Iron Modeler

Category: Back in the day

  • More memories from days past, club contests, and my take on rapid prototyping

    Howdy…

    I was going through the pictures from the family archives a few days ago, and found a few from a mid-1970's Christmas.  My brother and I would open up the gifts, look at everything, then pile up the loot in a neat stack.  Well, in one of those stacks I spied a Revell 1/72 Mirage III kit, and can still recall building it.  Back then, it took maybe two hours from beginning to end.  I do remember that the kit had a complete engine, as I found that engine sometime later when we moved out of the house we grew up in sometime in 1989. 

    Back then, it was pretty easy to figure out what models I wanted–any and all of them, regardless of scale or subject matter.  I was a few years removed from deciding that I wanted a collection of World War the Second airplanes in 1/48 scale, so for the time being my motto was "if its plastic, I'll build it".  I recall the same year, I received a Revell 1/72 He-219 as well.  I think I built them on consecutive nights, which was not the norm when I was fortunate enough to have multiple kits at hand–and certainly isn't the norm now, with my collection of over 1,800 unbuilt kits upstairs!

    I have a few copies of that Revell Mirage.  I may have to dig one out for old times' sake. 

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    At our monthly AMPS meeting, we decided to have several intra-club contests over the course of the new year.  The first theme we chose was "Anything American".  In order to get out of an armor rut (yes, the StuG is still in work!), I picked up the Tamiya 1/48 scale M8 Greyhound and M20 armored cars.  I figure I can knock one of them together in a month or so and break my modeler's block vis a vis armor kits, sort of like the Gnat project did for my airplane modeler's block.  It will also afford me the opportunity to try out the Vallejo "Green Model" weathering kit I bought for a song at the local Hobby Lobby (40% off coupons do come in handy!).  Stay tuned…

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    One of the subjects that's come up often on the online chat rooms also came up at the meeting–the subject is that of Rapid Prototyping, better known as 3D printing.  There have been a lot of discussions (along with a lot of hair pulled, teeth gnashed, etc.) overt his online.  The proponents of this say that in a few years, rather than buying a kit from Tamiya, you'll simply pay them a fee to download and print the model.  I see a few flaws to the logic.  First, 3D printing can be awfully expensive, more expensive than a lot of the high end kits.  Do you really want to pay upwards of $100 US for the right to "print" a kit?  I doubt it.  Second, I don't think that scenario will come to pass simply because the manufacturer will lose any and all control over the quality of the kit.  Different printers will print, well, differently.  If you don't have things set up correctly, you will run the risk of printing oversize, or undersize, or with soft details because you didn't choose the correct resolution.  No, I don't see the printing of an entire kit as being something feasible for 3D printers, although perhaps it will work for limited run subjects–you know, subjects with a limited appeal.  F-RSIN got started by using 3D printed masters for some of their all-resin kits, so it might be a strong possibility that 3D printed limited run kits will take their place alongside resin and vacuum-formed kits in the "Limited Run" end of the catalog.

    What I do see as being within the realm of possibility is detail parts.  I see this being the next frontier in modeling–in fact, there are a few concerns already making 3D printed detail parts, the best known being Click2Detail.  It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. 

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    It is hard to believe that the year is almost over.  In the States, Thanksgiving will soon have come and gone, with Christmas approaching in the windscreen.  I do hope each and every one of you has a chance to take a break and spend some time with your family at some point during the holidays.  If you haven't made the time to do so, you might want to re-think that.  You only have one family, for good, bad, or other.  Try to spend some time together, won't you?  Enjoy the holidays and be safe.  Be good to one another, and be good to those not as fortunate as you.  And, as always, I bid you Peace.

  • More memories from back in the day…

    Nostalgia hit again.  With the events of the past year, I have a lot of my family's keepsakes in the house that I still need to go through and catalog–I imagine my brother still has to do the same with a lot of the stuff he has, too.  With the holidays approaching, I got to thinking–which can be a dangerous thing, especially when you're doing the 7 days, 12 hours a day thing…

    I was remembering back to the early days of FineScale Modeler, back when it was the fresh face on the plastic modeling scene.  Why?  Maybe because the first several issues came out in late 1982, my first year in college.  When I needed a break from the academics, I'd reach for FSM.  Why?  In no particular order:

    The early issues were cover-to-cover reads for me.  Usually, I'd read it at least four times in order to make sure I could catch every work of every article and every ad for stuff I had never heard of before.  FSM wasn't afraid to publish full-blown scratchbuild articles, or involved conversion articles, or even superdetail articles.  In fact, I have two copies of the Fall 1984 issue with Bob Steinbrunn's article on cockpit detailing–my original copy is so shop worn and dog eared that when a club member was giving away his collection of early issues, I snagged his nearly new copy.

    Compared to the competition, FSM gave me something that the other guys wouldn't, couldn't, or didn't–advanced projects, complete with either in-progress photos or drawings that helped explain what the builder did.  It really helps to see what the author did when he says he "used 5-minute epoxy to reinforce the area" rather than just read the words. 

