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

 Catching up with this GB...

Aggieman -Always neat to build something a relative served in...

raptordriver - good looking so far, love that red!

anthony2779 - Great tip by Chris on breaking the monotone color.. I will try on my next OD AFV. Another variation I read was to paint some thinned white on the center of panels that would be exposed to the sun, before your basecoat.

mucker - good looking pit! Love the IP

telsono - looking forward to your Centurion, I love that tank, just ordered the AFV Centurion Mk5/1 part of the 5th year LuckYModel sale ;)

I have not started my ship yet, probably next month... sometime in the early Fall I will figure out if I can also shoot for the sub and armor and/or a/c badge, I keep getting sucked into the Dark Side and joining armor GBs.... ;)

Missiles... cooL! Reminds me of the old Revell missile kits, I had so many I wish I did not stick a firecracker up their....nozzles 30 years ago, those kits go for a fortune in ebay nowadays..

I posted this on another GB, but I thought I'd make the offer here as well.  There is a museum south of Dallas at Lancaster airport dedicated to the Soviet side of the Cold War.  The link is

http://www.coldwarairmuseum.com

If you see anything you'd like pics of let me know, I'll be going back in a couple of weeks.

Well, I finally got cranking on my Charles F Adams.  I got the basic hull and supperstructure done.  I had major fit issues.  The hull section between the deck and sonar bulb is under size.

Gaps were present the entire lenght of the waterline.  Guess I will be filling and sanding alot for  this part.  Also pins marks in the deck.  Don't quite know how I am going to be filling those.

So far I am not inpressed by the dragon ship.  I expected better from them.  I have built serveral of there armor kits before.

Here is a full lenght pic.

I plan on making her appear as she was in 1968.  Some carefull elimination of parts and crafting of new will be fun.

    Well ... I have this Revell/Monogram 1/48 Rockwell B-1B Bomber in my closet.  The box is just huge and it takes up lots of shelf room.  So I thought what the hey i'll build it.  Then I noticed that it fits great in this GB. So what do ya say ...  

Doug  

lewbud - thanks for the link, interesting stuff!

moose421 - I have the same kit for this build, thanks for the heads up on the fit.. I just started the Dragon 350 Kidd (A year long project a bit ehre and there), also had problems with the hull fit and the sonar bulb. Spent an hour welding (with Tenax) the hull together 2-3mm at a time. not looking forward to the same with the Adams!

 Dougums - Oh I love that kit/A/c look forward to it!

Dougums wrote:

Well ... I have this Revell/Monogram 1/48 Rockwell B-1B Bomber in my closet.  The box is just huge and it takes up lots of shelf room.  So I thought what the hey i'll build it.  Then I noticed that it fits great in this GB. So what do ya say ...   Doug

I say GO FOR IT!!! I also have this kit, still in the the box, and would love to see a built one; you're right, it's absolutely HUGE, which is the main reason why I haven't started this kit yet. But it fits perfectly well into this GB!

Regarding my own little kits to build, I have finally received the PE parts I was looking for, so I'll be able to finish the USS Dallas and start working on the French Tourville-class destroyer. I'll post some pictures soon!

 Nice work everyone!

Hey Guys,

Dupes: Ambitious you are! but that's always a good thing. Lookin forward to that SA-6, I've considered picking one up myself. I'll update the list.

James: Joining more Armor GB's is always a good thing.

Buddy: Wow, That is one awesome museum! Packed full of some awesome Aircraft. Thanks for the link.

Moose421: Nice work on your Adams so far! Bummer about the seam though, I can definently foresee sandpaper in your future.

Doug: Sounds good, I'll put you on the list.

Hellcat man: Yep, sounds good, just make sure it's not one that served with the Israeli's or in Vietnam.

As for me? I finally got the camo done on my T-72 and it turned out better than I thought! but the canvas/tinfoil mantlet cover is still driving me crazy.

Hellcat Man - weren't you just asking if you could join the build on Tuesday?!?

Generally, you need to start a GB with an unbuilt kit in order to earn any sort of badge. The whole point of the GB is to show your in-progress pics in order to get feedback (and share your experiences - good or bad) from the other people in the build...taking pics of something already completed generally don't qualify.

