Slow progress has been made on my build. Most of the chassis is either covered in Carbon Fiber Decal or Bare Metal Foil. I have used 4 sheets so far. I should be able to use the scraps to cover any remaining areas, hopefully. As I guessed, I have had to make masks using Tamiya Tape to create the correct fitting decal segments for the splitters- front and back. That makes keeping the “grain” of the Carbon Fiber oriented in the same direction easy. I also had to create new ones for the cockpit. Many of the ones provided didn’t fit correctly or very poorly. Made me regret selling my spare kit (I could have used it to make templates without risk to the work already completed).
Aluminum Bare Metal Foil was used to replicate the areas covered by Thermal Blankets to protect the chassis and cockpit from the heat of the engine. Nothing looks like metal like actual metal, so I try to use it whenever possible. Model Factory Hiro produces 1/24 Thermal Blanket material, but it is perpetually out of stock.

In the cockpit I used Eduard pre-painted 6 point seat belt kit instead of the “cheap” looking Kit Decal or the over-engineered and complicated set provided in the Hobbytyme PE set. I was amazed on how it looks and the easy of assembly of it. Wish I got more of them before they were removed from their line. I can’t find decent photos of the interior, so I had to rely on the Instructions and the “TLAR” method for painting the knobs and switches. There is a ton of wiring in the cockpit, but again, my poor references fail to show where things go. So when in doubt, leave it out.

I provided a pictures of the chassis with the cockpit and engine placed on the chassis. The Chassis needs to be sealed with Semi-gloss clear to protect the decals from handling. I will be using post-it notes to keep the clear off of the metal. Next update will have these items installed along with the front end Radiators, Steering Rack, and suspension.

My biggest disappointment has been the number of injection pins in the kit. They are everywhere and no matter how much I sanded and filled, it looks like I did nothing. Some will not be seen as they will be covered by other sub-assemblies, some will be hidden under the bodywork. Oh well, need to work on this for my next build. 50/50 chance it will be finished for IPMS/USA Nationals.

-Mark

Hey gents.  It’s okay to start over.  I have been working on a 75mm lucky gold strike miner and was not happy with it.  I had him at the 75% done level of painting but my attempt at a checkered shirt looked awful.  I then painted over the pattern but that looked “heavy” and doctored.  So off he went into a bath of alcohol and the entire figure was stripped of all the paint and he will be fully repainted.    For you returning to our hobby or are new even us “old timers” muck it up.  It’s okay!  Just take a breath and start over!

Fyi. The dog was also redone. I think he came out better.

-Chris

Tell me if you have heard this one before. What to do when you have too many Dodge Viper kits laying around, and an antique MPC D50 truck kit in desperate need of “something”. Well, as you can see you make one vehicle out of two!  After shortening the bed of the truck and chopping the Viper chassis just behind the seats the build begins to take shape. I scratchbuilt the rear portion of the frame using styrene beams as that was the only way to get the wheelbase to work out correctly. The trickiest part of this build was getting the Viper independent rear suspension and giant axle assembly to work with the truck bed. My chosen, lowered ride height complicated things as the bed needed extensive modifications to allow everything to clear.  The cab of the truck was treated to Viper rocker panels and side pipes which fit perfectly with minimal contour correction needed. The engine sits under the cowl with the transmission crowding the driver, just like it does in the Viper LOL Builds like this one are what I enjoy most about this hobby. The ability to bring to life a vehicle that isn’t physically possible in 1:1 scale without spending millions of dollars

– Ross

All the buzz surrounding inter-genre building lately has reminded me of one of my favorite past projects. The following are images of my Toyota TSO50 half track. Built using the Tamiya kit of the Toyota, an Italeri Steyr RSO 1:35, and tracks meant for a WWII Sherman. The primary drive for the tank treads is accomplished using the Toyota drive train at the rear with aluminum tube sprocket mounts in the front. I basically began with the RSO driveline assembled and removed everything that wasn’t needed or was interfering with assembly to the car chassis. Same process on the body and chassis of the race car, Dremel until everything fits! LOL.  So there you go, I did build some armor once, sort of…

– Ross

Most modelers know their limitations on what they can build with confidence. Some are great at some things and not so good at others. That’s me!

I suggested a  collaborative build with Chris King our club president. Chris is a master at figures and busts. I am proficient at most any vehicle model. We agreed to split the duties on a 1/9 scale Dragon BMW R75 WWII motorcycle with a rider figure. I have completed the motorcycle less the minor weathering.