    The articles covered the subject from beginning to end, more or less.  What finally got me to end my subscription was the simplification of the projects, or the "let's condense a large project down to a Top-10 bulleted list" mentality of the late 1990's and early 2000's.  That, along with the semi annual "How to apply decals" and "How to use and airbrush" articles, soured me on the magazine.  I had been a continuous subscriber since the introduction of the magazine (I actually found the cancelled check from my initial subscription when we cleaned up Mom's condo!), and believe me, it was hard to ignore the renewal cards.  But I did, and every time I pick up a new issue on the newsstand and flip through it, I am reminded that nothing has really changed.

    Before the naysayers start to pile on with the claims that "You've just improved your craft, FSM is as good as it ever was!", I'd like to say hogwash.  Not true.  If that were true, why did the short-lived Aerospace Modeler Magazine hit me the same way that that the first FSM issues hit me?  The projects were complete, they were fully explained, and in some cases matched those early days of FSM.

    Alas, I fear the day of the print magazine has changed drastically.  I was hoping for good things with AMM, and a few months ago I saw a rumbling that something might be in the air (no pun intended).  But these days, niche magazines certainly must walk a razor's edge between profit and loss.  I would imagine that breaking even is the goal for some of the smaller publications.  One can see why FSM, with the might of Kalmbach Publishing behind them, still soldiers on while the others tend to fall by the wayside…

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    With the holidays approaching, my mind tends to also wander back to those days when I would go to the hobby shop with Dad.  We were looking for one thing–grass mat for the train platform.  Once we had that, we could set the trains up under the Christmas tree.  I haven't set up a train under a Christmas tree since my short affair with N gauge in 1990 or 1991, but I do remember the Lionel set under the tree as a kid.  One of the other things that I now have in my garage is the 1972-era Lionel set Mom and Dad bought us when we first moved to Florida.  That train set was rode hard and put up wet many times, yet it still runs.  I offered to let my brother take the Lionel set since I had the Scott Paper HO gauge trains our Grandmother got for us (and the other grandkids, too) one year.  My brother let me have both sets.  If I can find a way to one day get them both up and running, I plan on doing so.  I've always wanted to actually construct a full-blown HO layout anyway.  All I need is another room on the house…

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    Speaking of model railroading, one other Christmas time attraction in South Florida used to the the National Enquirer's shindig.  They'd get one of those huge (very tall–like in the neighborhood of 100 feet tall) spruce trees, light it up, set it up next to their National Headquarters, and charge admission to see it.  Along with the huge tree, there was this HO gauge layout housed in several large tents.  It was the product (if I recall correctly) of several railroad clubs, and it took maybe an hour to walk through the whole thing.  When you have relatives visiting, you have to find some interesting things to go see–this was one of them.

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    I'll be back soon with more holiday memories.  Until then, be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

     

  • A quick one while I have a minute…or two…

    I'm back…

    I may as well start with the bad news.  My mother passed away on 26 February.  Her health never recovered from her two falls, and to be honest, it was more relief than sorrow to me when she crossed over.  She's with dad and the rest of the family that has gone before, and I like to think they're catching up on old times…

    Funny thing, though–after the memorial service, my sister-in-law kept on saying that Mom was going to mess with her.  The family wanted to get together and do something after the memorial.  When we last were together in December, we went to Joe's Crab Shack (Mom loved her seafood), so we decided that we'd all go back there after the service.  There were 13 of us, but we told them 14.  First weird part of the story–we got the same exact table we had in December.  There were a few different faces this time, but those of us who had been there in December pretty much all sat where we had back then, and we left the seat Mom had been in back then vacant.  Next, it got really weird–those who wanted appetizers ordered them.  They arrived, and no sooner had the plates been cleaned, an order of mozzarella sticks arrived–an order that nobody had placed.  The server says, "This has been happening to me all day, sorry.  Enjoy them on the house."  I looked at my brother and sister-in-law and said "There's your sign."  See, one of mom's favorite appetizers was mozzarella sticks.  I imagine she and dad and everyone else up there got a good chuckle out of that one…

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    Between the end of February and the service on 9 March, I had some time to go through some boxes of stuff I brought to the house when I last visited Mom.  Going through the photos, I found several years' worth of Christmas photos, and in most of them were pictures of our stacks of Christmas SWAG–and in most of those pictures, there were model kits.  I say it often, but it is true–back then (1970's-1980's), that's something kids did.  We had video games (Pong, Atari), but we also still built models.  I'll share some of those photos at some point in the future…

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    My wife has a librarian friend who came upon several large boxes of modeling magazines.  Since her library had no use for them, she called my wife to see if she would like to have them.  My wife said yes, made a donation to the library, and hauled the collection home.  There was a mix of plastic and radio control modeling magazines, and among the boxes were some issues of "Scale Modeler", "Scale Aircraft Modeler" from the UK, and some early issues of "The Squadron", the magazine the Squadron Shops used to sell.  Interesting stuff, and I'll share those with you, too.

