mcaulk

Marek, you were such a source of wonderment for us mere mortals who followed your work with fascination. You encouraged me not only as a modeller but as only one who knows suffering when death came to my door. I will miss you but take comfort knowing that you hurt no more and that you will fly and soar and reach out and touch the face of God. Bye for now buddy, Mike

Mareku, I think of you often and am praying for your recovering... hang in there friend. Mike

Bush, Have not made a lot of progress on the Tomcat project. Probably jumped back in before I was emotionally ready. Am doing some better now but school has started and that is an all consuming proposition. I will post as soon as I have something substantial completed. Thanks again for the support, it is very much appreciated. Mike

Guys thanks for the interest and the encouragement. Hope to get some paint on soon. Will post some fresh pics. Regards, Mike

Chuck, That guy had to be no more than 30 feet off the deck! What a rush. Thanks for the pics and inspiration. A project like this is less like a sprint and more like a marathon... I need the boost. Thanks, Mike

Jesse, You are right on regarding weathering around the steps. I've spent the last hour scrutinizing dozens of Cat pics an nearly 100% show substantial wear and grim around the port side steps and surrounding fuselage. Thanks for the input. Mike

Am growing weary of detail work... what I really love is painting hope to get to the paint shop this week. Would love to end up with something like this.

The stock engine tubes are a tad small in diameter most noticeable where the nozzles meet the tubes. Rather than disassemble the monster and fabricate new ones I set about to find some acceptable work-a-round. The solution was in the kitchen cabinet... Crystal Light! As it turns out the little cups that the mix comes in are pretty close to the nozzle size and they are molded with a double lip which helps minimize the step in size. Who knew. This pic show the nozzle with and without the Crystal Light fix... although not perfect it certainly helps. One final pic from above showing

Here's an overall view from above.

Added some wing gasket detail using stock plastic.

Gregg, Both are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to offer kind words. They mean much to me and the rest of my family. Sincerely, Mike

Marek, I'm so sorry to learn of your illness. I will be praying for you to be cancer free and make a complete 100% recovery! We need you around a lot longer so hang in there! Mike

Patrick, Thank you so very much! Mike

Gary, Thank you for taking the time to express care, concern and hope. We are a Christian family and have confidence that we will be with Jamie and Lillian when we inevitably leave this temporary world. Don't pretend to understand why this happened but I know that even heaven is a better place because my son and granddaughter are there. Thanks again,

Chuck, Thank you for the response and inspiration. Your salt weathering reproduces what these jets really look like better than anything I have seen to date. To many models have a pristine almost toy-like appearance. How did it occur to you to use salt? Regards, Mike