Iron Modeler

Category: A little bit of this and some of that

  • Welcome to the new digs!

    Howdy, everybody!

    For those not in the know, the former host of the Iron Modeler blog, TypePad, shut down at the end of September.  I had a choice–shut down the blog entirely or migrate the content to a new host.  Since I had experience working in WordPress, and since I know someone who had some bandwidth, I decided to migrate over.

    The good news?  The URL is the same, so you can’t get lost.

    The bad news?  Most of the images didn’t make the trip.  In time, I’ll upload some of the photos to a gallery.  Will I re-embed them into the blog articles?  Stay tuned.

    Wait, did he say “gallery”?  Blogs don’t have galleries, do they?

    That’s the other bit of news.  This blog is now part of a website.  Which is good.

    Why, you ask?  Because I can do more within the structure of a website than I can with a simple blog.

    I’m still cleaning things up from the move, but I have some ideas.
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    As far as actual hacking of plastic goes, I finished the 1/72nd scale F-16/101 using the 1976-vintage Revell kit and Caracal Models’ wonderful “F-16 Viper – The Early Years” decals and the exhaust nozzle from a Tamiya Block 50 kit.  It goes nicely with the Revell 1/72nd scale F-15A model (from the original 1974 issue) likewise decorated as an early aircraft during flight tests (and again using a Caracal Models decal sheet).

    I also finished a first-issue Kinetic 1/48th scale EA-6B Prowler.  The kit came to me from a friend at work, with the only constraint that I use the kit-supplied decals for VAQ-140.  It was a fun project, and a challenging project at times.  But isn’t that part and parcel of model building?
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    So,what’s next, you ask…

    As discussed once or twice, I was born within an hour’s drive from where the USS New Jersey (Geek Stuff: Iowa-Class battleship, BB-62) was built at the Philadelphia Navy Ship Yard and where she sits in her retirement in Camden, NJ.  I have had plans for a series of models of the ship as she appeared between her launching in 1942 and her retirement in 1990.  At one time, I figured six models would do a good job of visually telling the story of the ship’s history.  Well, I’m doing this in 1/350th scale, and in order to maintain my sanity and have sufficient space to display the models, I’ve pared it down to three–one as she appeared during most of World War Two using Tamiya’s 1985 WWII-era USS Missouri kit with a Tom’s Modelworks enclosed round nav bridge, one as she appeared off the coast of Vietnam in 1968 from a combination of parts from the Tamiya Missouri and New Jersey kits, and one as she appeared a year or so after her final modernization and recommissioning in 1983.

    I’ve started on the later fit first, using the venerable Tamiya kit from 1984.  I’ve also procured an Eduard photoetch set and a Pontos Detail Up set.  I’ve removed parts from the trees and cleaned them up, and now I’m at the “eating an elephant” phase–assembly by assembly, I’m removing molded-in details that will be replaced by photoetched, resin, or wood parts from the detail sets.  So far, so good…
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    In the meantime, we’ve also been adopted by another cat.  This one turned up under the hood of my wife’s car in August.  She kept hanging around the house, so we contacted one of the local Trap-Neuter-Release organizations and scheduled a trap date.  In the meantime, she began to warm up to us.  Oh, yeah, and one of her friends showed up.  Her friend is still kind of spicy–feral cats do that–but the original cat really started hanging close to the house.  In order to get them into a routine for the trap date, we’d put food out.  Every morning, as we fed the first cat, she would come closer to us and watch.  By the end of October, my wife said, “I bet if we left the door open, she would walk right in.”  And, on October 26th, we did just that–we left the screen door open, and she walked right in.

    The funny part of the whole thing is that Smokey, the self-proclaimed Mountain Lion, melts when he sees the new cat.  Gilda isn’t so enamored of the idea of a little sister–yet, but we’re sure she’ll warm up in time.

    The new kitty is named Tabitha.  When I was in college, my parents adopted a black tabby that we named Samantha, after Samantha Stephens from the TV show Bewitched.  Later in the series, they had a baby daughter that they named Tabitha.  At the time, I thought it was a shame that she couldn’t have kittens.  Well, 40 years later, we have Tabitha.  I’ll post some pictures of her at some point, you can be sure of that…
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    That’s all I have for now.  Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and, as always, I bid you Peace.

  • Stormy Weather

    Howdy, all…

    Every now and then during the day this past Wednesday and Thursday, I would check the progress of Hurricane Ian.  As landfall approached, my heart went out to the people in Southwest Florida.  Ian came ashore near Cayo Costa and Punta Gorda—nearly the same place Hurricane Charley landed in 2004.  Watching the TV coverage, my heart sank further.  The area is devastated.  We used to have family friends in North Ft. Meyers, and we used to take boat rides on the Caloosahatchee River in that same area.  Photos and footage after the storm show some extent of the devastation—a lot of what was there is gone and will never be the same.  Ever.

    Ian wasn’t through with Florida, though.  He plowed across Central Florida, bringing heavy rains and flooding to Orlando, Daytona, and St. Augustine before taking his leave of Florida (as a Tropical Storm) near the Kennedy Space Center.  He meandered out to sea, regained strength, and took aim at the South Carolina coast.  Thursday night’s forecast had Ian making a second landfall in Charleston and basically following I-26 on a path that would have taken the storm over our house.  Ian had other ideas—he meandered north and east before making landfall near Georgetown, causing damage in Charleston, Pawley’s Island, and Myrtle Beach.  Currently, what’s left of Ian is soaking Virginia and West Virginia and is headed to New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

    I’ve lived in South Carolina for 21 years.  Ian was only the second tropical system I’ve done any sort of prep for—Florence in 2018 was the other.  However, I’m no stranger to these kinds of meteorological events…

    1972:  Hurricane Agnes was the first time I experienced a hurricane—only I wasn’t in the Southeast.  We were vacationing in New Jersey when Agnes blew through, dumping a lot of rain on the area. By the time she hit, she was a strong tropical storm.  Agnes was one of two events that keep the summer of 1972 vivid in my memory.  The other?  I came down with chicken pox while we were there.  Chicken pox and tropical rain—not a combination I can recommend to anyone…

    1979:  Hurricane David was projected to make a direct hit on the Broward County coast on Labor Day weekend.  David reached Category 5 strength when he came ashore in the Dominican Republic.  After that passage, David weakened to a minimal hurricane, but gained strength.  My brother and I spent the weekend at a friend’s house in Sebring, since David was supposed to be past Ft. Lauderdale by Labor Day.  Yeah.  We drove home as David made landfall in West Palm Beach.  David would skim the Florida coast, barley on land, until he went to sea near New Smyrna Beach.

    Honorable Mention for 1979:  Hurricane Frederic.  David was supposed to be a major storm when it came ashore in Florida and Frederic was supposed to be his weaker brother.  Sure.  Frederic would  intensify to a Category 4 storm when it came ashore near Dauphin Island, Alabama.

    1981: Tropical Storm Dennis would come ashore in South Florida in August.  He dumped a lot of rain on the area.  I know this because I was camping that week.

    1986:  Hurricane Charley came ashore near Apalachicola and  traveled east, finally leaving via the Carolina coast.  I remember it because for a while it was predicted to cut across Florida and pummel the Daytona Beach area.  Embry-Riddle cancelled classes for a few days…

    1989:  Hurricane Hugo.  While Hugo only briefly brushed the Florida coast, he hammered South Carolina.  Friends of the family in Savannah and Hilton Head suffered some substantial damage.  Hugo would be a harbinger of future storms—he came ashore near Sullivan’s Island as a tightly wrapped Category 4 storm, and actually accelerated after making landfall, carrying hurricane force winds as far north as Charlotte.  The path of destruction was easily traced through the state, as it appeared someone took a 40-mile wide buzz saw and cleared a path from Charleston to Charlotte.

    1992:  Hurricane Andrew.  Andrew didn’t seem like he would amount to much in his early days.  But as he approached the Bahamas, Andrew rapidly gained strength and passed the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm.  Once clear of the Islands, Andrew made a beeline for the Southeastern Florida coast.  Initially predicted to come ashore in Ft. Lauderdale, he jogged to the south and made landfall near Homestead, south of Miami.  Andrew was a tightly wound and very dry storm—some likened him to a 30-mile wide tornado.  The damage Andrew caused made him the most expensive storm to hit the United States at the time.  After wrecking South Florida, Andy zoomed up the Gulf of Mexico and made a second landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana.

    Andrew brought a lot of issues to light.  The housing boom in Florida through the late 1970’s and 1980’s saw housing developments spring up seemingly overnight.  One such development, Country Walk, was leveled.  It was discovered that there were some construction anomalies—the roof trusses were only tenuously attached to the house, and the roof sheathing was likewise poorly attached.  In one study, one out of every ten staples meant to attach the sheathing actually hit the truss—the rest missed entirely.  The building codes were reviewed and reworked after Andrew.

    The insurance industry took a huge hit from Andrew.  Several companies went bankrupt.  The Florida legislature enacted several joint underwriting groups in response.

    Homestead Air Force Base was heavily damaged, and expected to be closed under BRAC.  However, the base was repaired under an austere budget.  The active-duty unit, the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, was dispersed and later reformed at Aviano AB, Italy.  The Air Force Reserve unit, the 482nd Tactical Fighter Wing, remained at the renamed Homestead Air Reserve Base.

    In addition to all this, there is a very real psychological effect on people, as they see their homes and everything they ever had swept away.  South Florida saw a marked upswing in divorces and suicide attempts.  I went to Homestead a few times to help my boss at the time rebuild his mother’s house.  I had been there before, and I could not find any landmarks.  The area was more or less devoid of trees.  Roofs were torn off.  It was not a pretty sight, and I can see how stress would take a very large toll on people.

    There was a rash of looting after Andrew, too.  It took President Bush to activate the National Guard and impose curfews to slow the crime wave.  Imagine—you’ve lost pretty much everything, yet here comes someone who wants to steal what little you have left.