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    While I was in Ft. Lauderdale dealing with Mom's estate, I found the time to stop by the IPMS/Flight 19 meeting.  While some of the faces have changed, and the venue had moved, the meetings were much the same as when I was General, President, Doctor, and Dictator-for-Life for about seven years between the early 1990's and about 2000.  They had just held their annual contest the previous weekend, and from what I heard they had quite a successful show, indeed.  I was happy to see that the Chapter was as healthy (healthier, actually) as it was when I ran the show.  One of the Old Guard had sent some books in so he wouldn't have to toss them.  Among the boxes I found Volume 1, Number 2 of "Scale Modeler".  An interesting observation–back in the day, they ran articles on all sorts of modeling, both static and operational (slot cars, radio control and free flight, model soldiers, etc.)–about the only thing they didn't cover was model railroading.  One piece that caught my eye was a two-page spread by some guy named Bill Koster on scale radio control airplanes.  If the name rings a bell, it should–Bill was a long time employee at Monogram Models, and has his own one-man cottage industry that makes vacuum form conversions and kits called Koster Aero Enterprises.  I've met the man several times–although I doubt he remembers–and he's always been a wealth of information, information he is not shy about sharing.  Back at the 2005 IPMS/USA Nationals, he sold my wife a 1/48 scale PB4Y Privateer conversion kit for the Monogram standard, and he spent nearly a half hour giving her tips on how to get the best end product out of the conversion, even examining the kit and replacing some parts that we wasn't happy with.  On the spot.  Bill Koster is an example of a true gentleman in every sense, and it was interesting to read his tips on scale radio control airplanes.

    I also got to see some folks that I hadn't seen in a very long time.  It was a joy being able to catch up with so many old friends.  I'm only sorry that I didn't have enough time to spend with each and every one of them.  Next time, though…

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    I think that about wraps this installment up.  Until next time, be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

  • “The hobby is dead, Long Live the hobby!”

    I finally was able (once again) to get a weekend off, so the wife and I took a ride to Aiken, SC and Augusta, GA (part of the reason for the ride was to reconnoiter a possible driving route for an upcoming event).  While in town, we stopped in at the HobbyTown USA in Augusta.  Dave has a large selection of kits, the largest selection I've seen since I left South Florida.  So, I wasn't really surprised to see that he had several new kits as well a a whole mess of reissues in stock.  Some random thoughts follow…

    I like what Round Two Models is doing.  In case you haven't noticed, they acquired the rights to several manufacturers' catalogs from years gone by, including AMT, MPC, and Polar Lights.  Dave had the reissue of AMT's 1/25 scale 1976 AMC Gremlin X in their "Original Art Series".  You get the same AMT plastic from years gone by, and they also include an 11" X 14" print of the artwork less any other copy–no logo, no other text, just the artwork.  I just had to pick the kit up, since this is just the type of kit I grew up building.  The plastic parts are quite nice–no flash, very nice, very clean.  It looks like it will be a fun build, too.  The other things about this kit that caught my eye was that Round Two encloses a small fold-out catalog of their products as well as a postcard that asks the buyer "What do you want to see from Round Two Models?"  It warms my heart to see a company is once again willing to listen to their customer base.  The other Round Two products that caught my eye were a Limited Edition of the 1/16 scale Dodge Charger in the guise of a "Street Charger"–rumor has it that the NASCAR version (the Petty Charger) will be released shortly.  Also, their 1/25 scale Big Rig collection has been joined by the reissue of the Diamond Reo.  Very nice…

    The other kit that caught my eye at HobbyTown USA was the new Revell 1/48 scale PV-1 Ventura.  Twenty years ago, I would have been all over this kit like a fat kid on a box of Krispy Kremes–I lived for 1/48 scale WWII aircraft, and the Ventura was one I would have loved to build back in the day.  Since then, I have switched scales to 1/72 for multi-engined subjects, but the Revell kit still interests me by the fact that is is a new release from the re-re-reborn Revell.  By all accounts, it is quite the kit.  I'm happy to see Revell back in the game.  I'm also happy to see Revell reissuing recent kits (if you call 10 year old kits "recent") like the 1/48 SB2C, P-47N, and the Prowler/Intruder series.  If that doesn't wake you up, have you seen some of the Renwal kits that Revell has been reissuing?  Sweet…

    Then there's Moebius Models.  If you haven't seen them in stores yet, their 1/25 scale kits of the 1952/1953 Husdon Hornet are out, and they are very nice, indeed.  My wife preordered the Tim Flock 1952 NASCAR version of the kit, and I am impressed.  Build reports from the Internet are saying wonderful things about this kit and its 1953 street version brother.  Next up from Moebius is a 1955 Chrysler 300, and I can't wait to see it.

    Even better?  All of them are offering some sort of newsletter or modeler's club.  Nice, right?

    I think what we're seeing here is a return of hobbyists having a say in how model companies are run.  Back in the days of Lew and Royle Glaser (Revell), Jack Besser and Bob Reder (Monogram), Joe Giammarino and Abe Shikes (Aurora), to name but a few, the model companies were run by modelers and hobbyists.  There was a sense of business behind them–after all, if the company made no money, they were out of business–but the driving force was the hobby.  These folks were hobbyists themselves, and they knew what they wanted to see.  They'd research a subject, and if they thought it would sell, they'd design, tool, and produce the product. 

    A lot changed, and not for the good, when Nabisco bought Aurora and Mattell acquired Monogram.  The hobby people were either out for good or shunted to the side while the businessmen made the product decisions.  Now, granted, not every hobbyist running a company had the Golden Touch–when Royle Glaser began running her late husband's company, she did some trimming, since Revell had a huge catalog, but was never very stable financially.  But in the end, Revell, too, was sold to a business group.  With the departure of the hobbyists, these companies did continue to thrive for a while.  But things weren't as rosy, I guess, as they appeared.  Monogram merged with Revell.  They were bought and sold several times.  The Monogram name has all but gone away for new kits.  The last new aircraft kit from Revell (not Revell-Germany!) that comes to mind was the 1/48 scale F/A-18E and F kits from around 2005.  The names MPC and AMT all but disappeared when Racing Champions acquired the company in the late 1990's.  Nabisco liquidated Aurora in 1977.  Hawk Models went away, many of their kits reappeared in Testor's boxes. 

