120: Show and Tell

The theme for April was "Friend and Foe".  A total of 28 completed builds packed the tables, 20 of which were theme related!

First up for theme builds we have a pair of armor builds by Jonathan Wright.  The 1:35 T-34 and Stug III Ausf G were voted the winner of the theme build, and Jonathan was awarded the much sought after "Golden Clamp" award by club president Chuck Connor.  For the T-34, Jonathan started with the Tamiya kit, representing a unit from 1934 which was built OOB.  Jonathan actually started the kit in the late 80's and dusted it off and finished it just for the theme build.  The T-34 was heavily weathered using Windex and Acrylic paints.

Complimenting the T-34 is Jonathan's Stug III, which was also built from a Tamiya kit.  Jonathan built the kit OOB, with a crew from a German Flak gun kit, and added stowage.  Like the T-34, the Stug was also heavily weathered.

Moving on, we have the first of a pair of Corsair/Zero builds.  This pairing was built by Mike Colvin using the Arii 1:48 kits for both examples.  Mike commented that both were nice kits built OOB with added seat belts.  The canopy on the Zero was actually done with thin drafting tape instead of paint.
 

 The second Corsair/Zero pairing was built by Gerry Whiteside, this time in 1:72.  Both kits were built OOB from the Hasegawa releases, although Gerry did substitute MicroScale Decals for the Corsair.

Highlighting an in-service rivalry, Joe Hegedus brought along a Tamiya 1:48 F2A-2 Buffalo and a Hobby Boss 1:48 F4F-3 Wildcat.  Both kits were built OOB, with Yellow Wings Decals added to the Buffalo.

Nate Swift also brought along an in-service rivalry pairing from the other side in WWII.  The first is the Henchel Hs.129B-2 of 8.(Pz)/SG1 which was built OOB from the 1:48 Hasegawa kit.  The second is a Junkers Ju-87G-1 of Pz.J.Sta/St.G 2.  Nate finished the OOB 1:72 Academy kit in the markings of Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Moving ahead slightly to the Cold War Years, we have a group of four 1:144 builds by Ken Kelly.  In the first corner is a pair of Academy bombers, the B-58 Hustler and B-47E Stratojet.  Ken originally tried painting the B-47 with rattle can aluminum from Wal-Mart, but unfortunately it didn't react well.  Ken then stripped the entire model back down to bare plastic and then repainted it by hand with Polly Scale paints.  Opposing the pair of bombers are the Minicraft MiG-21PF and Arii MiG-25 also built OOB and hand painted with Polly Scale.

Staying with the Cold War era, but stepping up slightly in size we have a pair of 1:32 builds by Jim Rotramel.  The first is the excellent Tamiya F-4D with added Cutting Edge GBU-8s and Parts-R-Us nozzles.  The second model is the not-so-excellent Trumpeter boxing of the MiG-17.  Jim went about correcting the kit's flaws by adding a Cutting Edge cockpit and seat, a never released Cutting Edge clear resin canopy, scratch built the speed brake interiors and ventral fin as well as heavily modifying the tail section.

Ryan Turgeon brought along a more modern in-service rivalry pairing in 1:48th.  His F/A-18A and F-14A both started life as Hasegawa kits.  The F/A-18A was actually converted from a "C" kit, to which Ryan also added a Wolfpack Design wing fold kit, Tamiya AIM-9 and ACMI pod, and scratch built intake and exhaust covers.  The Hornet was finished in the NSAWC scheme using Fightertown Decals.  The F-14A also benefited from an AIM-9 and ACMI pod from Tamiya as well as a Hobby Decal pitot tube and scratch built launcher.  The very challenging "Splinter" scheme was masked by hand and topped again with Fightertown Decals.

Rounding out the theme builds is this pair of modern European rivals in 1:48 by Nick Kessel.  The Slovakian MiG-29AS started life as an Academy kit, to which Nick added a Quickboost resin nose and instrument probes, Aires exhausts, Wolfpack cockpit, and Eduard intake covers.  The unique digi-camo scheme was applied using numerous decal sheets by Kopro.  Nick compliments this with the Italeri boxing of the old Esci Mirage 2000C kit.  Nick added an Aires exhaust, Black Box cockpit and TwoBobs decals.

