Cold War GroupBuild 2008 (1/3/08 to 1/3/09).

John - that is absolutely gorgeous... and what a base!  A truly inspirational build.

Bill - a great beast of a craft!  Great job on it...  gentleman in the forum posted some pics of his "den", with is a/c all hanging nose down on the wall. Interesting display if lacking space

I'm calling this finiski!! Done-ski. Time for a double Vodka!!

The Roden An-12 in 1/72, a very nice kit but just TOO BIG, to the point where I couldn't find a good place to take pics, and I have NO place to put it. This is a decent build, has a full interior, and the instructions and kit construction are about 90% good. The decals were not, so I got an AM set.

For the Heavy Lifters GB, that 6x6 fuel bowser from ZV models had about as many parts as the a/c. Nice model too.

For the Cold War GB, well the only AMdecals I could find were Russian, not Soviet, circa 1993, but hey it's involved in the withdrawal from Germany, so that'll work for me, and I liked the red stars anyways. They're from Aero master. Two jars of Tamiya light grey and a jar of flat white.

"Na Zdorovie!"

Comrade Billski

I'm not quite finished with the AN-12. Swear it takes a pallet jack just to move it back and forth to the paint section. I've got the second coat of primer applied and sanded. I'm ready for the color coats. This is a nice kit and went together well. Tonite I'm going to glue on all the little blade antennas etc, and get to work on the Supercat.

Roden, 1/72.

I think at long last this one is done.  As well as for this GB, this was built as a proof for the markings of the 2nd FIS that we plan to put on the F-101B at the McClellan museum.  The same airplane, 57-427 was also a subject of the Monogram kit, but in the markings it had with the Texas ANG unit.  It was a fair amount of work as there is a lot of detail to the kit, and I added to it with custom decals, a Legend avionics bay, and a very useful Eduard PE set with nearly 100 pieces, but as usual I did not use them all, only about 2/3 of them.  Also, it ends up a pretty fair sized model, easily twice the size of the F-86 sitting next to it in the display case.

The base it is sitting on was made for me about 12 years ago by James Steel, who was an artist of a modeler and taught me more than I will ever know about the art of it.  The loose ground equipment except for the tractor is from the very old 1/49 scale Revell F-102A kit with all the ground equipment, and was also built by James.  I love that B-4 stand.  I have another of those kits, but I just can't bring myself to take it out of the partitions that are still in the box.  That would be sacrilege of the highest sort.  There was no box with the first F-102 kit, actually it was the second.  I built the first one I had when it was new in about 1958.  I dimly recall painting deicer boots on the F-102.  Or was that an A-4 I did that to?

On to the pictures.  There are build pictures and notes on my website, here:

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/f101/1f101/1f101.htm

Thanks for the comments.  I need to borrow Marc's giant penny to get an idea of size ;) I currently don't have a file small enough to fit the openings, planning on getting some tools this week at Model Expo (online), having a sale.

Unfortunately, Im in the process of changing our water heater and drying my basement (mancave workshop) out. Seems I will miss yet another GB deadline! How hard is the deadline?   Ill post more work next week.

Good work, Jmart! I never got into the ship thing...but maybe I should. Heh.

Jeaton - true about the Monogram Century Series Fighters - tons of detail. All I need to do now is find an F-104 and I've got the whole collection!

Looks like ships are just like airplanes to build, haven't done one in 40 years.  Make gaps and fill them.  The radar array looks like a small file would sharpen it up a bit, but I suspect it is a whole lot smaller than it looks in that picture, and more delicate.  The anchor chain adds a lot over what was molded on.

I've been checking in every day, and I am working on my Monogram F-101B for this GB.  I'll have some more pictures soon, but for the last week or two it has been all little details.  Lots of details on these Monogram Century Series fighters.  A few gaps and fits to work on also, but not bad.  It's mostly that the size in 1/48 is pretty big.  There are a lot of colors involved also.

ok, finally got my blog typed up, sort of long, decided to make a full WIP blog for fun, sorry the lenght!

BUILD BLOG - USS Charles Adams - DDG 2

Guided missile destroyer, part of the Cuban blockade during the missile crisis: "Following commissioning Charles F. Adams took part in recovery operations for Walter M. Schirra's Mercury 8 mission. While engaged in this operation the Cuban Missile Crisis developed and Adams moved to the Caribbean Sea as part of the quarantine forces around the Island of Cuba."

