Skyking

It depends on what scale you are talking about. In 72nd I've read the reviews on Olimps and they are very positive. I have never built one though so I can't speak first hand. In 48th, there really is only one choice and that's the old Lindberg Jenny. In spite of its age it's a very buildable model though, so don't let it scare you off. I've built several over the years, one of them being converted to a N9H which is featured here in the archives. There is also the 1/16th kit from Model Expo that is the best of their exposed structure kits, and Proctor makes a stunning 1/4 scale that is as clos

HIya Guy, Stunning paint and detail work on those feathers. No more PE Turkey feathers though huh? I'm a bit dissapointed, but I bet you aren't... I appreciate your attention to detail. It's the little things you add that makes everything else pop. Like I tell Pig and some of the others here, I think it's a lot harder to embellish a good kit than it is to make things from scratch. You have someone else's engineering to deal with and have to work around. For now I have to get my modeling fix by watching you guys. The ol' Honey-do list has priority for the summer months, but once I get the

I said it once and I'll say it again... I think it's much more difficult to take an existing kit and embellish it with all the detail that you have Chuk, than it is to scratchbuild a model from raw materials. You are confined and restricted by someone else's engineering and you have to make everything fit within those confines. When starting from raw materials, I find it's easier to make everything fit as I go, because I am forced plan ahead each step. Fuselage halves tend to be thinner and more to scale than thick injection molded sides, so detail parts can be made more accurate in scale and

Hi Tim. You have a great start going there. One thing I must caution you about WW1 aircraft is that they are terribly addicting. Your interior is looking very nice and I applaud you for your inventivness with using other materials not normally accociated with modeling. As far as your control surfaces and how to hang them, I use fine copper wire. Bell wire (from an old telephone lead) is about .020" and works well, plus it's fairly flexible so that you can tweak the position once you have them in place. You will need a fine drill bit the same diameter as your wire and a pin vise. Place whateve

Hiya Guy. Between you and Pete... I dunno. I think it's time to take up a different hobby. Looking great already, as usual. Cheers Mike

Hello Holmes Unfortunately I am stuck at a point where I have a major decision to make. I am unhappy with the kit interior as provided. It's very clunky and heavily molded. Also the fuselage side walls are overly thick, plus I do not like the scribed lines representing the rivit lines. I am contemplating vacuforming the entire fuselage left and right side, and cutting out the kits fuselage areas and then scratchbuilding the entire interior, and adding rivets with my riveter tool. I am playing around with different methods of vacuforming over the kit halves as masters to try to get the best an

...and two wings perhaps? Do I hear the distant purr of the Tiger Moth? *hint hint nudge nudge* Your photo looks great Guy. I've played around with forced perspective pictures in the past also, and I agree, a good backdrop in natural lighting can look amazing. I need to make a new backdrop again so I can try my hand at it again. Cheers Mike

Aigore the reason your Chrome Yellow has a bit of a greenish cast is because you painted it directly over the Aluminum. MM Chrome Yellow in my experience does not cover very well. I did a PBY-3 Catalina in a prewar scheme and it took almost 2 bottles to get the coverage on that huge wing! A white case coat goes a long way in helping yellow give coverage. There are two yellows that were used by the way. Chrome Yellow that was used for the wings, and then Lemon Yellow that was used to denote the Sixth Flight Section as well as identifying aircraft from the Lexington. Your fuselage band is a go

Copper State Models has some figures sculpted by Justin Young Joe. http://www.amug.org/~copperst/figures.html I think you should find these helpful. Tell Eric I sent you.... No wait.. he'll charge you double... don't do that. ;) Mike Robinson

Congrats Guy. Great feeling isn't it? I'll be watcing for the pictures. So Maestro, what's next on the list of todo's? Cheers Mike

Hi Andy Go to any well stocked auto parts place and pick up a Tac-Rag. It's specially designed just for that purpose, to wipe dust and sanding dust from a surface prior to painting. It has a "sticky" substance on it that does not leave any residue behind that may interfere with the paint. You can cut them up into smaller squares and they will last a long time. 3M makes one that I use and it's over three years old. Cheers Mike

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm looking forward to the change from having to make everything, but also dread some of the fit issues I have to work with on this. As much as I love the old Monogram kits, they can be daunting in certain areas. I've already done some dry fitting and the wingroot to Wing joint has a 2 to 3 mm gap on both sides, so there's going to be a ton of body work to do. Absolutely Jeff. The wings are Chrome Yellow, and the rest of the airframe is silver lacquer. It won't be quite as colorful without any unit or flight colors, but it does have yellow wings at least. Hi

I had the pleasure of seeing this model in person at BUFFCON Sunday, and also the misfortune of being in the same class..lol. Congrats on a well deserved win Trevor. A most impressive model. Cheers Mike Robinson