    Recently, though, things have been looking up.  J.Lloyd International has the Lindberg, Hawk, Weird-Ohs, Frantics, and Silly Surfers lines in their catalog.  Round Two, as we've discussed, has AMT, MPC, and Polar Lights under thier banner, and they have been busy reissuing kits from years past.  Moebius is going quite well with their Sci-Fi, vehicle, and various comic book and movie character kits.  With the Revell release of the Ventura, one can only hope they are on the road to many more new releases and reissues of their kits from back in the day.

    Add to all this the recent releases and reissues from Dragon/DML/Cyber-Hobby, Hasegawa, Trumpeter/HobbyBoss, and Tamiya, several new issues from Italeri along with their extensive back catalog, the availability of Fujimi kits once again in the United States, Academy's releases and reissues, Roden's ever-expanding line of kits from WWI crates to airliners to, well, whatever strikes their fancy…and that's just airplanes, folks.  We haven't begun to discuss autos in depth, let alone armor and ships.

    If there is any modeler out there who can't see that we are living in another Golden Age of modeling, they haven't been looking very hard.  I, for one, am being reenergized…

    On another note, I'll be once again heading out to our comany's Dallas facility for a week.  I hope to have more time to see the area than I did last November.  No rest for the weary…

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

  • The Holidays are over…

    I don't even know where to begin…

    Since our last visit together, I've been busy–big surprise, huh?  Well, it was a good busy, for the most part.  We took a trip and visited my mother in Ft. Lauderdale.  While we were there, we got some pictures.  The houses are all in the neighborhood where I grew up–it isn't as nice as it once was, and I had traffic behind me, so the photos are the best I could do given the circumstances.  I simply started popping away with the camera while I drove–much like an RF-4C over Route Pac 6, I didn't dare stop:

    5446

    The lot where 5446 NW 18 Street used to stand, the duplex we lived in when we first moved to Florida in August 1971.  It looks like the city is doing some cleaning, and the two duplexes at the end of the block were demolished.

     

    1631

    1631 NW 55th Avenue.  We lived in this house from February 1973 until November 1989.  Other than the new roof, reconfigured driveway, and the coconut palm in the yard, it looks much the same as it did when we lived there.  The circular part of the driveway was just that, semi-circular, when we lived there, it looks like the owners extended it a bit near the house.

     

    1641

    1641 NW 55 Avenue, our neighbor's house to the North.  It is looking pretty sharp here–which wasn't always the case.  A few years ago, it had bright purple trim.  There used to be a huge black olive tree in the front yard, right about where the fountain is now…

     

    1611

    1611 NW 55 Avenue, two doors down to the south.  I remember when that siding went on the house in the early 1980's.  I believe the same man still lives there…

     

    Hoppe

    1741 NW 55th Avenue, the last house to the north before you got to the duplexes, triplexes, and quads that still apparently are the center of some not-so-nice activities.

    We also did some running around town on one of the days we were there.  Lunch at Char-Hut is always required, and we always try to stop in at the hobby shops in the area.  Here's Warrick's Hobby Superstore, on University Drive south of Peters Road:

    Warrick

    There used to be a Sound Advice store to the left in this picture, but since their demise, the hobby shop has expanded all the way to the end of the building, taking over the vacant space.  They actually had more esoteric stuff that I figured they would, but largely the selection is Revell, Trumpeter, Tamiya, Hasegawa, and Airfix.  Still, not bad considering what it looked like four years ago when there wasn't a geed selection on the shelves…

    We had to visit Chuck at RC Hobbies in Tamarac, too:

    Rchobbies

    Same store, and Chuck usually has a pretty good kit selection.  He's rearranged the inside of the store since our last visit in 2007, but he still tries to have some of the less-popular stuff in stock.

    We spent about a week with my mother, then made the trek home.  We stopped in Daytona Beach both on the trip down and the trip home, and on the way home we had a few hours to check the place out.  No pics, sorry, but I can tell you this–Daytona changes from year to year, it seems.  We were there last for the 2008 Rolex 24, and at the time, the new ISC HQ building was under construction.  It is complete now, a monument to themselves.  The area around the Speedway is much the same, though, and ARCA testing was going on when we stopped on the way down.  Soon, the area will be abuzz with Sports Cars and the Rolex 24.  We're not going, again this year–a 3:30 PM start on Saturday pretty much kills the deal for us.  Grand Am, are you listening?  What happened to the 12 Noon start, so everyone could get a stint in the car when it was light outside? 

    Once we arrived home, I had no time to rest.  I do a lot of baking for the holidays, most of which goes to the in-laws when we visit.  With no time to spare, I was able to get it all done:

    Cheesecake

    The first of two cheesecakes.  I'd be disowned if I didn't bring them with me.  I use Alton Brown's recipe, for those who are interested…

    Chocochip

    Good, old fashioned, Nestle Toll House cookies.  Why mess with a good thing?  I don't deviate from the recipe on the bag of semi-sweet chips…

     

    Oatmeal

    A batch of Quaker Oats' Disappearing Oatmeal Cookies waiting to go in the oven.  The recipe is on every tub of Quaker's Old Fashioned Rolled Oats…

     

    Spritz

    Spritz, ready for the oven. 