Slowly but surely...here is some more progressson the F-84F:

And a paparazzi shot of the secret Man Cave, where the pre-Alclad gloss black is being applied to the stores and tanks:

The only review I read of this 1/8 Kinetic kit was on Modelingmadness and it basically butchered the kit. So far I have nothing but good comments. The engineering is sound, the fit is excellent and the options and detail are super. It's not quite Tamigawa status, but only a notch or two below. I'd compare it top some of the nicer Academy kits, like their Sabre or P-35, the only exception being much more detail in the cockpit and wheel wells

dupes wrote:

Hellcat Man - weren't you just asking if you could join the build on Tuesday?!? Generally, you need to start a GB with an unbuilt kit in order to earn any sort of badge. The whole point of the GB is to show your in-progress pics in order to get feedback (and share your experiences - good or bad) from the other people in the build...taking pics of something already completed generally don't qualify.

, Roger that Dupes. Sorry Hellcat Man, but if that's something you've already built then I'm afraid you can't collect your badge. Raither that, or you build insanely fast.

Hellcat Man,

Don't let your mom talk to the wives of the group members or they could be in for some serious trouble (or some seriously quick building)!  On a visit a couple of years ago, my mom asked me if I planned to finish the models that I had at the time (I have more now), and I looked her in the eye and told her that I did.  At my current completion rate, I'll be about 300 years old if I don't buy another kit (like that's going to happen,NOT) ! Look forward to seeing your next build. 

lewbud wrote:

At my current completion rate, I'll be about 300 years old if I don't buy another kit (like that's going to happen,NOT) !

300 years, huh? That's quite a bit! And here I was thinking I was a bit overboard with my 12.33 year stock (at my current rate of completion, of course).

Looking good Mucker! 

lewbud wrote:

At my current completion rate, I'll be about 300 years old if I don't buy another kit (like that's going to happen,NOT) ! Look forward to seeing your next build.

LOL! exactly my situation.. said I was going to stop at 100, then all the Squadron Aniversary sales, the Lucky Models sales and the DragonUSA sale gave me in... I use my wife's/daughters shoe buying philosophy... if its less than 50% off..... chi-ching! I do need to stop, ran out of storage space~!

dupes wrote:

lewbud wrote: At my current completion rate, I'll be about 300 years old if I don't buy another kit (like that's going to happen,NOT) !    300 years, huh? That's quite a bit! And here I was thinking I was a bit overboard with my 12.33 year stock (at my current rate of completion, of course). Looking good Mucker!

I'm still at a 4-5 year inventory, but I'm hoping that my pace will pick up when my children are out of their infancy stage. That will reduce the 4-5 years down to 3-4 years, which means I am fully justified in buying more kits to get back to the 4-5 year inventory stage.

JMart wrote:

.. said I was going to stop at 100, then all the Squadron Aniversary sales, the Lucky Models sales and the DragonUSA sale gave me in... I use my wife's/daughters shoe buying philosophy... if its less than 50% off..... chi-ching! I do need to stop, ran out of storage space~!

Man, you and me are in exactly the same boat. Squadron/Lucky/DragonUSA all pull me in on a regular basis...and that sub-50% threshold has put me WAAAAY over my self-imposed 100 kit limit. Heh. Hehehehhe.

JMart wrote:

lewbud wrote:  At my current completion rate, I'll be about 300 years old if I don't buy another kit (like that's going to happen,NOT) ! Look forward to seeing your next build.  LOL! exactly my situation.. said I was going to stop at 100, then all the Squadron Aniversary sales, the Lucky Models sales and the DragonUSA sale gave me in... I use my wife's/daughters shoe buying philosophy... if its less than 50% off..... chi-ching! I do need to stop, ran out of storage space~!

Right now I'm in a no "new" kit mode, meaning no purchases at a hobby shop (purchases at model shows don't count because I'm helping to recycle kits, and they're cheaper).  Reasons for this are primarily financial and between my books and kits, I'm running out of room. 

