounds dumb where do you get pic,s from to put in your album..... please advise man....and one day i might get to aftermarket....jazz

thanks to everyone who replied..... its good to know this stuff then u can get on with the job of building , once again thanks guys

Tom , how true that is about the Vietnam era instructors. Our medics always carry a rifle no matter where they are as well as get any weapons training they require. Rifles are only carried to defend the wounded as required under the Geneva Convention. In fact the medics in East Timor were critisized as they had their LAV-25/AUSLAVs with the Red Cross on the side of the vehicle and a .50cal MG on the pintle mount. The rifle that i'm carrying is the F88C Austeyr. It's the carbine version of the Australian produced Steyr.

Has anyone ever had a seam that just wouldn't go away? I can't seem to get rid of the seam on the top of the Mosquito even after a number of applications of filler, Mr Surfacer 500 and Mr Surfacer 1000. I now have a 'ghost' seam along the top of the fueslage that won't go away.

Dave - yeah I figured it meant something like that after looking at your pic in your profile.. I was thinking armor jockey but I was almost right... question - what is the weapon you are carrying? can't see enough of it to tell...

I was in the military also, I was in the Navy but served two tours with the US Marines on a rapid deployment team. (I was a combat medic and everyone in the Marine Corps has to be able to 1. carry a rifle type weapon which we weren't supposed to, due to the Geneva convention and 2. kill, which for some reason they marked that off the list in medic training as well, so they had to pull from the Navy side for medics, chaplains and such)

funny thing was when I went to FMF training to learn how to walk and talk like a genuine Marine medic, the first thing they taught us to do was rip off the red cross armband before we hit the beach so as not to be a target, act as loader for the heavy machine gun team and how to grab a rifle/MG and wreak destruction on the enemy ( from the first dead guy we saw...)

Having Viet Nam era instructors was a plus... they were less worried about rules and more worried about survival of the medic and the troops...

Tom the term 'AJ', depending on how it is used just means Army Jerk (or any other combination). It can be an insult or just an easier way of saying that someone is/was in the Army.

Jazz , the length of time for construction also depends on you. I have been making the PR16 mosquito for over 6 months now due to life getting in the way. I usualy end up taking much longer than I should due to work (aaahh the life of an Instructor at an Army School) or just the amount of detailing you want to do, or just being slack.

Jazz - welcome! a real different bunch here but once you get over the smell, we're not a bad lot! we all take our different times on our builds... I did about 2.5 weeks on my RAF Martlet for the Battle of Britain GB, on this one hitting on 3 weeks and almost done. On the Latin American Airforces GB about 2 months and still haven't got the NMF paint on yet...

oh yeah, after 5 stars you get limo rides all round town and free drinks wherever you go!

Jules - the Promodeler Ju88 is a really nice build, the interior fuselage sidewalls are comparable to resin... seats and some throttle levers and stuff are needed though to make the cockpit complete... Once done it makes a pretty sharp addition to your collection. (also recommend aftermarket decals, the kit ones are good but only give you one possible aircraft to model if I remember right) Also it has the bits to convert it to several different versions of the Ju88, not just the nightfighter...

Dave - what's an aj? educate this Texas boy! and I like the tip you gave for the nose pieces on that kit. It would also work well on the Hasegawa Typhoon Mk.1b The fuselage around the cockpit comes in 3 pieces and once the fuselage is together it was a bear to line it all up... if I had put the on the halves to the fuselage before I closed it I think it would have been a lot better matchup... (the Monogram Stuka had a similar matchup for the upper fuselage aft of the rear gunner and the same would have helped)

Harvs: 1st tip for the Mitchell. I've been caught because there was this RH wall detail for the nose section that wasn't mentioned in the instructions. I assumed it was an error in the script & welded it in place. Only after trying to ad the largish fixed nose gun construction have I realised that it's an alternate to the big nose gun. I wasn't actually sure the RAAF birds had the fixed gun, so now they don't. (It shows as 2 guns coming out of the nose greenhouse, rather than options with 1 or 4.)

Jazz the average time to build really depends on you, I know that fightnjoe turned around a 1/72 Bf109 in about a week for the Battle of Britain GB. The rest of us build as time and motivation permits.
To post pics on this site you need to have them hosted on a website, not on your PC. I use a free service called Photobucket http://www.photobucket.com/ Once you have your pictures in your Photbucket album just copy the Img line into your post. Piece of cake.

Cheers
Darren