    FEMA was slow to react—they had never dealt with anything of this magnitude.  Relief supplies were slow to arrive on site.  This issue afforded me a ride on an Army CH-47 Chinook.  The Florida Aero Club started a relief drive, and a week after the storm a friend and I went to help them at North Perry Airport.  As we loaded carts of water bottles and dry goods, a UH-1 Huey would land, we’d load it, and the helicopter would depart.  Another one came in, loaded, and left.  Then the Chinook landed.  We packed it per the crew chief’s instructions, and then we looked at him.  “Who’s going to help you unload?”  He looked perplexed.  We both volunteered.  So, that afternoon I found myself following I-75 south to Homestead General Airport.  We unloaded, and took a quick look around.  I looked into a hangar.  The doors had been blown in, and in the far corner of the hanger stood a mountain of airplanes.  As we departed, we flew east and then north along the coast, where I got a good look at the damage along Cape Florida and the Miami Bayfront area.

    After Andrew, people started paying attention to warnings when the National Hurricane Center started tracking storms—and this not just in Florida.  As history has shown, Andrew set records.  Records are made to be broken… 

    1998:  Hurricane Georges.  He was supposed to make landfall in Ft, Lauderdale.  I was in an apartment that was little more than a double-wide, so I went to stay with my brother in his apartment—a concrete-block-and-steel (CBS) building.  As it turned out, Georges remained south, and came ashore in Key West.

    Georges would be the last tropical weather system I would, by necessity, need to track to see if it would hit close to where I lived in South Florida.  I did follow the 2004 season, where Charley, Frances, and Jeanne criss-crossed the state, and 2005, when Wilma came ashore late in the year and wreaked havoc in South Florida. 

    Of course, everyone watched as Katrina devastated New Orleans, much as Harvey did in Houston and Maria did in Puerto Rico.  Andrew’s crown as “most expensive disaster” has been given away several times since 1992.  I believe Ian will now wear that crown.

    Each of these events made impressions on me.  When Florence looked like she would be a strong storm and head inland, I did full-on hurricane prep—I stocked up on batteries, bottled water, provisioned with non-perishable foods, filled my bathtubs, and was ready for a bad time.  Florence stayed near the coast and dumped lots of rain over the Pee Dee region of SC and Wilmington and Fayettville in North Carolina.  As with Ian, we dodged a bullet…

    To my friends who have been affected by Ian, my heart goes out to you.  I’ve contacted most of you directly, and if you need anything, anything at all, please get in touch.  I may only be able to lend moral support, but every little bit helps.  For those who want to help who are able, the American Red Cross is one of several groups who are taking donations.  Again, every little bit helps.  Some things will take many months or years to recover.  Some things will never recover.
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    As a further point to my last entry, I want to recommend several YouTube Channels to my scale modeling peeps.  These modelers do great work, and each of them will be the first to tell you that in some cases they don’t know if what they’re doing will work, but are willing to try and deal with the results rather than throw their hands up and say “I can’t!”

    The first is David Damek, aka PLASMO.  If you look through his history, you will literally see him try new things as he makes an effort to expand his horizons.  He’s gone from basic kit construction to 3D printing and resin casting his own parts.  https://www.youtube.com/c/idaemonplasmo/videos

    Armor modelers, here’s your guy.  Martin Kovac, aka Night Shift.  His results are stunning, and he’s very much a teacher.
    https://www.youtube.com/c/NightShiftScaleModels/videos

    Another guy who covers a multitude of subjects is Metodi Metodiev, MM Scale Models.
    https://www.youtube.com/c/MMScaleModels/videos

    Greg Phillips will plainly tell you that he does what he does–and he does it well.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3uGdoOTmEsyn7m3ewRVDeQ/videos?app=desktop

    Jen Wright, aka Jenesis, is another modeler who shares how she does things.  She reminds you, like all the others I’ve referenced, that SHE does things this way, but it might not necessarily be the way YOU would do them. 
    https://www.youtube.com/c/JenesisDesignsandModelcraft/videos

    Scale-A-Ton also shows some interesting techniques, such as using kitchen plastic wrap to texture fabric.  He’s another jack-of-all trades, and I enjoy his presentations.
    https://www.youtube.com/c/Scaleaton/about

    Finally, if you build ships, you need to follow Ebroin Song.  He does everything using hand tools, and isn’t afraid to rebuild assemblies to fit his resources.  His sculpting work is excellent, and all in all his work is exquisite.
    https://www.youtube.com/c/EbroinSong

    Take a look at these channels.  There are literally thousands of scale modeling channels on YouTube, and I’ve found these to be the ones I go back to time and time again.  Some of the others are fun to watch if you want to get the ASMR feels, but for learning content, these are my go-to channels.
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    That’s all I have for now.  Thanks for reading, and if you can, please consider making a donation to help the victims of Ian.

    In other words, be good to one another.  As always, I bid you Peace.

  • “I Can’t”

    Howdy, all!

    I’m going to discuss something I have noticed more and more over the past few years.  My discussion (as usual) will pertain to the hobby of scale modeling, but I see it elsewhere, too.

    It usually begins like this—someone displays their model at a club meeting, online, or at a show.  As people file by and look at the work, I hear the comments: “I could never do that.”

    Why is that?  What is preventing anyone from doing similar work? 

    For the tl;dr crowd, my reaction towards this attitude can be summed up thusly:  When you say “I can’t”, it usually translates to “I won’t”.

    Let’s get back to the discussion.  In many cases, the answer comes down to curiosity, time, budget, and the desire to do what it takes.

    Lets look at several categories:

    “I do not have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do that.”  There’s no crime in this.  Take the time you need to learn the techniques and skills to “do that”, whatever “that” is.  Learn basic scratchbuilding.  Take time to perfect your assembly skills.  Practice using the airbrush wherever you can.  Be curious.  Be willing to try new stuff.

    “I don’t want to spend the time it takes to do that.”  Fair enough.  I know a good many modelers who simply do not want to fool around with advanced techniques, and most of them are happy to knock kits together in a few nights, apply basic paint jobs, and use the kit decals.  That’s fine.  The issue I have comes when someone verbalizes their desire to make their models better but refuses to acknowledge that it does take additional time, both practicing the technique and applying it to the model.

    “I don’t want to spend the money to do that.”  Again, this is a fair comment.  Some modelers lack the financial wherewithal to go and buy ready-made detail sets.  However, there’s always a way.  When I started adding details to my models, the materials came from stuff lying around the house.  My mother’s sewing box provided thread and other “soft” materials.  Dad’s workbench provided scraps of wood and metal.  Packaging provided thin plastic sheet.  When the Bell South guys did work on the lines, we could usually talk them out of scrap wire.  Add to these paper clips, staples, foil pie pans, and other stuff that was usually thrown away, and you have a trove of stuff to make details from.  The garden provided dirt and gravel for groundwork (for as often as I did groundwork—which was almost never).  So, you don’t have to dump a ton of dough on special stuff—look around.

    When it comes to assembly materials, instead of buying dedicated “hobby” putty, there are alternatives.  I learned early that I could use Hot Stuff (our standby CA back in the day) and baking soda as filler.  In fact, I still use CA—but not the baking soda.  Instead of forking over a few bucks for a 2 oz tube of Squadron Green Putty, for a few dollars more I could buy a tube of automotive scratch filler that was twice the size for a buck more.  I could buy those little tubes of Krazy Glue for a buck, and it worked the same as Hot Stuff.

    The two areas I didn’t skimp on were paint and cement.  I would be wise in what I bought–$2 for a 2oz bottle of Plastic Weld vs. $1.98 for 1oz of Micro Weld—and I would do my best to make sure it didn’t get wasted.

    Oh yeah—if I wanted something, I’d save my money.  I knew that there was no such thing as instant gratification.  My parents would chip in from time to time, but only to an extent.  So, yeah, I learned to plan and budget.

    “I don’t want to be criticized/shown up/embarrassed.”  Aha!  Now we’re getting closer to the truth. 

    I have only once in 45 years witnessed someone belittling someone else’s work.  Modelers are generally helpful people.  Ask a dozen modelers a question; you are likely to receive a dozen equally valid answers to that question.  We all want to be told we’ve done a good job.  We all want acceptance.  But with that territory comes being counseled.  Most modelers I know want to help you, and my best advice is to listen.  If you ask a question, listen, then take the advice to heart and try the techniques you’ve been taught.  That’s how we learn.  Making mistakes is part and parcel of everything we do…how we deal with those mistakes is what can encourage or discourage.

    “I don’t want to.”  The truth for a lot of this is that some folks simply do not want to vary their routine or get out of their personal rut.  They love looking at the results of these techniques on other people's models, but they don’t want to make the investment in time, practice, and learning to apply it to theirs.  Which is fine—again, there are as many ways to enjoy the hobby as there are people enjoying it.

    Notice I said “investment”—that’s what one needs to make in any endeavor.  Decide what it is you want to do, take some time to learn and practice until you get where you want to be.  As you achieve each goal, find new goals.  They need not be huge goals—in fact, small steps are more desirable than major goals.  Write them down.  And know this—some of these goals will take some time to achieve and may stretch over several projects.

    Perhaps the one goal I cannot stress enough—Finish the model you are working on.  Don’t worry that there are issues with it.  Why?  Finishing a project is a goal in and of itself.  And honestly, many of the issues you know exists on the model will probably not be seen by most other modelers.  I’ve seen several instances of someone going back and forth on one model for years, reworking minor issues so many times that they become large issues.  Do your best, and move on.  Do better on the next project.

    By all means, if (more like “when”—I make mistakes on my models all the time) you make a mistake, take some time to analyze what went wrong, what you need to do to fix it, and make an attempt at rectifying the problem.  Tossing a model into the wastebasket teaches you nothing.  Yes, there are times when the solution to the problem is to bin the model and start fresh.  But don’t automatically think that is the solution.  Set the model aside.  Let it sit for a week.  Then take a look at the model.  You might be surprised at how easy the fix is.

    As I tell folks in Model Building 101, there isn’t a whole lot you can mess up that cannot be fixed.  You simply need to be willing to be patient and spend the time it takes to do the job.  There are no secrets—most techniques you will learn are out there in the world, in magazines, books, online articles, YouTube videos, at the local hobby shop (if you are fortunate enough to have a good one), and at club meetings.

