Iron Modeler

Author: Iron Modeler

  • Happy Fourth of July–remember what we’re celebrating, though…

    Today is America's Independence Day, the day celebrated as the day we declared our independence from Mother England.

    I've seen posts today all over the Interwebs proclaiming thanks to the troops, and remember the fallen warriors, but those causes, worthy as they are, aren't what today is about.  So, today's post will be a bit of a history lesson.

    Today is not primarily "Thank the Troops for Serving" day–that day comes on 11 November every year, and has been since 26 May 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law a bill that made 11 November a day to remember veterans from all wars, not just World War I as it had been up to that point (remember when it was called Armistice Day?).

    Today is also not the primary day to "Remember the Fallen Troops", the day set aside to celebrate that comes on the last Monday of May every year and is called Memorial Day.  It, too, was originally set aside to remember troops from just one war–the American Civil War, and it was known as Decoration Day.  After World War I, it was expanded to remember the fallen troops of all wars, and by 1971 it was moved to the last Monday in May.

    No, today is the day where we celebrate the adoption of our Declaration of Independence.  If you follow history, the Second Continental Congress voted for Independence from England on 2 July 1776.  On 4 July 1776, the Founding Fathers approved the text of the Declaration of Independence.  So, what did we say to the King of England and the rest of the world?  Only this:

    *******************

    IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

    The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

    When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

    He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
    He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
    He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
    He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
    He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
    He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
    He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
    He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
    He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
    For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
    For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
    For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
    For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
    For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
    He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
    He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
    He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

    In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

    Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

    We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

    The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

    Column 1
    Georgia:
       Button Gwinnett
       Lyman Hall
       George Walton

    Column 2
    North Carolina:
       William Hooper
       Joseph Hewes
       John Penn
    South Carolina:
       Edward Rutledge
       Thomas Heyward, Jr.
       Thomas Lynch, Jr.
       Arthur Middleton

    Column 3
    Massachusetts:
    John Hancock
    Maryland:
    Samuel Chase
    William Paca
    Thomas Stone
    Charles Carroll of Carrollton
    Virginia:
    George Wythe
    Richard Henry Lee
    Thomas Jefferson
    Benjamin Harrison
    Thomas Nelson, Jr.
    Francis Lightfoot Lee
    Carter Braxton

    Column 4
    Pennsylvania:
       Robert Morris
       Benjamin Rush
       Benjamin Franklin
       John Morton
       George Clymer
       James Smith
       George Taylor
       James Wilson
       George Ross
    Delaware:
       Caesar Rodney
       George Read
       Thomas McKean

    Column 5
    New York:
       William Floyd
       Philip Livingston
       Francis Lewis
       Lewis Morris
    New Jersey:
       Richard Stockton
       John Witherspoon
       Francis Hopkinson
       John Hart
       Abraham Clark

    Column 6
    New Hampshire:
       Josiah Bartlett
       William Whipple
    Massachusetts:
       Samuel Adams
       John Adams
       Robert Treat Paine
       Elbridge Gerry
    Rhode Island:
       Stephen Hopkins
       William Ellery
    Connecticut:
       Roger Sherman
       Samuel Huntington
       William Williams
       Oliver Wolcott
    New Hampshire:
       Matthew Thornton

    **************************

    Enjoy your Fourth of July celebrations.  Be safe, be happy, and be thankful you live in a country where you have the opportunity to do all those things and more.  Thank the troops for serving and remember the fallen, by all means, but remember that those causes have their own dedicated days, too…

    Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

  • Restocking the hobby shop…and the hobby

    We recently did a comprehensive restock at the hobby shop.  HobbyTown USA has what they call "Core Inventory", stuff that you expect to see at any hobby shop all the time.  Of course, this includes paints, glues, basic building tools and supplies, and a stock of "staple" kits (think P-51, P-47, Ford Mustang, etc.).  This restock contained quite a large number of car and truck kits, which, if you pay attention to the hobby, shouldn't surprise you. 

    For the average hobby shop customer who buys models, car kits are by far the best seller.  Why?  I think it has to do with a few factors–one, most people start building models with a car kit.  Two, cars are everywhere.  Three, you can pretty much do what you want when it comes to colors and customizing, and nobody really will get hot and bothered about it "not being accurate".  Try painting a Patton tank four shades of purple–it might look cool, but it would look better–and not so out-of-place–on a 1957 Chevy.  There also tend to be fewer parts to deal with, and a lot of the painting can be done beforehand with a spray can.  Early model kits of all genres were, by nature, simple, but as their popularity grew and people wanted more fidelity to the original subject, the parts counts grew, and grew, and grew.  A funny thing happened with car kits, though–originally, bodies were multiple piece affairs since the molding technology of the day was limited in what it could do.  With the development of better detailed and more complex parts came slide-mold technology, where parts of the mold actually can be slid into and out of the mold cavity.  What this does is allow undercut and concave parts to be molded in one piece and still come out of the mold.  Car bodies were some of the first items to benefit–what used to be a four or five part assembly now came in one piece, ready to go.  Car kits, as the detail improved, really didn't gain a whole lot in the parts count.  Sure, the count did increase as more and more manufacturers started to mold separate exhausts and suspension parts, but that may have added four or five parts to the total, whereas a ship model added fifteen in order to get proper gun houses and turrets with separate gun barrels, or tank kits added six or seven parts by molding separate pioneer tools and periscopes, or airplane kits added detailed cockpits and landing gear wells by adding eight to twelve parts.