     

    Pizzelles

    Pizzelle batter and pizzelle iron on deck.  I didn't get any pictures of the finished product.  Rats!

     

    Bows

    Something new for me this year, I made Italian Bowknot Cookies.  I tried these last year, and they didn't work too well.  I think I'm getting the hang of these now…

     

    Ravioli

    Another new item, Nutella Ravioli–a Giada DiLaurentiis recipe.  They were good, but next year I may reduce the size of them–they're awfully good, but they're awfully rich, too.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly, so that's part of the issue.  I'll do it proper-like next year and see…

     

    Panettone

    The only holiday baked good that I don't make (nor do most Italians)–Panettone.  It is a sweet bread, full of candied fruit and raisins.  We made French Toast from ours this year, and all I can say is that you need to try it.  Very good, indeed!

    As for Christmas, we had an enjoyable time.  We spent most of the day at the in-laws, where we were treated to good food and good company.  What more can one ask for?  I did manage to get a few kits–Anigrand's 1/72 scale XF-103 and XF-108 kits.  I guess I can stop scouring the Internet for the Ken Rymal vacuum-formed versions…

    We spent New Year's Eve watching the "Big Bang Theory" marathon on TBS.  Why I hadn't discovered this show earlier is beyond me–I started watching it when I was in Dallas, and it is a hoot.  We switched over to ABC so we could be welcomed into the New Year by Dick Clark and see the ball drop…

    As we usher in 2012, I would like to wish all of you Health, Joy, and Prosperity for the New Year.

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

  • Ooohh, that smell…

    Autumn has descended upon the Southern reaches of the Atlantic Seaboard, and with the lower temperatures comes a smell like no other–it is a crispness that I can't describe.  Also, with the holidays approaching fast, it is hard not to remember back to when I was a kid by the way things smelled.  There was something about this time of year…

    We didn't use any frou-frou spritzers, the house just smelled like, well, the holidays.  Mom would bake, and one thing she does to this day is doctor recipes.  She'll add ginger or cloves to the standard Toll House or Quaker Oatmeal cookie recipes (along with nuts and raisins–she puts nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips in most of her holiday cookies), which creates this awesome aroma throughout the house.  Whenever I think of Christmas as a kid, I remember the way the house smelled… 

    And that thought, of course, led me to other smells that remind me of places.  For instance, back before the chain auto parts stores, you used to go to the dingy little place that just happened to have what you wanted–and it had a smell all it's own.  Similar to the chains, the smell was a mix of rubber, petro-chemicals, new carpet, and a potpourri of the various air fresheners.  Sporting goods stores back in the day used to smell of canvas, black powder, crickets, and rubber worms (and, if you are lucky enough to have a Sportsman's Warehouse, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, or Cabella's nearby, they smell the same way)…

    Hobby shops–the original, tiny Mom-and-Pop places, had a smell all their own, too.  Back in the day, the shops carried model airplane dope, and when you mix that aroma in with that of glow fuel, Testor's paint, musty boxes, and real model airplane glue (the stuff with Toluene and mustard oil), you get an odor that will never escape you.  I didn't really notice it when I was a kid, but as I got older, I would catch a whiff every time I was in the local emporium.  And, at the time, Warrick Custom Hobbies would also sell fireworks at various times of the year, so you would get that "hobby shop smell" mixed in with that of black powder.  It made for a memorable smell, one that I miss.

    The modern hobby shop, whether it be a chain store or one of the ever-dwindling Mom-and-Pop shops, doesn't have that smell, particularly if that store hasn't been in business that long.  There is one shop here in Columbia, though, that has a bit of that smell to it–he specializes in model railroading, so you replace the smell of glow fuel with that of the various light oils used to lubricate the locomotives, and maybe add the lacquer smell of Scalecoat and Floquil paints, and you get a variation of the hobby shop aroma.  It doesn't hurt that this place is basically located in an old house–it is rather cramped–and he's been there for years.  There are no aisles, there are small areas where you can sort of shuffle along and see what's on the shelves.  There is stuff piled everywhere, so it makes finding things a bit of a treasure hunt–but nobody complains.  It is reminiscent of the cabinets behind the counter at Orange Blossom Hobbies–I'm not sure if even Joe, the owner, knows what's in a given location.  But whenever I feel nostalgic for the good old days, I'll stop in at Joe's and see what's new–and take in that hobby shop smell. 

    It is certainly a shame that time and progress march ever onward.  "New and Improved" isn't necessarily so…

    We're winding down on the current project at work–with that, I have every intention of visiting the Lafayette Scale Modelers this weekend for their model show in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  I'll do my best to take some pictures and share them with you.

    Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

  • Labor Day weekend is upon us…

    A big surprise:  I don't have to work!

