115: November 2012 Progress Report

Lots of in progress builds this month.  Its nice to see so many new projects taking shape.

First up, we have Steve Workman's nice little 1:144 Arii RA-5C Vigilante.  Even at such a small scale, its a big airplane.  It's one of my favorites, and I can't wait to see it finished.

Next up is the nice Academy 1:72 T-6G Texan being built by Vince Mankowski.  At the time of the meeting the model had it's first coat of paint applied for an Israeli T-6.  Our spy cameras however have uncovered a sneek preview of the model with its full paint and markings applied.

Making a return appearance is this Hobbyboss 1:48 P-47D Thunderbolt being built by Steve Lucianetti. Steve says that he plans on finishing it Out of the Box.

Ever the prolific modeler, Jim Rotramel brought along two in-progress projects.

First up is the AMT 1:72 KC-135A Stratotanker.  Jim says that the plastic on this original boxing of the KC-135 builds more like a vac-form kit than your typical injection molded kit.  Among other things, Jim had to add a metal spar to the wings to keep them from drooping as well as fixing a problematic window to fuselage joint.

Along with the Stratotanker, Jim also brought along a Monogram 1:48 Mi-24 Hind.  According to Jim, the biggest issue with this kit is the fact that the tail is about 3/8" too short.  This would result in the tail rotor meshing with the main rotor.  Not something I think the original designers had in mind!  Jim tackled this problem by slicing off the tail just forward of the fin and splicing the two pieces back together with a filler made of strips of plasticard and gap filling CA.

Another model making a repeat appearance is the absolutely beautiful SM.79 Sparviero built by Nate Swift. Nate is using the 1:72 Italeri kit to model an aircraft from 281st Sqn, 132nd Gp, based out of Rhodes circa 1941.  Nate also added the Eduard interior and exterior PE sets as well as Quickboost engine cowls.  He also separated all of the flight control surfaces for a more realistic stance.  Nate says the fit was generally good.  The paint job needs to be seen to be believed.

Ryan Turgeon also brought along a couple of in progress Hornet projects that we have been tracking the progress on.  

First up is the Hasegawa 1:48 F/A-18 Hornet.  Ryan is building this as part of a pair of F/A-18s in Blue Angels markings.  Ryan is modifying both kits to portray them in flight performing the famous "Fortis" manuever.  This involves modifying the landing gear to be in the extended position.  Both models utlize Rhino Models seamless intakes.  The Hornet to be placed in the inverted position also has Aires resin landing gear bays.

Ryan also brought along a Hasegawa 1:48 F/A-18E Super Hornet.  This model is being built for the Tophatters build for the Pax River museum.  Markings are from the Fightertown Decals sheet.

Also making an appearance at the meeting was a Hasegawa 1:48 F-14 Tomcat being built by Nick Kessel, which is also for the club's Tophatters build.  Unfortunately, my camera doesn't like Super Hornets and was unable to take a clear picture afterwards, even of an F-14.  Next time I'll make sure to take pictures of all Super Hornets last to prevent future problems.