Lockheed GB anyone?

darson wrote:

This is definitely shaping up to be one of my favourite Tamiya kits and hopefully I should have some pics in a couple of days. Cheers

I find myself thinking the same thing with each Tamiya kit I build.  THe fit and ease of assembly always makes the build that much more enjoyable.

******

Nice work on the Falcon so far, Tom.

Ditto that, mucker!

Darren, I'll be watching for the pics! You guys keep talking about this kit like this and it's going to make me want to start mine!

mucker wrote:

I find myself thinking the same thing with each Tamiya kit I build.  THe fit and ease of assembly always makes the build that much more enjoyable.

ruddratt wrote:

Ditto that, mucker! Darren, I'll be watching for the pics! You guys keep talking about this kit like this and it's going to make me want to start mine!

Mike I think the biggest challenge with this kit will be to paint it black without it looking like a solid lump of obsidian.  I've seen a couple of builds online where guys have used different combos of greys and blacks to look black and that's what I'm going to try to do.

Cheers

ruddratt wrote:

You guys keep talking about this kit like this and it's going to make me want to start mine!

Tom FWIW I would go with a weak oil wash over the (fully cured) Futured bird using a color such as Payne’s Grey.  If you find that you need it you could add a tiny bit of Lamp Black to the mix but be wary, less is more.  It's very easy to go overboard and go from subtly weathered to end up with a "checker board" appearance.

Cheers 

darson wrote:

Tom FWIW I would go with a weak oil wash over the (fully cured) Futured bird using a color such as Payne’s Grey.  If you find that you need it you could add a tiny bit of Lamp Black to the mix but be wary, less is more.  It's very easy to go overboard and go from subtly weathered to end up with a "checker board" appearance. Cheers

 Thanks for the info Darren will give that a try.

Wow, what a day!  I spent the afternoon with the CO of the 176th FS playing around with their F-16's.  He let me take all the photos I wanted, and even let me crawl up the ladder to peek into the cockpit while he seated himself and proceeded to show me how to fly one!  WHile I was there, they had a practice intercept scramble  so the base was closed up and the two fully-armed alert aircraft stormed skyward with me standing there gasping in amazement.  It was truly AWESOME!!!  After seeing that, I gotta build one of those for this GB!

The squadron is heading to Iraq in the next month, and it was so nice for them to take the time to babysit me during their busy day while I happily snapped photo after photo.  Thanks to "Ace" and "Lurch" for your hospitality, I'll never forget it! 

Up close and personal:

One of the jets:

Notice the Green Bay Packers sticker on the wheel hub, it's gotta be a Wisconsin jet!

A photo of me with one of the planes:

One of the "alert" aircraft streaking skyward.  With the windchill, it was -5 degrees but you could feel the heat from this thing hundreds of yards away!

razordws wrote:

Hey Mike, I picked up the 1/72 Hasegawa F-104 for this group build.  I'm totally excited because I've always wanted to build one of these missiles.  I'll have to get back to you once I decide which markings to do it in (but it will be Canadian!)

Message received, Dave! I've updated the list to include your entry, my friend. Can't wait to see how that guy turns out!

Great pics, Frank! Thanks for sharing!

So, I suppose I can put you in for the 1/48 Tamiya kit, right?

ruddratt wrote:

Great pics, Frank! Thanks for sharing! So, I suppose I can put you in for the 1/48 Tamiya kit, right?

Thanks Mike!  Sorry to have to ask you to change my entry again, but now I GOTTA build one of these!  Looks like a nice kit, you should try one sometime!

Daywalker wrote:

Looks like a nice kit, you should try one sometime!

Believe me, I'm very tempted, my friend!

No prob changing your entry either, buddy. Consider it done.

ruddratt wrote:

Believe me, I'm very tempted, my friend!

that.  I've got a very nice set of OIF markings on a Two Bobs decal sheet for the Mountain Home Gamblers.  It includes 14 HARM shots and a helo kill marking for the AH-64 Apache it destroyed on the ground to stop it falling into enemy hands.  Those markings sure would look nice on that Tamiya kit, but I might5 leave it to next year to decide.

Progress on the F-117 has slowed a tad but I'm just about finished with the front office while I'm still playing around assembling the other main sub-assemblies.

Cheers

As for me, hopefully I'll have some update pics of the P-38F in the next few days. I've got the decals on and need to complete the panel line wash, flat coat and touch up a few areas. It's coming along well, but this Hasegawa kit is not a shake'n'bake. It's stilla nice kit, with good detail, but needs a lot of patience and dry fitting with the assembly.

Hello!

Frank, you lucky ********! Hanging out on the flightline with the F-16's-Cool!

I managed to do a little more  work to my F-117 today-put the fuselage halves together and started to attach the main landing gear when.........the port wheel well fell inside the fuselage!!!.........with much desperate straining and swearing, I managed to super glue the wheel well back into place! I just hope it holds.............

I started painting up the display base too-I think one will look cool if I get it right.

TANGO 1 wrote:

Hello!   Frank, you lucky ********! Hanging out on the flightline with the F-16's-Cool! I managed to do a little more  work to my F-117 today-put the fuselage halves together and started to attach the main landing gear when.........the port wheel well fell inside the fuselage!!!.........with much desperate straining and swearing, I managed to super glue the wheel well back into place! I just hope it holds............. I started painting up the display base too-I think one will look cool if I get it right.

Thanks Darren, it was INCREDIBLE! 

As for your display base, I know it will be cool.

Frank,

thanks mate-I don't know how I did it, I'll be testing the weight of the main gear tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Tom,

good to hear that your are making good progress. Keep us posted.

Well guys, I think I am pretty much done. Stick a fork in me. Here is the P-38F I built for my father for X-mas. It's the 1/48 Hasegawa kit andthis one beat me into submission. There are many, many errors...mainly due to operator error, but I will say the fit is pretty poor considering the reputation of Hasegawa. Detail, on the other hand, is pretty good OOB.

With a busy work load and three kids at home (one is 4 months old), bench time was scarce and random. It seems like I really lost the "flow" of this build, and am looking forward to a quick shake and bake Tamiya kit after the New Year.

Enough of my whining....here she is: 

I concur.......your Dad is going to love this! I've scanned my beady Tango 1 eye over your beautiful P-38 and all I can say is.............bloody marvellous old chap!

If my P-38 comes out as good as that-I'd be a very happy man indeed. You can be proud of that one.

A quick update from me:

Work is underway at the secret workshop to finish off the main assembly and masking of cockpit and landing gear in anticipation of the Stealth Fighter paint job, yes the main gear held and my F-117 is standing on its own three legs.

I'm just waiting for the glue to dry on the flaps and tail fins then I'll be ready to build and paint.

Thanks Dave, Frank and Darren.

Now Darren, if I had even an Imperial Ounce of your base making talent it would be so much nicer. How do you come about being so skillful at bases? Has it been a long time of trial and error or did you have some type of lessons, be it DVD's or in person? 

I would really like to learn how to make bases and/or dioramas. they add so much more to a static aircraft model.