Fleet Air Arm Group Build

guys your killing me

I look at all thise cool builds you guys are doing and thats all I can do is look.  I so wish this move was over and Iam settled into the new place

yea Darren that base is too cool, you the man

Roy

Guys, if I may suggest... give Eduards mask a try.  Using those will enable anyone to do a perfect canopy job.

Roy

Thanks Dave,

I painted the base, tried to copy it from pictures of HMS Unicorn where my Corsair was based for a little while. 

Darren, that corsair is looking really good and that base really sets it off.  Did you paint the carrier deck or is it something you ordered?

Mike, I can't believe that someone who likes to do all that rigging is afraid of a little masking?

Thanks Mike! I know what you mean....I have those kits in my stash too!!

In anyone hasn't seen it, check out this site.....they restored a Seafire Mk.47!! Awesome pics!

http://www.ezellaviation.com/Past%20Pages/seafire.htm.

What I would'nt do for a ride in one of those..................

Hello chaps!

I hope all of you had a good weekend. I managed to get some workshop time, but not enough as I would have liked. In short, my Corsair is still not  finished. I  have had some trouble making the canopy framing look neat, so I had to re-mask and re-paint it all.

Good thing is that I got the final dull coat on and I have almost finsihed the dispaly base. I did find one glaring mistake on my build......the i/d light on top of the fuselage spine! RN Corsair's did not have them so I had to remove mine at the last minute, praying that I would not ruin the paint job! It came out OK, thank heavens. Anyhow, here is how she looks now:

I have also started my Mk.47 Seafire. As mentioned before, the decals in this airfix are not so hot, so I have hit upon a minor brain wave.......I will "borrow" the roundrels from a Seafury sheet that I have and paint all the invasion stripes on myself. Rest of the decals, like Lettering and such I will cut down as small as possible before placing on the model. Hopefully, this one will turn out nicer than the one I built eight years ago! I am also going to enter this Mk.47 in our Spitfire GB too.

So far I have built and painted the inside the fuselage and the cockpit parts, since its all painted matt black in there, I will not be adding any PE-this will be a OOB interior. When things get moving, I'll be sure to share some pics.

That all for now.

Thanks for the camera tips guys. Luckily I'm in no big hurry so will go visit some shops and try to get my hands on some different ones.

Frank - congrats on the 1000 posts!

Leon 

wyoroy wrote:

Guys I need your help.  As you all know I am moving and I have a few built kits from way back.  I would like to keep them intact.  the question is how can I pack them so that they will survive the 2,000 mile trip?  I remember reading it some place but am unable to find the answer.  Any help would be great. Roy

Roy, I have travelled from one end of Australia to the other with all of my models in tow. How I moved them has been with each model in a 'freezer bag' or a plastic bag to hold it all in and then the models are placed in a packing box a layer at a time. Between each layer I fill it with bean bag beans, the small styrene balls that get everywhere if you spill them. There are usualy no breakages, but if there is the freezer bag holds the pieces in one spot for easy fixing. I have yet to have any major breakages with this method, just little things like antenna's.

Frank, that corsair is looking real nice.  The paint job looks first class.  Congradulations on the 1,000 mark too

Roy, I moved two years ago half way across the continent and my models made it mostly intact but I was fortunate that I made a couple of trips out before the big one so on one of those trips I brought my models so that they wouldn't get bumped around with all the other stuff.  The armor and waterline (flat) botttomed ships got taped to the bottom of the boxes so that they wouldn't slide around.  For the bulk of the aircraft I was able to find some wide shallow boxes that held 7-8 aircraft each and I was able to position them in such a way that they held each other in place.  Hard to describe exactly but one in each corner and then fill in as best as possible.  I had a few repairs to make but overall I was happy with the result.  For some of the more prized aircraft I put them in a seperate box on top of a layer of cotton batting my wife keeps for sewing.  Just be carefull not to get the antenae caught up in it and it works wonderfully.  I've even sent models to friends in the mail wrapped in nothing but the cotton and they've made it completely intact.  I also think that swanny has an article on shipping models on his website that you can check out.

Leon, Dave's pointers on useful features is spot on.  One feature that my former (sniff) camera had on it that I really appreciated was a feature that let you select what kind of light source (tungsten, flourescent etc.) you are using so that it can compensate the color accordingly.  If I was using just regular tungsten bulbs for instance I would select that setting and it would compensate for the yellow light so that my colors looked normal.  I'm not sure if this is a common feature on most cameras but mine was a Canon A80 and is no longer available.  I too need to start researching for a new one.

Guys I need your help.  As you all know I am moving and I have a few built kits from way back.  I would like to keep them intact.  the question is how can I pack them so that they will survive the 2,000 mile trip?  I remember reading it some place but am unable to find the answer.  Any help would be great.