For the gentleman that said 100 kits should be a goal not a limitation, was on my way to exceeding your goal by 4 times before I implemented my moratorium.  (Squadron's open house in a couple of months is gonna be tough though

Hellcat Man, you have my permission to use me as a good example of a bad example when your mom says you have too many kits.  You'll still have to obey her, though.

lewbud wrote:

JMart wrote:  lewbud wrote:  At my current completion rate, I'll be about 300 years old if I don't buy another kit (like that's going to happen,NOT) ! Look forward to seeing your next build.  LOL! exactly my situation.. said I was going to stop at 100, then all the Squadron Aniversary sales, the Lucky Models sales and the DragonUSA sale gave me in... I use my wife's/daughters shoe buying philosophy... if its less than 50% off..... chi-ching! I do need to stop, ran out of storage space~!   Right now I'm in a no "new" kit mode, meaning no purchases at a hobby shop (purchases at model shows don't count because I'm helping to recycle kits, and they're cheaper).  Reasons for this are primarily financial and between my books and kits, I'm running out of room.  For the gentleman that said 100 kits should be a goal not a limitation, was on my way to exceeding your goal by 4 times before I implemented my moratorium.  (Squadron's open house in a couple of months is gonna be tough though Hellcat Man, you have my permission to use me as a good example of a bad example when your mom says you have too many kits.  You'll still have to obey her, though.

LOL. Perhaps I should have called it a "milestone"...

I'm hovering around the 30 mark, which is very low from what I've seen here over the years. Squadron, SprueBros, LuckyModel and some of the other sites that allow trades are where my dollars have been flowing.

Finally, some progress.  I've been working on this Neptune for a couple of months.  I used some epoxy to install nose weight and then sealed up the fuselage with Tenax before allowing the epoxy to fully cure.  I think that was a chemical mistake in that maybe a day or two after putting together the fuselage halves, I went to inspect my work and noticed some substance oozing out the cockpit and nose wheel well.  It was epoxy that had not cured.  So I decided to let it sit for a while and see what might happen.

The oozing has stopped, so I've decided to press forward.  It's nearing the initial painting stage, at which point I should be able to determine if I'll be able to complete this kit.

Pictures:

A couple more photos now that I've put down the initial paint and coated it with Future.  I'll let the Future cure for a few days before beginning the masking effort to lay down the gray paint that will be for the wings and most of the underside.

The pictures reveal a pretty bad seam that I thought I had tackled well enough.  Not sure what I'll do with that, but I'll probably try to sand it away a bit more.

Aggieman wrote:

A couple more photos now that I've put down the initial paint and coated it with Future.  I'll let the Future cure for a few days before beginning the masking effort to lay down the gray paint that will be for the wings and most of the underside. The pictures reveal a pretty bad seam that I thought I had tackled well enough.  Not sure what I'll do with that, but I'll probably try to sand it away a bit more.

Aggieman,

Looking good so far, but I think you've got some more prep work before you even need to start thinking about paint, other than a primer coat.  I'd treat it to a bath of Windex to strip the Future, fix the problems, primer, paint and then Future.  Trying to gently add my two cents.

Hellcat man wrote:

I do escpically when my mom looks at my collection and tells me i have to finish some in about a day or all of my models go right into the trash. Also im finished school so i stayed in one whole day 7 am to 3am to finish that thing before my mom threw out anything model related

Sorry Hellcat Man, my mistake. We all have differing situations at home, and I seem to have forgotten that. Go right ahead and collect your badge.

Aggieman wrote:

The pictures reveal a pretty bad seam that I thought I had tackled well enough.  Not sure what I'll do with that, but I'll probably try to sand it away a bit more.

Nice work on your Neptune so far Aggieman! Sorry for not being able to offer any advise, my area of expertise is Armor.

Great progress Aggieman and Mucker.

Townsy sorry about this, but my $5 Testor F-104 kinda got ruined. Its my fault, painted flaked off, SPilled super glue on it, lost parts. So can you take that off the list?

SAme with my A-4 can you take that off the list to? I want to wait a little so that one can be nice. THanks.

THat's too bad, Andrew.

Are any of the kits recoverable? THey say either brake cleaner or oven cleaner will take the paint off nicely, althouh I've never tried. It would be a shame to see a good kit go to waste...