    Some Labor Day traditions have changed in the past few years.  To wit:

    When I was a kid, the big attraction on Labor Day weekend was the Jerry Lewis Telethon.  We'd watch it every year–Jerry would be there all night, all day, and by the end of the whole thing he looked as if he'd been through the wringer–twice.  And there would be Ed McMahon, Sammy Davis, Jr., and all Jerry's other long time friends.  I got out of the habit of watching, but would check in every now and then to see how Jerry was holding up–and even well into his '70s and '80s, he'd do well.  He always fell apart at the end–I think it was more of a trademark than anything–but he'd hang in there for most of the show.  I don't know what he did to get the boot, but he'll be missed by many.  Why the MDA couldn't have set aside whatever differences they had with Jerry for this last year–Lewis had announced that this would be he final year–I don't know.

    Another tradition that died several years ago was the Labor Day race that used to be held at Darlington.  The Southern 500 was just one of those things you did on Labor Day–like watching the Indy 500 on Memorial Day, this was a tradition that seemed like it would never go away.  But it did–seems that the owner of the speedway and the heads at NA$CAR  decided that they could make more money of they moved the race to California, to "grow the sport".  Well, it seems that a great number of the "new" NA$CAR fans were of the fair weather variety–they stuck around for a few years, then attendance started to drop.  They kept the name "Southern 500" attached to Darlington–they used it for the race held in the Spring at the track–but it doesn't matter.  To many life-long stock car racing fans, the Southern 500 means a race at Darlington held on Labor Day.

    The final tradition that comes to mind is one of those wink-wink, nudge-nudge things.  For years, Labor Day meant that there was some tropical weather system headed for Florida.  My personal "tradition" of tracking Labor Day storms started when I was in High School–Hurricanes David and Floyd seemed to be making a beeline right for Broward County.  My brother and I joined friends up towards Sebring that year, and wound up driving through David on the way home!  David sort of fizzled as he made his way towards Florida, but Floyd did some damage on the Gulf Coast that year.

    This year, Katia is churning out in the Atlantic, and Tropical Storm Lee has just formed in the Gulf of Mexico, near the Louisiana coast.  And from what the weather guessers are saying, Lee is going to dump a bunch of rain.  We might feel the effects of both storms here in South Carolina–we need the rain, but we don't need what they got in Vermont and Upstate New York last week… 

    Of course, the Grandaddy of Labor Day hurricanes was the 1935 storm known as the Labor Day hurricane–it swept through the Florida Keys, destroyed Henry Flagler's railway, and killed scores of World War One veterans who were building what we know as the Overseas Highway.

    No matter where you are, though, this Labor Day weekend, please be safe.  If you're in the path of any of the Tropical junk, be double safe–and if you need to get out, do so!

    Enjoy your Labor Day.  Be good to one another, be safe, and I bid you Peace.

  • The late, lamented Orange Blossom Hobbies

    We finally have an empty hangar again.  While not necessarily a great thing–no airplanes in the hangar means no work, which means no income for the time being–it does give us some time to catch our collective breath and reset the place for the next job.  In the meantime…

    One of the hobby shops I used to frequent–although not to the extent that other modelers I knew did–was Orange Blossom Hobbies in Miami.  Just getting there could be an adventure, as the shop was located in a not-so-great neighborhood on NW 36th Street.  Let's just say that when there is a Security guard and a walled-in parking lot with a gate, you need to be heads-up at all times.  Carrying a firearm–legally, of course–didn't exactly hurt.  Once you made your way through the 'hood and parked in the semi-secure lot, though, you were in for a treat.

    OB was located in an old bowling alley.  Right next door was their wholesale operation, Pan American Distributors.  As you walked in to the place, you immediately noticed the layout.  The ceiling had staggered tiles, the floor was skinny strips of harwood complete with the lane diamonds.  No matter, though–the place was usually packed with merchandise.  The first thing you noticed at the entrance was the RC counter directly ahead of you–it was usually three deep with people looking to buy that latest RC truck, car, or airplane.  It was the center anchor of the store, so to speak, since it really did occupy the center of the store (as well as one wall).  Off to the left, though, was plastic treasure…

    From the first visit I made to the store to the last, one thing remained constant–the guy behind the counter.  Pat Parnther was always there, always working, and always had some story or joke to tell.  His favorite quips were, "That's life in the tropics!" and "Happiness is a winning lottery ticket!"  I don't think I ever went in there when Pat wasn't selling the latest stuff to come out of the hobby industry.  You'd spend a few minutes with Pat, then check out the shelves.  The shelves…well, they were packed.  If you couldn't find it on the shelf at Orange Blossom, they either just sold what you wanted or it hasn't been made.  You could (and I'm speaking from experience, here) spend a day just hunting among the boxes on the shelves.  But wait, there's Pat, telling another joke…

    Another fun feature of the shop was the row of cabinets behind the counter.  After a visit or two, you'd get to know Pat–and then, he'd say, "Go back there and look–I don't even know what's there."  And he was usually as surprised as you were when you pulled some oddity from one of the drawers.  He had decals–stacks of decals–from anyone and everyone who ever made decals.  When airliner models had their heyday in the mid- to late-1990's, Pat would have multiples of not only kits, but the decals that went with them.  Aeromaster was pretty much the house brand, too, so there were plenty of Gaston and Company's latest and greatest.  If it was made in the form of a decal, resin update, white metal update, conversion, or limited run kit, it was there.  I'll never forget the day we found a stash of ATP's 1/144 scale Metroliners in one of the drawers…

