DutyCat

Can anyone tell me why I cannot insert an image from Flickr on the boards here?

Nice...

I never abandon it unless I mess it up beyond a reasonable effort to fix whatever problems emerge. For example, I have been working on Revell's nice looking when built, but awful to build 747-400, for a little over a year. mixed in with the shuttle and some other projects. Last night, I went to put the wheels on and discovered, that despite putting weight in the nose, the aircraft was still a tail sitter. Scratching my head, I finally figured out that because of this model's thin plastic and my decision to shore up and rebuild the wing box area, it had thrown the CG too far aft. Searching f

I have to say, that is pretty boss.

BTW, they are not "bird slicers, although it is convenient to call them that. The are actually vortice splitters, designed to reduce the vortice that is generated off of the LEX's. On, early F-18s, the LEX generated vortices would cause vibrational stress on the vertical fins, resulting in cracks at the base of the fins. An airframe mod added the splitters and three strengthening brackets to the base of the fins. Maybe you knew all of that anyway.

No it hasn't, and it won't. Although the military will continue to be "functional" and the PC compromises required endured, this is a poor avenue we have chosen. Women in combat roles is a bad idea, and that includes flying fast jets. Sure, women can competently operate them, but what about when there is a shoot down and capture? What civilized society would willingly subject its women to the rigors of combat and the physical abuse that invariably occurs to POWs? We are sacrificing common sense on the alter of political correctness. We are lucky in the sense that we can rely to a large d

Well put. I had a "discussion" with my oldest son's liberal girlfriend about women in direct combat roles, to which I am opposed for a host of what I think are legitimate practical and social reasons. The main point I tried to make to her was that Job #1 in the military is combat effectiveness, and politically correct personnel policies that diminish combat effectiveness are unwarranted. Her perspective was ALL about individual equality (or more, to make up for the past), and she was incredulous that I would disenfranchise roughly half of the population from participating in this noble, hi

Thanks, Gentlemen.

This is a special aircraft....me being from Jacksonville and all. I have the 1/72 Hasegawa kit. I bought the Meng kit in Columbia during the show, but I am going to build it as a 48th FIS bird out of Langley. As a kid living up there, I remember seeing them standing alert and doing burner take offs, while I pined for the arrival of the brand new F-15 that would replace this archaic 60's dinosaur. Now, I proudly say, "I was there when they flew the mighty Delta Dart."

That's all I have...just the highlights. Nothing more on the IFR model. It is a substantial build, so it is probably online somewhere. Whitey, thanks for the comments on the shuttle. Here is a Photo Thread and the video series (not quite finished) is on the Dutycat Arts Youtube Channel. G.G.

Well, guys, after four years, the Monogram Atlantis shuttle stack is finally complete. I took it up to nationals last week in Columbia and it finished second to a very deserving cut away V-2 with a scratch built interior. Monogram Atlantis I still have a bit of video to edit. After that is posted, I am gonna take a break and do some other projects before continuing on with the Revell orbiter part of Shuttle Wars..probably pick it up again next summer. G.G.

Here are some pics from the recent nationals. There were over 2000 models entered. This is by no means a comprehensive shoot. I only took about 125 pics, and I didn't spend much time around cars or armor. Photos from 2016 nationals.

Sure, I understand that. An extra set of wings is clearly the way to do it. The reason I mention the dropped option is that the Tomcat in particular is one of those planes that folks seem to like to display on a cat.

Saw it up close in Columbia this weekend. Looks nice, but if they were smart and really wanted to dethrone Hasegawa, they should have an option for dropped slats and flaps.

Tamiya Basic Gray is excellent putty, BUT, it is one of the harder putties, and if you are dealing with larger areas, or areas that are hard to get at, it will be a bit more work.

I skipped right over this and missed it! lol Thanks for the reference!

Time for the blanket work?...many hours over a couple of years, working on it periodically between other projects. I have resprayed the tank and painted it and it looks good. I used Valspar "Sandstone" textured paint, which kinda halfway between the rough textured stone paint I tried a few days ago and the "200 grit sandpaper" finish I am guessing my original spray can would have been.had I been able to use it. The first can was purchased a couple of years ago and would not spray, which is how I ended up purchasing the rough stone paint.

Allow me to help you out with Squadron putties. I have tried many putties and used various techniques. Squadron is my "go to" putty for 90% of my work. If used right, it goes on easy, sands easy, and is workable. I do no not agree that it dries too hard, as another poster opined. If i need a harder putty for a difficult area, I use Tamiya Basic Gray or White. In all cases, a drop or two of 91% alcohol before resealing the tube will help keep them from drying out between use. I put together a couple of videos that explain a lot. The only thing I would change here in hindsight is if you

Don't think I have time to change course now. Nationals are in two and a half weeks. I spent last night and this afternoon painting the ET, which came out fine. I have to do a little bit of body work on the orbiter tonight. White paint will go on tomorrow,and I am still in the process of striping the SRB's It is all coming together pretty quickly, and the only potential real issue remaining is underside tile decals. I am going to have to be careful with those The good news is I have spares! G.G.

The underside black tiles will be decals. I am not crazy enough to layout strip and cut 30,000 tiles like I have seen at least one other builder do. The thermal blankets were bad enough. Each connecting segment that you see is an individually cut piece of styrene strip. That was one reason this has taken me so long. I worked on it here and there in between other, smaller projects. I used Evergreen #100, which is .010 X .020 inches. Each little thermal blanket square was 10mm square, although there are obviously variations here and there to make everything fit neatly.

Atlantis for its final flight.

It was Squadron White Putty thinned with hardware store lacquer thinner. Pete, what happened is the build has taken so long it has been overtaken by events. I restructured my blog, simplifying it to just one main blog instead of several sub-blogs. I did this because I found I could not keep up an adequate pace when working on a half dozen different projects at one time. I now only work on two at a time. I deleted the separate Shuttle Wars and all other dedicated build blogs. I am still taking video (and plenty of stills, of course) and they are appearing on Youtube as I have time to ed

Here are some pics of the thermal blanket representation I have applied to the Monogram orbiter. From the Dutycat Arts Blog For those who have not followed this closely, this was achieved by laying out the blanket borders with thin Evergreen styrene strip, then spraying on a thinned out mix of Squadron White Putty, then creating the blanket texture with a Tamiya armor zimmerit tool. I want to emphasize that the blanket and the tile work is all hand done and intended to be representative, not "machine perfect." The purpose is to take an essentially bare kit fuselage and provide

Is that Bono shooting with her? lol