    Some of the hard-core modeling guys on the forums (forii?) are disappointed in the stock levels of higher quality (and also higher-priced) kits, especially at the chain shops (HobbyTown USA, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc.).  Something they fail to realize is that the serious modeler, bent on building one of those mythical totally accurate model with all the bells and whistles comprise less than 1% of any hobby shop's clientele.  The real meat and potatoes of the sales go to the guy who builds one, maybe two, models a week, not one or two per year.  So, shops have to balance what they carry in order to serve the people who are more frequent buyers.

    The brick-and-mortar Mom and Pop shops can be a little more variable in what they order, true.  And I know this from working at one of those shops.  Unfortunately, many of those old shops are dying or have gone the way of the dodo.  I don't believe it was any one thing–some went bust because they ran out of money, some went under because the demographics of the area changed.  The big reason, though, is because both the hobby and the hobbyist have undergone (and continue to undergo) some fundamental changes.

    Let's start with the kits.  Since I build airplanes primarily, I'll go with what I know.  We'll limit the discussion to static, display only models, since flying models have another set of issues–but there, too, the hobby of flying models has changed greatly, and it follows closely to what I'm about to lay out for you.

    In the beginning, there wasn't any such animal.  A model was built by finding (or drawing) plans, transferring them to wood, and carving the model.  When true kits were made available, they usually contained the plans and blocks of wood.  As the kit developed, more and more of the steps were already done–the blocks were roughly shaped, the bulkheads for stick and tissue models were now die-cut, and the strips were already cut, too.  Then, along comes plastic.  Ask any old-timer, and he'll say that the plastic kit killed the hobby.  Apparently not, though, since the plastic kits went from simple shapes to the well-detailed kits we have today.  And there lies the rub…

    Now, let's take a look at the modeler.  To the wood carver, any details he wanted to incorporate into his kits was done by his own hand.  If he wanted a detailed cockpit, he built the details using whatever materials he had at hand.  The stick-and-tissue builder did the same thing–I've knwn stick and tissue guys who sheeted their models with 1/32 balsa sheet to get the smooth skin seen on metal airplanes.  When the first plastic kits appeared, they were simple affairs, so again, any additional details were done by the modeler.  Clear canopies?  Sure, if you were adept enough to form the (usually) acetate sheet that came in the kit or were able to get some acetate, carve a master, and form said acetate. 

    As the kits gained in popularity, two things also gained in popularity–accuracy and detail, and these two usually go hand-in-hand.  I remember the first Monogram 1/48 scale F4U-4 Corsair I built–while the overall shape of the model wasn't bad for its day, the instrument panel was cut from the decal sheet (another item that follows this same curve, by the way–they've gone from simple national insignia to the full blown sheets we have today) and glued on to a ledge inside the fuselage.  The rest of the cockpit consisted of a pilot figure with a pin growing out of his hip.  You glued the pin into a socket inside the fuselage.  That was it.  No seat, no stick, nada.  If you wanted the cockpit to have those things, you did it yourself.  The Monogram kit dates from the late 1950's, if memory serves–fast forward to the 1970's when Mania produced their own 1/48 scale F4U-4 kit (now in Hasegawa boxes).  The shape was good averall, and (gasp!) there was a cockpit.  A simple cockpit, to be sure, but there was something to start from.  You could add all the little details you wanted to that base.  And now, look at the 1990's Corsair kits from Tamiya–earlier variants, to be sure, but the cockpits in those kits are models unto themselves, and the kits themselves have better details than anyone in the 1960s could have imagined.  And even with that, some modelers are still not impressed.  They want more.  With more comes a higher price.  And with that higher price comes a reduction in the number of modelers who want or who can afford that level of detail.  They'll be content with the older generation of kits.

    Another point–kids are not exposed to the hobby the way they once were.  I'd wager that the core model building population in this country consists of men in their early to mid 50's with rather large disposable incomes.  I'm in my late 40's, and feel like I'm part of the last generation of modelers who remembers kits that didn't fit, weren't well detailed, weren't the variant that you really wanted, but were the only thing you had to work from.  While you don't see them often, people (male and female) in their 20's do take up the hobby, but there aren't many of them.  (Model railroading has seen a similar demographics shift,  and I believe that RC airplanes have, too.  Of course, young people flock to the latest generations of RC cars–and once again, we're talking about cars.  It is a universal thing–the car is something that everyone can relate to…)

    Back to plastics.  One trend I'm seeing that I like has been the resurgence of the older kits.  Revell have released a bunch of their older kits, along with the Monogram and Matchbox kits they have the rights to.  Round 2 Models has brought back a good number of the AMT and MPC kits–and they've even tried to improve some of the older kits by using parts from more recent kits (I refer you to the MPC 1970 Coronet Super Bee as an example–it uses the chassis, interior, and engine from the AMT late 1960's GTX and Road Runner).  Lindberg and Hawk models have made a comeback, too. 

