Category: Places I’ve been and things I’ve seen

1984

Greetings!

Now, before you get all excited and start running about, I'm not referring to George Orwell's vision. Rather, I'm looking back 30 years and remembering some of the things that made 1984 a sort of comeback year for me…

For starters, I found myself unemployed and not in school for the first time in my life on New Year's Day in 1984. I had taken my leave from the Harvard of the Sky–engineering physics and I didn't get along, especially when physics had backup on the beat-down in the form of Calculus 3. Between those two courses, I had a dismal GPA for the Fall 1983 semester and decided that engineering as a career for me wasn't in the cards. I went down to the AFROTC Detachment (I had an AFROTC Scholarship at the time) and spoke a bit with my advisor. He and I talked for about an hour, and both came to the conclusion that all the summer terms in the world weren't going to suddenly make me a mathematical genius. My math skills were pretty good, but not good enough. So, I didn't register for spring semester and came home.

Funny how things can happen–I went looking for a job on 2 January 1984 and was hired almost immediately as a parts driver for a local HVAC parts house. After a week or so of that, one of their systems engineers found out that I wasn't just doing this because I didn't know any better, and I would sometimes be called in to watch how home and industrial HVAC systems are engineered–so many square feet of space called for so many tons of capacity, so many BTUs were required to heat X amount of space, etc. It was all pretty neat stuff, and I appreciated all they were doing for me. Between parts runs, I learned quite a bit–and was tempted to pursue a career in that. But aviation, once it wiggles down into your blood, tends to have a strong pull…

I worked there all summer. One day I got a phone call from one of my advisors at Embry-Riddle, wanting to know what I was doing and what my plans were. At the time, I was still trying to just chill out a bit and leave the stress and, well, disappointment of engineering behind me (and earn some coin, but that should be obvious). I let them know what I was up to, and that I had several things banging around in my head, and that I'd let them know when the time came. That time came in June–I took a Friday off work and drove back to Daytona Beach. I met with some folks, and found out how easy it would be for me to come back–I never formally withdrew from the school, so I was still carried on their rolls. I first visited my AFROTC friends. We spent a few hours speaking with some of the other Department Chairmen, and after speaking with the man heading up the Avionics program, my mind was made up. I would return in August.

With my future now decided, I went back to work. I don't say this to be self-congratulatory, but I was the hardest working parts driver/stock man/all around helper that location had. I know this because the higher-ups told me so. They were especially let down when I gave them my notice, but when I told them that my two choices were to learn–unofficially–from them, or go back to school and learn aviation electronics, I think it got them to understand. I was told that if I needed summer work, they would be there. So, I ended my employment with them in mid-August.

Remember that 1984 was an Olympic Games year, too–back when Winter and Summer games were held in the same year, no less. The Winter games were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. I paid little attention to them, because work and the time difference made keeping track of the events a bit difficult. What saddens me know is to see what has become of the venues built for the Games–most of them are crumbling, the result of the unrest, fighting, and other issues between the ethnic factions that finally led to the break-up of Yugoslavia into its constituent Republics. Sad…

The Summer games, on the other hand, were different–they were held in Los Angeles in 1984. The overshadowing news was that the Soviet Union, acting in response to the West's boycott of the 1908 Games, had decided to sit 1984 out. They, along with the majority of Eastern Bloc countries, sat at home while the Games went on. The reason I remember it so well was than coverage of most events came on right as I was getting back to the house after work, so I could pay attention to all of them. It was the last Olympic Summer games that I really paid close attention to. Since then, various reasons have kept me from watching…

On the modeling front, I actually started to keep a log of kits I completed. The first for 1984 was the ESCI 1/48 scale Fieseler Storch. It was an easy build until I got to the part about sticking the wings to the greenhouse. I used 5-minute epoxy, and got a fairly decent result–I amazed myself that I didn't wind up with epoxy all over everything!

I next turned my attention to a Tamiya 1/48 Brewster Buffalo. It was probably the quickest "serious" model I had built to that point–everything just clicked together. I was tempted by the early Navy scheme, but I settled on the Dutch scheme, because my metal finish techniques were sorely lacking and I didn't want to ruin the model. My impressions of Tamiya airplane kits would be reinforced soon…

Next on the hit parade was the Nichimo 1/48 scale Ki-43 Oscar. If you read opinions on this kit, they're all almost universally positive. And for good reason–the kit packs a lot of detail into a small airplane, the fit is superlative, and this all in a kit dating from the late 1970's. I tried some weathering techniques on this one–I used a silver Tamiya paint marker to prime seams back then, and I would paint the seams and rub the excess paint off with a paper towel. I reconed that if I added blotches of silver here and there, I could "chip" the Polly S paints I was using for the camouflage. It worked out fairly well, I think, and I kept trying to expand my horizons from that model on to the next, and the next…

This was also the summer when I attempted to build Monogram's 1/48 scale F-84F. For a reason or reasons lost to history, I cannot recall why I never finished the model. All I have from that model is the dolly and a few bits and pieces. After that, I wound up building Monogram's 1/48 scale F-100D in Arkansas ANG colors. I did that because, as I said before, my metal finishes at the time looked like dog poop…

Last for the summer, I decided to refinish a Monogram 1/48 scale B-17G that I had built in the late 1970's, maybe 1979. I had airbrushed it, but it was one of my first airbrushed models and looked the part. There were visible seams and some other issues with the model, so I took it down from the shelf and started working on the bad areas. Within a week, it was ready for paint again. I had used a Microscale sheet to finish the F-100 and was suitably impressed–first time using them, you know. So, I went in search of a sheet for the B-17. I found one I liked (unit and aircraft are again lost to history–I didn't log how they were finished, just that I finished them) and set to work. I used a combination of Polly S and Tamiya acrylics for the finish, and this one was the best, to that point, airbrushed finish I had ever laid down. The model went back on the shelf, an old girl in a new dress.

