North African GB "All Subjects" (Start NOW - Finish 31st of Oct)

Got my Matilda today. Won't be able to start it till later. Remodeling modeling area.

Daniel, excellent work on the 109 . I hope mine turns out that good.

I haven't been able to post much for a couple of days because my internet access has been down at work , I mean how I am I supposed to contribute to this forum when I can't even post on the job. Then to add insult to injury the help desk logged it as a sev 3 issue [:0]. Don't those fools have any idea what they are doing to me?

I'm making so-so progress on my 109, this afternoon I sprayed the spinner with an initial coat of flat white in preparation for the RLM 21 and RLM 23 that will go on next. I also sprayed all of the interior bits (wheel wells, undercarriage etc) requiring RLM 02. Next stage will be Future for the wheel wells, undercarriage and cockpit followed by a wash to create some grime and shadows.
BTW can anybody tell me what would be a good color to represent the canvas covers in the wheel wells of a Bf109E-7?

Cheers
Darren

Canvas?
I thought they were leather

I spose thats what you get for assuming

Either way, I painted mine with a Gunze Red/brown, then dry brushed to highlight sections to appear like worn leather.
Never even thought to look into it

Ah, the weather seal is leather, not the dust cover

But, on the one I'm doing for this build, I'll get it right.
I'll do the dust cover in Tamiya XF-51, Khaki Drab.
Then give it a subtle dry brush with white to highlight a tad, then wash with a light sand colour of some sort to simulate NA conditions and build up.

Thats the plan anyways

Daniel Great job on the mottle. Are you doing Werner Schroer's Black 8?

Darren Did they tell you to reboot your PC and call back? That was the line I always used!!!!! Not sure how I lasted 5 years on a service desk......

Tom Are you totally sure Kremps was flying for the Allies? Is it just me, or does the name Kremps sound, just a little too Teutonic?

The MS 406 is out of the box, and trial fitting has commenced. There isn't a great deal to this kit, just about 50 parts, at least 8 of which I don't need, with the cockpit taking up 10 of the remaining 42 parts.!!!!!

Overall fit looks good, detail not so, especially seeing as HC got the got the elevators the wrong way round!!!! I feel a little filling and scribing coming on.

Now waiting on Squadron's French Fighters in Action to arrive in the post, as I'm going to have to scratchbuild the detail in the cockpit and U/C bays, and haven't a clue what they looked like.

Karl

Darren & Karl Thanks for the kind words. I'm looking forward to seeing your builds.

Karl I'm not doing Schroer's black 8, but I used it as a basis for my camo job. My aircraft is actually a bit in-accurate as far as decals go. I don't have the JG.27 insignia for the nose, and my fuselage numbers (number 3) are from a US Navy decal sheet. It'll do for me though. It's not bad for a paint job experiment....

Karl - I remember that line... They sell a Tshirt online I always wanted back in my tech days...
it's black and says in bold white letters: "SHUT UP and REBOOT"

Thing is you probably weren't far off in telling them that... I remember asking people 5 times if they had rebooted.. and everytime "yes I've done that x times already and it didn't help" I would immediately walk to the machine and reboot it...problem fixed... their response???? "Oh!!! I didn't think of trying that!"

As far as Kremps, I know her relatives back in Eastern occupied Europe might have fought with the Axis, but she definitely Flew "Tweety II" It's kind of like the Eddie Rickenbacker thing... She is one patriotic old cow!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by rjkplasticmod Tom, You enjoy masking difficult canopies ? Your'r a much sicker man than I thought . Regards, Rick

I know Rick ... it scares me sometimes on how intent I can get at cutting that tape no more than a micrometer from the frame... unfortunately to date I have yet to achieve that haha..

QUOTE: You were there, she was there.................................................................................and then I got Someones tellin' porkies..................I wonder..................

Tweets... would I ever do that to you? besides... didn't we agree we wouldn't mention the fact that *I* was there too???

can't wait to start my bf-109. Looks like an awesome kit. revell (reissue Hasegawa)

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 You were there, she was there.................................................................................and then I got Someones tellin' porkies..................I wonder.................. Tweets... would I ever do that to you? besides... didn't we agree we wouldn't mention the fact that *I* was there too???

Hey, you started this ball rolling mate, I'll be a monkeys uncle if I'm the only one gettin' a lashin'

Well, still got a ways to go before I can start anything.
Have to finish the Aussie GB helo first, otherwise I'll be too distracted and have to much clutter to do my kits any justice.

Also unsure as to which one I should build first, the 109 or the 129
I would really like to get the detail set for the 129, but the camo job will be hard enough, and if I get it right I doubt anyone would look any further than the squiggles.
I know I wouldn't.