    Perhaps those Hawk "Wierd-Ohs" will do what they once did for the hobby–get kids interested in doing something with their hands.  Perhaps dad or grandpa will find those kits, and buy one to build with their kids or grand kids.  If not, the older generation will have those kits they remember from their childhood to build again.  And maybe they'll even stick them together, paint them, then play with them in the same afternoon–just like they did the first time around.

    I saw something this past Friday at the shop that did my heart good–a gentleman and a youngster were looking at car kits.  They both picked a subject–the older man had a 1955 Chevy, the youngster had a Hummer–and started asking me about paints and some build tips.  I don't know what the relationship was between the two, but is was apparent that they were going to build those models together.  I hope their builds were fun.  And I hope to see them again.  Even of the youn man doesn't pick up the hobby, he was exposed to it–which is all that matters.  Hopefully, sometime in the future he'll remember how much fun he had building that Hummer H2, and maybe he'll build a model with his kids…

    **********************

    An update on the new feline unit–Smokey's still confined to the Master Bathroom, but we spend and hour or so with him every couple of hours.  He's quite affectionate, but I feel like he's getting cabin fever.  Even so, he's adjusted well so far.  Speaking of adjusted, Junior, too, has adjusted to the scent of a new critter.  Of course, having some Tiger Treats handy doesn't hurt, either–he'll do anything as long as he can mooch some food.  I think by the middle of the week, we should be able to let Smokey explore the master bedroom and see what that's all about, and then maybe the following week we can let the two cats chack each other out under the closed door.  I'd also like to grant Junior access to the Master Bedroom, since that's where he greets me every morning.  We'll play it by ear, but things are going better than expected.

    Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

  • A New Addition

    Today sees the addition of another family member.  No, we don't have children.  Up until this morning, our only dependant was an 8-year old, 15-pound (give or take a pound or two) Mackerel Tabby cat, known far and wide as Junior the Fierce Ferocious and Mighty Tennessee Walking Tiger, Master of His Domain and All He Surveys.  Well, this morning he got a little brother.  The new guy's name is officially Smokey, and he's (by all appearances) an Orange Tabby with maybe a bit of an Albino tendency.  He's almost as affectionate as Junior–maybe more so–and he's right now sacked out in our Master bathroom while he acclimates to the surroundings–and the other feline critter.

    Smokey came to be with us the way many animals find humans to care for them.  He showed up on our back doorstep a few months ago.  My wife feels that all of God's critters need to be fed, so she gave him some food and water.  He returned for a few days, then vanished.  We see that from time to time–out in the woods, various fates befall small animals.  Some get adopted, some get found and reunited with their families, some become victims of the various predatory creatures that also inhabit the woods.  While we always hope for the best, we always have to expect the worst, too.  So, when he showed up again a couple of weeks ago, she started to feed him again.  By his behaviour, it was apparent that he was used to being around people.  He was quite affectionate, and he had a certain degree of separation anxiety whenever my wife tried to come back inside.  At that time, he gained the nickname "Transient Bonus Cat".

    As the days passed, it became apparent that this little kitty had no human staff members to cater to his every whim (and you non-cat people will never understand–dogs have masters, cats have staff–it is just the way it is) and we began talking about letting him adpot us–silly, I know, since the "adoption" was a fait accompli as far as the cat was concerned.  He'd show up at the same time every day, and he knew he'd get fed and watered, and perhaps could spend a few minutes with either me or my wife while we patted his back or scratched his ears.  We talked about the fact that the Master of the House was El Hombre Macho Solo and had run of the place for eight years, but we felt that he'd adjust.

    So, this morning the new guy had a ride in the car and got to meet out vet–a gruff man who certainly loves his critters.  With that, the cat formerly known as Transient Bonus Cat got a clean bill of health, his shots, some instructions to care for a scratched eye he got in a fight with another critter, and an appointment a month from now for his second round of feline leukemia vaccines and his de-milling (he's got quite a set on him–almost as large as Junior's were before we had him disarmed).  In the meantime, we're going to try and integrate the two critters and give them both run of the house.  I believe that Junior's green eyes will go away after a while.  They may keep their distance from each other, but sooner or later I'd like to think they'll become buddies (and in the cat-to-English translation that equates to "partners in crime")… 

    So, when the production line at the workbench slows down even more than it has, you'll know why.

    Thanks for reading.  Have a safe and Happy Independence Day this coming Monday.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

  • A Catalina Story

    Any fan of World War Two warbirds knows the Consolidated PBY Catalina/Canso–the ungainly-looking, high wing flying boat/amphibian patrol aircraft.  Well, I made the acquaintance of a few of these aircraft in my career, the first of which was a Boeing-Canada built PBY-5A Canso that the company I worked for acquired back in 1989 or 1990.  She wasn't much to look at–after the war, she had been modified to what was known as 28-5ACF and was to have been used as a freight hauler or firebomber.  During that change, she had her waist gun blisters replaced with cargo doors, and she had the later "clipper" nose fitted that eliminated the gun turret and window–these modifications removed a lot of the character that made a PBY a PBY.  But I got to do a little avionics work on her, and other than reminding yourself that there are lots of places to bang your shins or whack your head in this old girl (and there are two kinds of people who work around flying boats–those that have knocked their head or shins on something, and those who will!), it was more or less a joy.  Yes, there was oil all around, too–any radial-engined airplane will have a film of oil covering most of the airplane after too long, and this PBY was no exception.