    Most of what we do—in any endeavor—is fairly simple.  It just takes a little curiosity, small investments in time and money, and the desire to make it happen.

    ~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~
    Work continues on the F-16’s.  I’ve spent the last few weeks working on the 1/32nd Hasegawa kit.  It has some issues—most of them stem from the fact that the basic molds date back to 1978.  The cockpit tub is probably the worst example of the kit’s problems—the consoles are way too short, and short of replacing the cockpit, you have to deal with what you get.  Going back to what I said earlier, I used scrap plastic to fix things to the best of my availability without having to resort to a complete re-build.

    I also cut out the trailing edge flaps so they can be shown in the lowered position, and cut the leading edge flaps to show them in the +2° position as shown in F-16’s on the ground. 

    Some of the small bits were missing, and some weren’t provided.  I scratchbuilt the beer can antennas on the leading edge of the wing and the two antenna fairings on the nose from scraps of Evergreen styrene.  I also reconfigured the gun covers to better match photos.  I also had to revise the way the gun barrels got installed—revising the covers required the rework.  I think I got everything looking good…

    The kit canopy was missing the aft fixed portion, and someone had thrown in a spare Tamiya canopy (at least I think it is Tamiya).  I did a little work to revise the hinge area and fit the Tamiya parts to the Hasegawa kit.  The result will be a lot better than the original kit canopy.  It is another one of those areas Hasegawa didn’t quite get right back in the late 1970’s.

    Next up will be revising the bomb’s fuses.  The kit parts look like they have the transport suspension plugs installed.  I think some Evergreen rod and sheet will fill that bill.  Photos are out there, and I think I can do a creditable job.

    The two 1/48th scale F-16’s are ready for paint, and the 1/32nd scale kit will be to that point soon.

    I’m still trying to figure out if the decals I have for the 1/32nd scale kit will be viable, or if I should finally pull the trigger on a plotter/cutter and design paint masks. 

    Stay tuned.

    ~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

    The shadows and the sun’s angle in the sky are changing.  The temperatures are starting to moderate.  I believe autumn has arrived.  I’ve always loved this time of year.  I can’t explain why—maybe the change of temperature, I dunno.  But I’m enjoying it.

    That’s all I have this time.  Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and, as always, I bid you Peace.

  • “I’ll take ‘Potpourri’ for One-Thousand, Alex…”

    Howdy, all…

    Summer has once again reached the Greater Upper Midlands Co-Prosperity Sphere—days are topping out near 100° Fahrenheit, with humidity levels to match.  And it’s been buggy—more so than usual.  Every week, I have to clean out the screen in the primary water filter stage, and every week I come back inside with at least a dozen bites.  Oh, well, it comes with the territory…

    *****     *****     *****     *****     *****
    My 40th High School Class reunion is coming up in a few weeks.  Somehow, I found myself on the committee, and have been volunteered to organize the volunteers.  How that happened, I have no clue—I volunteered my services to be a Facebook moderator, but here I am.  I’m not complaining, mind you.  Planning for this is much like the planning I have done for any number of scale model shows, so I’m walking familiar ground.

    I’m also curious to just how much Ft. Lauderdale has changed since I was last there in 2013.  Nothing is allowed to stand still around there, I know…

    Speaking of change, the reunion will give me a change to stop by the Embry-Riddle campus for a little while.  I’ll be interested to see how much it has changed since 2015, the last time I had time to look around.  I think there are now only three structures on campus that were there when I initially moved into what was known then as Dorm 2 (later named McKay Hall, it was bulldozed in 2019) back in August of 1982.  Everything else exists only in photos and memories…

    The adage “You can’t go home again” echoes in my head.  We’ll see just how true it is…

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

    My experiment with Mission Models Paint is over.

    I will say this—I’m sure it is a great product.  However, I have done trial runs several times using their exact materials and procedures.  In each one, things looked good until I tried to apply a water-slide decal.  A few drops of water caused the paint to run, as if it were a watercolor.  I have followed their instructions to a “T”.  I use their primer, their reducer, their paint, their Poly Intermix, their clear coats.  I maintain the recommended pressures and distance from the surface.  I let things dry/cure per their instructions.  And I get the same result every time.  For me, this is too much fussing about. 

    And yeah, I know guys who have tinkered with adding Future, etc., to the mix and have apparently achieved good results, but recent news out of Johnson and Johnson indicated that Future may not be around much longer.  I decided that I have to find a paint that gives near foolproof results without having to chant incantations over the mixing cup every time I use it.

    If you recall, this search for new paint has been going on for a while now—since Testors discontinued Acryl.  I have tried several paints in the meantime, including Vallejo.  Now, once I cracked the code on airbrushing Vallejo, I rather liked it.  However, what I have found is that shelf life on bottles that have been partially used is not great—I can go back to a bottle I used tow projects ago, and it is now thick and stringy—and it is a 50/50 chance that some additional thinner can cure the issue.  Note that I *never* return thinned paint to the main container—I learned this in my Polly-S days.  No, if I have an excess of thinned paint, I save it in a separate bottle or jar. 

    The other issue with Vallejo is color fidelity.  I’m not one of those who waves his Federal Standard fan deck at every paint and criticizes each for the perceived “inaccuracies” they exhibit, but I do want a bottle of paint that claims to match a particular standard to be at least *close* to that color.  Vallejo is very much hit and miss in that respect.  If I have to mix a paint, I’d like to have one that retains usability for a long time, yields a durable film, and intermiscible with other lines. 

    I tried Lifecolor on the Fujimi Sea King.  I liked the way it behaved so much that I bought the colors I will need on my early Air Superiority Blue-painted F-15A.  And it is still in the running for a #2 or #3 tier paint for me.  But availability can be spotty, and it has been known to be temperamental.

    The British Phantoms reacquainted me with the GSI/Creos Aqueous line.  I had used this in the past, and for whatever reason my results were only satisfactory, nothing exemplary about them.  Well, I guess 25 years removed, I’ve allowed some things to seep into my head, and found them to be easy to use this time around.  I’d love to adopt them as my #1.  However, their U.S. importer is BlueFin.  Most every reseller of these paints has the colors from H-1 to H-94 or H-96.  So what’s the hang-up?  The modern colors (modern RAL, BS, and FS colors) are in the H-300 and H-400 range.  It seems that BlueFin either cannot or will not import them.  Indeed, the only US-based online retailer who even shows the 300 and 400 ranges is Scalehobbyist, and they show them as “Coming Soon”.  They’ve shown them as “Coming Soon” for some time now.  HobbyLink Japan doesn’t show them. Some of the UK-based shops list them, but again show them as “out of stock”.  I contacted GSI/Creos, and they say they still make the colors in question, but don’t even list them on their website…

    I looked at the AK Interactive 3rd Gen acrylics and Real Color paint, and may well use some of them.  But I’m also looking for something that I might be able to procure locally if I run out—you know, common colors like black, white, red, yellow, etc.  We have one shop close that carries some of the 3rd Gen line in the gaming colors.  I am not aware of anyone local who carries Real Colors.  So…

    I’ve finally come back around to Tamiya Acrylics.  With the demise of Testors, they seem the likely line to assume the crown.  Most hobby shops stock them.  They have a wide range of colors.  They can be mixed with Tamiya’s new Lacquer Paints, Real Color paints, GSI Aqueous Hobby Colors, and GSI’s Mr. Color line.  They can be thinned with water, isopropyl alcohol, or lacquer thinner.  These features are what make them the choice of a great many modelers around the world.

    The one drawback?   Lack of “spec” colors.  Even more so than any other line, Tamiya does not offer pre-mixed colors that match any of the standards.  But a friend of mine brought up something interesting: Like artists’ colors, Tamiya offers a range of colors that seem to be almost purposefully designed for mixing.  Tamiya themselves offer mixing ratios in their kit instructions.  And really, mixing colors is not alchemy; it is actually rather easy to do. 

    There are several Tamiya mixing charts online.  One of the issues with this is that there are literally a dozen different places to find mixes, and many of them don’t agree with each other.  Now, that’s fine.  Different people have different opinions on the “proper” shade of any given color.  But wouldn’t it be nice if all these recipes could be found in one place?

    Some friends and I are going to try to do just that.  Stay tuned.

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    The latest iteration of the South Carolina Scale Model Mega Show was held on 18 June.  It went well, by most accounts, and the committee will be meeting soon to make some decisions on the next edition.  Again, stay tuned.

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    One of the Mega Show’s special awards was “Old School”.  The eligibility rules were basically this—use any kit you wish, but any added details had to be made from scratch using raw materials (Evergreen styrene sheet and rod, wire, foil, etc.)—no pre-made detail sets could be used.

    At about the same time we announced our award, one of the Hyperscale forums started an Old School Group Build (OSGB).  The moderator on that forum spelled out a bunch of rules—the kit had to be of a certain vintage, the paints used must have been available “back in the day”, hairy stick application was preferred (as opposed to airbrush), etc.  Now, the participants agreed to these rules, and that’s fine.  They can call it “Fred” if they want to—they laid out the rules and agreed to hold to them

    However, I think there is a bit of confusion between “Old School” and “Nostalgia”.  In my mind, the Hyperscale group is hosting a Nostalgia build—each participant builds the same kits as they did back in the day, using the same methods and products.    

    To me, though, “Old School” modeling is a frame of mind that transcends manufacturers, eras, and products.  What we call “old school" today was called “scratchbuilding” back then, and it was the only way to get added details before the advent of photoetched metal, cast metal, cast resin and prefabricated details like wired distributors.

    For instance, I offer up my 1/35th scale AFV Club Wiesel 1/TOW.  I used Evergreen sheet and wire to cobble up an interior.  That’s “old school”.  There are—or were—resin interiors made for the kit, using them would take the “old school” aspect away from the project. 

    I sponsored the Old School award.  I wanted to inspire this generation of modelers to realize that not everything needs to be pre-packaged in order to add it to their models.  I hope the idea stuck with the folks who participated…

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    That’s all I have for this installment.  As always, be good to one another.  Thanks for reading, and I bid you Peace.

