IT'S BACK! Secret Santa 2: Rudolph Strikes Back

Jon

Thank you for such a great idea and invite into this GB.  I must say from the acceptance by all in this group build, there is just to many too list, but I mean everyone, has made this Christmas one of the best I have had in a long long long time.

I am speechless.  Thank you to everyone.  talk about guardian s, you guys/gals fit this expression to a T.  I never felt that I could be this upbeat.

PaPa-John

Merry Christmas to all ! 

Many thanks to my new friend Steve (Zipmeister) who sent me these sweet kits.  A Hasegawa F-16 two seat trainer and an Academy Mustang...  And a third - A 1/72 jeep that comes with the Mustang - cool !  These all look like realy nice kits and I'll no doubt have a blast building them.  One neat note about the 'Stang - It comes with decals for two 15th AF birds.  These were units that may have flown cover for the bomber group that one of my uncles flew with.  He was a co-pilot in a B-24 with the 15th AF in Italy in 1944.

And David (Circuitrider)...  I hope you enjoy building the Hurricane...  you'll need something to wind down in between rounds of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot.      Ding !    Round two !  

Thanks to Jon for organizing this - and to all the rest of you too - It's been good fun to get to know a little more about you all.  I'm looking forward to the build, but even the pre-build build-up has been fun.

Chris

How sweet it is! Thanks to my SS Jon B(aka JWB) for one most awesome kit! An Accurate Miniatures SBD-3 Dauntless.

I looked at some reviews of the kit to see what I could expect, and Wow! "Most-accurate, most-detailed plastic kit ever as an OOB project", "You can't build a model with more detail in 1/48 scale OOB", and "the kit is as definitive in accuracy and quality as can be" are just a few of the quotes I've found about this kit.

I knew I was in for a treat when I saw Jon was my SS, but this is AWESOME!

I just hope I'm able to do this build justice and make our fearless leader and GB organizer (aka JWB) proud!

Thanks again Jon.....Merry Christmas to you and your family and to everyone else around here also! This is such a blast!(I get a little excited around Christmas....can you all tell?)

Edit:

   Since everyone else has posted a mug shot, well......here goes!

Ain't I just cute as a bug?

TLP, go for it....just jump right in! My second kit after coming back to the hobby was a Hasegawa Fw190A-3 with a cowl assembly that must have been designed by a guy with 10 hands!

Seriously, though, just jumping in to something that seemed a little (OK alot) above my skill level has really boosted my confidence level on my more recent builds. I guess after you finish a difficult kit, other kits will seem like a walk in the park.

  You'll learn a lot more from a kit with um... "character" then you will from a shake and bake kit.  No one here expects anything more than for you to do your best with what your given.

Alright so I have a little confession to make.

All I really wanted for Christmas was my 2.. err 1 front tooth.

Actually I opened my gift early. It is our family tradition and we always open our gifts on Christmas Eve night so I couldn't resist and I just had to find an excuse to open it up. I guess I could've waited until morning. Atleast I'm not posting pics until today to keep the revealing part on schedule, actually I've been too busy to take and post pictures lol. Anyways.....

THANKS A BUNCH JEFF I LOVE THE KIT. It's exactly what I like, perfect. I had a great time participating in this build, even if I didn't get too indepth about the chilli-cheese fry discussion. I read everything and laughed along whenever I could. Christmas was a busy time and I wish I could've posted some more in the boards. Drew I literally laughed out loud when I saw the pictures of you and your gift. I'm glad you enjoyed it and you should thank Jon too. Thanks a bunch and may the force be with you.... I mean Merry Christmas and God bless.

Oh and here's some pics. Of the kit and my toothless grin. Excuse the lighting but it didn't occur to me to get pictures until after everyone else went to bed, so I snapped a few in the mirror and kept the best one, it is probably better that way for your guys' sake.

Finally got a little rested up after all the kids and grandkids left this afternoon after a really fine Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here, and want to say thank you to Hakan, Azgaron here, who chose very wisely and sent me a Junkers F-13 all the way from Sweden.  It's a kit I have somehow failed to buy, but one I find interesting and I am eager to see if I can match up all those corrugations.  I look forward to building it, showing it here, and adding it to my shelf.  Thank you, Hakan!  And thank you to Jon for organizing the group build.  Hakan also sent me a very nice letter, which was nice to get, I wish I had done that for my SS victim/recipient.  Next year I will do better.

