K2Pete

Tis good to see you building something here SWF ... and those famous last words "Again, none will be super detailed, merely getting the kit made is going to be an accomplishment." And then in the next post "After saying no superdetaining ... " ... it sounds like the bug has bitten you. The adding detail bug. The fun for me is just that. Adding scraps of styrene that, after painting, look like it's supposed to be something. You'll get into the swing of things and you'll have a ball building these kits ... and they may even be displayed, instead of hung from the ceil

Emil, I've got a NorthStar Cockpit and the MasterCasters aftermarket stuff too ... so you don't need to trundle anything down for me. I traded with a fellow ARC'er, Aurora Mark, just before this virus stuff hit the fan and I haven't seen him posting anything since then. So I'm all set, even though half the Hobbycraft kit will be eliminated to see the guts! ;^ D Thanx very much Emil! I'm already looking forward to the show-w-w! See ya there! Pete

Gentlemen, I thank you! CJ, kellyF15, Thadeus, Emvar, Geoff M, Dutch, scorvi ... I really appreciate you visiting and commenting. Scorvi and kellyF15, as this was my FIRST vacuform kit, I had no idea what to look out for. But it shouldn't be terrifying. The only issue I had was sanding off too much material. Before starting it, I thought, due to it only having 25 parts or so, that I'd get 'er dunn in 2 weeks ... but because of my not-too-careful sanding, it took that long to correct my errors. But it was a fun build. I did get frustrated at my own poor planning, but

Before starting this Vacuform kit and seeing how few parts were involved, I really thought it would take no more than 3 weeks to build. It took 9 weeks. And as it's my FIRST Vacuform, I learned a helluva lot! The next one, not too soon though, will take advantage of lessons learned! I'll bring it to the HeritageCon in 2 weeks but there are enough little flaws that it won't even get an Honourable mention ( I sure hope no Judges are watching this! ) ... but it'll be lovely to see an Avro Arrow on the table.

Was that friend Sun Tzu? ... or Carrottop? Thanx Dutch! For the last 10 days I've been struggling with the landing gear. I couldn't figure out a way to dry fit 'em so ... I just glued 'em on and hoped for the best. Well, as you can see the angle of the Bogies were way-y-y off. ... and I had to disassemble them both and think of a way to get 'em to look right. I wound up adding a bit o' styrene to the Bogies to lower the front wheels a degree or 2. Those added bits will get trimmed and fit in a second. I also made new w

In order to clean the oils off of the PE, Alcohol won't work ... the Vinegar is a mild acid and from what I've read ... and tried ... it works. I'll soak the PE sheets in Vinegar for a couple hours, no wiping, just rinse well and let air-dry. The Resin needs to be cleaned too but just with Dish soap and water ... and an old toothbrush to get into the nooks and crannies, this'll clean off the release agents from the Resin's mold. Working really small, like 1/72, creates enough frustrations, so PE and Resin that doesn't stick is one irritant we don't need. Let

Yessirree ... this sounds like a most interesting model! I'm glad you mentioned Homer because he's done a lot of work on the crew section and somebody else did the cabin ... it could save you time and just cost you some moolah. The tiles will be fun to watch come to fruition, I've used a few materials to replicate 'em. Re: the PE ... if they're not sticking, I have to ask, did you clean 'en first? I had this issue too until I found out that they should be left in Vinegar for an hour or two to remove any oils ... then they stuck perfectly! Post lotsa pix .

Let me extend my Condolences and Sympathies to you Randy ... I've been there and at around the same time of year ... But I'm glad to see you bounce back so-o quickly. I had used this hobby to deal with my Father's passing years ago. This is certainly an effective method to relax and distract ... keep doin' what yer doin'! This little LMs Ascent Stage looks really, really good. The details are nice and crisp and those standoffs for the EVA handle and Lights on the 'face' look GREAT! And the SM ... sheesh ... there's a lotta nice surface detail on that and Mr S

You're in the right forum and your V2 looks pretty good! At the 2009 NATS we Real Space modellers had built over 50 V2s and entered them into the contest and we split the category, so your V2 is definitely at home here! ;^ D Did you take any WIP photos of your build ... it's always good to see more pix of it coming together. Pete

Progress has been a little slow because as they say, the last 10% takes 90% of the time ... or something like that! I do NOT enjoy decalling anyway, but these 40 year old decals were a bear. Even though I had done a test and found out that they shattered in water, and then sprayed another coat of Krylon Clear, they were still very fragile and broke up on the model. So-o-o-o, I sprayed another coat, let 'em dry for at least a day and tried 'em out again ... cautiously. Then, they did NOT want to slide off the backing sheet ... annoying, frustrating and I needed to take a

It's great to see this build unfold ... you're doing a lovely job on this and I've got this in my stash too. I bought it, it must be 9 or 10 years ago and I thought, this is gonna be ha-a-a-ard! You're getting the hang of posting the pix ... they look good and I may use this as my build guide. Don't be shy about showing MORE pix. How did you cut the radiused holes ... feel free to show us HOW you built this sub-assembly or that item. You seem to be quite an experienced modeller ... are you? ;^ D i'll be following along! Thanx Pete

Emvar, I hope it looks good enough to show. I'm gonna bring my old 1/48 Arrow too ... plus a bunch o' Real Space entries. ;^ D I fretted about the sanded off surface detail and how could I bring it back, but just a little. I was watching cracker jazz's scribing 'tutorial' and these elements are too small for my big hands and lack of skill ... but, when I build my Real Space models, surface detail, like access panels, I create using Aluminum Foil strips. And I did it here too ... this raked angle shows no surface details. But my pencil indications ar

Thanx Dutch, but I'm just cuttin' and gluing some plastic. It's great relaxation in these bizarre times! As I was looking at some MLG reference, I realized my MLG Bogies were too thick ... so I cut out a spare Bogie and instead of gluing the 2 halves together, per the instructions, I'll just use 1 half, and glue on a strip of .010" styrene ... which is between my fingers. The old one is in the clamp. The 2 Bogies, before trimming, and the Aluminum Tubes will be inserted into the styrene tube which will be cut and trimmed and glued off-centre on the Bogie.

Geoff M, Thank you, and yessiree, this is my fun. Emvar, thanx for stopping by! Hope to see you at HeritageCon, be sure to say "Hi'! And yes, I'll use the kit's decals. I've met Howard, and a couple years ago asked him about these 40 year old decals. They SHOULD be good but I may want to spray some Clear over 'em. But I'll hafta test one or two. I'm gettin' close to using 'em! She's got her major assemblies attached and is ready for the first Primer coat ... With all that sanding, the tip of the Tail was rounded

I'm gettin' my models all organized for transporting ... I've missed this show and sure hope to attend!