  • Another year in the books…

    Howdy!

    Is it really the end of January, 2022?  That went quick…

    As I write this, I have supper cooking in the air fryer and the 60th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona on the TV.  This year, 61 cars across five classes took the green flag—a massive field!  I was swapping Facebook messages with a few friends, and remembered that the last race we saw in person was in 2009.  While I miss the sounds and smells of “being there”, I find that I’m much more comfortable on my couch that I was sitting and freezing in the stands…

    With the IMSA/ACO cooperation agreements in place, things are looking different—and will be next year as well.  I like the direction things are headed so far.  The race so far has been close, with a few unfortunate incidents that have taken some cars out of the race, but hey, that’s how it goes.  I just looked—it is right at the time where the sun has retreated to the west and there’s a neat purple-orange glow in the skies, the time when day turns to night.  As the darkness settles in and the blackness envelops the Speedway, all sorts of things could happen.  This is why I love sports car endurance racing.
      
    On other fronts, the weather has been goofy here in the Greater Upper Midlands Co-Prosperity Sphere.  Two weeks ago, we were hit with an ice storm.  We only had about a tenth of an inch, but that tenth of an inch caused all sorts of issues.  We were without power for 17 hours that Sunday—I went to bed at 10, couldn’t sleep (it was cold, and I don’t do well all bundled up), and sometime around 11 heard the chain saws as the electric cooperative attended to the problem.  By 1:15 AM on Monday, we had power.  We were some of the lucky ones–some folks didn't get power back until late Monday.

    Last weekend, we had snow, about 2 inches’ worth.  Fortunately, it was on a Saturday—as I’ve said before, 2 inches may as well be 20 feet in this neck of the woods.  This morning, we had heavy frost, but as I ventured out to buy groceries I noticed that several areas received a dusting of snow.  Yep.  January in South Carolina…

    We’re six months away from my 40th high school class reunion.  It has been so much fun catching up with people, and even more fun when we see they have bought a ticket to attend.  With that fun comes the sadness when we hear of yet another classmate who is no longer with us.  As I told our reunion chair, it is sad knowing they are gone, but sadder still when we realize many of them passed years ago, and we’re just now finding out.

    And, of course, it is sad when a classmate tells us they won’t attend.  Some have valid reasons—a few have cited COVID-19, which I fully understand.  Some will be traveling, some can’t get away from work, and others have kids who are entering college, so they need to be around for that.  And, to be fair, there are some who can’t afford it—which I totally get, too.  Unfortunately, stuff costs what it costs—we’re not making a profit off this, and it is happening in South Florida, on the beach (literally), in July.

    Some are still on the fence, so the committee has started to directly contact them to see what’s going on.  Hopefully, we can convince more than a few to come and join us.

    On the plastic front, I had cleaned out the “Back Burner” projects except one—a Reheat 120mm figure of Neil Armstrong on the moon.  In the meantime, I have brought the aforementioned 1/72nd scale A-7 and F-16’s out for completion.  Being 1/72nd scale kits, I can get them finished in short order if I want to.  And I do want to…

    As they sit now, the A-7 has had paint applied, and will get a clear coat in a day or so.  This kit was curious—the wings had been assembled, complete with the pylons, and at one time were attached to the fuselage.  I guess when Rick needed to move, he carefully broke the wings back off so the kit would fit in the box.  Also in the box were a bunch of Mk 82 Snakeyes, a few Shrikes, a couple of TER’s (the center wing pylons had already been fitted with MER’s), and a bunch of Sidewinders.  He had also thrown the elements for a VA-147 A-7A in the box, and a initially considered using them.  On close inspection, I was not sure they would work, so I went looking for different options.  My wife handed me a Hannants’ Xtradecal sheet with an A-7B from VA-155 that she had in her decal cabinet, so that’s where I’m headed.  I had an old Microscale sheet with a similar option, as well as another with a VA-215 “Barn Owls” scheme, but again I had doubts as to whether they would work or fall apart.  I took the safe route…

    The two F-16’s were more or less still in kit form.  Rick had painted the cockpits and started to add a photoetch set to the C model. I decided to remove the PE parts and close the canopies on both—honestly, in 1/72nd scale, you can’t see much anyway and to me the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.  At this moment, the fuselages are assembled and waiting to have the seams dressed. 

    The bigger challenge was to figure out what direction Rick was headed with them.  There were no decals or notes, so I wasn’t sure.  I dredged through the decal stash and found some options.  For the F-16A, I settled on a Block 10 aircraft in South Carolina Air National Guard colors.  That led to a decision—the kit is a Block 15 with the enlarged horizontal stabs.  I could cut them down and re-contour them, but in the end I think I’ll avail myself of a set of Quickboost items instead.

    Originally, I wanted to do the F-16C as the Aviano jet with the commemorative USAF 50th Anniversary scheme, and intended to do just that.  However, a little voice in the back of my noggin kept saying “Block number!  Check the Block number, dummy!”  And, sure enough, the Aviano jet was a Block 40 (GE power, etc.), something the Hasegawa kit can’t do.  So, I went back through the decals and found decals for a Shaw AFB-based Block 25 jet attached to the 363rd TFW.  The decals are from the “not quite crap, but certainly not gems!” period for Microscale, which means I may try to find an alternate—but I figure I’ll make the pair a South Carolina themed mini-collection.

    Last time, I told you how I all but emptied the Back Burner cabinet.  Here’s some eye candy for you…

    IMG_6332The Aeroclub 1/48th scale Gloster Gamecock.  This was before I added the serials using decals–at this point, all the color you see on the model is paint.  It is built as a machine from the RAF's No. 43 Squadron circa 1926.
    Old nick 4Hasegawa's 1/72nd scale F-4N kit with Microscale decals to depict "Old Nick 200" from VF-111 circa 1974.

    Ssc 2Another Hasegawa Phantom in 1/72nd scale, this time an F-4B dressed up as the CVW-15 CAG jet from VF-51, the airplane known as the Supersonic Can Opener

    IMG_6367This is one of the busts that DML included in their 1/48th scale airplane kits–this is Ernst Udet.

    Fg1-4 Another 43 Squadron airplane–this is is Fujimi's 1/72nd scale Phantom FG.1.

    IMG_6242AFV Club's 1/35th scale Wiesel 1 with TOW missile was built as a group build–the base was provided with the instructions to build a model and landscape the base.

    IMG_6404This is a completed Bluejacket Shipcrafters 1/192nd scale kit of the USS Monitor.

    IMG_6350Here is another project long in hibernation:  Reheat Model's 120mm U-2/SR-71/Shuttle pilot figure.

    IMG_6155Authentic Airliners' 1/144th scale Convair 440 and Vintage Flyer decals were used to build this model on N4826C in her Delta Air Lines delivery colors.  An earlier post I wrote in 2011 has photos of her in 1990…

    That's all I have for now.  Thanks for reading.  Be good to one other, and, as always, I bid you Peace.

     

  • More Hangar Talk, and the so-called “Shelf of Doom”

    Howdy, again!

    The leaves on the dogwoods are turning, the mornings have become cool and crisp, and that tells me that the seasons are again changing.  I love this time of year.  It was especially nice when I worked in the hangar, as it meant that the sweltering furnace days of summer were once again departing for a while…

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    About 15 years ago (and it seems like yesterday!), the shop I was working for gained a new technician.  The boss called us all into the office to let us know what was going on.  See, the new technician was a woman.  He wanted to remind us to be on our best behavior.  As the line from the commercial goes, he wanted “no fussin’, no cussin’, and no backtalkin’”…

    When she started, I asked her about her experience.  And boy, did she have a lot of aviation experience—I think she held most every certificate that was available.  She held an A&P IA, DME, pilot commercial multi-engine, both land and seaplane, sailplanes, you name it.  She owned her own shop for a while, too.  She was also very cool—she fully realized she was a lady in a man’s world, but that didn’t faze her.  She was put on one of the install teams initially, working on Cessna Citations back in the day when we were retrofitting them to comply with the Reduced Vertical Separations Minimums (RVSM) requirements.  The mods were simple, really—we replaced the air data computers, re-certified the pitot-static systems, and did flight tests after the fact.  Like me when I started at this shop, she had a lot of rust to knock off, but once she did, she was working at the same pace as the rest of us.

    All the while, we were careful to mind our p’s and q’s.  We tempered our language—we kept a pretty “clean” shop as it was, but every now and then someone would utter an expletive.  We also tried to mind our manners—no rude noises, etc.  So far, things were going well.

    About three or four months into her stint with us, we brought a Citation in for more than just the RVSM mods—we were also going to update the ancient radios with new Garmin units, which meant a lot more work.  Unlike most shops in the region, we removed the old wiring that wasn’t going to be retained (usually, that meant the output wiring to the navigation indicators and the autopilot), and that meant some tedious picking and choosing, looking at wire numbers that were less than 1/16” tall on small gauge (22 American Wire Gauge—AWG), so it takes some time.  At first, you feel as if you are walking in mud, but once you get the hang of it, it moves quicker.

    There are pitfalls.  One of the other technicians dared to remove all the bundle ties on a bundle, and then started tugging wires out of it.  That creates some chaos—like putting the toothpaste back in the tube, it sometimes becomes difficult.  Sure, all the wires came out of that bundle, but the bundle was tied on a harness board, so all the wires weren’t necessarily the same length.  He got the bundle re-tied, but in the process, the bundle was shortened.  He did his best to re-connect it to the bulkhead feed-through connector. 

    Our new girl started to do the next phase of the work.  She asked us to come and help her find landmarks, and as we were standing there looking at the feed through panel, she noticed the re-tied bundle.  Now, she was all of five-feet nothing, and very quiet and polite.  Until now.  She looked at the bundle (which was tight as a banjo string), looked at each of us in turn, then pointed at it and exclaimed “What in the fuck do you call this?!?”

    After that, the gloves were off.  We found out her father was a Marine, and that she could cuss better than all the rest of us combined.  We all got along famously after that.