(That Tamiya Buffalo would also get a re-work in the early 1990's–which is how it still resides, hidden away in a box upstairs…)

I returned to good old Humpty Diddle in August. I had to register for classes. I had remembered to change my major and catalog at the Registrar's office when I was there in June, so half my battle had been won. Then I get to the registration lines. I think it is a universal college policy that beginning of the semester registration is meant to be as huge a pain in the ass as possible to all involved. See, during my engineering days, I had to re-take a few courses. As far as the Aeronautical Studies/Aeronautics courses were concerned, I was through with all of my math classes by virture of my Calculus I and Calculus II courses. During those engineering semesters, I had managed to complete all but maybe one or two Humanities/History courses, too. I was only looking to register for the required Physics and first semester Aero Studies courses. I couldn't get into any of the Electronics courses since all the sections were filled, so I settled for what I could get. After I got through that, I had to go play housing lottery. After about two hours of back-and-forth, I managed to get into Residence Hall 2, aka Dorm 2, aka "The Embry-Riddle Holiday Inn". I had lived here through my engineering days, so I know what to expect. I met the roommates and suitemates (two rooms to a suite, three people to a room), all of whom were Aero Science guys (they were all working towards pilot certificates)–except one. He was in engineering. He was a quiet kid, and engineering wasn't any kinder to him than it was me. I kinda felt sorry for the kid…after all, I'm now the older, wiser me…

Classes were literally a breeze. By the end of that semester, I would have all my prerequisite courses behind me and the next three and a half years would be solid electronics and avionics courses, along with the Aero Studies courses. See, there was no single avionics major, you took a major and added avionics. You could take an Aviation Maintenance major and avionics (you wound up with an Airfram and Powerplant certificate and the avionics degree) or Aeronautical Studies with avionics, which is how I went. Basically, you took all the ground school courses for flight, but no flight courses. So, I learned basic aerial navigation and meteorology to go along with my electron theory. Over the years, the school changed how they treated avionics until finally phasing it out a few years ago in favor of an Electronic Engineering degree program…

More modeling? You bet–I had spare time, so I decided to build a Tamiya 1/48 A6M2. This was another fall together kit, it was done in a week. Yep, a week. Needing something else to occupy my time, and figuring that the ESCI Storch was a cool kit, so I decided to build ESCI's 1/48 scale Hs-123. Now that one was a challenge–first serious biplane, first masked camouflage scheme with Polly S, and the kit was rife with minor warpage–typical of ESCI's kits of that era. Well, I managed to beat it into submission, and painted it up as a Spanish Civil War machine. I may still have it in a box here somewhere, too, and I was sure to pick up the AMTech "enhanced" reissue of the kit a few years ago. After all, who else is likely to do an Hs-123 in 1/48 scale?

The best part of the year? Going back to school. I never had any intention of *not* going back to school–my father wouldn't abide it. He was always pushing for education-I guess it stems from the fact that he had a GED when he started working, and worked hard in correspondence classes to earn a degree. Dad was a self made man, and he did so through hard work and trying to better himself. I was thinking about these "good old days", and once again realized what my parents did to make sure my brother and I were ready to face the cold, cruel world–the sacrifices they made to put us both through post-secondary education, the hard work they put in to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, and lights on in the house. So, by going back to school–even though I wasn't overtly pushed–I was doing as they wanted.

On reflection, maybe I should have worked for a year after high school, then gone to college. Maybe I should have examined engineering closer and realized that it was a bit beyond my abilities. You can reach for the brass ring, and if you grab it on the first try, great. I seem to reach for the ring, get a light grip on it, and then lose that slight grasp. Rather than giving up, I'll take a breather and try again. I usually grab that sucker for all I'm worth on the second go around, and once I have it in my grasp I never let go–I seem to cherish it more when I do that. It has worked for me my entire life…

Oh, yeah. The Apple Macintosh also goes on sale in 1984, Constatin Chernenko succeeds Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Pierre Trudeau steps down as the Canadian Prime Minister, and Marvin Gaye's father shoots and kills the singer.

Musically, Van Halen released their "1984" album, giving us "Panama", "Hot For Teacher", "I'll Wait", and "Jump". Duran Duran were touring, suppoting "Seven and the Ragged Tiger", which gave us "The Reflex", "Union of the Snake", and "New Moon on Monday". Meanwhile, Prince and the Revolution topped the Billboard Top 100 with "When Doves Cry". What was #100? "Yah Mo Be There", by James Ingram and Michael McDonald…

(I can't poke too much fun–my beloved Jethro Tull released "Under Wraps". Not one of their best albums ever. By far. Even Tull's then-bassist Dave Pegg said the songs cut from 1983's "Broadsword and the Beast" would have made a better album. Trivia time–it was the only Tull album with no live drummer–drum machines were used instead. Doane Perry would be hired shortly after this album and was their full-time drummer until 2011. He still occasionally tours with them.)