    Along with the accessories, there were resin kits.  At one point, Pat had several of the Blue Water Navy kits in multiples.  If you were even remotely interested, Pat would go get one and let you fondle it.  After a while, he's sweeten the deal a bit.  And, before I knew it, I had quite the collection of them.  But that's the way the store worked–you'd take your stack of soon-to-be attic insulation and plop it on the counter.  Pat would pull out a calculator and total it all up, then say, "Ahhh, give me ____ bucks."  With that, you handed over the coin of the realm and concluded the deal.  But there was more to see…

    Up front, on the side of the store that butted up to NW 36th Street, was where the entrance to the old bowling alley was.  The restrooms were up there, as were the display cases.  After spending hours searching the shelves, you could spend even more time looking at the models in the case.  Some of it was done using the Aeromaster products as sort of a sales aid, but most of it was from the local club guys and the regular customers–much the same, dare I say, as many hobby shop display cases the world over.  I still remember some of those models, and I still remember talking with the guys who built them.  One time, there was a model in the nicest bare metal finish I had ever seen–and was then told that the finish was Aerogloss Silver dope.  I never did get around to trying that on one of my models, but it certainly looked the part.  Gaston was one of the proponents of using dope–it went on smooth and dried hard.  Trouble was, you had to be careful in your prep or the dope could craze the plastic.  I was still using Floquil's silvers at the time and figured they worked well enough for what I wanted.

    My last visit to Orange Blossom was about ten years ago–I was about a month away from moving out of South Florida, and I wanted to hang out with the gang one last time, since I didn't know when I'd be back.  Stories had begun to circulate, too, that they were in financial trouble and may be closing.  I went by, picked up some stuff I had noticed during one of the foraging sessions in the cabinets, and spent a while talking with Pat.  He was not happy, since it was becoming more and more apparent that he'd soon be out of a job…

    The end came sometime that October or November.  The next trip we made to South Florida was in December of 2001, and during that trip we stopped at another haunt, Pearl Art and Craft.  There, on a table out front, was a pile of model kits.  There was no mistaking where they came from, for prominently printed on the original price tage were the words "ORANGE BLOSSOM HOBBIES" and under that, "Miami, Florida."  The kits were being sold at closeout prices.  We had been informed of Ornage Blossom's demise some week earlier, but here was visual confirmation of the same.

    My wife and I often think about the treasure trove of out of print decals and other goofy things in that row of cabinets.  We often wonder what became of them.  And when we do, we look back to the day when you could go into the store, spend a few hours uncovering some long-forgotten kit, or decal sheet, and then hear those magic words:  "Ahhh, give me fifty bucks…"

    Those were the days, when hobby shops were made of bricks and mortar and run by hobbyists.  That's becoming a rarity these days.  And that's a shame.  It is one reason that I will visit the local hobby shops, no matter where my travels take me.  There's something about finding one of those shops where they have stashes of oddities, stacks of old kits, and a guy behind the counter who knows models.  When you find one, you don't forget–and you want to go back to that shop as often as you can.

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

     

     

     

  • Zero-Eight Zulu

    In 1935, The Douglas Aircraft Company flew the first DC-3, and in doing so, started a revolution in commercial air travel.  The DC-3 was fast, roomy, and, above all, safer than all others before it.  The fact that there are still DC-3's (and the military versions) still flying in their original, as-built conditions speaks volumes about the airplane.  An icon?  Oh, yeah…

    By 1938, though, the airlines were looking for a larger version of the DC-3.  One prototype, the DC-4E, was built for United Airlines (you see, kids, the airlines were driving the market–they'd tell the manufacturers what they wanted, and the manufacturers would build it).  With additional interest from the other major carriers, Douglas went ahead and built the -4E.  It was larger, faster, and more advanced than the -3 was.  In fact, it was a bit too far advanced, and the project was abandoned in favor of a similar, yet smaller design–this would become the DC-4.

    The DC-4 (in military clothes, it was the C-54) first flew in 1938.  Powered by four Pratt and Whitney R-2000 and could cruise at 225 knots at about 21,000 feet.  It was quickly drafted into World War Two service, and the first C-54 flew in 1942.  Notable because of her service during the Berlin Airlift, the airplane soon faded into obscurity after the war–the military was phasing the older transports out in favor of ones with greater lifting capacity, and the airlines wanted bigger airplanes that could fly farther, higher, and faster.  The USAF, USN, and the armed forces of several other nations kept the C-54's gainfully employed for many years after the war, the last ones being retired in the late 1970's/early 1980's.

    Post-war, Aviation Traders converted 21 airframes to the ATL-98 Carvair.  Anyone who has seen the James Bond movie "Goldfinger" has seen a Carvair–that's the airplane that flew Goldfinger, OddJob, and Mr. Goldfinger's Phaeton and golf clubs back to Europe.  You can't miss a Carvair–that bulbous nose is a dead giveaway…

    Our particular airframe was built where all C-54's were built–Douglas' Orchard Park facility, where O'Hare International Airport now sits.  Taken up by the Army Air Force, she saw service for several years before being reassigned to the U. S. Navy as an RC-54V, Navy Bureau Number (BuNo) 45614.  The RC-54V, by the way, was used as a mapping aircraft.  She was transferred to the U. S. Coast Guard at some point, as well, according to one report I've read.  I can find no history that suggested that she flew in WWII (unlikely) or in the Berlin Airlift (probable, since pretty much all airlift assets of the U.S. military were on call for such duty), or Korea (maybe, although she was probably performing mapping duties for the Navy at that time).  The interesting part of this airplane's history–for me, at least–is after she retired from the military.