    She became the shop crew chief in 2004, and briefly managed the shop.  I loved working with her, because she worked as hard as we did.  If we were working overtime, she’d be there with us (unlike the manager she replaced, a guy who had no clue what avionics were let alone how they worked).  More times than not, when we were required to work weekends, she would make breakfast for the crew.  When I say she would make breakfast, I mean exactly that—she would cook breakfast in her own kitchen and bring it to us.  No sack of Egg McMuffins or Bojangle’s biscuits would do, not from her…and she would go far over and above.  For four technicians, she’d have pancakes, waffles, fruit, toast, omelets, grits, and some form of juice.  Like my mother, she would make five times as much as she actually needed.

    I think the push from upper management created too much stress (I found this to be true when I managed the same shop after she left), so she resigned when the FAA offered her a Safety Inspector position.  She’s been working for the FAA since 2006.

    Speaking of ladies in the hangar and rude noises, I’m reminded of a more recent story, which I may tell you at some point…
     

    *****    *****     *****     *****     *****     *****
    The new job is going swimmingly.  Of course, it has created a need—I need a new computer.  And there is nothing I hate more than buying a new computer.  Why?  Because I know the machine I buy that is state-of-the-art today will be obsolescent in a month…

    Like buying a new car, you go into the deal knowing that the model you pay out big bucks for today will not be worth a tenth of that in a week.  Oh, well, it is a necessity, and I think I have found a decent machine that will do what I need.  Of course, I also need to get a couple of large displays to make my life easier, too, and I think I found a pair that fit the bill. 

    I’ll probably pull the trigger later this week.  Then comes the joy of configuring it and getting it to gee and haw with the remote desktop

    *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     *****
    On the model front, the majority of the backlog cabinet is done.  Some call this the "Shelf of Doom" for some odd reason–I simply look at it as a collection of models that needed some time to percolate while I solved problems.  In other cases, they were long-term projects from the start–vac-form kits, especially, tend to need more thought and engineering than a standard injection-molded plastic or cast resin kit.  Rather than push the issue, I merely put them aside to give me time to hash out the details.

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    The Aeroclub 1/48th scale Gloster Gamecock is in need of serial numbers, a final clear coat, and some small details.  It was a fun project—my first vac-form kit since 2001, my first rigged airplane since 2000, and my first biplane model since 1995.  Frankly, I wasn’t real happy with it before I rigged it and started adding all the little bits and bobs to add detail.  I’m actually now quite pleased with the result.  Is it accurate?  I don’t know, maybe 97%.  Is it to scale?  Hell, no, but that’s always the way—we make certain trade-offs in order to make a model look right in the end analysis.

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    Also complete is a Reheat Models 120mm SR-71/U-2 pilot, a figure that was sitting in the display case three-quarters of the way done, has been finished.  Honestly, all I needed to do was add the completed air conditioner pack, some hoses and small details (photoetched bits, some fine wire, and paint), and do some minor touch-ups.  I don’t recall what the hold-up was—perhaps the flag?  That was perhaps the easiest part—I used a decal from an old Liveries Unlimited sheet…

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    I also dusted off a Bluejacket Shipcrafters’ 1/192nd scale USS Monitor.  I shelved it a few years ago when the turret did not come out the way I had hoped.  I tried to salvage it, but in the end, I decided to scratchbuild one.  I also used .020” styrene sheet, suitably scribed, to replicate the deck, and will use varying thicknesses of primer to do the same for the hull plates.  I also have some good photos of the actual turret under restoration, so I want to add some of the more prominent details there.

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    The 1/12th scale Ernst Udet bust I started as a face painting demonstration is also finished.  Again, a few hours with some paint, and it was done.  It had been sitting on the bench for several years, and I would pick at it every now and then.  Funny how that works. 

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    The last one in the queue is a Reheat 120mm figure of Neil Armstrong on the moon.  I had assembled it when I lived in Florida, and it had been sitting ever since.  In the interceding time, I learned of some discrepancies on the figure, especially some of the details of the A7-L suit Neil wore.  The more I looked, the more I found.  Fortunately, they were all fixable

    The legs are particularly bad-Reheat modeled four cargo pockets on the suit.  Rather large cargo pockets.  On the Apollo 11 A7-L suits, the shins had no pockets, only reinforcement panels.  The right thigh had a flap that covered the Urine Collection Device and medical ports.  And the left thigh had a flat pouch for checklists.  The fix?  Sand and cut away all the fictitious things and replace them.  In this case, all but the left thigh pockets were sanded flush—I tried to retain as much of the fold/crease detail as I could.  The left thigh pocket was sanded down, but not totally away.  Then, I broke out the Apoxie Scuplt epoxy putty. 

    The putty was mixed and rolled thin between sheets of wax paper.  The sheet of epoxy putty was then cut into shapes and placed onto the figure.  Some pressure from my fingers pushed the putty into shape, then a toothpick and a scribe were used to work the various shapes onto the figure and to continue the fold/crease detailing.  Water was used to keep the putty pliable and to prevent it from sticking to the tools.  Once everything was as I liked it, I used a brush and some Aves Safety Solvent to smooth everything out.  After curing overnight, the figure was buffed with a Scotchbrite pad and primed. 

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    That leaves only one model in work, and it will remain is stasis for the time being.  It is a 1999-issue of the Minicraft Models 1/144th scale C-32 (Boeing 757-200) that I initially began as part of a decal review.  The more I looked, and the more the airliner modeling community examined the kit, massive issues came to light.  The trailing edges were too thick, the vertical tail was too short, and the wings were misaligned—one sat higher than the other by a not inconsiderable margin.  I had started to thin the trailing edges and figure out a solution to the misalignment when I lost interest in the project.  However, in recent months Zvesda from Ukraine has produced a gorgeous new kit of the airplane, and rather than practice bleed using the Minicraft kit, I will build the Zvesda example.  Whether I use the decals I was initially reviewing is still up in the air, but at this point the Minicraft kit will become a paint mule…

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    Of course, I still have my buddy Rick’s SIDNA kits (a Fujimi A-7B and a pair of Hasegawa F-16's in 1/72nd scale) that are in various stages of construction, and I have pondered dragging them out after these few remaining kits are checked off the list.  But the fact that my personal backlog is empty (or nearly so) is a big deal—at one point, I counted a dozen projects in work, and this was over and above the projects for the RIPCORD diorama…

    That’s all I have for now.  Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, look after one another, and, as always, I bid you Peace.

  • Some Insight

    Howdy, all!

    Last time out, I made a comment that my hobby of scale modeling led to my career/vocation paths.  To refresh your memory, they were (in no particular order) history, aviation, research, writing, and hanging out at the hobby shop.

    This is one of those "about me for myself" pieces I talked about last time, but I thought this one might be fun to share.

    When my father brought home a Revell 1/32 scale Wildcat model kit, I don't think he realized the vast worlds he was opening up to me. 

    I was an early reader.  I've been told that I could read before I was four years old.  As I got older, I loved to read.  I would read pretty much anything I could get my hands on.  When we started building that model, I was only concerned about the three-dimensional puzzle in the box.  However, one night, as I waited for Dad to come to the table for our modeling session, I started to read the side of the box.  Then I noticed that the instruction sheet contained more than just how to get the parts together—the front page had a capsule history of the airplane and its exploits during WWII.  Before I read it, I just thought the little pudgy airplane looked neat, but as I read about how it was the Navy’s front line fighter airplane in the early days of the war, and how it was flying against faster, more maneuverable enemy airplanes, my interest grew.  I looked for books in the school library about the war, and learned about the Battles of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, Wake Island, and the Solomons.  Each new discovery led me to learn more.  I’d find one nugget that would lead me to three more. 

    That’s research, kids.  I do a lot of research to this day—most of what I do uses what are known as secondary sources, so it is technically “Research Lite” (Less Filling!  Tastes Great!), although I did start to use primary sources when we were up to our necks in the Fire Support Base RIPCORD project a year or so ago.  What’s the difference?  Primary sources are from either official accounts from the units involved or from the guys who were actually there and participated.  SITREPS, diaries, After Action reports, first hand witnesses—those are all primary source materials.  Secondary sources are what you find on the shelves at the local Barnes and Noble—books written about events where the author may (or may not) have used primary sources.  (As “true” researchers know, you take all secondary sources with a grain of salt…)

    As I researched things, I’d write about them.  I wrote a lot of book reports, sure, but sometimes I’d write just for myself.  They were more a collection of notes, but every now and then I would collect those thoughts into an article for the local modeling club newsletter.  I laid off writing for a while, but with the COVID shutdown I’ve managed to get a little of my groove back, and have once again been pumping out modeling articles, and they’re now being published in the national organizations’ magazines. 

    The more models I built, the more I wanted to build.  Unfortunately, like most things, it takes money to acquire and build models.  By the time I hit high school, I was at the age where I started to take my modeling more seriously.  A long-time modeler and author, Roscoe Creed, made mention of it when he “wondered where all the cracks went?” in one of his books  a book that I still refer to from time to time. 

    I wanted to get rid of the seam lines.  I wanted to make it look like the pictures of the actual item.  As I learned of such things, I began using putty, decal setting solutions, these new-fangled super glues, and an airbrush.  Like the kits themselves, that stuff isn’t free.  More experience led me to discover the then-emerging world of the aftermarket—decals were the first thing I think most modelers encounter from the aftermarket, but later things like photoetched brass details, white metal and resin parts, vac-form kits, and other additions and conversions also became part of my repertoire.

    Of course, by doing so, I was honing my skills as a craftsman and, dare I say, artist.  I was learning how to solve problems.  I developed a sense of spatial relationships–how stuff goes together.  It goes without saying that I developed a good eye for small details. 

    After I graduated from college, I started to visit the local shop more frequently.  I became a regular, and eventually I was asked if I wanted to do some fill-in work.  Before long, I was a regular part-time employee, and would remain so until I moved out of state.  During a layoff period about 10 years later, I got a job at the local hobby shop here.  I was only there for a few months, but when my next full-time employer picked up and left, I went to work for the shop again. 