I have to say I am on a floatplane binge again. After completing the T4M, anything with wheels just doesn't trip my trigger like a couple of floats slung underneath do. I started collecting information on this some time ago, and now the time has come to actually build it. This one probably won't be as exciting as the T4M was to build, but it'll still be a unique model when it's finished. Here's my subject matter, a one off design that was used to test the feasibility of floatplane torpedo trials. Although it was somewhat successful, it was never utilized or put into service. It does make fo

Hey Pete. Flocking works good for this too and would have saved you from painting..lol. You can get it from any place that deals with automotive models. Paint the seat black, add some white glue, sprinkle it on and voila.. done. Finish this one by April? Cheers Mike

Hey Shaun You have what appears to be "blushing" caused by moisture. Lacquer is suseptable to moisture, and any way you can reduce it the better. Either the humidity may have been high, or you may have condensation from your compressor finding it's way into your air supply. If you have a compressor with a tank on it, drain the tank. If you don't have a tank, for a few dollars you can get a water trap that goes inline with your airline to reduce the moisture. (they are a good idea even if you have a tank) You also want to make sure you spray on days where the relative humidity is low. HTH

This is the subject matter of my recently completed T4M. I am trying to identify the squadron that it belonged to. I have no mention of any VT-9, VTS-9, VT-9S or any variant of the side codes in any of my references,plus a search on the Navy Museum and US Navy History websites have revealed anything either. Perhaps it may have had a previous designation and was renamed at a later date, who knows? The Navy had a propensity for changing squadron numbers faster than some people change their undies during this time. The reason I would like more info is for the name plate I am having engraved f

Ahhh he's at it again. Interesting looking bird Pete. What's all the lumps and bumps on the back and sides for? One of these days I'll break down and do a jet thingie, if I can figure out where the front and back is. This prop guys needs that fan out front to tell which end is which you know... Cheers Mike

Thank you OM. Glad you followed along throughout. The comments from you and the others helped keep me motivated when there were times I was ready to chuck the thing. hiya Guy. Thanks for the comments. Actually.. um... er... no... . Mainly the float strut attachment and wing strut attachment points. If you look close you can tell which ones I did late at night when I should have quit earlier and went to bed. They aren't quite as tight and snug as I'd like them to be. There's also a couple of spots where paint gave me fits. Like I said they are minor, so they may get missed, maybe not. In any

Outstanding effort OM. You have captured the look very well. As I look at it I can't help but notice many similarities between your subject and the T4M. Form follows function as they say. What were the dimensions of the 'beast? It looks to be a substantial airplane like the Truck. Keep up the excellent work. What's your next project in the wings? Cheers Mike

Hiya Barney. Thanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed watching. I hope you can find your drawings. That would be a great project, and one with some personal meaning like your little Grumman. Thanks Jeff. I appreciate the comments. Thank you Reg. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, my next project is going to be off topic so I doubt if I'll be posting much. I have Trumpeters 350th scale Saratoga I am doing up in prewar livery. I do get to do 6 more T4M's, although a lot smaller. Maybe I'll post some shots of those when they are done. Well stick a fork in it,

Oy Vey Pete. Slow down and take a breather. I have no idea what an F-2 is, but I have a hunch I will know after I read your thread. Nice touch with the milliput to get the canopy to fit. Did you out anything on the clear to act as a release agent so it still didn;t stick? Or was its tackiness goine by the time you squished it in place? I am sure this will come uot to your usual world class results. Cheers Mike

Beautiful Guy. I think the actuators look fine FWIW. If they are overscale it's difficult to tell, and to an uninitiated shmoodock like me I'd have never known the difference..lol. I bet your next project will be a single engine bird? Or are you going to once more venture to the Dark Side and do that Tiger Moth? That would be lovely in 32nd scale. Cheers Mike

Hey Randy, Glad I am not the only one that is venturing to the "dark side". I have Trupmeter's 350th Pre-war Saratoga I will be starting right after the T4M is finished. It'll be my first ship so it should be fun. Yours is coming along nicely. Are all your PE CA'ed in place already or just checking for fit? Not having done this before I'll be watching to pick up some pointers. Cheers Mike

Thank you for the comments Ron, OM and Dan. I appreciate them very much. The last few days I have been doing the rigging and setting the float struts. I deviated from my norm of mono-filament or elastic thread for rigging, and went with .008 stainless steel wire. Aircraft of this era used stainless airfoil shaped wires for rigging, and I wanted to replicate the look as much as possible. It worked OK, but it was more of a struggle than I expected. It was very difficult to keep them all looking tensioned equally. It wasn't until I added the spreader bars that it finally all pulled together with