The big news items in the United States for 1984, though, were generated by President Ronald Reagan. In August, during a sound check for a radio broadcast, he says "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes". He alos is re-elected (with George H. W. Bush as his Vice President) in a landslide victory in November, beating Democrats Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, carrying 49 states and 59% of the popular vote.

Oh, and as an aside: When you get an ROTC scholarship, you are basically sworn in as enlisted personnel. Because I vacated my AFROTC scholarship, a Review Board convened. It was decided that I wasn't vacating the scholarship for any reason other than it would be a waste of money to have me keep banging my head against a wall as an egineering student. For my troubles, I received a package from the United States Air Force sometime in April. Now, some fellow scholarship recipients were receiving orders to attend basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas. I was slightly concerend until I opened the envelope. I was granted an Honorable Discharge from the United States Air Force. As an Airman Basic. No orders. One of my roommates at the time wasn't as lucky–his orders appeared a week after he got home in December, 1983. He showed the Air Force, though–he went down and joined the Army before the Air Force caught up with him. Many who knew this guy swore he joined the army only so he could get a good, up close look at an M1 Abrams tank so he could build a superdetailed model of one…

I hope this finds all of you in good health. Thanks for reading, and be good to one another. I bid you Peace.

March 8, 2014
And, like that…he’s back. Well, for a little while, at least…

Need I say why I've been absent? I didn't think so…but I will tell you that we're overflowing at work, and we're trying to swing a deal for more work space.

I have noticed more military activity lately, though. The past several months have seen visits by Army Kiowa Warriors, Blackhawks, a few Apaches, at least one Chinook, several USMC Cobras and Hueys, and several USMC V-22 flybys. It has kept things interesting…

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On the model front, I'm still doing massive research (when I have the chance) on the Italian campaign of World War The Second. See, I have this StuG IV that wants to be a 190th Pz.Abt. vehicle of the 90th Panzergrenadier Division in Italy. Well, therein lies the rub–the 90th was more or less a reserve division that was divided up piecemeal and sent wherever Kesselring needed them. Funny, since my research so far shows them as being the only Panzergrenadier Division to be completely equipped with StuG IV's (the others fielded a mix of StuG III, StuG IV, and other varieties of SPs and light armor). Well, some of my references say they were present during the Anzio breakout. SOme refs show them at Monte Cassino. Others show them on the eastern side of the Appenines. So, what to do…

I think I'm going to simply build it, mark it, and put it on a generic "Italian countryside" base and call it good. For now. I will probably include at least one figure as a scale yardstick, but that will probably be as far as I'll take this one.

Meanwhile, I'm frustrating myself with poached eggs–the WWII Italian air force variety, that seemingly simple camouflage scheme of a green base with sand yellow spots with a small red-brown spot in the middle. Yep, the Macchi 200 has finally hit the paint shop. I've been going back and forth on the painting every time I get five spare minutes, and I hope to soon have something acceptable to post for all to ogle. Until then, I keep working at it…

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At the same time, the local shop is having a kit sale, so I've been availing myself of more future SIDNA. I mean, how many Tamiya Storch kits does one need? Ahhh, but when one finds that kit for $30, why not buy a second copy? I've also picked up a few kits that I've wanted for a while, but the price put me off–Moebius' Moon Bus kit, for one. I had an Aurora Moon Bus, but sold it years ago. I was happy to see Moebius re-engineer it, but when it came out at $50, well, I could wait. But the same kit for $20? Sold, American. Same for the FineMolds 1/48 scale X-Wing fighter, the most expensive (at MSRP $99) Snap-Tite kit I've seen. While still a bit steep, the $40 price tag was more to my liking…

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We did have a chance to get to the annual Atlanta airliner collectibles show. Delta has unveiled their plans of the museum, and I have to say that they are not planning on anything but top-drawer for the renovation/expansion. It will be interesting to see it once it is done–Delta says the new museum will be open for business in May, 2014.

At said airliners show, I picked up a Revell 1/115 P-3A Orion kit with a 1964 copyright date. This issue hails from the day when Revell had box art wraps rather than printed box tops. I was surprised to see that the contents were still in fabulous shape, given the age of the kit. I've toyed with various build scenarios in my head: converting it back to an Electra (not likely, since I have Minicraft wings and Welsh fuselages for that), bringing it up to P-3C standards (again, not likely, especially since I got another Arii 1/144 P-3C from the same vendor), or simply doing one of the early white-over Engine Gray schemes, which I really like. We'll see…

I also snagged another orphan ATP 1/144 Convair 340 kit. This one is the radar nose kit with North Central decals. The kit itself in interesting–the fuselage is cast in Polyurethane foam, with some injection-molded parts (props, landing gear) included. A superdetailed kit it most certainly is not, but it is a 1/144 scale Convair-liner. Why the bigs have missed making kits of the Convair-liners (and the Martinliners–the 2-0-2 and 4-0-4) is still a mystery to me.

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Speaking of orphan airliners, I have laid eyes on the new Roden 1/144 Boeing 720 kit. Yes, if you've read the rest of the Interwebs, you know the engine nacelles are oversized. But the aftermarket is coming to the rescue with that issue. The rest of the kit? Nice. Not perfect, but a much easier path to Boeing's first "short haul" airliner than trying to cut and paste a Revell 720/707/KC-135 kit, for sure…

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Hopefully nest time I'll have a few Macchi photos, and maybe some other stuff to share.