Decisions decisions!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Karl - I remember that line... They sell a Tshirt online I always wanted back in my tech days... it's black and says in bold white letters: "SHUT UP and REBOOT" Thing is you probably weren't far off in telling them that... I remember asking people 5 times if they had rebooted.. and everytime "yes I've done that x times already and it didn't help" I would immediately walk to the machine and reboot it...problem fixed... their response???? "Oh!!! I didn't think of trying that!"

Tom I used to work on a service desk for a large UK retailer, with the desk split between HO and stores support teams.

Being part of the stores team I had to undergo a 10 week training course to maintain the old green screen controllers that ran the store tilling systems, the HO teams on the other hand underwent a 5 day course.

I always wondered why it actually took 5 days to explain that line?

Tweets Go with the 129 first, I'm looking forward to seeing the camo.

Spent last night cleaning up the components of the MS406. The instructions for this thing are truly appaling, the drawings are all out of perspective, and look nothing like the parts on the sprues!!!

I'll have to post a scan of the decals from the kit, they look more like peel offs!!!

Karl

QUOTE: Hey, you started this ball rolling mate, I'll be a monkeys uncle if I'm the only one gettin' a lashin'

Tweets - funny that's exactly what Kremps used to say... told me I'd be crazy if I thought I was the only one she was gonna give a lashin' to...

I ditto the 129 request... let's see something that's gonna challenge you! You've talked about that squiggle job almost since I first got on here!

Karl - maybe it actually took that long to teach THEM to reboot the machine.. it seems most people think it an unnatural act, and now and then I even have a tech call me with a question out of desperation, especially if they think it is network or server related problems, and I have to give them the third degree to find out if THEY rebooted it... even go as far as:

Me: "Did you reboot their machine?"
Tech: "Yeah"
Me: "Are you lying"
Tech <various expletives deleted>
Me: "That's not what I asked you, did you reboot it?
Tech: "Yeah"
Me: "Now... I also asked are you lying... are you?"
Tech: "No, I logged off and back on and it still does it"
Me: "That's not what I told you to do... now reboot it and see if it works"

and so on until....

Tech: "Wow! Nevermind I fixed it! After it rebooted, it went away!"

Me: "Cool... oh and by the way...... YOU'RE WELCOME"

Tom I've spent the last 3 years as a change manager convincing techies that 'rebooting' the mainframe is something that you just might want to clear with users first!

Don't you just love working in IT?

Actually managed some work on the MS 406 this afternoon. Shimmed the front of the lower wing section where it meets the fuselage, there's a rather large gap otherwise, and applied filler behind the shim to bring the lower fuselage to wing contour up to the same level. See pic below:



I've also added plastic card inserts along the somewhat odd, fuselage to wing join to create a more positive, and hopefully stronger joint.



I'm disinclined to do anymore until I have some decent reference material in front of me.

Karl

QUOTE: Originally posted by KJ200 Tom I've spent the last 3 years as a change manager convincing techies that 'rebooting' the mainframe is something that you just might want to clear with users first!

I am still trying to get the techies to at least arrange for an announcement to be made before they reboot a production server... somehow seeing a database lock then "unable to connect" appear on a users screen doesn't make them very friendly the rest of the day!

Looking good on your progress -- I need to get me some plastic stock too. The P-47D I am building should have a wing fillet at the leading edge along the fuselage.. Finally I found a reference that shows one without it so I will build it as that plane but it would have been easier to scratchbuild it from the start...

Good work so far Karl. Not exactly a shake & bake kit, are it ?

Regards, Rick

Rick This one definitely isn't! Having said that, I am enjoying bulding it more than the Hasa Hurricane for the BoB GB.

I think I expected the Hasa kit to be an easier build, but after all the hassles with that rear wing to fuselage seam, and the nav lights, it just wasn't

Now with a Hobbycraft kit I just don't have any expectations to start with!!!!

Tom Some of our mainframe operators are a little long in the tooth shall we say, and don't like having to ask some upstart change manager when they can IPL. I keep trying to explain about those 57,000 users out there.

As for servers, the techies have had enough run ins with my team to know better now. It's a sort of Pavlovian response, think reboot, raise change request first!!!!

Karl

Karl - would love to see more change management where I work... one day the boss and HIS boss walked in and said "We are going to replace 100 computers with thin clients, and the next campus that goes up everyone in the building will have one" ---no planning, no testing, no getting end users to buy in to the idea ... nothing! They have no idea what the final affect on the end user will be (somewhat negative from both an acceptance and a performance standpoint in my book) and don't care... my immediate boss laughed and said something about we'll have some good stories to tell people about this one when it all settles out...

My thought was, would I be telling these stories in the unemployment line while waiting on my compensation check?

Hey guys, is it tooo late to join in this GB? If not I`d like to build an sdkfz 7 from Tamiya.
what color was most of the afrika korps armor, was it sandgelb or dunklegelb of later, does it matter what year the colors were used?

