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VADM Fangschleister

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Posts posted by VADM Fangschleister

  1. Okay, 

     

    Received the kit yesterday in the post.  Was packed (from China) in 1/2" styrofoam, wrapped in packing tape.  Arrived completely unscathed after its multi-thousand mile journey.  No shrinkwrap on the box but no damage to the box at all. 

     

    Not quite filled to the top with plastic but that's of no problem to me.  The parts, though.  Absolutely exquisite molding and I completely retract and humbly bow my head for my sin of supposed "missing" rivet detail on the aft fuselage and tail surfaces.  They are simply so well-executed that they really get the job done.  

     

    The injection-molded gun muzzle is also very well-done.  If anyone wanted to "just" do an OOB build, this is the kit do do it.  The one-piece aft fuselage is really, really nice as well.   

     

    Main gear tires are flat on the bottom.  Sway braces galore, separately molded.  The clear canopy parts are VERY clear and the forward windscreen molded part is precisely created to allow it being raised for maintenance as I saw on occasion while working A-10's at Davis-Monthan back in the 80's.   

     

    I give this kit a strong 9.5 for just how it looks in the box.  Nicely packaged and appears totally accurate.  Oh...two pilot heads included. One with visor up and one down.  

     

     

  2. On 12/29/2022 at 9:01 PM, JeffreyK said:

    A number of upgrade sets for the kit are already on the way from DEF Model, including a corrected intake. (I hope this Facebook link will work...)

     

     

    https://www.facebook.com/defmodel/posts/pfbid02ZNcZXvBPMMFKXVVCNk773aCwPiZ8wvRj8VWW3zDjhkfP5EdurzbjV9XuKhC2A87Ml

    Those are gorgeous, Mr K.   I plan on acquiring a set but the facebook link did not work for me, but it's probably something I did.  Will keep trying.

  3. On 12/29/2022 at 3:54 PM, GeneK said:

    Looking forward to your "conversion". I know there are several others contemplating the same backdating since they can't wait for the Academy A model release. :rolleyes:

     

    Gene K

    Well...it shouldn't be all that hard as there aren't any real shape issues.  I loved working on those jets and the job was pretty easy and the hours were fine.  Occasional weekend duty....sometimes washrack...sometimes phase barn.   No biggie.  What was a 22 year old going  to do with his time?   I went to night school, got my PPL, took care of my little white 924 and enjoyed the deserts of the Pima area.   Took a trip to Mt Lemmon, rode the bus for the boneyard several times and got lots of model ideas...went to Craig's Hobbies and Tucson Hobby Shop a lot and also to the Dumas model shop on occasion.  Dumas was nothing like I expected.  

     

    I'm retired now and would like to revisit my long-ago life in model form.  Many things in the idea-cooker but some things have to come first.  Life has slowed to glacial speeds and I'm glad of it.   

  4. 19 hours ago, andrew.deboer said:

    I think you did not view the video or you would have seen the rivets on the tail boom and stabilizers. Honestly, why take the time to post when you have absolutely no information?

     

    0FE24414-91F1-4727-BFF3-3F6398D36380.thumb.png.34b1a3b8b0f39a8923de0325d8e36882.png

    I did not see the rivets, though i watched the video to the point where I missed them.  I am pleased to say I was totally blind.  Honestly...I did watch the video but I don't see so good anymore.  I just ordered the kit and should get it by May of next year, according to eBay.  

     

    However, and this may be sacrilege, I will back-date it to an early jet because that's what I worked at DM in the early to mid 80's

  5. Very nice job, Scott!  They offered up kits of things that others did not.  

     

    I guess at the end of the day, I just wish I could get my grubby little mitts on a couple of the ones I wanted.  Perhaps, after that, maybe I don't care what happens.   However, and also, any new kitmaker is welcome in my world and the "best in the business" Tamiya, etc., keep upping their game.   Z-M has certainly done some nice stuff and I guess I'll wait forever for Trumpeter's 1/32 F-106 but that's ok too.   Meanwhile, 3D printing is becoming quite a thing.  It may be the eventual replacement of the whole shebang.

  6. 6 hours ago, nspreitler said:

    The Trumpeter kits have only gotten better,  I doubt they would want to release a bunch of Kittyhawk junk under their name.   I think if they do come out again it will be under a new brand name 

    Junk is a relative term.  The F9F-8 Cougar was a gem and it's getting $180-$220 on theBay

     

    I also thought the 1/32 F-5F was pretty well done.  By the time I found the money to get either, KH had shut down.