The ship was decommisioned 1992 and remains at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on Donation Hold status. She is currently scheduled to be preserved by the Adams Class Veteran's Association in Jacksonville, Florida. For a donation or information, see here:

http://www.adamsclassddgvets.org/

Kit - 1/700 Dragon Premium edition 

Review of the kit (by Kenny Loup [ GATOR ] see here:

http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=2339

For a more history of the ship, see here:

http://bozair.com/adamsmen/history.html

Choice of full hull or waterline  choices, with main hull one solid piece. All main structural pieces cut and sanded

Assembly starts!

The instructions call for the building of structures by subunits, some of which "slide" against/into others, creating the superstructure. The whole assembly can then be "dropped" onto the main hull component. The problem with this assembly sequence is that any deviation or error can result in the superstructure not fitting onto the hull. Since most sub-units are made of 3 pieces (L,R, center) and mate with other, it is practically impossible to dry-fit the whole assembly with only two hands. If I encounter this build sequence again, I will build from the hull upwards, irrespective of instructions, ensuring a good fit between the hull and superstructure.

Bow piece; I scrapped off the molded anchor chains and sanded the area:

I also drilled (with the point of my Xcto knife since I don't have drill bits that small) holes for the anchor chains to slide into the hull:

I then added some PE chains, leftover from a 1/72 scale armor piece... not fully accurate (on the small side) but looks better:

Major structural components in place:

 Some gaps between levels. I tried filling the gaps with diluted Gator's glue, an idea I found in Mike Ashley's books in which he uses white glue to fill in gaps. Did not quite work; advantage of trying water-soluble glue as a filler, you can simply wipe it off if it does not work. I will fill the gaps with Mr Surfacer.

The next step was detailing the gun turrets. I added some PE doors, one of them in "open" position:

Gun radar ...  not fully accurate, the TMM Adams class PE fret is better. You could fix this one with more time by cutting several small pieces of wire, give them a 1/16" inch bend, and CA-glue to the tips of the array. If I have the time, I will see if I can accomplish that task. In the meantime, will have to stay as is.

Some super-structure in place, starting to look like a ship! My third attempt at small gap filling was using ZapA Gap and accelerator.This combination works pretty well, as long as I start sanding/shaving immediately after application of the accelerant. The filler stays malleable for a couple minutes, enough time to shave/sand flush. Here is the status of the super-structure:

The main sensor farm; few options of sensors are available, depending on the specific ship and/or deployment time. The Dragon Adams kit includes markings for vessels from 4 different countries. However, it is up to the builder to research and determine which set of sensors is specific for the particular ship being built. My choices were based on available pics from the 60s (time of the Cuban missile crisis, in which this ship performed sub picket duty), but my choices are probably not completely accurate.

The larger radar (SPS ?) was molded in solid plastic; I used the tip of a new blade to carve up the openings. Needs a bit of cleanup; not sure if I was successful in making the radar look better or at least better than solid throughout - opinions?

This is how the build stands as  of now, .... To finish on time I will have to probably cut some corners, depends how my first foray into PE railings and radar PE bending goes this weekend!

Any comments or suggestions are welcome, either of the accuracy or construction type. Thanks for looking, cheers!

Now there's a pair of modeling tools that you don't see every day! That's what it takes.

I too am late but coming along with the Roden An-12 Cub in 1/72. The markings will be the 11905 at Cairo West in 1973. The Arab/ Israeli conflicts are a special interest of mine.

This is a really fine model. It is very nicely engineered and the detail is good. It is also huge. The props are close to the wingspan of my Avia S199 (Me 109).

I painted the wings with gray straight out of the bottle, and plan to post shade with lightened paint. I've noted before that at 1/72 I don't think "panel lines" are correct. It's more panel-to-panel variations of color.

I am proceeding with subassemblies. So far the cockpit, the cargo floor and ceiling, the wings, the prop assemblies and the the fuselage. Oh, and last year I built the cargo, a very nice fuel truck from a firm named ZV, which I assume is Zvezda(?).

There wasn't much available as a resource for the cargo bay, but I did find a picture I liked of one, and it matches Roden's instructions, so I went with it.

I could spend a lot of time researching this a/c; it's definitely on a par with a C-130 and full of interesting design decisions. But life is too short.

The internal components go together like a good puzzle. I've used kitchen foil burnished over a piece of square screen, brown vinyl from Joanne's, and decals from Tom's Modelworks. Oh, the decals. The Roden ones all shattered, I've fixed them but that's a whole other story.