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Karl - would love to see more change management where I work...

Amen brothers. I was on the ERP team that installed a system that very few users wanted at four sites. Sad thing is that we had to mold the software to existing business processes (not necessarly good ones) rather than change the business process to best utilize the ERP package. I feel your pain.

QUOTE: Originally posted by stipp what color was most of the afrika korps armor, was it sandgelb or dunklegelb of later, does it matter what year the colors were used?

in the later campaign the vehicles were both those colors. I believe in tamiya colors this would be Desert yellow and dark yellow. The book Panzer colors calls it a dark sand brown. Most of the vehicles early on were panzer gray and covered up with mud since the paint was short in supply and the mud blended in perfectly to the surroundings.

QUOTE: Originally posted by bobbaily QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Karl - would love to see more change management where I work... Amen brothers. I was on the ERP team that installed a system that very few users wanted at four sites. Sad thing is that we had to mold the software to existing business processes (not necessarly good ones) rather than change the business process to best utilize the ERP package. I feel your pain.

ACK!!! Bob we must have bosses who were separated at birth... the response to me and my coworker (we make a great team) voicing concern about graphical applications and such bogging down the server the thin clients were running on was.. "We can't let the software dictate what we buy, if we have to we will buy some software that DOES work..." ok.. point one.. what educational game software ISNT graphical.. his idea was to teach the elementary school kids Access and Powerpoint.. he said they would learn more than from the math and language arts software... and then he said if the server wasnt good enough we would double it.... it is a quad processor Xeon with 4GB of RAM and 300GB of drive space... sure we could throw in more drives but double it???? for an elementary school? As it is we are at a $30,000 price tag on the server...


I had the same thing happen when I was consulting though.. this CEO wanted to rewrite the code on the healthcare package I worked on to meet how they already worked (very poor business model I might add) versus get in line with the rest of the nation... he paid for it... then fired us because he said we were trying to bilk money out of the firm because the software should have been written like he wanted it to from the beginning...


anyway I am ranting... and preaching to the choir it may seem....

On a side note I am ready to Alclad the P-47 for the L.A. GB... worked on the Typhoon for the Aussie Gb today... and am almost finished with my SBD I was supposed to do for the Naval Aviation GB.. then all that stands in the way of this is a P-51 for a coworkers son.. (and for the Tuskegee airmen group build...) then probably start my Martlet for here and the Zero for the Midway GB at the same time...

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 I ditto the 129 request... let's see something that's gonna challenge you! You've talked about that squiggle job almost since I first got on here!

Well, it's gonna be a test alright!!!!
And your right Tom, I have been yakking about the squiggle camo for a while, so as soon as the Aussie GB helo is done, the 129 is on the bench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Unless the 109 starts calling me from the filing cabinet, can't refuse the call y'know, it's a ying/yang thing.

Tweety (Spectral voice with a German accent coming from the cupboard) Don't build the 109, build me, and play with the squiggle.

See the 109 isn't the one calling you!

Tom & Bob Don't you ever feel that you're working in a Dilbert cartoon?

I don't know many people who'd ask for more change management, well not until after somebody elses change has taken out their application.

And I'm still waiting on my order from Hannants for the ref. book for the MS406. How can it take 14 days to ship an order 150 miles?

Karl

Stipp to the GB mate I've added your details to the list on page one

karl 14 days I don't think it took that long for the Future that Tom sent to get from the US to Aus......................

Tweets good to see that your doing the 129And BTW take the Fues halves and hold em together, then place the canopy on top and have a look, the only thing your gonna see inside that is the seat.........If i were you i'd just stick a set of Eduard seat belts in itOhhhh i almost forgot Hows your "CAT"

QUOTE: Originally posted by KJ200 Tweety (Spectral voice with a German accent coming from the cupboard) Don't build the 109, build me, and play with the squiggle. See the 109 isn't the one calling you! Karl

play with the squiggle!!!

I like that

QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison [Tweets good to see that your doing the 129And BTW take the Fues halves and hold em together, then place the canopy on top and have a look, the only thing your gonna see inside that is the seat.........If i were you i'd just stick a set of Eduard seat belts in it

Hmmm, good point.
Ok, it's settled..

QUOTE: Ohhhh i almost forgot Hows your "CAT"

Well, I asked my CAT how she was doing, and check the response.


Probably shoulda used food as a bribe.

QUOTE: karl 14 days I don't think it took that long for the Future that Tom sent to get from the US to Aus......................

Pathetic isn't it?

I have had a nice 3 day weekend, and achieved , next to nothing for want of that order.

Tweets Your cat is obviously a good judge of character........

Slipp Welcome to the GB.

Karl

Sean, Nice to see a Cat with an atitude. Very cool.

Regards, Rick

Thank you people! I`m going to get started on it today with pics to follow!