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

November 2, 2013
And then, things got hectic…

Yeah, yeah, I know…

See, its like this: I finally had enough time to collect my meager thoughts. The new car was running nicely (and still is), work was humming along, the family stuff was on an even keel…

I even got to take a vacation. What happened after that? See the title to this post…

We're a small shop at work–we do with five or six technicians what other shops won't touch unless they have at least ten people available to work the job. We schedule things pretty tight, too–remember what I've said in the past about the empty hangar not making us any money? With things packed nose to tail, everything has to pretty much run like a Rolex (by the way, did you see the Rolex 24? More later…) or the whole schedule turns into a logjam. Yep. You guessed it. Unforeseen problems with parts, unexpected findings, and some aircraft sales issues clogged the pipeline a bit. As a result, we're trying to unburden ourselves from said pile of airplanes. We have two in the hangar, two on the ramp, and two stashed in various hangars around the airport to keep them out of any inclement weather that might move in. And, get this–we have two more on the way early next week. So it kinda goes without saying that we're working overtime. Lots of overtime. As in seven day a week overtime. The money's good, yes, but you have to be alive to enjoy it. Fortunately, we're on schedule to deliver one by the close of business Monday, and another a day or so after that. But we're still up to our eyeballs in aviation fun…

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To add to the array of spinning plates, my mother is again in poor health. She was improving when we saw her in December, then she suffered a pretty significant setback, one which the family is dealing with. Lots of issues there, not least of which is I'm going to have to carve away some time to visit. Or clone myself. Or both.

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All isn't gloom and doom, though. I have actually tried to get back to the workbench and get some stuff done. I broke my vow of not starting anything new until the backlog was done and started on the new Airfix 1/72 scale Folland Gnat T.1. It has been a relatively quick build, and I hope to be able to get some color onto the model shortly. There were a few minor issues. The fit of the wing to the fuselage can be tricky–be careful once you get everything ready for the glue. If you don't get a good, tight fit where the wings meet the inlets, work on it before you get out the glue brush–if you don't, you'll wind up with a slight gap that could set your wing askew. I'm speaking from experience, here. Also, watch the part numbers when you build the slipper tanks–I didn't and got the left top on the right bottom and vice-versa. By the time I noticed, the tanks were permanently fused. I had to trim and shim to get them to fit. I hope that those of you reading this take heed and learn from my ignorance.

I'm gonna build this one up using the kit decals. I figured it would be a good slump-buster, and I was right–were it not for all the overtime and other things, I'd have it finished by now.

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Other things, you ask? Well, in addition to the family stuff, the court date for the guy who caused the accident in November came up a few weeks ago. I think I told you all at some point that the man is 82-years old. Well, when I saw him enter the courtroom, it reinforced what I had been thinking–he's indeed 82, has two hearing aids, two canes, and glasses with lenses thicker than any I've seen on a pair of glasses. How this man–a fine man, I'm sure–can hold a driver's license evades me.

Anyway, he wanted to speak with the judge. The way traffic court works in South Carolina starts with your ticket. If you pay it and take the points, your case is removed from the docket. You also have the option of holding the court date and speaking with the law enforcement officer who cited you. At that point, the two parties usually work out what amounts to a plea agreement with reduced fine, you pay the fine and take the reduced points, the case gets closed, and all is right with the world. If you either don't want to speak with the LEO or don't like what he or she is telling you, you appear before the judge. This session was to start at 10AM. The trooper was in a jury trial and was not going to be able to appear until just before the judge was ready to take the bench. By the time the trooper showed, there were about five minutes left before the judge entered the court. An interesting conversation took place:

"I want to talk to the judge. I want my ticket throwed out."

"Sir, I doubt the judge will do that, especially since there are several witnesses to the case present in the courtroom today."

"I wasn't speedin'. There was other cars passin' me like I was on flypaper."

"Sir, you weren't cited for speeding. You were cited for driving too fast for conditions."

"But them folks wuz speeding!"

"Sir, I run traffic stops there all the time. I understand what you're saying, but I didn't cite you for speeding. We weren't running a speed stop that day, and while they may have been exceeding the speed limit, that's not what you got the ticket for. Traffic was stopped, and by your actions, you damaged seven vehicles."

This went on for a while. Then, he changes the subject:

"My van was totaled! They gots to get one of them lit signs warning about congestion or sumpin' on the road. I've been driving for seventy two years, and ain't never had anythin' like this…"

"Sir, I understand you vehicle was totaled–so were three others. As for the signs, the judge here can't help you. All he will want to hear from you is guilty or not guilty of the charge of driving too fast for conditions."

He pressed that issue for several minutes. Then, another quick sidestep:

"My brakes musta failed or my foot musta slipped."

"Sir, we tested your van's brakes–even with all the damage, the system was intact and you had a firm pedal. But that's also something the judge isn't interested in…"

The trooper had to explain this to the man at least three times before he switched tracks again:

"The hospital cut me loose and I wuz still hurtin'!"

"Sir, You'll need to take that up with the hospital. This judge won't rule on that. All he wants to hear is guilty or not guilty to the charge."

Then the guy's wife starts chiming in:

"Can't you reduce the fine?"

Ma'am, the fine is $81.88 and two points, the lowest traffic fine we are allowed to levy on this charge. The judge will not reduce the fine lower than that."

"You really think not? My husband's a Veteran and everthin'."

