Chris Kethan

28 October, 1988... NAS Corpus Christi, in a T-34C, BuNo 161820. I had a whopping 23.7 hours when the Navy decided I was competant enough not to goon it up. Chris

Wow! That is sweet. I really like the finish. Perfect weathering... Chris

Bill, that looks great. I always look forward to seeing your builds. Can't wait to see what's next on the docket! Chris

Went to the LHS to stock up on paint and supplies and saw the brand new 1/48 Eduard Fw-190 A8 kit. Man is that thing sweet. I got it for a mere $35. I was going to buy a tamiya 190 anyway, and those things are $26. For an extra 9 dollars I got a WELL detailed kit that includes PE, canopy masks, and a great set of aeromaster decals. I can hardly wait to start this baby. Oh, I also picked up a 1/48 Revell F-18E for $15. Chris (I always leave the LHS with more than was on my list )

Thanks, Guys. Nick, Somehow I missed that thread. I didn't realize the D11 kit had so many inaccuracies. I'm not a rivet counter, so I'm not sure how many of these I'll incorporate into my build. I don't want to spend alot of money on resin, so I'll have to think on it and decide what approach I'll take. Thanks again, guys. Chris

Is the PM boxing of the D11 kit a rebox? If so, who originally made the molds? When I inspected the inner side of the lower wing, I counted 51 holes that had been flashed over. That certainly allows the lower wing to be used on just about every variant of the 190. This leads me to believe that it was originally a hasegawa mold. I'm sure ARC's kit authority, Dave Williams, will know the answer to this one. Thanks, Chris

Pig, I think you meant Navy CHICKS are pretty easy... Chris

Nice job, Phil. You should be proud of that one. Great looking finish. Chris

Scott, It was enamel coated wire from Radio Shack. I bought a pack 3 pack of different sized spools for about $4. I just drilled a hole in the back of the instruments put a dab of superglue on the hole and stuck the wire in. I bent the wire to shape and painted it yellow when I had it prebent. (If you try to bend it after you paint it, the paint will crack and peel off. Ask me how I know. ) Pretty simple and inexpensive scratch building trick. I can't take credit for it. I got the idea of adding wire from looking at Bill Lachance's incredible luftwaffe builds. Chris

Matt, It's the 1/48 PM kit. I used the TLAR method to get the instrument panels precisely in the right spot. That....Looks.....About....Right :) Seriously, I used super glue and just held them in place with tweezers until the glue set. It's probably not the correct angle, but I'm not a rivet counter and I don't let details like that get in the way of finishing a kit. Chris

Here are some photos of my 410 cockpit. I've got the wings assembled, and the landing gear painted. I hope to close the fuselage and and add the wings this afternoon. I actually preshaded some of the cockpit (I'm not a fan of it, but it seemed to help the cockpit since it is so dark in there). I added the yellow wiring with bits of fine wire. The harnesses are Eduard PE. I used a wash of Tamiya smoke, flat coated, and followed up with a drybrush of light grey and steel. It came out pretty well, I think. I should have routed the pilots harness through the seat back, but I took the la

Go for the -88. I'm already doing a 410. We'll have more variety if you build the Junkers. Chris

I have the E1, Jay. I know how much work goes into those Dragon -88 series kits. You have done a great job, and worked really fast! It took me the better part of a year to get mine done. I like your tip about glueing the wingtips to the wings before glueing them together. Naturally, I follwed the instructions and I had a TON of sanding and rescribing to do. :huh: Chris

I'm finishing up the cockpit of my -410 and I need to know the arrangement of the harnesses. The reference pictures I have of the cockpit are all of the instruments and sidewalls. I don't have any pictures of the seats with the harnesses. Does the pilot's harness anchor to the bulkhead behind the seat or to the seat back? Also, does the harness drape over the seat back or go through it? The kit seat has 2 recessed slots in the seat back that makes me think that the harness actually sent through the seat rather than draping over the top.... Can anyone help me clear this up? Chris

This thing looks fantastic, Jay! I've got this kit and after building the -88, I decided to wait awhile before I started the -188. :huh: You've really done a great job. Chris

Svaz, V1, VR, & V2 have to be calculated each leg with the actual takeoff weight. Just computing them based on MGTOW isn't good enough. There are plenty of times (High Altitude airport, high OAT) that we can't take off at MGTOW. We've got to actually compute the numbers for each specific takeoff. I'd love to send my old manuals, but DAL won't let us. They aren't classified, but they don't want company pubs floating around out in the general public. I think I read that some American pilot tried to sell his on EBAY last year and got in trouble with his company. Chris

Unbelievable! That is sweet! I love the weathering. It looks like it just got back from a long north Atlantic patrol. Chris

Another gem from the modelling Master. I'll say it again, Bill. I really like your work. Good clean builds, nice finish, with just the right amount of weathering. Keep posting! Chris

Dave, Great job! :unsure: The radial engine -190's are my favorite WWII aircraft. They just look MEAN! When they stretched it and stuck on the inline engine, they screwed up the clean lines of the aircraft! You really did this one up nice. Great scheme, too. What's your next build going to be? Chris

Jen, That looks great. I'm ready to see some shots of it painted! Keep posting! Chris

Thanks for looking at my entry and many thanks for all the kind words, guys! B) Considering the quality work I have seen from all of you, that is lofty praise. Chris

It finally quit raining here in Houston long enough for me to go outside and take some pictures of my first entry...a Ta-152 H-1 from Stab/Jg 301. This was the 1/48 Italeri kit (which was a rebox of the Trimaster kit minus the engine and PE fret) built OOB with the addition of PE harnesses and a set of swastikas from the spares box. I screwed up the red and yellow decals, so I masked the ID bands and painted them. The kit wasn't hard to build, but it lacks an engine and that is very visible when you turn the model over and look in the empty wheel well. Next -152 I build will be the Trima

I finished the Ta-152! :D First kit I've finished since I completed my PACAIR GB Corsair almost 18 months ago. I'll take it outside and shoot some pix if it ever stops raining here. On to the Me-410! I think I will also start a Fw-190 while my -410 subassemblies are drying. Chris

Andrew, Look at the bright side..... If it's not documented as well as the Tomcat people will have trouble proving you wrong after you decide what color you want to paint it! Chris

Wow! Don, That looks great. I really like the scheme you have chosen. You must really like masking. :lol: I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished. What did you use for the RLM 84? I have a homemade mix I use, but I would rather buy it if I could. Chris