I'm onto final assembly now that I got my pics- had to wait for a sunny day. More later.

John; the Voodoo looks good. Makes me want to build the F-89s. What will the weapon load be? Falcons?

Another update.  I've got the weapons bay door installed and the wing is joined to the fuselage.  Ended up with not too much in the way of gaps at the wing join, but it took a lot of test fitting and sanding, some super glue and a fair amount of pressure.  More on my web site,

http://www.yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/f101/1f101/1f101.htm

John - your Voodoo is looking sweet! How's that Legend avionics set? Is it worth the money?

Sadly this GB has sort of fallen by the wayside...too bad, it's a cool subject, but I haven't seen Townsy on the forums in months. Now you've got me extra fired up to hit the F-102 or F-106 that are at the top of my stash...!

I'm really behind on this GB, but I'll do my duty anyway.  Building the Monogram F-101B.  I started to make my own instrument panel decals, but then I found an Eduard set so I shifted to it.  The Eduard set has around 100 parts to it, and that has slowed me down some more.  I am also using a Legend avionics bay resin set, that has taken some time as well.

In order to get the upper wings to fit the fuselage tighter, I removed the connecting bars between the inlet ducts to allow the center section to flex a little.  The inlets have needed a lot of test fitting and filing and sanding to get a good fit without seams showing.

Here are the pictures of current progress.

Very nice U2... yes, I finally catch up in here :) I also finally have some build time at the bench...   Started my Samuel Adams Destroyer, will post some WIP pics next week probably before our Xmas family trip.

Cheers all....  we need some WIPs in here!

wing_nut wrote:

Steve, dupes just told me about your T-55a.  I just got this kit on ebay.  Yours is just gorgeous.

You may NOT have seen my build at AMPS East because it was one of the last builds judged...does she look familiar?  

Neat build, BGuy. You can sort of make out some cockpit detail in there if you look really hard!

How many coats of paint DID you end up using to get it that dark?

This GB runs until March 1st of '09. Eagerly awaiting it's turn in my build rotation.

Ok guys, here's the final product, as promised:

(above): even up close the cockpit detail I worked so hard on isn't really visible

(above): the only marking the aircraft Powers' aircraft had was the serial "6693", short for airframe 56-6693.  Thanks to John at blackbirds.net for the research help on this aircraft and a future U-2 model project yet to come

(above): the kit was an Air-fixer-upper and took *forever* to get into shape, but while the aircraft had very few defining elements like panel lines that modellers normally count on to give their projects "character", I think the radical outlines and dramatic missions of the U-2 make it a worthwhile subject.

(above): I love low-level angle shots.  Here in the background you see..um..my scale model of a JumboTron stadium screen?  Alright, alright, I like to build my models at the computer desk.

Thanks to everybody who helped make this Group Build possible--when does it run until and will it be renewed next year?

Here's an update on the Powers U-2 model.  I'm actually almost done--the dullcote is drying as I write this, some touch-ups and its finished. Still, here are some in-progress shots:

(above): here's the airframe, mostly completed, just missing the horizontal stabs.

(above): Gary Powers' aircraft was actually very dark blue, not black as it appeared in most pictures, but I only had Tamiya white primer on hand.  Guess how many coats of blue paint it took to get a nice dark finish?  In this picture it almost looks like something ready for the wall of one's favorite seafood restaurant.  

Not to worry, it's been a long, frustrating, very Airfix-y build, but it's coming to a close tonight.  I'll post the finished pictures ASAP. 

BGuy wrote:

Hi Townsy, I'd like to join the GB with my Airfix 1/72 U-2C, to be modelled after Gary Powers' aircraft.  I started it well after the start date for the GB but didnt' know about the GB until just now.  I haven't laid down any paint on the airframe yet, which is still in the early stages (mostly dry-fitting)--will this be an acceptable entry? Seems like the *exemplar* cold war aircraft to me--it'd be a real shame to leave it out. Please let me know.

Hellcat man wrote:

Hey Townsey I have too change my main build from a UH-1N to a Academy M551 Sheridan Marked as "Canary Cage"

That's fine Hellcat Man, but just as long as it's not marked as a vehicle fighting in Vietnam, or in any sort of live combat situation.

Hey Guys,

Sorry I havn't been on the site much lately, family stuff and school has really been eating up alot of time, although most of that's resolved so I will try and get onto the site more often. Sadly, progress on just about all of my builds has stopped totally so I hope to get back into production on them soon too. I will be updating the list momentarily..

Chris/Townsy11,