DutyCat
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Posts posted by DutyCat
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Nice...
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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 for a solution, I thought about just gluing it down to a base, but decided to take a razor saw and lop off the radome. I epoxied another fishing weight in there, carefully glued the radome on, and used water based Perfect Plastic Putty on the hairline joint. It was easy and took me about and hour.
I want to make a couple of points...
About expectations. If you are one of those, "It has to be perfect or else I throw it in the trash," and you find yourself doing that repeatedly, or, when you screw something up your answer is to just put it back on the shelf, then perhaps your expectations don't meet your skill set. It is kind of like wanting to drink champagne, but only having a deep enough wallet for beer. Although acquiring master level skills is easier than ever in the age of the internet, in most cases it still takes years of dedicated building.... practicing basics, learning techniques, experimenting, solving problems creatively, and making mistakes, to really get good at building and finishing models. But with time and experience, the results come.
The high parts count and complexity of some modern kits is a direct result of two things...demographics and advances in technology. The marketing of the hobby is being driven by middle age and older men who have time and disposable income. This means more costly and complex kits, because that is what we have asked for. There has been some effort to lure younger folks in with pre-painted snap together kits (also now possible due to better technology), but in my view, these efforts will yield marginal results. The simple fact is that kids have far more appealing, entertaining, and socially interactive entertainment options than building models. Just the way it is. Be thankful that there is such high quality stuff out there. Most kits today are light years ahead of previous generations of kits. So for example, instead of complaining about an inaccuracy on what otherwise is an excellent Revell U-Boat, be thankful it and its companion piece Gato fleet boat were produced in the first place.
Also, I don't buy the conventional excuse that the its "too expensive for kids." Kids have more disposable income from their (guilt ridden) parents, part time jobs, etc, than ever. They just choose to spend it on video games, cell phones, and sneakers. Most parents would be overjoyed to get their kids off of the video game couch and into building models. If Johnny said he wanted to build an F-14 with dad, dad's debit card would appear before Johnny even finished his sentence.
Now all of you "quit when the going gets tough" builders....suck it up, get off your duffs, go back to your work bench, and do what you set out to do in the first place. Don't be a "maybe this hobby is not for me" quitter if you haven't paid your dues developing a good skill set. You are no better than the current generation of whiney kids of you do that. If your model does not turn out "perfect," so what? Ask yourself, "Is this better than the last kit I built? What did I learn in terms of what or what not to do for my next build?" You should take pride in developing your skills and improving results, but don't expect to turn out stuff like Ken Belisle, John Vojtech, or Paul Budzik, without putting in at least a decade of DEDICATED building, or more.
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I have to say, that is pretty boss.
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113/AC303 did have the bird slicers. As far as the IFR probe, a friend of mine used one from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit that I had laying around. He boxed the opening in the fuselage with styrene, and a small piece for the probe cover, and went that way.
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.
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Pretty sure it's all going to work out.
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 degree on technology and that we are starting to realize that nation building and meddling overseas can have long term unintended consequences, Can you imagine the horror if we had tens of thousands of female troops deployed in Vietnam, duking it out with Charlie in Malaria filled jungles and rice patties, doing tunnel rat duty, falling into punji stake traps, etc, Combat arms is a man's job. Our woman and children are who we fight to protect. Aside from the social reasons, women, in general, are not nearly as physically robust as men. That is a fact. Like high level sports, Combat Arms is not just a mental occupation, it is physical. That is why you don't see women in the NFL, NBA, or in equivalent college sports, or even on your local high school teams. War is about fighting, and generally speaking, woman are at a huge disadvantage in physical strength compared to men.
And with that, I will let it go, since it has veered into politics. Maintain whatever opinion suites you, and our discussions here are going to have no effect. The PC inertia has already been established in the military.
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The services are more about trying to get gold stars for civil enlightenment than warfighting. The implications are huge especially since the military and service are about what is good for the group, not the individual. It's turning the military world upside down and creating separate standards all over.
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, historic, and important occupation (combat arms). I suppose she thinks I am a sexist Neanderthal. Many progressives have similar viewpoints, with little regard for common sense conventional wisdoms that stand in the way of politically correct personnel policies.