This build will be entered in the category Vignettes at the upcoming Penncon model show and contest on September 17th, 2024

-Scott

Everyone at the last meeting saw Scots then in-progress build of the 1:9 scale German field motorcycle.  Scot has now finished the bike and now it’s my turn to complete the figure and his “kit” (term for gear).

The figure itself is a shame in that it is such a large scale but is toy-ish in appearance.  The arms did not fit and the plastic used was barbie-doll like; it just laughed at my Tamiya thin cement.  I had to use Gorilla super glue instead!

The rider, as molded, looks like a 29 yr old young boy.  Dragon opted to mold him with his body smock on instead of a jacket and uniform-which would have added depth and interest to the figure.  To overcome the over-simplicity of the as-molded figure I added a new hair do, eyebrows, forehead lines, and crows feet by the eyes.

I scratch built two mp-40 mag pouches from lead foil and Magic Sculp.  Straps were added to the gas mask container from lead foil and non slip was added to the large carry bag that goes on the bike to give it texture.

The mp-40 had its front sight bored out and the barrel’s end was drilled out.  The strap is from foil.
Dragon usually makes great kits. This kit was made years back and maybe then they were getting their act together.  If I had my druthers I would just chunk this figure and get the one aftermarket 1:9 scale rider— but at a cost of US$ 110 that would be a big pill to swallow!!!

The instructions have all of his kit attached to the bike, which is not entirely correct.  By putting the gas mask container, rifle, and mag pouches to the figure he should be a more interesting piece and better accompany the motorcycle.

To add some more to the figure, I added a riding glove to the right hand and made the left hand glove.  The soldier’s helmet will be off and upside down on top of the bike’s gas tank while he stops on the road to take a break.

– Chris

A few meetings ago i saw someone with a mig in flight on a base and i really loved it, so had a go myself at the same type of thing. This model is a 1/48 Italeri F-16C painted and decaled in the livery of the Ohio air guard…I liked the black decal scheme at the front. Also included a pilot in this one, seems strange when a jet is posed in flight with a ghost at the controls.

I like this style of displaying aircraft….so i’m going to be doing many more In flight displays with a base….wasn’t sure on if I liked the acrylic tubing, I might try something else in future like a thinner solid acrylic rod rather.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the build. See ya at the next meeting.

Cheers: Don

Here are my latest 2 builds.

1970 Mustang Mach 1 2n1 kit by Revell. It’s a beautiful kit with the option of doing a Boss 302 or a 351 Mach 1. The detail is as good as all of the other 1970 Mustang kits Revell has released over the years. I built it up as the Mach 1 as I already have a Boss 302. The only drawback that I had was with the decals on the hood. The instructions show placement after the hood scoop is installed. They comprise of two pieces. They over lap the scoop and each other. I had to trim away some so it didn’t look too horrible. It would have been easier to trim them before the scoop was installed. Note for the next one.

The second build was a 1964 Fairlane Thunderbolt. The kit is one of my favorites, hence I’ve now built 6 of them. This one was done to complete in the theme category for the PennCon show in September. The theme is “orange”, so it’s a combination of orange and white.

Jeff

To you non believers who thought I was not working on car – well here is a preview of my Rye Field Model 1/35 VW Type 87.  Some more final steps and it will be added to my vignette of two teenaged Volkstrum kids delivering weapons to the battle line in a destroyed Berlin in 1945.   The Front passenger seat was done with a technique Scot showed me; the driver seat was a mix of that and me adding the internal wires of a burned through back rest and the rear seat was entirely scratch built with 2 gauges of wire.  The car has seen better days but now it’s a burned out car on a debris laden street somewhere in Berlin.  The end of the Reich is near.

– Chris

Who said building models has to be solo?  Building can be more fun by doing collaborations!  Scot recently got a great deal on a 1/9 scale Dragon kit German WW2 motorcycle while attending NNL East in New Jersey.  Scott is going to do the motorcycle and suggested I do the figure that came with the kit.  We will get this ready in time for PennCon in September but should have it ready for a club meeting before then to get your comments and critiques.

While I have the “virtual floor” Scot and I challenge you to work outside your comfort zone.  Scot is building motorcycles now;  will any of you believe I am working on a car??!!  Of course it is a German WW2 Beetle but it is still a car!  Test your skills in a whole model genre!

-Chris