    What helped me get the job, I think, is that I was familiar with all the stuff one needed to complete a model.  I was also interested in going the extra mile when I built my models, and I knew what that took, so I could guide others when they came looking for hobby stuff.  Many see retail sales as a drag, but I saw it as a chance to get paid while playing with toys.  Hence, my days hanging out at the hobby shop…

    Now, how about the aviation thing…

    I have no idea what first got me hooked on airplanes.  Perhaps it was the Wildcat model.  More likely, it was reading of the exploits of the men who flew them in the war; the Wildcat model was merely the first step on the path.  For many years, I wasn’t interested in a book if (A) it was not related to aviation; or (B) the word “fiction” was not preceded by “non”.  I have to believe it was that—the more I read, the more I learned, and the more I wanted to be part of that world.  Interestingly, I never really wanted to be a pilot.  I can’t say why, I just never saw that as where I would be.  More on that shortly…

    In my day, teachers were almost always matronly ladies in their late 30’s to early 50’s.  However, my fourth grade teacher was an exception.  I guess she was in her late 20’s–I seem to recall she had only recently received her teaching credentials at that time.  She was a pretty, petite, energetic lady, blonde with a deep tan, and was always smiling.  Her name was Miss Gerstle (Nancy, if I recall correctly).  Her last name rhymes with the chocolate company’s name, and we often called her “Miss Nestlé-Gerstle”.  From the little bit I managed to gather on her by listening to her, she lived with a few roommates and they all worked on the weekends as flight attendants (we called them “stewardesses” back in the day) for Mackey Airlines, a small scheduled airline that flew from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas, in order to earn a little extra money. 

    I don’t know if she lined it up, but one day we took a field trip to Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and got to walk around some airplanes.  I seem to recall a Mackey airplane, maybe a DC-6, and it sat next to an Eastern Airlines (IIRC) 727 which was powered up, and we could walk through it.  We spent a few hours walking around the airplanes, asking questions, and talking with the pilots and “stews”.  I loved it.

    An interesting tidbit—when I graduated from college and landed my first “adult” job, I worked from that same ramp, by that time occupied by the National Jets/Florida Aircraft Leasing facilities.  Small world, right? 

    I don’t know what happened to Miss Gerstle, but wherever she is, I hope she is still smiling brightly and doing well.  She was a breath of fresh air for me…

    Later, while going through the steps to earn my Aviation merit badge, somehow I got what we call today a “Discovery Flight”.  We went to the airport bright and early, got the whole briefing, got to do the preflight on the airplane, then we went out for a flight over Ft. Lauderdale.  Sitting in the pilot seat, I couldn’t see over the glareshield! I enjoyed the flight, but decided that while it looked like fun, I wasn't interested in being a pilot. 

    As I started high school, I was shunted into what we would call a STEM program—back in those days, it didn’t have a name, but it put me on a track that emphasized math and science.  We only had to take two science and two math classes over four years, but I had four of each.  Somewhere along the line, it was intimated that I should become an aeronautical engineer, but as I related a long time ago, that didn’t work out so well.  But I never abandoned my interest, and eventually went back to school and earned two degrees from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University that said I had what it took to be a genuine wire stringer, smoke wrangler, electron herder, and spark chaser—I became an avionics technician.

    For most of my 30+ years chasing sparks, I worked in the world of corporate aviation—Learjets were my bread and butter, along with Hawkers and Citations.  From time to time, I also worked on General Aviation craft—the little Cessna and Piper “puddle jumpers” that you see at your local airport—and business class turboprops like the Beechcraft King Air and Cessna Conquest families.

    It was a demanding career, to be sure.  I worked in 100+ degree heat and 20 degree cold.  I worked in the sun, the rain, and sometimes even snow.  Many times, we worked from “can” to “can’t”—we did what we needed to do to keep ‘em flying.  It was hot, dirty, demanding work at times—especially at my last stop, where I was also the airframe electrician.  If something provided electrical power or had a wire or air data line leading to it, it was in my wheelhouse.

    I was always acutely aware that if I failed in my job, people could be injured or killed in a most loud and grotesque manner.  I accepted the challenge.  Not everybody is cut out for such a critical job, and as I began to supervise others, that would be my first question to them.  If they were cavalier or flip, I wouldn’t hire them.  If you wanted to work with me, you had to not only be aware of the consequences of your actions, you had to accept that any little deviation, a nanosecond of inattention, and you could possibly kill someone…

    Incidentally, I don’t really like to fly.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that 95% of the flying I have done in my lifetime has been done because I *had* to in the line of duty.  Flying for me was almost a mandatory thing, and much like running on a treadmill—we made a lot of noise and expended a lot of effort to basically go nowhere–it quickly became work. 

    For most folks, flying is a way to get from what you know to an unexplored exotic location on the other side of the globe, some sort of personal adventure, and flying is merely a gateway to that adventure.  It is quite different when you know how the sausage is made and have to do it every day.

    When the folks I was working for picked up stakes and left in 2016, I stayed put.  I decided that my days of crawling around on hard hangar floors or cramming myself into ever smaller spaces were behind me.  Since I had done a lot of the documentation that aircraft modifications required, I decided to use my writing skills and my avionics knowledge to start down the path to being a Technical Writer.  My mother, who taught Latin, always said that I had technical hands and a liberal arts brain, and this seemed to be the best of both worlds.

    And that’s how scale modeling made me who I am today.  A gift from my father awakened an interest in history, and also fed my reading and research habit.  What I learned through my reading led to an interest in aviation, helped along by a teacher and a merit badge.  The technical aspects of the hobby sharpened my problem solving skills, helped me develop good hand-eye coordination and spurred me to develop a keen eye for small details and a sense of craftsmanship and artistry.  The marriage of all this led to where I am right now. 

    And it started with a model airplane.

    Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and look after each other.  As always, I Bid you Peace.

  • Catching up

    Howdy…

    A lot has happened since we last visited in October.

    Work picked up about the time I made my last post, and it was rather hectic through late March/early April.  It has once again tapered off, but no work means no pay, so I'm working to suss out some work.

    The holidays came and went.  It is always a favorite time of year for me, but lately I get mired in a funk of childhood nostalgia during the winter holidays. 

    Then came New Year's eve.  My wife and I had gone grocery shopping, and when we got home we noticed that our older Feline Justice Unit was having some difficulty.  He had his surgery in August, and since then he had lost some weight.  He saw his cardiologist, too, and got a clean bill of health.  But in those last months of 2018, he started to slow down a bit.  He was 16 years old, and we reasoned that he was starting to show his age.  He started having a runny nose, too, but it would come and go, so we didn't think anything of it.

    But when we got home, he was acting as if he was backed up–his back was arched and he looked like he was trying to push a load out.  We called is regular vet, but they had just closed the office for New Years.  His cardiologist was co-located at an Emergency Veterinarian clinic, so we took him there.  They took some x-rays, did some tests, and thought he had a touch of pancreatitis.  They prescribed some meds and a bland diet, and sent him home.  My wife and I decided to see how he did over the next day or so, and if he didn't improve, we'd take him to his regular vet.

    Well, he didn't improve.  We called his vet on Wednesday, and they agreed to see him on Thursday.  My wife got him in the carrier and took him.  When she got there, the vet had a listen to his chest and told my wife she should probably take him to the cardiologist.  She did, and over the course of several phone calls, she left him overnight to see if one of the things the cardiologist wanted to try would work.  Basically, they gave him diuretics and put him on oxygen.  The plan was to keep him on oxygen until early in the morning, then try to wean him off.  

    We got a call that night, and the tech said he was doing well.  The call at 6 AM the next morning wasn't as rosy–when they tried to wean him off, his sat numbers took a nose dive.  The cardiologist called around 9 AM, and said basically that Junior's mighty ticker was failing.  We made the decision that our fierce, ferocious, and mighty Tennessee Walking Tiger would be allowed to go be the tiger he imagined he was, and the end came at around 3:45PM on Friday, 5 January.

    As you might imagine, he left a big void in out hearts.  He may have been our cat, but he was my wife's best buddy, editorial assistant, and near-constant companion.  Smokey, our Little Mountain Guy, was out of sorts from the time Junior left to go to the vet on Thursday, and to tell the truth, he's still in a bit of a funk over the loss of his play buddy.

    Fast forward a few weeks.  I had a minor medical adventure of my own in late January, and after I came home I laid down on the couch to sleep.  An hour or so later, my wife walks in and comes around to the front of our couch.  Peeking out from her sweater was the cutest little tabby cat face.  "Meet Gilda", she said.  I knew my wife had already pre-applied to several shelters, and I knew that sooner or later we would have another feline member of the household.  When my wife went to see what the shelter had to offer, she first noticed this one black kitty who was meowing and climbing all over everything.  But she also noticed a little tabby cat sitting on a piece of play equipment, and when she went over to see, this little kitty climbed right into my wife's lap.  Every time she tried to put the kitty down, it would climb right back into her lap.  "You may as well get the paperwork ready, I believe I've been adopted…"

    Gilda had been abandoned on the step of the animal shelter in the next county up from us on a frigid night with her brother, and her brother got adopted the day before my wife went to the shelter.  My wife was happy that not only was she adopting Gilda, she wasn't breaking up any siblings to do so.

    Once in the house, Gilda quickly asserted her will.  She will prance through the house, head erect, tail straight up in the air, it's tip waving like a flag.  I call her "Little Miss Gilda, Large and In Charge.  Even Smokey has taken somewhat of a shine to her–they'll spend every evening chasing each other around the house.  They'll scrap, sure, but they'll later curl up next to each other and snooze…

    IMG_3443Junior's Christmas portrait, 2018.  He was certainly a rakishly handsome tiger, and we miss him.

     

    IMG_3448Smokey's Christmas portrait.  This was the best of about ten photos, he wouldn't sit still for us.  To be fair, neither of the boys actually liked wearing a collar, even if it did feature a chic bow tie.

     

    IMG_3540Meet Gilda.  She's our little princess.

    IMG_3674She's a beautiful little girl!

    IMG_3882Gilda and Smokey, in a calm moment.