Unfortunately, the politically correct tide continues to rise and does seem anywhere close to ebbing. I heard from someone generally well connected that the military is being directed to establish "lactation stations" so that women can pump and store milk to take home to their infants. One might assume that it would likely apply to non deployed units, but what if a woman has made the "healthy choice" of providing only natural mother's milk to her baby? Does that mean the mother is non deployable during this period? If not,are they going to ship frozen breast milk from deployed areas back to whoever is looking after the baby?
This kind of stuff drives me crazy and should not be what our military leaders have to think about.
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Thanks, Gentlemen.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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And for some people, myself included, they dethroned Hasegawa's Tomcat by not having the option.
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.
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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.
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Hi there,
I'll use Tamiya Basic Type putty from now on.
I've used it before and have had amazing results.
The hobby shop I go to didn't have any in stock so I was a little out of luck and had to use Squadron Green.
I'll be sure to pick up Tamiya basic type and use that to fill gaps.
CA glue seems like another good option, sprayed with an accelerator and immediately sanded down.
Thanks!
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.
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BTW: ARC member Dutycat has made a very good video on Squadron putty:
I skipped right over this and missed it! lol Thanks for the reference!
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(Looking at your blog) I agree that the stone texture you used on the tank is a bit too rough. Were you able to find a more suitable brand/texture of spray paint?
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.
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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 put in on at a moderate or greater thickness, allow it to dry overnight so that shrinkage is complete and you know what you have.
G.G.
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Amazing work, Dutycat!! Those blanket patterns look fantastic!! Very innovative method. How many hours would you say it took to do all of them?
As you probably know, I have photorealistic decals for the belly that fit the Monogram orbiter, but I am also very close to having the scribed styrene tile sheet for the belly ready if you want to try that instead of decals. I'll be sending off a test run to be laser cut and engraved in the next week or so. Let me know if you would like to try it out also or if you need a set of my decals.
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.
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Thanks Gil!
Will you be applying all the black tiles to the bottom and front of the nose as you did with the fronts of the OMS pods?
What size styrene strips did you use when you laid out the blanket pattern?
Mike.
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.
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Wow, this is very realistic. Which will she be? Keep up the great work, and post plenty of pics
Atlantis for its final flight.
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Excellent work on the blanket texture! This looks fantastic.
What did you thin the Tamiya White putty with?
It was Squadron White Putty thinned with hardware store lacquer thinner.
Very nicely done Dutycat. The blankets are excellent!
But ... why not simply add this post to your existing Shuttle Wars thread? There are a lot of steps missing ... from my memory at least ... like, did you use your resin windows/roof on this build? I just checked out your blog and see no past updates to this build.
I sure hope you'll get this done for the NATS and expect you'll come away with some hardware too!
Again, GREAT job on this!
Pete
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 edit. Right now, the push is on just to get this thing done for nationals. That in itself will be a challenge.
Also, you are correct in that I could have kept everything Shuttle Wars related in one thread on ARC. My mistake there. I just did not think about it in that way. If I could find away to combine them all, I would.
The good news is, when the entire project is done, it will all be laid out in a photo gallery, and on Youtube, so anyone can see what they are up against when tackling this beast. I am hoping all of my efforts will be of some service.
Oh, and yes, I did use the beanie cap on this build. They are currently OOP, but as soon as I get this thing done, I am planning on creating another mold and start producing them again. -G.G.
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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 some textural relief, enhancing the model for normal viewing. Close up photography will always reveal the limitations of hand craftsmanship. -G.G.
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Ok, ok she may not be a celebrity per se but a Canadian media personality, I found this video of Lauren Southern to be um, ok, cough, cough, kinda hot.
No politics on my part but besides watching an attractive gal shooting guns and also journalistically educating people and in my case Canadians on guns and gun laws in Canada to be refreshing and kind of fun. I'll leave the politics about our gun laws up to the inner thoughts of those here who watch the video. But lemme guess, many a guy would love (if you don't have one in your life) to have a gal who is not afraid of guns and is willing to discuss and learn about them.
Is that Bono shooting with her? lol
Flickr
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by DutyCat
Can anyone tell me why I cannot insert an image from Flickr on the boards here?