    Doing some research, it seems that my first PBY was a bit of a celebrity.  She was born as Construction Number 22022 and went to the Royal Canadian Air Force as RCAF9793 sometime in 1943.  After the war, she kicked around a bit–she carried, at one time or another, the following registrations: YV-P-APE, OB-LDM-349, HK-996X, HP-289, HR-236, N6108, and TG-BIV.  I knew her as November Five Four Zero Four Juliet.

    One of her claims-to-fame?  She was used by Southern Air Transport for a while, and while under their employ she served as a communications relay aircraft during the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion.  To top that, she was also supposedly used in the Pearl Harbor attack movie "Tora Tora Tora!".  To put the cherry on top of her career, she was used for a time by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau…

    (Do a Google search on "N5404J" and you will get dozens of hits.  Really.  I could post the information here, but I've been working one of those weeks of half-days–seven days, twelve hour shifts.  I'm feeling a bit lazy this Sunday…)

    Zero-Four Juliet  stayed with us for a year or so.  I'm not sure what we did to the airplane up until 1990, but there came a time where the maintenance guys went to work doing some sheet metal work.  They were adding seat rails and a passenger floor to the airplane.  They were also re-routing all of the overhead fluid lines–we were told that she was to be ferried to New Zealand, where she would haul passengers, and you can't have volatile liquids (read: 100 Low Lead Aviation Gasoline, aka 100LL AVGAS).  As it turned out, she was actually going to be brought to New Zealand to be used as a flying museum.  Unfortunately, it would not come to pass–at least, not for Zero Four Juliet.  The airplane left our facility sometime in late 1993.  I heard little about her until a friend told me that she crashed in January 1994 while en route from Hilo, HI to Papeete in French Polynesia.  She sank in the Pacific.  Fortunately, the occupants were rescued.

    A post from The Warbird Information Exchange, which came from The Catalina Group of New Zealand's website:

                                                        The History of “NJ”, Catalina N5404J

    N5404J, serial number 22022, was built by Boeing of Canada and had the RCAF Serial 9793. It was originally a Canso A (PBY-5A) but at the war's end was modified in Costa Rica to 28-5ACF status. Its blister windows and nose turret were removed, the former replaced with flush hatches; the latter with a "clipper" nose. Registrations have included: YV-P-APE, OB-LDM-349, HK-996X, HP-289, HR-236, N6108, TG-BIV, N5404J.

    It took part in the ill-fated "Bay of Pigs" operation in Cuba during which, while circling the invasion area and operating with the code name "Swan Island", its mission was to act as a communications relay aircraft. It was also used in making of the film Tora, Tora, Tora, flying in pre-war US Navy colours both as 24-P-4 and 24-P9 representing PBYs from VP-24 based on Ford Island, Pearl Harbour. It was hired at one time by renown marine biologist Jacques Cousteau on one of his ventures (Jacques Cousteau’s son, Philippe was killed in PBY-6A Catalina N101CS –"Flying Calypso" in a water landing accident).           

    N5404J's last registered owner was The Catalina Company (NZ) Ltd under which the registration ZK-PBY was reserved but never taken up as the aircraft forced landed and sank in mid-Pacific early on January 14, 1994 during a ferry flight to New Zealand. For the whole fascinating story order a copy of Catalina Dreaming from this site today!

    My second encounter with a Catalina happened about the same time–it was the airplane now known as N4NC, and maybe I'll tell you about it (and other hangar stories) some time…for as Zero Four Juliet was a workhorse, Four November Charlie was a flying yacht.

    There was yet another Catalina I knew, too–N7179Y, a PBY-6A–and (as of September of 2009) she resides in the restoration facility of the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.  She was flipped on her back during a storm some 12 years ago.  It is a shame, too–Seven Niner Yankee lived through Hurricane Andrew in 1991 with nary a scratch.  It appears as if they will combine the best parts from Seven Niner Yankee and another PBY-6A.  I haven't been able to dig up anything more current…

    ***************************

    As I hinted at above, work has been more than hectic these past three weeks.  I haven't had much time to do anything, so forgive me on the lack of updates lately.

    Thanks for reading, and, as always, I bid you Peace.

  • The colors, Andy, oh, the colors…

    Why is it that of all the things modelers disagree on, the main culprit is color?  Sure, there are flare-ups about configuration and outline of various subjects, but the thing that gets modelers cross-threaded is color.

    Let me posit this:  Why is it, that the further away in time we get from an event, the more certain we are that something was done in a certain way, or painted in a certain manner, or matched a particular standard?  If the Luftwaffe didn't record exactly what color RLM 84 was (or wasn't), how is it that we are so absolutely sure that it was a close match for RAF Sky?  Or why is it that only in the past few years that we've been led to understand that the Wehrmacht had a pea green color they used on certain vehicles? 

    Now, I'm not saying that I discount the research that unearthed these possibilities.  People devote their lives to this sort of archaeology, and I'm grateful.  But it would seem to me that time is not kind to paint, even paint that has been hidden from the effects of weather and sunlight.  And, most of the research is being based on these "protected" samples.  In some cases, the colors have been in line with what is currently known (or accepted as fact), but what's to say that color X has shifted drastically even though it was hidden from view for lo these many years?