"Ma'am, even if the judge thought your husband was the finest man he'd ever met, he can't, by law, reduce the fine. He could be a Saint, and the law still applies."

Finally, the couple decide that maybe it is best to pay their fine, take the points, and move on. Much to my delight and to the delight of the other witness. Of course, by the time they decided this, the judge entered the courtroom. We did the polite thing and sat until the trooper and judge dismissed us.

There's several hours of my life I'm never gonna see again. But if he made his appearance with no witnesses present, the case would have likely been dismissed. So, I did my good deed for the day, and got a few hours away from work on top of it all. Sometimes life is like that…

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During one of the lulls in the action, my wife and I paid a visit to one of the smaller hobby shops in the area, one that we hadn't been to in quite a while. When I say small, I mean it in size, mainly–what the shop lacks in size is usually offset by some of the stuff held within it's walls. We poked through the stacks, and I noted that the owner must have bought parts of a collection. One man's trash (or SIDNA) is another man's treasure (or future SIDNA, depending on how the stars align): I snagged a Fujimi 1/72 scale HSS-2B Sea King in JASDF markings for $12 and a Hasegawa 1/72 scale F-111F for about $20 and some change. Not bad, considering Hasegawa is pricing the kits of the Pig that they do re-release at nearly double that. I also noticed some HO scale/gauge Proto2000 Atlantic Coast and Florida East Coast locomotives priced nicely–I didn't get them yet, but will soon do so. It pays to shop local, doesn't it?

The Fujimi Sea King is a nice kit that can be difficult to find. It had most of the detail differences included (sponsons, short and long horizontal stabilizer, ice shield) in the box. I'd like to have some fun and maybe build this one as one of the CH-3B's that the U. S. Air Force used to resupply the Texas Tower radar sites or to recover drones. Eventually, I will build a Navy version or three, but the Air Force titles on an engine gray and orange helo intrigue me…

As for the -111, I may again break my vow in order to do something I've meant to do for years. Stay tuned.

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On our trip to Florida, we stopped by the usual haunts and came up with a few hits. I bought the wife a copy of the new Kinetic T-45 Goshawk. It is a nice kit–she has already finished the model, and it looks quite nice. I also managed to snag a Revell Germany issue of the 1/72 scale MPM A-20G kit. Just as nice at half the price. Really.

She found one of the new Academy 1/48 scale F-4B Phantom II kits, which she promptly wrapped and gave to me on Christmas. Personally, I think it is a superb kit regardless of the hubbub on the 'net. Mine is destined to wear the Top Hat of VF-14…

She also was directed towards a Zvesda 747-8 kit that I had spied for an oh-so-nice price. So she's got that going for her…

Before we left on the trip, she had pre-ordered a couple of the new Meng 1/72 scale F-102A kits. All I can say is that if you are a Century Series fan, get one. Or two. Or a half-dozen. Yes, they are that nice…

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The 51st running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona is history. Scott Pruett won for the fifth time, tying Hurley Haywood in the most wins in "Daytona's twice 'round the clock classic" department. Let's say that I'm not Scott's biggest fan, but I do appreciate the achievement. Winning once is a lifetime goal of so many people, so to win it five times is truly remarkable. And I'm glad that Charlie Kimball was on the team for this race–Charlie races in the IndyCar series even though he has Type 1 diabetes–he carries a Novo Nordic FlexPen in the car with him, and he's done quite well for himself on the track. He's also a nice guy, and I'm happy that he now can say he was on a winning team in Daytona. Wayne Taylor Racing and their new partner Velocity Worldwide was on the second step of the podium this year. The BMW's were the class of the field, so Wayne's Corvette DP just didn't have the muscle to keep pace, even with Max Angelelli, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Wayne's son Jordan sharing the duty. Last year's winner, Michael Shank Racing's #60 car, finished third but was later fined and stripped of all the winnings and most of the points because of a rules infraction. Part of the fines go to Camp Boggy Creek…

In the GT ranks, Audi and Ferrari came to play, and play they did. Audi Sport/AJR took first, AudiSport/APR took second, and AIM Autosport/FXDD took theird in their Ferrari 458. And, the new GX class had mixed results–the three top finishers were all Porsche Caymans. Three Mazda6 GX entries met with misfortune early on, all of them dropping out due to engine and mechanical problems after 50 laps.

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So there you are. We covered a lot of ground this time–some work woes, some family woes, some interesting disorder in the court, some plastic tales, and some racing. I hope that holds you for a while.

And I hope to be back sooner. Can't make any promises, but I'll do my best to fill your head with useless trivia, questionable knowledge, and goofy tales from back in the day.

Until then, thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

February 2, 2013
Miscellany for a lazy day

Howdy, y'all!

Yep, I'm back…need I tell you that I've been busy and life has become hectic yet again?