  7. 20 hours ago, Scott Smith said:

    Almost sounds like intentional sabotage by the IM people hoping they could take the designs and run with them. 

     


     

    Seems it's the end-user who always suffers.  But....after all, I guess it's just a hobby.  To them, of course, it's a business and has to generate revenue and the revenues have to exceed costs.   In many cases, it's just that simple.  But to intentionally alter a mold or method-of-production is (possibly) a "cardinal sin".  I remember some other things that went like that but not with model kits.  Like when Hot Wheels went to the "fast wheels" bit and the cast metal cars looked more like toys than collectible miniatures.  But still, they found a bigger audience in the eight-and-under set and many adults today have their collections in secret bunkers.  Personally, I thought the changes ruined the whole thing for me, but who am I to blow against the wind?

  8. ...were bought by Trumpeter as well as the Panda line, their ground equipment stuff.   There were a few posts, one by "Rumormonger" himself and to this day....I'm making like Yukon Cornelius.....(Nuthin'!)

     

    So I assume that Trumpeter, being very close-mouthed about their business....but does anyone know the deal here?  Would be very worthwhile to know as I had a few items on the "must have list for stashability purposes and stuffing the closet with more things I will never build.  But you know...

     

    Anyone have any intel?  

  9. 2 hours ago, Reddog-03 said:

    Thanks. I saw those too but they won't really help.  

     

    I might just have to try drawing and printing my own but that's a last resort.

    I have learned some things about making my own decals.  On any surfaces but white, colors are tough.  However, laying down many of the same decal, printed on clear film and sprayed with clear before using,  gives satisfactory results on grays.  Yes, they can get thick.  The other option i printing on white decal paper, trimming closely to the shape as possible before applying.  Very thin results there but not always practical.  The last thing is investing in a laser-printer which may, or may not give you a good solid colorfast image that doesn't disappear when applied.  

     

    You  probably already know all this but problem-solving often takes some sparking from others to find a really good solution.  I'm sure you will crack the code on this one.  Stick with it....experiment some.  If you have an ink-jet printer and some clear-film decal paper and a decent graphics program (I'm fond of ArcSoft, not because it's great but because it's what I'm used to for 20 years) and you can make the colors denser which translates into heavier ink application as well as changing the size of the item you want printed.   Again, experimentation helps.  Plastic card stock, painted and prepped like the model and ready for decaling, and take it away!

     

    Also, look  up some searches on "homemade decals" and you might find a trick-bag or two.  Again, you probably know all this.  But I hope you find something that works for you.

  10. Actually, if you can find it, there was an old Comet brand kit of the dash 80.  It came out in about 1956 or so and was a landmark injection-molded kit.  I have two of them with the intention of making the prototype aircraft.  What makes it "special", if that's the right word, is that it has the rounded nose, the oval windows and is approximately 1/144 though the Scalemates website says 1:300 scale.  I scaled it out years ago but lost that information to the winds-of-time.  it's about 10 or 11" long though.  It has some raised detail on the fuselage for the days when we would actually paint the lettering in.  

     

    Over the years, it had been re-released and is generally pretty hard to find.  I got mine from eBay and if the record holds, has gone stupid-expensive.  

     

    I had planned to build it and pose it inverted as over the Seattle boat races when Tex Johnston did his now infamous roll over the potential client-crowd.  I don't know if I have any pictures.  I shall look.

  11. 3 hours ago, Scott Smith said:

    Sounds like a fun adventure.  My son was just telling me I should get involved in 3D printing as well.  So many kits in the stash already, I’d just need it for small detail parts or maybe that unobtanium 1/32 F-111 or a Grumman Duck. 
    Where in SC are you?  I’m outside of Camden/Lugoff at Lake Wateree.  Get that printer going and I’ll send some work your way!  

    Hey Scott!

     

    I'm halfway between Columbia and Sumter.   I have been tinkering with Fusion 360 and noted over at LSP other people are getting into it as well.  Maybe it's an exciting time to be alive, I dunno.   Lately I've been busy with other things though and the whole effort will be in fits & starts like most things I do.  Many have offered where to find the best tutorials and I've watched some and understood so at least I'm not a poor student.  I've been away from the laptop but  I will say that make sure you have the computing power to handle the program.  