    What I am saying is not to sweat the small stuff.  Find something that's close and go with it.  Life's too short.

    Now, the other color debate has once again reared its ugly head–was Lou IV's camouflage done in blue or green?  Like the age-old question, "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?", the true answer is "The world may never know."

    We're having a heat wave–105 today with the heat index.  I'm pretty much wrung out, so I'll leave it at that for tonight.  I'm trying to get my external HD to mount up with the ol' iMac again, and once I do I can free a few old articles I wrote on various subjects.  I look forward to posting them for you…

    Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace. 

  • Goings-on

    This has been a busy week–well, maybe not so much busy.  I guess the word I'm looking for is out of the ordinary.  This week every year is like that for me–the post-Le Mans let down, for one, gets to me.  Of all the motorsports events that take place around the world every year, this has got to be my absolute favorite.  And, because of that, I tend to want to watch all of it that I can, which leads to sleep deprivation, which slows me down for the following week.

    We've also got an airplane in the final phases of an inspection, and that's when things tend to get hectic.  Parts are arriving, final checks are being done, and everyone is working to make sure that A: the airplane gets done when promised and 2: we don't miss anything or compromise the safety of the airplane in any way.  Believe me, there are times that the latter provides enough stress to last a month of Sundays.  

    And, an additional factor is the heat.  The calendar may indicate it is late Spring, but here where I'm at, it is most definitely summer.  The hummingbirds are back–we've put both feeders out for them–and the whip-poor-wills are hanging around in the evening, singing away.  Even those annoying gnats–we refer to them as "dog-pecker gnats", since they tend to congregate around that particular part of canine anatomy–common to South Carolina are back.  Most telling is the heat and humidity.  We're going on maybe 20 days where the daytime high has been at least 90 degrees so far this year.  We've not had a lot of rain, either–although the skies did open up on Wednesday evening and knocked power out for several hours, we haven't had a good, steady rain in quite some time.  And while the weather-guessers and meterolog-ities (you know, "celebrities" who guess the weather–folks like Al Roker and Jim Cantore) will tell you, "It will be a hot one, stay inside!", they don't say what to do when your job consists of working outside year-round.  The best we can do is stay hydrated and keep the fans running, but even that doesn't help much.  So, at the end of the day, the heat and stress take their toll.  These days, my Fun Meter is usually pegged out come mid afternoon (maybe 2PM), and Going-Home Thirty can't come soon enough.

    On other fronts, the local IPMS Chapter held their monthly meeting this week.  There was a good number of models on the table for show and tell this month–I'm always interested to see what others are doing, and this month's turnout was a treat.  At the same time, the local AMPS Chapter is in the final planning stages for our Inaugural Show/Contest, so things are getting busy on the hobby front, too. 

    As usual, I'm trying to keep some build momentum working, but I hit a bit of a snag this week.  I shot the silver paint on the NASCAR Monte Carlo this past weekend, so that I could start putting the decals on this week.  Well, a decal sheet that has been kicking around in my stash for some 15 years is a little worse for the wear.  The decals shattered when I tired to soak them off the backing sheet (the inks have become brittle, and the more layers of color, the worse it is), and the kit contingency decals are no great shakes, either (typical of Monogram decals from the '80s and '90s).  I can touch up the decals and finesse the contingencies, but what I'm probably going to do is strip off what I have on the car and clean up the paint.  There's supposed to be a new sheet of the same scheme coming out soon, and I think I can wait.  After all, the project has been waiting for the past 15 years, what's another month or so?  I can finish the engine and chassis, clean it up the painted body, and put it aside again–temporarily–so that I can get back to work on the A-10A and the StuG IV.  I'll be happy to finally get some more projects moving along and finished.

    I made myself a promise–other than the Le Mans build, I will not start another project until I can get the A-10A and StuG finished.  And I intend to follow through…and as soon as I can get replacement decals for the Monte Carlo, it will get finished, too.

    Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

  • An annual ritual

    Well, the 79th running of the 24 Heures du Mans is history.  And, once again, so is my 24-hour build…

    For the past few years, my wife and I have built model cars during the running of the race.  We start when the race starts, and we try to be finished by the time it ends the next day.  Usually, I like to build an endurance racer, especially one that's run at Le Mans.  And I usually try to build a kit from the stash.  This year, though, I couldn't find a kit close enough to the top of the pile that I wanted to build.  Due to the time limit, the build is almost always out of box, or close to out of box–no added doo-dads and the like.  I have a few kits of the Jaguar XJR-8 and XJR-9 that I'd like to build, but I'd really like to do them up right proper like. and an OOB build might not be the best way to do that…

    This year, we did a 24-hour build for the Rolex 24 at Daytona since we didn't go to the race, and I built a street car (Tamiya's 1/24 scale 1999 Toyota Celica).  And, since I couldn't find an endurance racer I thought woult fit the bill, I chose to build another street car.  I was torn between two kits–the MPC modified reissue of the 1970 Coronet Super Bee (actually, a very nice kit–it combines some of the old MPC kit body and other parts with the 1990-era MOPAR chassis and engine) and the Revell 2009 Dodge Challenger. 