So, what does one do when one needs to make a post to let everyone know one is still alive? Well, let's start with another one of those *$m@ airplane stories…this time, I'm going to tell you about my brief acquaintance with Douglas AD-4NA, U. S. Navy Bureau Number (BuNo)126882, N91945, replete (at the time) in VA-176 "Papoose Flight" colors…

If you were an airplane geek and lived anywhere in the coastal region of Central Florida in the 1980's, you knew of two important facts: The Valiant Air Command had formed in Titusville and had airshows every Spring, and a man named Harry Doan was a Colonel in the organization. I first learned of both when, driving around Daytona Beach, I spied a large, fenced lot off Big Tree Lane–and contained within that large, fenced lot were carcasses of H-34's. Lots of H-34's. The sign on the fence said "Valiant Air Command–Big Tree Division". The man who owned the lot was, of course, Harry Doan, and Harry had a helicopter service–hence the many H-34's, I believe he used them for spare parts. I never got to meet Harry, so I have to go on what I was told at the time. His main facility was at the New Smyrna Beach airport, and along with said helicopter service, he also re-built and flew warbirds. The first of Harry's airplanes I ever saw was a Hawker Sea Fury–but he didn't call it that. His was a "SkyFury". See, Harry knew that the original Bristol Centaurus sleeve-valve radial engine was A: temperamental and 2: hard to source parts for. So, being the wily old airplane guy he was, he removed the Centaurus and installed a Wright R-3350 he had removed from a Douglas AD Skyraider. They were about the same size and weight, so I guess the swap was fairly straightforward. I saw the airplane fly at several airshows, and it was quite a sight. Later on (2006), I got to see an honest-to-goodness Sea Fury fly, too, and the sensory experience was day to night different–the 3350 sounds like many U. S. built radials, it has a distinct sound. Well, so does the Centaurus…

Anyway, back to the story at hand…after I had graduates from The Harvard of the Sky, I went to work in Ft. Lauderdale. My roommate had graduated the semester after I had, and he went to work for the space program and had also started to do some work for the VAC. He reminded me of the airshow, and I would go every year to watch the hardware take flight, and to see what he was working on at that particular time (the first airplane he worked was a total rebuild of an F4U Corsair that would be assembled from at least two wrecks–a -4 and a -7–and many more fabricated parts and to the best of my knowledge was never finished; the last one I knew he was working on was an Avro Anson that I believe still sits in the VAC hangar/museum, also waiting to be restored to this day). It was an annual ritual, of sorts–I'd drive up on Friday, we'd go to the show on Saturday, and I'd be home by Sunday afternoon.

The 1992 VAC Warbird Airshow started nicely enough, and it looked like we'd get to see some unusual hardware take flight–someone had brought a fairly freshly restored Canadair Sabre (a Canadian built F-86F), a group known as "The Georgia Boys" had not only a T-37, but also a C-119, a group of folks had rescued a C-123 from Customs impound in Ft. Lauderdale and had it ready to fly, and Harry had his Skyraider there. Our friend Bill Noriega was on the Air Boss scaffold, as he was every year. We walked the flight line, looked at the airplanes on display, then moved over to the viewing area. We stuck close to Bill, since he could tell us what was up next.

A group of T-6's and T-28's did their thing overhead. At the same time, a group of airplanes–including the Skyraider, but I can't recall to this day what else was with it–waited their turn and the Sabre was in the process of spooling up, too. As the Texans and Trojans landed, the next group took flight. They marked time as the previous airplanes landed and as the Sabre took off. Once the runway was clear, the Skyraider led their flight over show center. They zoomed and looped overhead until their time came to return to the Earth. As the Sabre took center stage, we noted a huge could of dust at the departure end of the runway. We looked up the tower to Bill, and he told us to hang close–something had happened to the AD, and he wasn't sure what. As the Sabre wheeled in the blue sky, something darker was beginning to unfold…

At the time, few were aware of what happened, but they knew something was going on when the next group of airplanes to fly sat in the display area, idling. After a few minutes, they were told to shut down. At that moment the airshow effectively ended. The Sabre landed on the intersecting runway, taxied to a taxiway across the airport, and shut down.

Bill tossed a hand-held radio to us and told up to stay on frequency–he had requested the Fire Rescue squad to go take care of the situation. We were told that the Skyraider landed hot and long, and had flipped on it's back when it overran the runway threshold and hit a sand berm. We did as we were told–we listened and waited. Word slowly got back to us that yes, the airplane was upside-down. Then we got word that they were trying to get Harry out. Finally, we got the word that Harry had died. (The accident was noted by the Daytona Beach News-Journal on the following Tuesday–scroll to page 21 of this link…)

The next morning, Bill and a few of us went to the end of the runway to get the airplane upright and to the VAC hangar. That was a trip I never really want to take again…

Aviation is a small world. Several years later, I got to actually work on the same airplane when Denny Sherman of Sherman Aircraft Sales brought it to us for an intercom installation. I looked it over, and couldn't believe it was the same airplane. I later gave Denny a model in the same markings that I had built from a Monogram kit earlier that year, a model I built to honor Harry, a man I never knew but wished I had. Men like that have colorful histories, and more of them are leaving us every day.

Bill Noriega is also gone, from lung cancer. He passed about ten years ago, and I recall with great amusement those times when a group of us would descend uopn the Who-Song and Larry's Ft. Lauderdale location, where the server was told "Give us a couple orders of shrimp stuffed hollowpenises (Bill's phrase for jalapeños) and a couple buckets of beers. We'll let you know when we're ready for seconds…"

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

Speaking of colorful men who are no longer with us, my uncle, a WWII Marine who saw action on Okinawa, left us last week. I build a few models for him about ten years ago:

_{A Tamiya 1/48 scale F4U-1D. Uncle Ted would tell me stories about his ride in a Corsair–he sat in the seat pan and the pilot sat on his lap…}

_{An Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale SBD-5 Dauntless. Uncle Ted rode in the back set of these many times, but not as aircrew. He'd go on short hops just to ride…}

_{And, finally, an Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale TBM-3 Avenger, just because. The Avenger and Corsair bases are scratchbuilt carrier decks made from basswood and plastic strips. The Dauntless base is HO scale ballast painted to depict a crushed coral parking area. Pardon the quality, these photos were taken ten years or so ago with equipment of the era…}

Uncle Ted, we miss you already, but we know you're home again. Semper Fi!