    My first acquaintance with Douglas C-54G-10-DO, Constructor's Number 36067, USAAF Serial Number 45-0614, civil registration N708Z, came around 1990 or 1991, when the company I worked for bought her from Aero Union in Chico, California to replace the C-54A-10-DC we recently had to retire (and that one would have been N74183, C/N 10314, USAAF S/N 42-72209.  She later wound up in the Flying Leatherneck Museum at MCAS El Toro with a fake BuNo  of 90392.).  Zero-Eight Zulu had previously kicked around a bit–she had been owned by Southern Aero Traders and sat at Opa-Locka (just north of Miami, FL) for a while, then Aero Union had her and used her as a fire tanker.  If you knew where to look, you could see where the fire suppressant tank was installed on her belly.  

    When we got her, it was evident that the paint scheme she wore was previously painted over–there was evidence of a darker paint around the rivet heads and in some of the lap joints.  Also, in the cockpit, there were a lot of phony placards painted in "Russian".  Well, if you look, hard enough, there was also a fake "Russian" registration, too:  CCCP-56397.  And then I started to dig and ask questions–I suppose to a few of my colleagues I was off my rocker, since I was one of the few people there who actually liked working on the "pigs".  I loved the history behind these airplanes.  They had character; they had been places and done things, more so than any other airplane I've worked on before or since.

    So, as Paul Harvey would say, the story picks up in the late 1980's.  Apparently, our airplane was a movie star.  Well, maybe a stunt double.  See, the fake "Russian" disguise was leftover "makeup" from when our airplane appeared in the forgettable 1989 flick "The Experts".  The plot was that two hip Americans, Travis and Wendell, get kidnapped by the KGB, sent to a Russian town that is modeled on American society, and tasked (unknown to them) with bringing the place into the present–as it was when they got there, it was right out of "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best".  Well, sooner or later, our heroes get wise to the deal and try to get away.  One of their assistants is a Russian Air Force pilot, and his airplane is their ticket out.  The flying sequences were done by a C-118B (and I suspect another airplane that found employment with us), but when everything was "in the can", they found they needed some shots from inside the airplane.  Since the C-118 was not available, they turned to the next best thing–yep, the C-54.  Paint it dark, sprinkle a few cryptic placards around, and *voila*, we've got us the inside of a Russian transport!  The paint job lasted longer than the movie did in the theaters, I fear.

    That was probably the highlight of Zero-Eight Zulu's career.  She served us well until 1994, when she blew a jug on the number two engine during a landing.  Our cargo contracts were winding down, the old propliners were getting harder and harder to find parts for–especially anything with R-2000's–and she just sat.  I left the company around that time, but I know her avionics were removed and installed on a Volpar Turboliner (a conversion of the venerable Beech 18/C-45 with Garrett/AiResearch TPE-331 turboprop powerplants replacing the R-985's–another interesting airplane I might tell you about someday), and rumor was she was going to be broken up.

    Sometime shortly after the Turn of the Century, she got a reprieve.  I learned she was being repaired and possibly restored as a Warbird.  Later still, I heard she would be earning her keep in Alaska.  And that, boys and girls, is where she is now–flying for Brooks Air Fuel out of Fairbanks, AK.  They really tarted her up, too–she now wears a quite attractive livery reminiscent of the United Airlines of old.

    It does my heart good to see these old airplanes flying.  Especially airplanes like the DC-4, since they aren't found that often.  More DC-3's are still active than DC-4's…

    I have been hoping for years than someone would produce a good kit of the DC-4/C-54 in something larger than 1/144 scale.  Minicraft graced us with a 1/144 scale version several years ago, and it is a beautiful kit.  But I have also wanted to build one on 1/72 scale, and right now the pickings are slim.  Rareplanes did a vac-form a long time ago, and they are difficult to find and expensive once you do find one.  Mach 2 produced a kit of a "DC-4", but like all Mach 2 kits, there is a lot to be desired.  So, I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I'll be converting a Heller DC-6 kit one of these days… 

    (Apologies for the links–I could not, for the life of me, find my photos of the old girl.  If the links fail, you can spend an afternoon or two on Airliners.net, just search under "N708Z".)

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

     

  • Under the weather…

    I haven't forgotten you, not at all–I'm currently fighting a nasty head cold that's kept me out of action for a few days.  I should be back in the saddle in a day or two…

    In the meantime, here's something from my childhood.  I recall this event simply because I look at where it happened then, and look at the area now, and am thankful it did hapen then:

    A Lockheed Super Constellation crashed not too far from where we lived.  It was an open field back then, but today it is home to a rather large shopping center.  The official report said that the airplane ran out of fuel, but here's a report that adds why it ran out.  That's why standardized systems and procedures have become more and more common in the industry, boys and girls…

    And here's a story of someone who flew on her when she was one of Eastern's Great Silver Fleet.

    A sad end to a proud ship.  If I can find the materials I have collected (i.e., if it isn't on the hard drive from my old PC that gloriously exploded for the emporer a few years ago), I'll have another story of another one shortly… 

    Until next time, I'll be pushing the Tylenol and Sudafed.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.