Roy

Leon, you will find that digital cameras range from very little up to 10s of thousasnds of dollars. I purchased my current camera last year (Panasonic DMC-FZ30) for $800AUD (camera and extra bits). This camera does pretty well all I need for the moment but maybe one day I will need to change again. BUt the only reason I say this is that I take heaps of photographs for the website I run and need a reasonably good camera for them. For just occassional use for taking photos of models you don't need to spend a great deal of money. I previously used a Canon Digital IXUS V that I bought in 2002 and it worked fine for me.

The things I find I needed in a camera for models and general photography are:

• Tripod -essential for low light photography or close ups
• decent sized memory card - 1 Gb is a good size but 500Mb will suffice
• Macro ability (available on most cameras)
• The ability to change the settings eg for 'depth of field' you need to change the f.

Other than that, how much you spend is totally up to you. I bought my camera from a shop rather than online as I prefer face to face as well as knowing exactly where to take it if it gets broken. But as has been said before, the people in the shop are available to answer your questions whenever you go in.

Thanks Darren!  I really appreciate that.  I am humbled by your words.

Gentlemen, it has been an honor and a pleasure serving with all of you!  This GB has really helped rekindle the modeling bug for me.  Truly, without you guys I would probably have sold off most of my kits and started a different hobby by now!  I mean that, and consider all of you my friends.  Now, where's the rum...

CONGRATULATIONS FRANK!!

1000 Posts!

Gentlemen,

this man is something special. He builds amazing kits, he drinks like a fish, he moves house quicker than we can post some in progress pics and he finds time to carry out his duties here as well.

Lt. Daywalker, the Officers and crew of HMS FAA Group Build salute you!

Cheers!

Frank, the Corsair is looking great buddy! ...and way to go on the 1000!!

Leon, I would be hesitant to buy a camera from an online vendor. I went from store to store when I bought mine and tried dozens before I decided on the one I currently own. The biggest advantages are that you get to try them all out in the presence of someone knowledgeable and see for yourself if the image quality and features are what you're looking for or really need, how difficult they are to use, get an instant response to any questions you may have about them, etc. 

Congrats on the 1,000 post Frank

Roy

Congrats on the 1,000 posts Frank.  Let's have a toast for that.

Regards,  Rick

Totally unrelated...

 I have been looking into digital SLRs. I doubt I can actually get one, but starting the research. Anyway, when doing a search for prices I have noticed some places are drastically lower than others. For example on this site...

http://www.shopcartusa.com/P_Canon_EOS_30D_1234B004/PT_Y/?ic_campID=98

Most in 6-8 hundred range and then one for $399. Also when checking a more professional level (just for fun) almost all stores were in the $2000 then  two of them were around $1000. Are these scams of some type? Just wondering if anyone has more experience than me with these online stores?

Thanks,
Leon

Looks really nice Frank. Nice and smooth finish. What paints do you use?

Leon 

Thanks Rick!

WOOHOO!  1000 posts, have a drink with me fellas!

Nicely done so far Frank.

Regards,  Rick

Roy,

I feel for you mate, at least when you are all done with moving you can get stuck in. I hope all goes well for you and good luck with the new job.

Frank,

Nice work my friend! Its good to see how this one is doing. I like how you have done the panels.

I've been noticing that too, Mike!  When I am too busy to think about it, I hardly notice the time going by.  It's the idle times that it really bothers me.  Hang in there Roy!  Before you know it, you'll be building again!

I know it's not much, but I thought I'd post pics of my Corsair as she sits.  I painted the upper gray today, along with a little "tonal variation."  It's hard to see it well in the pics, but I haven't yet set up my photo shoot area. 

Aww man! I feel your pain, Roy. One positive thing I did notice about my forced vacation from the hobby.....the time flies by fast! You get so wrapped up in what needs to be done. I didn't realize it had been 6 months until I looked at it in retrospect, then thought 'Holy cow!! That was 6 months?!' The times I missed the hobby most was when I had idle moments to really think about it.

...and I'm glad you like the resin 'pit I sent ya, buddy!

ruddratt wrote:

Oh man can I relate to that, Frank! From the day I first started disassembling my living quarters in NY until I had my bench up and running here in BC was almost 6 months. It was rough! I'd be posting on the forums, looking at everyone else's builds and get so antsy about starting mine.

I understand that more than I want to  I started work on my Corsair way back when I joined and now since I got the new jod, nothing.  I did clean up all the parts include the very cool resin pit I got from Mike, thanks again friend  Things have changed again Now I have to be in Florida befor the 223rd of July.  Which means all my stuff will be here until the house sales and the wife has everything moved  I hate to say it but my wait may well be 6 months or more.  Mike you said it best...looking at everyone else's builds and getting so antsy about starting mine.

Roy