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

As a follow up on an earlier airplane story, here are some more leads on Catalina Zero-Four Juliet…

First, a story by one of the passengers aboard on that last, ill-fated trip. And, finally, a brief history of the CIA PBY's.

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

As far as plastic goes, I haven't done a whole lot–except acquire kits. Today's purchase was the 1/35 scale Hobby Boss rendition of the IDF's Merkava IIID. From what I've read, it compares favorably to the Meng kit of the same subject, and it would appear that Hobby Boss corrected the suspension goof of their Merkava IV. I also was influenced to buy Italeri's 1/35 Carro Armato M13/40 Italian medium tank–our fearless leader at the AMPS Chapter is busily kitbashing a proper M13/40 with the Italeri kit (which is actually a pretty accurate M14/41) and Tamiya's M13/40 (which, he tells me, isn't the most dimensionally accurate thing out there). I'm slowly plugging away on the StuG IV as well, so as I get spare time, I should be able to complete another kit or three. It seems that I'll go for weeks without touching plastic to weeks where I'm popping them out in quick succession. Maybe that stems from my pledge to clear the backlog before I start anything new…

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

September 22, 2012
God’s Country

By way of a minor miracle, my wife managed to save the "lost" photos from the rogue SD card. So, on to the photos–these were taken in the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado, and I highly recommend a visit there. You won't be sorry…

_{This is Mount Garfield (Elevation 6,600 feet ASL) from the hotel window–I understand that a hike up there is quite the workout…at that altitude, your body absorbs roughly 14-17% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. At sea level, the rate is around 22%…}

_{Again from the hotel room, this is a not-great shot of the Grand Mesa. Elevation on top is 10,500 feet Above Sea Level. It is an extinct volcano, and there are numerous lakes on top full of trout, waiting for the fly–or so I was told.}

_{The Grand Mesa at sunset.}

_{We saw quite a few houses tucked into the side of the cliffs, this being one example.}

_{From the road that winds through the Monument park looking across to Mount Garfield and the Grand Mesa. It was a wee bit hazy that day, as you can see…earlier, though, it was crystal clear–something to remember for next time.}

_{Alkali salts are constantly squeezed out of the ground–that's the white powder on the side of the cliff.}

_{This is called Balanced Rock. There are so many different rock formations and obelisks that you get a sore neck trying to see all of them.}

_{Grand Junction is high desert, and you are reminded of that–look at this gnarly, weathered tree. Right next to it, though, was a patch of cacti…}

_{Looking across to the Book Cliffs.}

_{Independence Monument.} _{There were climbers on the Monument the day we saw it.}

_{A little bit of the Colorado River. Grand Junction gets its name because the Colorado River and Gunnison River join nearby–so why "Grand" Junction? Well, before 1921, the upper reaches of the Colorado River were known as the Grand River. So now you know–go use that tidbit to amaze all your friends!}

_{Just for fun–One of our Bombardier Challenger technicians has this eye-burning tool box. Can you guess the gender of the owner? She might be in the minority, but she's a hell of a technician, I'm told. See, ladies? You too can work in the fun and exciting world of Corporate Aviation Maintenance…}

So there you are. As I said, if you've never been, you must make it a point to do so.

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

October 5, 2011
Well, that’s technology for ya…

Last week, I spent a few days in Western Colorado for training. While we were there, we had a chance to go look around the area (we were in Grand Junction). We took a short ride to the Colorado National Monument park. If you've never been, you need to go at some point in your life–the views were spectacular. I took pictures–lots of them. Here's where the technology comes into the story…

Once home, I dutifully extracted the SD card from my little point and shoot and plugged it into the USB card reader we used to have (more on that later). The drive icon popped up, I opened the drive, opened the folder, and the file thumbnails loaded. When I tried to transfer them from the card to the hard drive, the dreaded dialogue box "THIS CARD IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THIS COMPUTER" pops up, with another dialogue box with the option to eject the drive (the flash memory). So, I select the eject button, the icon disappears, and the light on the reader goes out. We've had this issue before–simply reinsert the SD card into the drive, then reinsert the reader into the USB port and all is well. Not this time–I knew something was up when the icon was called "UNTITLED" rather than "NO NAME". I opened the drive, and the filenames were random characters. What's worse is that the filename extensions were also nonsensical. Rut-roh…

For grins, I ejected the drive once more and installed the SD card into the camera, went to the playback mode, and got the following message: "NO READABLE FILES". I took a quick snap of the little cat, who had decided to help me. Went through the whole "insert into reader, insert reader, open file" deal, and along with the scrambled filenames, I got the usual folders associated with the camera.

In the end, of 111 photos of Colorado's splendor, I managed to save 11. I still have to run them through Seashore, but I'm beside myself that the bulk of them are gone, 1's and 0's which just vanished into thin air. I don't often get very mad–I'm too old for that anymore–but I took the troublesome reader and smashed it. I couldn't find a hammer, so I used a pipe wrench…

I didn't do the same to the SD card, mainly in hopes that I can still salvage something. So, tomorrow I'm off to get a more reliable reader. Which is good, because this weeked saw the 25th Annual Atlanta Airliners Collectibles show–this year it was again held in the Delta Heritage Museum at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Staying at the Renaissance has the added benefit of being able to sit on the balcony of the room and do some plane spotting. While the spate of mergers and bankruptcies has really cut down on the variety at the airport, there were still some interesting arrivals and departures that I managed to photograph.