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

    We're about 23 days away from the Second Annual South Carolina Scale Model Mega Show, coming up on 22 June at the Bluff Road Armory in Columbia, SC.  It's shaping up to be a great show–if you're in the area, stop by and check it out!

    2019 MEGA-Show Poster_20x30_29JAN19

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

    The AMPS Central South Carolina Wildcats Chapter is in the middle of a rather large project.  It has been interesting so far, between the research and the modeling.  To be sure, I have had quite the education on U.S. Army helicopter units in Vietnam, circa 1970!  Our client wants to keep it under wraps, so I can only post a teaser or two for now…

     

    IMG_3734A quartet of 1/72 scale UH-1H Hueys, from the 1971-vintage Hasegawa kit.  Several club members did the actual construction, I'm merely applying paint and putting the decals on them.  One of these is mine, I used it as a pathfinder so I could tell the others what needed to be done.  Three will be on the project–two as slicks, one as a dustoff.

     

    IMG_3727An Italeri 1/72 OH-6A, also built by one of the guys.  I merely squirted paint…we had bespoke decals made for the project, including the helicopters.

     

    IMG_3866The last piece of the airborne puzzle:  An Italeri 1/72 scale CH-47D, being backdated to a "Super C" Chinook and modified so it can be posed in flight with a sling load of howitzer ammunition.  Early days here, but you get the idea…

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

    So, now you're up to date.  Perhaps the next one will not be such a bummer…

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

  • Big ol’ jet airliner…

    Howdy…

    With the new job, I've had reason to do some air travel over the past few months.  A few observations…

    First, I had a trip to the Dallas area in late February.  It was my first ride on an Embraer 175/195, and I was surprised.  Unlike the older 145, there wasn't the annoying Dutch Roll through the flight, which was good.  And, unlike the Baby Jungle Jet, it was 2X2 seating.  Which kind of sucks.  I liked getting an A seat, which was the best of both worlds–a window seat and an aisle seat.  No matter, it was a neat airplane.

    About 5 weeks later, I was called to the Phoenix area.  I chose to fly Delta, since, well, when you're in the Southeast, it is simply what you do.  The flights between Columbia and Atlanta are predictable, with predictable equipment:  MD-80's or CRJ's.  Now, the MD-80's (MD-88's, usually) aren't too bad–I've flown on them many times.  As long as I get an aisle seat (or at least seat on the right side of the airplane in the two abreast row), I'm good.  CRJ's, on the other hand, I don't like at all.  They're cramped, the windows are too low…and, if you sit over the wing, you know right away when the landing gear either hits the uplock or the pilot selects gear down–it sounds like a gunshot.  One of these days, I'll schedule a flight on one of Delta's MD-95's…

    The first Atlanta to Phoenix leg was on an Airbus A330.  Not having flown on a product of Toulouse, I was surprised at how nice the ride was.  It was certainly one of the better flights I've been on, air transport-wise.  I'll do it again, too.  I liked the fact that even the "Cattle-Class" seats were roomy enough–although the guy next to me didn't understand boundaries, and wanted to try and sit side-saddle–in the four abreast middle row.  Those of us on either side of him had to constantly tell him to get back in his seat–the one he paid for, not that one and half of ours, too.  I am a big fan of Delta's seatback monitors–I caught the Amy Adams movie "Arrival", which was an interesting movie.  I had some time to go, so I started to watch "Office Christmas Party",  and yes, it was one of those stupid silly movies.  And yes, I enjoyed it. 

    The return flight was okay, too, but it was on one of Delta's A320's.  I can't really complain, but Delta has found a way to install seat-back screens on everything short of the CRJ's.  This one?  Nope.  Not a big deal, as I was fighting a bit of a cold that day.  It was probably just as well that I could snooze during the flight.

    The first trip was like clockwork up until the last leg between Atlanta and Columbia.  But even that wasn't a big deal, we had a maintenance delay that saw us arrive an hour late.  However, you would have thought they told us we weren't leaving for a week by the reaction of some of my fellow travelers.  More on delays and how unbearable other people can be in a minute.

    My most recent trip?  Well, I was scheduled to fly on April 6th.  If you recall, that was the day Delta had a little bit of a problem with airplanes and crews out of position due to some bad weather.  I got the message that my flight was cancelled before I had a chance to take a shower.  I went online and called at the same time–and got a message that the call waiting list was up to at least two hours.  So, I rebooked online.  I tried to rebook for the next day, no dice.  I did the next best thing and rebooked for Saturday, April 7th.  Surely, things would be better by then…

    Well, two things I learned:  When you rebook a flight, for some reason you don't get the text alerts.  Well, at least I didn't.  I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare–which was a good thing–only to find the Columbia to Atlanta flight had once again been cancelled.  So, I joined the queue at the Delta ticket counter.  Now, maybe my 30 years in the aviation industry has prepared me for things like this, I dunno, but I watched a young lady rip the ticket agent up one side and down the other because of the delay.  It wasn't the ticket agent's fault, so I don't know what this lady thought she would get in exchange.  She stormed off, and I approached the agent.  She took a look at my ticket, and offered a voucher for a taxi from Columbia to Atlanta–which is about a four-hour trip.  I had some time to play with, but I had to leave quickly if I was going to make my connection.  "Oh, there's a line of taxis waiting outside", I was told.  Uh, sure there were.  We're talking Saturday of The Master's weekend–Augusta is about 80 miles up I-20.  Rental cars and taxis are usually in short supply. 

    A few Checker Yellow cabs drove up and picked up people in the same boat we were, only they were headed for Charlotte and Charleston.  Minivan taxis with one passenger.  Not too efficient.    But I did call them, and I told them that there were at least ten people who needed to get to Atlanta, and quickly.  So, the minivan pulls up–and the driver only wants to take two of us.  Not happening.  We told him to load the minivan up, which after a call to the dispatcher, he finally did.  The ride was uneventful otherwise–given that a bridge on I-85 on the other side of Atlanta had collapsed days earlier, it could have been much worse.  We arrived at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at noon, my flight out was scheduled for a 2PM departure.

    Now, when I go through the Security Checkpoint, I'm pretty efficient–once I clear the boarding pass/ID check, I put the contents of my pockets into my briefcase or backpack.  When I get to the scanner line, I'm pretty quick to pull the laptop out of the briefcase, place it into a tray, grab a second tray for my shoes, belt, cell phone, and toiletry baggie.  The briefcase and backpack go on the conveyor, and once it starts into the X-Ray, I approach the scanner.  I'm usually in and out on five minutes once I pass the ID check podium.  Well, because Atlanta was so backed up, it liked to take forever.  Part of the problem was that people still don't understand that your pockets must be empty–hell, one of the TSA agents walks up and down the line and tells you that!  Then there are people who want to argue about taking their shoes off.  Look, if you don't have a Known Traveler ID, your shoes come off.  Don't argue–these people have the authority to make sure you don't fly that day.  Do what they tell you.  It isn't difficult.

    Anyway, clear of the checkpoint, I go looking for a Departure monitor–which Atlanta seems to be short of in the checkpoint area.  Sure, there are plenty in the underground areas and gate areas, but I'd like to know which terminal I need to head towards.  I finally found one, noted that we were scheduled out of gate A23…and that we were delayed two hours.  I'd rather be at the airport than on the way to the airport, and Atlanta's terminals are like shopping malls, so I am more than happy to stooge around the airport while waiting.

    Every now and then, I'd check the Departures monitor.  Yep, still A23.  I grabbed a quick snack–I don't really like flying on a full stomach–and sat down.  I checked Facebook, I caught up on my e-mail–personal and work, I caught some of the cabbed TV.  And, every 30 minutes or so, I checked the board.  About 45 minutes before our departure, a few of us noticed that the Gate Monitor now said "Miami".  Hmmm.  Check the Departure monitor–the Phoenix flight was still scheduled out of A23.  But so was the Miami flight.  Three minutes apart.  We asked the gate agent.  She wasn't sure.  This went back and forth for a few minutes until I noticed they had finally changed Phoenix to A24.  Right across the way.  No big deal.  Other than the 4PM departure was now 4:30.  I think we finally got boarded and pushed from the gate sometime around 5:15…

    The flight was on a 737-900.  The last 737 I had flown on was a USAir 737-400.  Night and day.  My seat was towards the aft cabin, and was a bit bumpy, but nothing too bad.  Otherwise, it was a nice flight.  I got a chance to see "Rogue One", which was also kind of cool, as I hadn't caught it in the theater.  I also watched the first half of "Hacksaw Ridge"–I had seen that one in a theater, so I selected it to fill some time.  By the time we got to Phoenix, it was 5:30 local (8:30 on my internal clock)…and I still had to summon an Uber (a new experience for me, but kind of neat), get to the shop, pick up the company truck, and drive to the house.  Yep, we leased a house and bought a vehicle, since we reckon we'll be there for a while…

    Oh, and air travel aside–that Sunday I truly did catch up on my "Star Wars" movie watching when I caught "The Force Awakens" on one of the movie channels at the house.  Interesting film, I see many parallels between it, "A New Hope", and "A Phantom Menace".  I've seen all of 'em up until now-even the revised versions–so I'm interested to see how Disney finished the main story as well as how well they do the other stories like "Rogue One".  If "Rogue One" is any gauge, they're on the right track…

    I spent the week in Phoenix–and if you've never been, you owe yourself a vacation in Arizona.  I've been to Tucson once and Phoenix twice, and the weather has been gorgeous on all three trips–I think it rained one night on my first Phoenix trip, otherwise the skies have been blue and clear.  I'm figuring that my flight on Friday should be smooth sailing.  Right…

    The scheduled departure was 10:24.  The airplane pulled up to the gate–an ex-Northwest 757-251, the passengers got off the airplane, and the crew followed.  Then I see a guy in a reflective vest and the Captain go back aboard.  And I notice one or two guys looking under the airplane.  Then they opened the main wheel doors.  The Captain and the other guy walked back to the gate agent.  There was some discussion, and one of the red-vested Delta "Help" agents showed up.  I had a suspicion, and it was confirmed when they made the announcement that they had a maintenance discrepancy.  The flight would be delayed until 12:30.  I heard whispers of a hydraulic issue.  Specifically, some hydraulic control module.  And then I heard something that told me we weren't leaving at 12:30–"We don't know if we have a part, and we are looking for one now."