    Since the auto makers started to make "retro" styled cars (the late 1990's Ford Mustang seems to have started the trend) and resurrect old car names, I've only liked two of them.  Ford did a real nice job with the Mustang–although I was never a huge fan of the FoMoCo Pony Car (yes, kids, the Mustang was initially THE Pony Car that spurred Chevrolet into making Camaros), the new styling has an air of cool about it.  The other one I like is the Challenger.  Again, they styling cues taken from the original make using the Challenger name permissible in my mind.  (I won't get into how I feel about Chrysler using the "300" badge or calling that behemoth "Charger", or Chevy's lame attempt at reviving the Camaro–the former two just don't work and the latter looks like a comic-book gangster car.)

    The Super Bee would have been nice, but to do it justice, the painting of the body and chassis needs to be done in what can be a time-eater.  So, the Challenger won…

    SRT8_1 The kit was built out of the box–I even used the kit decals.  See the mini-review below for details.

    SRT8_2     I wish Revell would have made the blacked-out grill and taillight panel as separate parts–it would have made painting a wee bit easier!

    SRT8_3    It looks like a proper muscle car, no?

    SRT8_5 And yes, it has a Hemi…

    One thing that ChryCo did when they brought back the Charger and Challenger was to yet again reinvent the Hemi that made their progenitors famous.  One thing they didn't do?  Anyone who remembers the MOPAR muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s should remember the High Impact colors (here's another link for you).  You know, those colors with names like Plum Crazy, Go ManGo, Sassy Grass, SubLime, Panther Pink…anyway, the only "throwback" colors they offered were Hemi Orange, Tor-Red (now called Torred), and B5 Blue.  I couldn't let that oversight go.  What you see is what a 2009 Challenger would look like painted in SubLime Green.  I liked this kit, so I may also do one in Panther Pink.  I'll save Plum Crazy for the Super Bee…

    Revell really did a nice job on the kit–it is simpler than their full detail kits from back in the day, yet more involved than their ProFinish inspired kits from the late 1990's.  The interior is a separate module from the chassis pan, with separate side panels.  The seats are nice–the recline lever area is kind of clunky, and if you are into opening doors and such, you'll probably want to finesse them a bit–and the dash is quite well detailed.  Decals are provided for the gauges, climate control knobs, and the Nav/Entertainment/Display system.  I couldn't get the decals for the climate control knobs to lie down using Future–maybe some Solvaset would help here.  Kit instructions call for semi-gloss black on everything, but I used some dark gray flocking for the carpet.  Change up the final finishes to add some interest–use semi-gloss, flat, and gloss overcoats on various parts.

    The body is well done–parting lines are very fine and easy to remove.  The instructions call for the addition of the nose and tail clips late, but in dry fitting, they didn't fit very well.  There is a natural seam on the 1:1, but I glued them on and filled the gaps.  Doing this makes the installation of the chassis pan a bit of a nail-biter, but it can be done.  We were out of Tamiya's white primer, so I laid the paint directly on the bare (but cleaned with alcohol!) plastic.  Paint on this one was Tamiya's TS22 Light Green.  It covered quite well.  The semi-gloss black areas are Testor Acryl Semi-Gloss Black, applied with a brush.  I do wish that the grill and taillight panel were separate–painting the black areas was a bit of a chore.  I got a respectable result, but it isn't as nice as I would like it to be.

    The engine assembly is quite nice and when installed looks the part.  You could go hog-wild adding plumbing and wiring if you wish.  Revell gives you a great starting point.  The suspension is not bad–the only gripe I have is that the metal rod that is used as the rear axle is nice and shiny–if it weren't such a pain to remove, I'd remove it and give it a shot of steel or gunmetal paint.  It doesn't show if you don't pick the model up…

    The only niggles I found were the windshield installation, which I did after the interior and chassis were installed–you can do it before, but you may wind up popping it loose when installing the chassis.  The same goes for the rear side windows–you should do those first, since they get trapped against the inside of the body on the lower edges by the interior pan.  The instruction and assembly sequence for the motor needs some studying before you commit the glue.  Also, the headlight and signal light lens part numbers are reversed–dry fitting will show you what lives where.

    The kit decals were used throughout, and responded well to Future used to set them except for the climate control knobs.  Solvaset made the stubborn ones lie down, although I didn't try it until all was buttoned up (I've had issues with Revell decals and Solvaset before)–it would have set those decals onto the climate control knobs better than Future did…

    All in all, though, I enjoyed the build.  You will too.

    While I was building the Challenger, my wife built this:

    Boxster_1

    That's Tamiya's 1/24 scale Porsche Boxster with a Porsche 911 front clip.  Tamiya's auto kits go together quite nicely, indeed.

    I wonder what next year's build will be?  I have a year to figure it out…

    Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

  • A drive through the French countryside…

    Let's take a ride.  C'mon, the car's waiting.  There you go–get those seat belts tight…

    As we leave the parking area–yes, it is Pit Lane–we start to accelerate, but not too much, as there's a quick right-hand curve coming up and we'll go under a bridge.  See that "Dunlop" sign?  It has been there for years–as a matter of fact, the turn we just took as well as the next two–a quick left-right-left–are called Dunlop Curve and the Dunlop chicane.  As we leave the chicane, the speed starts to climb again–but be careful!  There's another series of curves ahead–another, gentler left-right-left–that, believe it or not, are known to millions as, you guessed it, The Esses.  No time to dwell on that, though–we have another turn ahead.  Down the gears, a little more brake, and a hard right-hander awaits–as does disaster if you don't hit your marks!  We've just passed through the village of Tertre Rouge, from which this particular turn gets its name.