     

    Our needs I guess may be quite simple compared to major "engineer-ware" but then, I thing the more complex the shape, the more computing power is required.  I may be just plain wrong on that but as a noob....I will assess, evaluate and speak about it as time goes on.  Mostly, it appears that you just have to jump in and do it....make mistakes, learn, try again, etc.   

  12. 9 hours ago, Delanie said:

     

     

    when you say the rear section breaks off as a booster you don't mean the angled engines do you?

    I don't really know.  Lots of ideas were being floated back then.  In fact, the story of the actual moon program is filled with fascinating tales.   For a bit of fun, rent or own the DVD "Moon Machines" and you'll get some in-depth discussion of some of the problems and challenges they faced in the program.  Nothing really pre-Apollo though.  

     

    We were filled with optimism back then.  Space stations, missions to Mar, moon-bases, much more.  It was amazing.  

  13. Here's a photo I found online of the filming miniature.  The door is quite pronounced.

    The studio model for the Orion III was reported to be about 36" (Bizony's "Filming the Future" and Agel's "The Making of Kubrick's 2001"). Fred Ordway wrote, in his "2001" article for "Spaceflight", that the Orion was designed to have drop-tanks (semi-SSTO) and burn conventional cryogenic fuel. In one of the concept sketches by Lange, the aft end broke away as a booster (see Bizony).

     

    ori5_mk.jpg

  14. Quite possible they studied photos of the filming model.  It does look out-of-scale but "accurate" in the sense of what was on the filming model.  Either way, someone will gripe that it is a problem.  If it's in-scale then someone will say it doesn't match the movie.  If you match the filming miniature, which I'm guessing but was likely five or six feet long, someone will say, "What a hokey lookin' door".   

     

    In the end, make it the way that pleases you and that's all that matters.  I'm not criticizing your observation at all.  A lot of people have critiqued the way the Starship Enterprise looks and how maybe the physics and engineering are all wrong.  But then, if you look at drawings of future-imagined flying machines from the 1800's and compare them to what we arrived at, you'd see the same result.  

     

    Since the Space Clipper never really existed, except in model form, it did appear to be able to fly for realz in our current (1969) aeronautical world.  But current knowledge says that such a machine is grossly impractical and would likely burn up in the atmosphere.  

     

    Bottom line is if I was to build it, I would pore over the pictures of the movie, do stop-frame on the DVD and look for photos of the filming of the movie.   Then I would build mine to look like theirs from 53+ years ago.   

     

    It's a great observation but lots of times, we see things that the movie makers overlook for whatever reason(s) be it production costs, time delays or both or more.  

  15. Okay, so the printer is enroute to my humble home but as was advised to me, my ancient laptop is definitely not up to the task of rendering 3D objects.   That is, using AutoCAD or similar programs.   So I researched it some and found that new laptops that are quite powerful and recommended for the job are way out of my price range.  They can go as high as 30 to 50 thousand dollars and that clearly is way more than what I want or need.  

     

    I found a very helpful website that 'splained the minimum of what I'd need and it came down to:

     

    • Processor: 2.5GHz (3+ GHz recommended) 
    • Memory: 8GB (16GB recommended) 
    • Disk space: 10GB 
    • Display: 1920 x 1080 resolution

     

    So I looked for used laptops with these capabilites and decided on a Dell Precision 5510.  It's a used unit but still cost over $400 with the shipping but came with Windows 10 and the seller listed the "about" page right online with a promise for free returns if it does not function as promised.  I'm a fan of the small businessman so I took the chance and purchased it, expecting it to be here between the 2nd and 5th of December.  This is not just a frivolous purchase as I need a new laptop anyway but will still this old clicky-clack for emails, etc as well as browsing the web.  

     

    The Dell meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for CAD.  But this also means that I'm committed to the task of designing a 3D model from scratch and I've been trying to use a CAD program on this laptop with zero success.  This laptop can do Half-Life 2, the computer game but not the CAD program.  The initial page comes up and so in lieu of working on the laptop, I've watched some tutorials on YouTube.   