Starting off the few remaining non-theme builds is Austin Whiteside with his trio of Star Wars LEGO kits.  Austin brought along his Z-95 Headhunter which was the precursor to the famous X-Wing fighter.  Accompanying the Z-95 is an AT-RT walker and Umbaran Mobile Heavy Cannon.  It was apparant that the Cannon also has a taste for injection molded kits...

Steve Workman was present with a very nicely finished 52ft Mill Gondola in HO scale (1:87).  Steve started with a Proto 2000 kit and replaced the floor with an American Model Builders laser cut wood deck and Kadee #58 couplers.  Final markings were done in the Chesapeake and Ohio scheme to which Steve added weathering using pastel chalks and Oily Black paint.

Previously seen in the "In Progress" updates is the beautiful P-51D Mustang built by Andrew White.  Andy started with the Tamiya 1:32 kit and modified it to represent a Pacific Theatre very long range mission escort.  Modifications included new antennas on the turtle deck fashioned from wooden toothpicks, a new navigation system, and Barracuda resin wheels.

Don Manning brought along his Tamiya 1:48 FG-1D Corsair.  Don added Eduard photo etch, Ultracast wheels and Barracuda decals to represent a unit from 1945.  The Corsair was then nicely weathered using the salt weathering technique.

Last but not least is "Mr. Corsair" himself, Joe Hegedus with an Anigrand 1:72 XA2D-1 Skyshark.  Joe may have only built this one OOB, but with a multimedia kit that is no easy task.

Not to be outdone, Joe also brought along a build that has been seen in previous "In Progress" updates, his 1:72 F4U-4 "Franken"Corsair.  Joe really raided the parts box for this one: Hasegawa fuselage and main wings, Italeri forward fuselage and belly section, High Planes guns and rocket pylons, Tamiya main pylons and drop tank, Engines and Things engine, Aeroclub propeller, Hobbyboss canopy and a combination of Italeri and Hobbyboss decals.  Wow! And who says you should ever throw out those spare parts!

That's it for this month.  Hopefully there won't be as many models at next month's meeting, because my hands are getting tired from typing this update!

120 - In Progress

For April, there were seven in progress builds, none of which were theme related.

Gerry Whiteside returns with his 1:48 Hasegawa F-14 Tomcat and 1:72 Airfix BAe Hawk.  The F-14 will be finished in a VF-102 scheme, while the Hawk is being built for the club's Build the Same Kit theme.

We were all happy to see John Bray return to a club meeting with his latest project, a 1:48 TBD-1 Devastator.  The kit is by Great Wall, and John is building it to represent an aircraft from the Battle of Midway.  John is building the Devastator in his usual style and will be adding it to a diorama portraying the aircraft in the middle of a torpedo drop.  Overall, John says it is a good kit but he did have some issues with the fit of the multipiece canopy.  He is using a Tamiya Navy Pilots kit for the crew.

Moving on to another Navy attack aircraft of a slightly more modern vintage, we have this 1:48 A-6 Intruder being built by Mike Colvin.  Mike is building the Revell kit OOB.

Steve Lucienetti brought along a pair of 1:48 F-105 Thunderchiefs in response to an email question from the club regarding available kits of the F-105.  The completed Thud is the old Monogram kit, while the unfinished F-105 is the newer Hobby Boss release.  Steve says that the Hobby Boss kit is overly complex, and suffers from horrible instructions.  You have been Warned!

This Hobby Boss F9F-5 Panther by Andrew White doesn't seem to suffer as the Thud kit did though.  Andy is building the 1:72 kit OOB, but with the gear up.  I've always loved the old Grumman fighters, and can't wait to see this one finished.

Lastly we have this 1:72 multimedia kit being built by Joe Hegedus.  Joe is making good progress on the Douglas Sky Pirate, and I imagine we'll be seeing it in paint soon.  My money is on Blue...