So here is my mug shot, with my prize:

Aw Priest, it's not that bad of a kit! I built it when I was 13! Just be careful around the seams and the canopy and you'll have a pretty Black Widow hanging around.

Looks like everyone really enjoys their gifts! YAY! And the Corsairs keep on coming!!! LOL 

TLP,

If I can throw a few words of encouragement in here, I can state confidently that the kit won't give you any problems that the collective knowledge of the GB can't handle.  I think you are more than capable of completing a nice model out of this classic.  If there's one conclusion I've come to in the last two years since I started building again is that what most call "modeling skill" is, IMO, better called "patience"!   Don't get in a rush, and when the kit gets too frustrating,  set it down and walk away for a few days.  You'll be surprised how problems work out when you approach them fresh.

Also, for a more balanced assessment of the kit, check out this review

http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/allies/us/spahrp61.htm

I think you've made a good decision, and will be a better modeler when all is done.

Greg (gzt),

One million apologies for getting your name wrong yesterday morning.  It was early, kids were screaming, and I had forgotten my glasses when I read your card.  Just reread it and noticed my mistake.  So GREG, thanks again for the Avia, can't wait to start.

btp2k2 wrote:

Then I found a very cool Hasegawa 1/48th F/A-18E Super Hornet! I am very stoked for this, as I have just finished the Revell Super Bug and have been interested in seeing a side by side comparison! Thanks Santa!

Glad to hear you like it. I'm not into jet aircraft (only made a Tomcat once) so I picked the kit for the nice decals. 

btp2k2 wrote:

BTW...interesting side note....my Secret Santa is actually named Klaus....Hmmmmmm.....

Well, X-mas wasn't the greatest because the wife and 2 0f the 4 kids came down with Tonsilitis (sp).  But it was made bearable with what my SS Jmart sent me.  A 1/48 Fujimi Val.  With extras to boot.  Thanks Doc.  Looking forward to trying a LOT of firsts with this.  PE, Vac Canopies, Resin Tires.......Ans the DVD of the Empire of Industies was great.  Thanks again and happy building to all.

I want to thank hjkshooter for the fine kit he sent me. it was a P-51c and it will make a fine addition to my stable.

Thad

jeff wrote:

TLP, If I can throw a few words of encouragement in here, I can state confidently that the kit won't give you any problems that the collective knowledge of the GB can't handle.  I think you are more than capable of completing a nice model out of this classic.  If there's one conclusion I've come to in the last two years since I started building again is that what most call "modeling skill" is, IMO, better called "patience"!   Don't get in a rush, and when the kit gets too frustrating,  set it down and walk away for a few days.  You'll be surprised how problems work out when you approach them fresh. Also, for a more balanced assessment of the kit, check out this review http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/allies/us/spahrp61.htm I think you've made a good decision, and will be a better modeler when all is done.

TLP? If the good doctor doesn't answer all of your questions? Here is a little write up from Terry Dean. I have communicated with a couple him of times. He also makes nose weights for models. Pretty good stuff. I thought I was a little over the top with 3 that I had built in the past and the 7 I have in the stash at the present time. Terry has 36 and buying more!!!!

Everybody has pretty much said it all. The first one I built was back in the late '70s after a hiatus from modeling. I didn't worry about any of the problems and it turned out ok. The next two were a little better. Not much but a little. That is not a reflection on the kit but, my skills at the time.

Here are some other articles that might help you also. This one by Danny Luey. Here's one from our own Pixilater. Mark Soppet. And, if you want, you can join some of us others here for a little comradery!

Have fun with the kit, Chris!! 

A big thank you to Pink Chevelle for the Hellcat kit.  Since I recently finished my 1st US Navy bird I have been wanting to do another and was thinking about the Hellcat.  How did you know?

Loved the card.  Now that's one cute little project. 

Notice the way I tilted my head back so you can't see my  "morning hair" but what I forgot was that "I got no hair"

Whew, finally got a chance to get onto the forums! 

Thank you very much Chopperfan for the Accurate Miniatures TBF/M Avenger!  What an awesome kit!  I was especially thrilled to see that it comes with pre-cut masks for all the canopy bits, sweet! 

It also came with a very nice letter and a CD which included not only some great pictures of the family, but a bunch of reference photos!  Very nice!  Thank you very much!!!    As you all know, I love the research part of the build and like to learn anything and everything about what I build.  I'm especially stoked about the George Bush Sr. scheme, so that's the version I'm going to build.

Thanks again!  I can't wait to get started with the build! 