    About ten minutes later, the "Help" person started handing out those red "Need Help?" cards.  Doing the wise thing, I rebooked my connection from Atlanta to Columbia for the last flight out that evening.  Surely they could get this airplane fixed and to Atlanta before 10PM EDT…

    In an ideal world, that may have happened.  But then the announcement went out–4:30PM.  And then 7:30PM.  When the departure went to 4:30, I called and rebooked my connection for the first flight out of Atlanta–10:30AM.  And then I waited.  And was once again amazed at what happens to people when things don't go their way.  "Get us another plane!"  It ain't that easy.  Phoenix isn't a Delta hub, and Delta generally doesn't have airplanes sitting around idle.  "Work overtime!"  Uhh, these folks have 24-hour maintenance crews.  "Fly a part in!"  Yep, that's what they're doing–from LAX.  But they can't snatch a part off the shelf, throw it on an airplane, and leave it to that.  There's all sorts of procedures that need to be followed, and they take time.

    By about 5PM, the gate area was nearly empty–only the die hards like me who stuck with the original flight.  Delta got some pizza and brought out the drink and snack cart for us.  I was content to wait–I didn't have to be anywhere right away (sure, I wanted to get home, but I could wait), there were others travelling for the holiday, or Spring Break, or needed to be in the office.  Most of them rebooked for the 1:30 and 4:30 flights.  Knowing I wasn't getting out of Atlanta until 10AM the following morning meant I was going to spend a lot of time at an airport, and it didn't matter much to me whether I had to wait in Phoenix until 7:30.  Did I say 7:30?  Yeah, that's what Delta told us, too.  Until they slipped it to 9PM.  Still, no matter to me…

    About that time, another red-vested Delta "Help" agent approached our gate.  "Are you all waiting for 1546 to Atlanta?"  When a few of us indicated that we were, she called us to the podium.  "We need to rebook you–we have no cabin crew."  She looked at her computer, and called maintenance control.  Sure enough, they had the part, they were ready to install it…and the cabin crew hit their duty time limit.  My trip would continue…

    We all got rebooked for the Red Eye departing at 11:30.  So, I once again found a bit of a snack and a drink, and wandered the terminal for a while.  Oh, a hint–Terminal 3 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has a Wendy's, a Taberna Del Tequila, a Starbuck's, and a few News outlets.  Terminal 4 is where all the action is.  Anyway, I stayed in Terminal 3, where I could watch the Frontier flights come and go.  I like watching airplanes anyway, so I was good.

    About a half hour before we were supposed to board, I noticed a few folks on the 10:24 flight appeared at the new gate.  I thought they had rebooked for the earlier flights and were gone, but apparently they sent their afternoon at Taberna Del Tequila.  And they apparently had consumed some beer.  A lot of beer.  There were about a half-dozen of them, and they were all shit-faced, a couple almost falling-down drunk.  I was speaking with one of them when another showed up and got boisterous with some of the young ladies sitting around us.  They had started to board anyway, so I gathered my gear and slipped away.  The interesting part of the boarding process was when these folks checked in–the gate agents were closely watching them.  The same thing played out once we boarded–the Flight Attendants were certainly aware that these folks were inebriated.  Toe of them were seated in an exit row, and I was amazed that they were allowed to remain there.  Fortunately for all of us on the airplane, all of them passed out (literally, I think) soon after we were on our way.

    I wanted to catch some sleep on the flight, but my neighbors had other ideas.  As soon as the cabin lights went down, their reading lights went on.  And stayed on for the entire flight.  So, I watched more movies.  Or tried to.  I would nod off, and then wake up.  So, I caught about 40% of "Rogue One" again, before I switched to "Office Christmas Party" to catch the last 30 minutes of it.  And then we were in Atlanta.  One step closer…

    We arrived at around 6AM, so I had some time to kill.  I was going to try and find someplace where I could get a sit-down breakfast, but no joy.  So, I did what I usually do–find some snacks and a drink.  By this time, I'm running on nearly 24 hours with little sleep, and it was all I could do to contain my crankiness/grumpiness and stay awake.  Knowing full well that I have a CRJ ride, it took all I could muster…

    The flight was uneventful.  And fast.  We arrived almost 20 minutes early.  I met my wife, we headed to the house (stopping at the grocery store on the way), and went to the house.  I had some lunch.  And I don't remember much else about last Saturday…

    But back to one of my observations.  I watched more people get nasty with airline representatives that I could count.  It wasn't their fault.  Weather happens.  Airplanes break.  Plans get changed.  I've learned to roll with the waves–unlike another airline who made the news for another reason last week, all the problems I experienced were typical air travel issues.  Screaming at, yelling at, cussing at, and abusing the people behind the counter doesn't make things better.  Stay calm.  Be patient.  Go with the flow…

    The other thing I did with my time was people-watch.  I ask you, since when is a steamer trunk classified as "carry-on baggage"?  I routinely carry a small canvas briefcase and a small backpack when I travel.  Those are carry on bags.  But I've seen people try to pass off those huge roller bags or huge backpacks as carry on bags.  I watch people struggle to stuff their bags into the overhead bins.  I know the airlines have caused the problem in part due to their checked bags fees, but people, c'mon.  Use some sense…

    I'm happy to be home for a few weeks.  I'm about traveled our for the time being.  I think I've caught up on my sleep, too…

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

     

  • Holy S***, It’s Christmas!

    With apologies to Red Peters… 

    Howdy, all!

    It has been a while, no?  I had all good intentions of following up the IPMS Nationals, but, as they say, stuff happens.

    Let's start with the IPMS/USA National Convention.  It may not have been the biggest–estimated registrants are around 650, 2,000 models were entered, and by all measures it was a success.  The telling point was at about 3PM on Wednesday afternoon–we opened the show at 1PM, and by 3 we were being asked, "When are you guys going to do this again?"  As the Seminar Coordinator, I can tell you this–we had the best seminar schedule that I had seen.  Several were moved due to projected attendance numbers, and I'm glad I moved them–the rooms would have been packed had I not moved them to larger rooms.  Special mention goes to my friend Mike Roof, who presented his seminar on working with photoetch TWICE.  His was one of the seminars in a smaller room, and he had people out into the hallway for the first presentation.  He graciously offered to have a re-run in the afternoon.

    Everything ran smoothly–all the folks in both hosting chapters worked hard all week, and the results showed.  As I told out Co-Chair, if anything went wrong that people objected to, it would have made it 'round the world in 15 nanoseconds.  The gripes weren't there.  We take that to mean we did a good job.  When are we doing it again?  We'll let you know.  In, I don't know, maybe 15 years…

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    We're well into Christmas season at the Hobby Shop.  That means longer days, extended hours, and dealing with hectic shoppers.  We're managing to keep up with the sales numbers in getting product into the shop, so we're doing well on that front, too…

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    Models?  Have I worked on any models?  Yes…but I don't have the pictures to prove it.  

    I built the Hasegawa 1/72 Beaufighter 21 for my "Model Building 101" seminar, and I'm well pleased with the result.  It was my first use of the Vallejo paints, and so far I like the stuff…

    We received the Vallejo Metal Color products into the shop, and I thought I should build a test subject to see how good it actually was.  So, I dusted off a Revell 1/72 MiG21 F-13, built it, and shot it with various shades of the Metal Color.  Well, the results are stunning.  Now, I like my concoction of Tamiya Titanium Silver, Future, and Alcohol, but the Metal Color is where I'll look if I'm building something with a bright metal finish.  I'll save the Tamiya mix for oxidized aluminum and silver doped finishes…

    As for the other stuff in the queue, the 1/72 ER-2 is in primer, waiting for the finish painting.  I have to attach some smaller parts first, but I'm slowly getting there.

    The 1/72 F-111F has been primed and the first color, 30219 Tan, has been applied.  I'm using the Hataka paints for this one, and I still have some experimenting to do.  It's nice paint, but dries quite fast.  I need to play with thinning ratios and the use of a fluid retarder before I pass final judgement.

    The 1/35 StuG IV is ready for a stain finish and weathering.  I also need to finish the base for it.  I'll be happy to get this one done.

    The 1/48 Macchi C.200 is ready for another attempt at paint.  Third time's the charm!

    The 1/700 USS Cowpens is in need of some more paint and fiddly work.  Softly, softly, catchee monkey…

    The 1/48 Gamecock is progressing, too.  I need to fit the cabane struts so I can measure for the interplane struts.  Once I have the struts to my liking, I can continue installing the wings.  The tail surfaces are ready for installation.  Next up will be getting the landing gear correct and the engine mounted…

    A few new projects are also in the works:

    A 1/35 Trumpeter SA-2 Guideline Missile and launcher have had their base colors applied and are in the weathering process now, using Vallejo products.  This one will be an Egyptian example from 1973 based on contemporary photos taken by a modeling friend of mine when he was there.  Stay tuned.

    Also, I led an airbrushing clinic at the hobby shop last month.  Rather than trying to demonstrate on a half dozen models, I quickly assembled a 1/48 Bf-109T from the Academy (Hobbycraft) kit and used it.  I have a good deal of the camouflage done, I need to touch some areas up, add some mottling, and get it ready for decals.  So far, so good…

    In case your wondering, I am quickly becoming a Vallejo convert.  Just in case I wasn't clear…

    Seriously.  I love this stuff so far.  It sprays nicely–whether it be Model Color, Model Air, Panzer Aces, or their Surface Primer.  I'm experimenting with their Chipping Medium, and like the effects I can get.  I haven't yet played with their mud effects, but other people who have say it is nice to work with.  I don't like to be dependent on one particular line of products, but this one makes that difficult…

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    Something else happened between my last post and now,  Can't seem to remember what it was, it was about a month ago…

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    Other than that, I'm still here.  I hope to be more active next year, but we'll see how that goes.

    Until next time, be good to one other.  And, as always–and especially at this time of year–I bid you Peace.