So, once I have my tech glitches rectified, I'll have photos to share–I hope to have them up by the end of the week. Stay tuned…

Until then, be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

October 3, 2011
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.

May 24, 2011
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.

May 23, 2011
Show Report: RDUCON 2011

Yesterday, we took a trip to Raleigh, NC for the IPMS/USA Region 12 Regional Contest. First, a few pictures. I have more, they just need to be tweaked before I post them. I'll put them up in a few batches.

An interesting chess set, based on the North African campaign of World War II. That's my thumb, I put it there to give you an idea of the size of the pieces.

One of my fellow IPMS/ Mid-Carolina Swamp Fox Modelers built this one, and took home a Second Place trophy. Well done…

This is a 1/72 scale Eduard "Strip Down" kit of the Piper L-4 Cub–it is largely made up of photoetched brass, and is maybe four inches in length.

One of the more interesting dioramas, this is a 1/700 scale ramp scene. Again, my thumb's there for scale…

Here's a close up of one of the hangars in that 1/700 scale ramp.

Here's a nicely done 1/48 scale Mirage III in Spanish colors.

During the show, I got to look at a lot of models–of memory serves, there were 425 models on the tables. For a Regional, that's a little on the low side of normal–I suppose two factors were at work, the price of gasoline and the fact that Wonderfest was being held in Louisville. There was also a smaller South Carolina Modeler's Association show going on in Simpsonville, SC. To give you an idea of just how crazy gas prices are, they are usually around a dime cheaper in SC, so I filled up just outside the Rock Hill area for $3.89 a gallon. On the return trip, we filled up for $3.75 in Dunn, NC. Prices in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas were fairly consistent at about $3.75, give or take a few cents.

The vendor's area was on the small side, but there were deals to be had. A member of the host Chapter had passed away, and the club was having an estate sale to help the family. One of the fixtures at shows throughout the area, "Hollywood" Mike Dunn was there with some new, some old, and some out of the ordinary. MidTenn Hobbies was there with a small selection of product, and the rest seemed to be folks selling off SIDNA. I managed to get a few kits to fill holes in my Italian Campaign armor collection (a Dragon Hornisse assault gun and an Academy M-10 Tank Destroyer, both in 1/35 scale), as well as an Academy 1/72 F-89J kit that will probably get knocked together here as soon as I can catch up. My wife managed to find not one, but two Revell Goodyear Blimp kits–one is missing the lighted sign sheets, but they're easy to do. She also picked up a 1969 issue of Revell's 1/32 scale F4F Wildcat kit for me as a nostalgia piece.

All in all, we had a good time–actually, I don't think I've ever been at a model show where we didn't manage to have a good time. Some were better than others, and this one ranks up towards the top. The trip up saw some moments–just because it is the Richard Childress Freeway doesn't mean that it is where he auditions drivers. By the way some cats were zipping in and out, you would think otherwise. Once clear of Kannapolis, things opened up. On the return trip, we circled around to I-95 and revisited the tail end of our trip home from the 2008 Virginia Beach IPMS Convention, complete with a visit to the gas station across from the hotel we stayed at on the trip and with snarky comments about South Carolina's tourist attraction trap, South of the Border. I remember going there as a kid when we would make the summer drive from Ft. Lauderdale to New Jersey, and the place looks somehow slimier than it did. Of course, back then you'd start seeing signs somewhere around Brunswick, GA and they'd become more frequent as you approached Dillon. Also, back in the day, the highway ran under a large Pedro figure that straddled the road…

And, we capped it off with a trip to Moe's and Cold Stone Creamery (Joey Bag of Donuts combo–chicken and black beans–and a Gotta Have It Chocolate Devotion, if you must know)…our first choice of Copper River Grill was being invaded by the Prom crowd last night.

(MINI-RANT MODE = ON)

As an aside, you guys out there going to Prom (or parents of young men attending their Prom)–wash your hair (a haircut wouldn't be out of the question, either!), get some good socks (and wear them!), get a shave, brush your teeth, take a shower (and use soap, please, and deodorant afterwards!) and wear some nice shoes instead of your beat-to-shit Chuck Taylors or (horror of horrors) flip-flops. Oh, yeah, leave the itchy woolen caps at the house, too–number one, it is mid-May and the mercury is settling out at 90 degrees during the day; and number two, they look disgusting (as in "when was the last time you washed that thing?"). I was amazed at the number of guys I saw who looked like Shaggy from Scooby Doo in a rented tux, when their dates were looking very pretty, indeed. Oh, and if you do dress like a slob in a tux, don't wonder what happened when your dates ditch you for someone who knows about good hygiene.

A lot of that can also be said about the model contest attendees. While things have improved, there are still some modelers who are not acquainted with the wonders of what soap can do, both for the body and the wardrobe. If you want to stink like old cigarettes, sweat, and stale beer, fine, but don't be surprised when people give you a wide berth because of your BO…

(RANT MODE = OFF)

Sorry, I went off on a tangent for a while…

I should have more pictures ready for you in the next post. Until then, be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

May 15, 2011