Hey Everyone

I hope everyone got something they wanted, I know I did. My secret Santa got me an Accurate Miniatures SB2U-3 "Vindicater", three different grades of 'crazy glue' and some really skinny filing strips. In addition to that I also received a very nice card, egging me on to get busy and build this kit.  With that in mind, here is the first shot I took...

Thank you very much David, aka 'Circuitrider', for your generous gift. I will do my best to get this done and on 'film' real soon.

Thanks also to Jon for making this possible and I look forward to seeing all the great builds here on FS.

Merry Christmas to all

Regards,
Freddie from LI

Well I guess it's my turn to show my mug on here........

I would like to Thank Brian.....aka brain44 for the 2 GREAT Kits he sent me. The Monogram P-47D Thunderbolt 1/48 and the Revell P-39J Lightning 1/48. I have to say I have Never build eather of these and I can't wait to start Did not think you would have send 2 but thank you and  nice CD of the home sted...... Thanks Brian.

I hope everyone had a much fun doing this again as I did... Ho Ho Ho

Bud

Dear David

 It is a challenging kit to be sure.  I had tried building one when this was first released, but that attempt ended in disaster.  I had most of it done and then dropped it to the floor and it broke up pretty much.  It is fixable but after that I lind of lost the drive to repair the damage.  I always intended on getting another and start over again.  Thank you very much for that and I can't wait to get busy. 

Regards

Freddie from LI 

Hey guys-

I wish I had the time to post something to each of you. I'm on vacatin in Texas, however, and the beef brisket just came in off the grill.... so, errr... my attention span is kinda short....

What was I saying? Oh yeah!

All the pics looks great! This has been a great GB, and I credit it to all of you and how enthusuastically you have taken up the spirit of the build, of fun, and fellowship, of brotherhood and sisterhood, and have really just made this something special. I praise God for each and every one of you, because getting to know you through this has been a treat of a lifetime. So Merry Christmas everyone!

And now, the timer starts counting down.....

Secret Santa 3 looms far, far away on the horizon.....

Somewhere in the far-a-way reaches of the North Pole, and elf has a gleam in his eye......

jwb wrote:

Somewhere in the far-a-way reaches of the North Pole, and elf has a gleam in his eye......

No doubt the gleam is the reflection off a natural metal finish, or the morning sun catching a canopy...

Well, I'm going to kick this thread off by being the first to actually start my kit! That's right, you heard it, started!

I had a couple of hours in front of the tube watching the world Junior Hockey Championships! GO Canada! and pulled out the kit. I removed and cleaned up all the parts (I don't recommend this unless you know the kit and what you are removing . I have a few of these Corsairs, and built one before. I know what's what). I took the parts, filled some ejector pin marks and started getting things ready for add on's to come.

I will be using an Eduard color etch set and Quickboost engine. I'm deciding whether or not to use some Aries and CMK sets I have for the corsair too. Maybe I'll surprize myself

Circuitrider wrote:

jwb wrote:   Somewhere in the far-a-way reaches of the North Pole, and elf has a gleam in his eye...... No doubt the gleam is the reflection off a natural metal finish, or the morning sun catching a canopy..

Or off someone's bald head

DrewH wrote:

Circuitrider wrote:  jwb wrote:   Somewhere in the far-a-way reaches of the North Pole, and elf has a gleam in his eye...... No doubt the gleam is the reflection off a natural metal finish, or the morning sun catching a canopy.. Or off someone's bald head

DrewH

I resemble that remark  "or off someone's bald head."  Oh well at least I have a little left.  Loose any more I will never need head and shoulders again, I can just use mop and glo.

Good luck on the build.  Thanks for the Corsair, at least I know who is a Corsair pro and is willing to sell I mean give advice.  I have two to finish before I can tear into this one.

PaPa-John

PaPa-John wrote:

DrewH wrote:  Circuitrider wrote:  jwb wrote:   Somewhere in the far-a-way reaches of the North Pole, and elf has a gleam in his eye...... No doubt the gleam is the reflection off a natural metal finish, or the morning sun catching a canopy.. Or off someone's bald head DrewH I resemble that remark  "or off someone's bald head."  Oh well at least I have a little left.  Loose any more I will never need head and shoulders again, I can just use mop and glo. Good luck on the build.  Thanks for the Corsair, at least I know who is a Corsair pro and is willing to sell I mean give advice.  I have two to finish before I can tear into this one. PaPa-John

And yet ANOTHER use for Future®! Quick! Somebody call Swanny!!