Steve N

One of the earliest attempts at aerial firefighting were these "rollover" tanks, seen here on a DHC Beaver. A simple pipe would allow the tanks to be filled while taxiing on water. They had open tops, and could simply be rotated to spill over the side. Obviously a fairly primitive system and not much of a load, but it was a start. Again, at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. SN

CL-215 dump doors. Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, 2012. The museum is a must-see if you're ever in the area of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This photo is looking forward..the objects aft of the doors are the retractable scoops that allow the plane to fill the tanks while skimming a lake. Of course there have been countless different types of dump doors used on the various modified warbird tankers over the decades. If you're doing one of those, you'd really need to find a photo of the exact plane you're building. SN

The kit is a B-26B/C..those two were identical, just built at different plants. The B-26A (and earlier B-26 with no letter) had shorter wings and tail surfaces and different engine cowls. You would have to make major modifications to the Monogram kit for that, or buy an aftermarket conversion set (I believe Lone Star models has one.) The B-26G had increased wing incidence..that is, the wings were angled up slightly from the earlier models to improve low-speed handling on takeoff and landing. Again, to make an accurate G-model you'd need to do some major surgery where the wings meet the fus

Now I'm hearing that Doc the B-29 may not be coming to Thunder after all. It's not listed on the tour schedule on Doc's website. SN

I just tried to access my old PB account. It let me log in, but refused to load any of my pictures..just the usual blizzard of ads and pop-ups. Fortunately I don't have anything on there that wasn't already backed up on (multiple) hard drives. SN

Umm..we did. Hasegawa released both the B-26B/C and F/G ten years ago. Both are excellent kits. SN

Caught it last week. I'm not even a jet guy, and I thought it was awseome! 😎 SN

Yep. I'll just have to be on the lookout for wandering trucks. 😄

My wife and I are planning to be there. It's been about five years since we last visited the Great White North. SN

Stand down..a gentleman over on Hyperscale was able to hook me up. Thanks for looking! SN

Yep, that's about the best I've been able to come up with as well. SN

I wish they'd find Amelia's Electra, just to shut up that huckster at TIGHAR. SN

Hi All, This weekend at a model show I happened to snag an old Microscale Decals sheet for the Williams Brothers 1/72 Boeing 247. The problem is, the sheet was loose in a bin of miscellaneous old decals, with no instruction sheet. I've looked around online, but haven't been able to turn up anything (other than pictures of the sheet itself.) Would anyone out there have Microscale Decals #44-7, and be nice enough to scan the instruction sheet for me? Thanks! Steve

I think the real turret has a clear sighting window..that me be why they molded the whole thing clear. SN

And while the cockpit of all P-47Ds (Razorbacks and Bubbletops) was Dull Dark Green, the wheel wells were Zinc Chromate Yellow. The old Testor's square-bottle #1184 is a good match, and easily available. Also, the landing gear struts were usually Olive Drab, rather than aluminum. SN

So, here's the thing..does the dreadnought have it's own exterior gravity field? The idea of "dropping" bombs in space seemed completely ludicrous to me. I was also a bit baffled by the woman lying in the bomb bay heroically releasing said bombs, despite the fact that the doors were open to the hard vacuum outside and she wasn't wearing so much as an oxygen mask. I supposed it could be argued that there was a forcefield holding the air in, but there wasn't any evidence of that when the bombs dropped. SW has always played fast an loose with the laws of science..I regard it as closer to fant

I've got hundreds (if not thousands) of pics on my Android phone..seems to download just fine. The trick is finding which folder they're in.

I always use Windows Explorer, and treat the phone as another drive. Just grab the pic from the folder and drag them into a folder on the deskop. Rather a caveman approach I suppose, but it works for me. SN

It'll always be a Monogram kit to me. SN

I thought it was OK, but like others here I didn't think it was worth paying to see more. I'm a bit baffled..does this show take place in the original Trek universe or the Abrams reboot timeline? For a show that takes place a decade before TOS, the tech is vastly more advanced. I realize today's audiences aren't gonna put up with 60s-vintage low-budget sets and effects, but as mentioned above there was no effort at all to make this show appear remotely connected to the others. I'm not sure what's up with the complaints about "social justice." Did anybody watch the original ser

Keep in mind, the real "Moonlight Serenade" was actually a P-61B. The USAF Museum painted their postwar C-model in as a wartime B. SN

I went today (Sunday) and it was a complete swing-and-a-miss for me. The two aircraft I specifically went to see fly...didn't. The P-40 apparently developed a cooling system issue after yesterday's show and was grounded today, and the C-46 started up, taxied out, then taxied back and shut down. One of the crew told me they suspect a mag issue. And to top it off, the mass WWII paratroop drop was scrubbed because it was too windy. Mind you, none of these issues are anyone's fault..old airplanes occasionally break and the weather is always a roll of the dice. I'm just kicking myself for no

I doubt it. The C-model was strictly a postwar variant, and flamboyant nose art pretty much disappeared in peacetime. There were some colorful P-61Cs with read and yellow trim assigned to the All Weather Flying Center. SN

A freind in and fellow modeler who recently moved to Dickinson, Texas posted on Facebook that he and his wife have lost everything to the floodwaters. They escaped with the cats, and are safe at a Good Samaritan's home. SN

And now for the main event...BOOM, TOTALITY! IMG_8727a by Steve Nelson, on Flickr I was surprised at how light the sky stayed..just a few planets and stars were visible. IMG_8729a by Steve Nelson, on Flickr A couple quick, blurry shots of the general area during totality. A friend who was in Missouri described it as a 360-degree sunset. IMG_8719 by Steve Nelson, on Flickr IMG_8720 by Steve Nelson, on Flickr ..And coming out of totality, the fabled Diamond Ring. IMG_8744a by Steve Nelson, on Flickr