     

    Now I'm really interested.  This is getting exciting in a way that makes me feel like Christmas is really coming.  If I get good enough at this, I can also do some interesting mods.  For example, I always wanted to make models of every car my family has ever owned.  You may be familiar with the TV show, "That 70's Show" which featured a 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser.  My family had one from late '68 to '73, white with red interior.  Now, there's a 1/25 Cutlass model but it needs to be enlarged by about four inches and the roof, tailgate, etc all needs to be scratchbuilt to make a wagon out of it.  A 3D printer would fit the bill perfectly to create the parts needed.  

     

    Plus, detail parts, like I need an engine for my Entex 1/16 Porsche 924.  The hood opens but that's where the battery goes for the motorized bits.  To say nothing of all the needed bits for scale sailboat models that I might be able to make for customers.  The beauty of it being I can tell my sailor friends that I can make a 1/60th scale or a 1/40 scale or many in-between.  Custom paint to match, I've become somewhat skilled at graphics and so on.   

     

    Thanks for getting this far in the reading.   I look forward to posting things once I get myself squared away and can actually draw and print something.  

     

    ("Cover me....I'm goin' in")

  16. 13 hours ago, Trojan Thunder said:

    I'll be interested to see how you go Rusty Fang 😄

     

    Don't forget all those other ideas you had about the 1/48 bizjets as well.

     

    I'd also like to get into 3D printing but I can't be bothered with the CAD just now. I'll follow along and quiz you about cetain aspects down the road when you have the good 'gen'

     

     

    Heh...."Rusty Fang"   :beer4:

     

    1/48 bizjets?  I nave no idea what you're talking about...:sarcasm_on:

     

    CAD scares me but I hope by this time in a year, I will have become something of an expert.   I hope....

  17. Just now, Bob Beary said:

    Thank you!!  WOW, that is a project!!

    Truly

     

    Iain is devoted to plastic aircraft and his many postings exude a passion for helping others while pushing the envelope of modeling.  I admire what he's done and look forward to his next foray into whatever adventure he's undertaken.  Kind of like watching Indiana Jones but with plastic...and without the Nazis....and the snakes....and the chicks.  Okay...so it's nothing like Indiana Jones but it's still very attention-grabbing.  

  18. Thanks to Iain's inspirational posts with his 737 both here and on LSP, and many years with my mind nagging at me, and...the projects I want to do that no one will ever mold in kit-form, I have purchased a Crealty 5 Pro.  The price has come down to something relatively "affordable" and I plan to learn the skills needed to create the necessary bits over time to design, print and assemble some nifty things.  

     

    I already have good spatial skills and have carved and fabricated many things from scratch.  Not to the clunky level of the TLAR (That Looks About Right) qualities but to a very close standard to make things work on kits and for the purpose of fixing shape errors on existing kits.  

     

    I won't reveal my first and highest priority for my desired effort but I will ask the modeling public, including Iain, who I've already PM'ed for input on a good but inexpensive laptop for 3D programs and a good noob program that has growth potential without a wicked or murderous learning curve.  I need something that has a tutorial that will let me "make the bunny", then the car then the complicated shapes and then the more high-tech facets of cockpit windows and other complex shapes from scratch where I can draw within the CAD program an scale as well.   I'm pretty good at self-taught methods and can usually find answers after some periods of frustration but I need also some things to keep my mind exercising and would like to produce something that everyone would appreciate and some would want before I move on to the great beyond.

     

    Some of you know how I felt when I lost my beloved dog but to add to the story, I have returned to my beloved state of South Carolina, after years of feeling displaced and out-of sorts in Kansas, then Connecticut.  I am home.  And my prognosis with the stage 4 cancer is good thus far but I do have some before-I-die wishes.  One is to work in the yet-to-be-built garage and finish my 1981 Porsche 924 Turbo 1/1 scale and to make a kit of the plane in the scale that most fascinates me that some may want in the scale that makes it really show well.  

     

    So come one, come all with any 3D advice and please be kind and tolerant of my stupid questions as I will likely have many.  God Bless you all as I have read so many posts and enjoyed so much talent here.  Good folks with limited griping and some fun rib-poking.  Someone once said they missed Rusty Shackleford.  Well, that was me so many years ago.   

     

    My sense of humor has been hammered mostly flat but it's still there.  I miss those days in some respects as I lived in a small apartment, working for an airline and having very little money to spend.  But I had a small hobby bench and could develop some skills.  Now I'm retired with some time left before I go to the great hobby bench in the sky and would like to leaves something behind that says I participated.  

     

    Cheers

     

    Fang

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