crackerjazz

Hi Alex, thanks for checking in on my little project. My modelling life has been languishing of late but hopefully I can get back to it soon. There was so much I wanted to do that nothing got done : )

Killer stuff, Elmo! : ) The ultra-realism is incredible.

Thanks Gregg! : ) You get a nice aroma at first, then the smell turns sour for couple weeks as it gasses, I think, which fades away and goes back to the faint coffee smell as it candies. I'm still looking for a good fixative to seal it off completely, though : )

The drill bit went off center and ate through the side of a bezel and had to fix it. I wondered about that empty section on top of the center console. I had to move the whole panel upward to match reference pics. I also cut off a portion of the lower part of the front panel to fix the shape.

Hi I have some kits in the stash that will just take too much time to build. And since I just don't see myself having all that time to finish the stash anymore I just want to be able to build a portion of the kits at least. I'm almost always drawn to the cockpits so maybe I'll build those as they're often worth displaying on their own, especially with the advent of detailed printed instrument panels -- it's just a pity they practically disappear when you close up fuselage halves. I'm gonna try building this Huey cockpit with the goal of displaying it as a little subassembly. I'll also pr

Lovely work! Those engines look incredible!

Great job!

Thanks Collin! : )

Very cool! : )

I should try tea, yeah : ) I'm also wondering about Coca-cola, if it can do staining effects also.

Gregg, STORM, Collin, thanks, guys! : )

What a beautiful display piece! You did all that in what would be my planning and putting off stage, haha. I hope you wouldn't mind but I might have a bunch of questions when I get back to building mine. Also, I don't think I'd be able to build an interior as beautiful as yours. I might actually have to leave that off entirely as it seems overwhelming just thinking about it : ) But congrats on completing a stunning model and hope to see more of your work.

Hi Da SWO, thanks! I'm using instant coffee as my medium. It saves a trip to the art store : ) A pinch of coffee granules and a little water goes a long way. Just a few drops If I want it dark. It stains nicely and you end up with a nice sepia brown "black and white" artwork.

Hi guys, doing another coffee painting. I'm trying to see what it is that I did on the A-7B that I couldn't replicate anymore. I seemed to be more relaxed and didn't care much how it turned out yet it came out pretty well. Maybe it was the brush -- I'm not sure -- I tried to use a smaller brush for better details on the F-14s but things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. My control just wasn't there. Or maybe it's because the more you try to make it look realistic the opposite happens. I was looking for the brush that I used on the A-7 but I couldn't find it anymore. Anyway,

Hi Gregg, you made my day, thanks! : ) Makes me want to keep trying and doing more of these : ) I could hear you guys saying "Please, no more!" haha. Seriously, I'm really seeing clouds in a different light now. Whenever I'm driving I now tend to look at the sky and examine the clouds and how to put it down on paper. It seems so easy -- they just look like cotton to me but whatever I do I just can't seem to make them look realistic : ) I do observe that the medium I'm using (coffee) is just difficult to keep even -- so it's easy create tonal varieties even if you don't intend to

Guys, don't say I didn't warn you. My coffee painting of the Final Countdown scene where Senator Chapman and company look up at the F-14s thundering overhead, sillhouetted against the sky. I tried everything I could -- going slowly, quickly, mottling, stippling, trying to force out some realistic clouds -- and nothing, lol. But I thought I'd post it anyway -- just enjoy a good laugh - just don't spray coffee on your keyboard : ) I'll charge this to experience and keep trying : )

Thanks, STORM : ) The acidic smell seems to be going away, thankfully. Now it's back to just the usual coffee smell. Maybe it does this as it dries. Hopefully even that will go away as well. I may have to practice a bit on painting clouds. Aviation art seems to call for a bit of skill in that area. Mine looks a great deal like foliage : )

I just noticed a disadvantage to using dissolved coffee granules -- it's starting to smell sour, lol. I wonder if sealing with fixative will eliminate the odor.

Hi guys, anyone have Hasegawa and Tamiya F-14 figures they're willing to sell? For the Hasegawa figures I just need the heads with open visors (face partially visible). And the Tamiya ones I dont really need the helmets -- just the bodies/arms. Thanks in advance! : )

Following your progress with interest. You're doing an amazing job! : )

Thanks, Storm and 34th PRS : ) I was sorting through my decal sets and found the drawing, after 2 years, lol. I knew I hid it somewhere : ) I thought maybe it was time to give it some color, albeit in monochrome : ) I was gonna use watercolors but I find it difficult to control. I then thought about using acrylics but I'm really just awful with colors. I was even thinking about using Vallejo paint and getting the correct gull gray FS color. I ended up using coffee : )

Took a few pics from the Torcan 2023 model show yesterday. I saw Ricardo -- great to see you again, Ricardo! Ret's CM. I'm paying attention the these things now. Hey, Ret, I would've asked about how you do the Command module foiling if they're individually-cut strips. They're very nicely done. Woah! The Tomcats again! : ) Wreaking havoc once more : ) There was a beau

Yeah, no I figured as much. And if I pepper the base with these stuff it'll end up looking like the fridge : )

Thanks, guys, a little progress.. It looks like a photo negative at this stage but once the outlines are given a lick of black paint the cat's face should pop out. There's something missing still..... maybe it needs more patches! lol : )