    After Tertre Rouge, we can really start climbing the gears–shift, accelerate, shift again.  Until 1990, you could shift up through the gears, put the foot flat to the floor, and rest for a while.  But these days, you have to get ready–quick, down a gear…then another…brake a bit, sharp right, then left, then right again–for what was originally called L'Arche chicane, but is now the Play Station chicane (is the naming right to everything up for grabs?)…

    Back up through the gears.  We're now on the famed Mulsanne straight, known to the locals as Ligne Droite des Hunaudières.  Before the place was changed–the stretch went from Tertre Rouge, through the Kink, to the turn at Mulsanne uninterrupted–speeds could get as high as 250 miles per hour!  Things may have slowed down, but not much…

    Quick with the downshift again…and again…brake, hard left, right, hard left again…we just made it through La Florandierè (now Michelin) chicane.  Quickly, shift…again…good.  As we get back up to speed, we're approaching a slight right hand bend on the road, the Mulsanne Kink.  Don't be fooled–a lot of great drivers have run afoul of the Kink.  Once through the kink, you can speed up a bit…

    Okay, now we're near the village of Mulsanne.  And, like the rest of this place, there's usually a turn named after the village.  And this one's a doozy.  ready?  Shift down, down, down again…brake…the turn is about 100 degrees, so be smooth through the apex…

    Now that we're through that one, up through the gears again.  We have a long, sweeping right hander that we can handle quite easily.  But don't get comfortable, because we have one of the trickiest combination of curves coming up.  And here they are…you know the drill, downshift, again, then apply the brakes.  This turn, called Indianapolis (no, the village here isn't Indianapolis…), is a sharp, double apex turn–almost a sharp chicane–right, then left.  Get ready for more fun, though–the next turn, called Arnage (yes, the village here *is* called Arnage) is as sharp a right hand turn as Indianapolis was a sharp left.  But you made it through, only scuffed a *little* of the paint on the Armco…

    No time to fret about it.  Up though the gears again, foot to the floor for a short rest.  While you're resting, prepare yourself for the next complex of curves–a slight left, followed by a short by sweeping right, a straight bit, then another one of those may-as-well-be-a-chicane sharp left-right-left.  The first of those twisty bits are the Porsche Curves, that last bit is called Maison Blanche, or "The White House".  Keep focused! 

    A short straight chute leads into the next chicane, left-right, then left-right again.  These are the Ford Chicane, and that leads onto another straight, only to go back around again.

    And go back around they will, the drivers who will start this year's running of the most famous sports car endurance race in the world, the 24 Heures du Mans.  Lap after lap, they'll go up and down the gearbox.  Weather, mechanical failure, fatigue, and on-track mishaps lurk around every corner.  A blown pit stop or driver change can cost you precious time–and laps.  What seems like a lock on the lead can quickly become a multiple lap deficit.  Given enough time, you might make up those laps, but you are casting a pretty good stink eye on your competitors in hopes some ill befalls them, too. 

    Two different classes run at the same time, each class with two categories of cars separated by chassis type, engine size, and, new for this year, whether the drivers are considered an ameteur or a professional.  Each car also has a team of at least three drivers who change off every so often during pit stops.  LMP1–Le Mans Protoype Level 1–are the biggest, baddest custom-made machines to hit the track these days.  The manufacturers spend som eserious coin on these beasts.  The cars to beat are the LMP1 diesel-powered Audis and Peugeots.  The rules will change next year, and these cars will be making their Swan song this weekend.  The LMP2 cars, protoypes with smaller displacement engines, are the next fastest on the track.  It wasn't too long ago when it was rare for an LMP2 to finish a sprint race (short, usually 2-hour events), let alone a 12- or 24-hour race.  But the quality and durability of these cars has improved a great deal.  In some sprint events in the United States, LMP2 Porsche RS Spyders beat all comers, so don't count them out.

    The GT cars are production based–BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette.  The two GT classes used to be separated by engine size and chassis type as GT1 and GT2.  For this year, though, they are now listed as GTE Pro and GTE Am.  The difference?  The GTE Pro cars are driven by a team of professional co-drivers, and the GTE Am cars are only allowed on professional driver, the other co-drivers are all ameteurs (also known as "Gentleman Racers" or "Gentlemen Drivers"). 

    So, how can you tell them apart at a glance?  Easy–look at the number placard on the side of the car.  LMP1 have red placards, LMP2 are blue, GTE Pro are green, and GTE Am are orange.  Another thing to look for–on the side of the car by the number placard are three LED's in the same color as the number placard.  If there is one LED lit, that car is first in class.  If there are two lit, that car is second in class, and if all three are lit that car is sitting third in class.  That doesn't necessarily mean that a particular car is leading the overall race, though–the second place LMP1 could actually be running fifth, behind all three LMP2 class leaders.  Likewise, the GTE Am leader may be in front of the GTE Pro.  These are races within races, and when it is all over, those that finish have put forth a Herculean effort to get there. 