120: Photo Feature - 2013 NOVA Model Classic

Here are a bunch of pictures that I took at the NOVA Model Classic that was held April 18th.

119: The Taming of the Sprue

Living out of a suitcase isn't the best way to enjoy our hobby. No tools, no kits, no paint (fumes) and none of the other things that make this so enjoyable a hobby.

Because my shipment has yet to arrive, and I'm not sure the ship has even docked, I'm forced to violate the one rule I had coming here: no new tools, or other supplies, needed to model. Oh sure, I'm buying kits, decals, resin and brass, but until recently, no tools.

I am going through withdrawals. The opposite of Advance Modelers Syndrome, I must build a kit regardless of the genre, scale, or medium!

What does a modeler need who has everything yet nothing?

Start by walking through a build:

• Sprue cutters - I have a pocket multi tool, I may be able to make that work.
• Sharp knife - that multi tool can help here.
• Sanding sticks or files for cleaning up the plastic - nail files?
• Glue - well, that was to be a new purchase anyway given I could not ship flammables (they checked everything).
• Paint - interiors first, then primers and if my water based acrylics still aren't here, exterior.
• Brushes - cheap set from local arts and crafts store.
• Cutting mat - smallest I can find.

I found a decent hobby shop that is a reasonable distance. Only 45 minutes away up in Wigton, called Jackson's, he has everything I'll need and a good stock of kits to choose from as well.

Since I wanted to buy the Admiral FM-2/Wildcat VI kit from Hannants anyway, I added the AZModel Spitfire Ib kit to my order. Both are very accurate and "best in scale" for these two subjects, even if limited run kits and all that entails. Since I have my primary Spitfire reference with me (Spitfire The History) I decided to dive into the Spitfire kit.

I've attempted converting Tamiya's Mk Vb kit to a Mk Ib, but failed miserably. That was nearly two years ago and my skills and knowledge are a bit better today. (Ok, before you ask, the AZModel kit is really their Mk Ib/IIb/Vb/VI kit, so modifications are required to make the version desired.) Technically there were only a handful of Mk Ib, and the weight of the 20mm cannons with two outer wing .303's was too much, so all were quickly converted to Mk Vb standard with the more powerful Merlin 45 engines. There WERE 30 "cannon armed Mk I" aircraft used during the Battle of Britain, but these had no guns, only the two cannon. Because he guns were installed uniquely in the Mk I (and II) they had a tendency to jam after only firing a few rounds. Not a positive thing during the height of battle!

So this subject will require a few added mods, which given my desire to model and lack of usual tools, I'm going to be challenged. This is where I am so far, taking it slow to truly enjoy it:



On the right (left underside) wing is what I've filled so far; both outer gun casing ejector chutes, and the ejector opening used on the Mk V/VI only (part of how Supermarine solved the jamming). I also removed the large bulge on the underside, as the Mk I's had a smaller bulge based on how the cannon was situated in the wing. There are also small bulges near the outer guns used for heating that were not installed until the Mk V, albeit retrofitted to the Mk I/II post Battle of Britain.

The topside requires no changes. What is nice for this build is that the wings were modified for the cannons and the outer gun bays not changed other than as as I've indicated above. A very easy mod.

Another difference, but not noticeable in this scale, is the Mk I/II and early Mk V's had fabric covered ailerons, replaced by metal covered in 1941.

Airfix's liquid glue is is very thin, and the brush that comes in the lid is large. It gets everywhere so I've had to clean a number of fingerprints and other mistakes. I miss my Tenax...

Since this photo was taken I've finished the wing, painted all the interiors and started on the fuselage. Slow going given its limited run nature, but very enjoyable. I've also been to RAF Cosford for the IPMS Shropshire show where I picked up some kits, resin and references. Airfix had a display of their new Lancaster BIII (special) Dambusters kit, each of the aircraft in the squadron built by members of the Shropshire chapter. The kit was just released the following week, and YES, I have one. I also picked up their new Typhoon kit and both are very nice. I'll write up a preview for next month on at least one of them, if not both.

Until next time...