    And every year, the planning for the next year's race starts as soon as the Tricoleur waves at the end of 24 hours of racing in Le Mans.

    And, like years past, I'll be planted in front of a television tuned to Speed TV this weekend.  And, like I've done for the past few years, I'm going to be building a model car in the 24-hour span.  I start the kit when the green waves, and the goal is to be done by the time the race ends.  If you've never tried it, you need to.  I've had a blast…

    Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

  • 67 Years ago today: 6 June 1944

    By June, 1944, the European Allies had been at war with the Axis powers for five years.  The war had seen the most of Western Europe occupied by the Nazi forces of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.  America was relatively new to this war–like the one before it, America was kept largely out of it due to pressures at home and the fact that America was separated by an ocean from war-torn Europe.  When the United States did get involved, they did so slowly–first in the joint invasion of North Africa, then Sicily and Italy.  The United States, however, was set on invading Hitler's "Fortress Europe" head on, from the French Coast.  Britain, having been at this game for a while (and having experienced the carnage at Dieppe), was content to continue nibbling at the edges–first North Africa, then Italy, maybe the south of France, then Greece–the "death from a thousand cuts" approach, if you will.  It wasn't until 1943 that it was agreed that once Sicily was liberated that plans would be made to invade France.

    The Allies amassed one of the largest task forces in history.  The invasion was no small affair, either–39 divisions either landed on the Normandy beaches or parachuted into Northern France.  12,000 planes made up the aerial assault alone.  There were some 7,000 vessels involved in the amphibious landings.  It was also a fairly unsure bet.  The invasion was set for 5 June, but bad weather caused the postponement of the landings until 6 June, based on weather reports that came from a Royal Navy ship in the mid-Atlantic–weather reports the enemy could not get. 

    Before the initial assaults, General Eisenhower gave the following address to his troops:

    ****************************

    "Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

    Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

    But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

    I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

    Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

    ************************

    An mp3 of the actual address can be found here.

    As the men landed and move inland, the Germans were caught off guard.  Many of the High Command believed that the invasion would come in clear weather and at the Pas de Calais–the narrowest part of the English Channel.  The Luftwaffe was nowhere to be found–although Josef "Pips" Priller did make a flight over the beach, it was a token appearance.  Rommel had gone to visit his wife; 6 June was her birthday.  Hitler himself had deluded himself into believing that the invasion was months off–and in the months leading up to the invasion, did the Allies a favor by assuming complete command over all of his troops in the field.  The Field Marshals would "command", but their orders came straight from Hitler. 

    They also believed that the invasion would be led by General Patton, not General Montgomery, General Bradley, and Eisenhower.  Patton, though, was in the doghouse at the time due to the slapping incidents on Sicily.  Patton did play a role in Operation Overlord, though–he commanded a "ghost army" in England.  The Nazi spies were told to keep tabs on Patton, so they did–and reported back that he had many armored and infantry divisions in training.  In reality, the armor was inflatable! 

    In the end, we all know how things turned out.  But there's one thing that is lost on a lot of people, both young and not so young–the men Eisenhower was addressing were for the most part kids–17, 18 year old kids who had the eyes of the world upon them.  Many of them would not get home until the end of the war, many more would not get home at all.  There would be a bitter year of fighting ahead of them, and there were times that victory was uncertain.  It would do us all well to remember what the men of the Allied Expeditionary Forces did 67 years ago.

    Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

  • Under the weather just got snowed in…

    My head cold from last week has turned into a sinus infection, so I've been out of sorts for the past few days.  The doc prescribed antibiotics, so I should be right as rain in a few days.  And, of course, that four-letter work spelled w-o-r-k is picking up, too, so I gotta make hay while the sun shines.

    (Count the number of clichés and homey, old time phrases in the last paragraph.  Not intentional–or was it?)

    I have managed to get a little bit of model building done, though–the Monogram 1996 NASCAR Monte Carlo is now wearing gray primer.  Shortly, the inside will be wearing a new coat of Chevy Engine Red, and the outside will be silver.  Then, all I'll lack is finishing up.   Seriously, though, once the interior paint is done, it won't be too long before I can check the "done" box on this one.  It won't be terribly accurate, as I'm going by a very few photos, but it will do for my purposes.

    But, in the meantime, I'm relaxing and trying to get back to 100%.  Between this bacterial invaasion and the heat (today was somewhere close to 100 degrees, with a matching humidity), I'm wiped out when I get home…

    **********

    I've been meaning to pass on some of my favorite places to visit on the Interwebs.  Let's start with blogs.  I've already mentioned Pat Hawkey's blog and Replica In Scale.  Another one I'm fond of is The Northward Contrail, a hodge-podge of stuff about, well, different stuff.  And Chris Bucholtz of Obscureco also maintains his own place where he talks about models and history.  All of them are well worth checking out. 

    There are a few others, too.  Stonekettle Station is one of those I enjoy reading, but be warned–he tells you what he's thinking and really doesn't take any crap…

    Next time, maybe I'll point out a few places on the Interwebs where I hang out.  And I should have some pictures of the Monte Carlo, too… 

    Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.