Landlubber Mike

Looks fantastic OC. That's turning out really nice.

That paint job looks really sharp Craig. Very nice job! Nice to be organized. I went a slightly different route but considered a modular system like yours. All I can say is that it feels good having things organized and out of the way. Now maybe I can stop losing my 6" rulers. I think I have 4 of them, usually because 3 of them seem to go missing for long stretches.

Really nice job on this Mark. Especially nice that you could build something you had a connection to. Congratulations!

Good luck with that - looks like a great start.

No way, sorry guys. I would be too embarrassed. 🙄 It would be hard to show the true extent of the stash anyway because some of the boxes are two deep so that back ones aren't visible (in part so the Admiral doesn't realize the true extent) 😇 I rarely bought off eBay in the past, but it's a gold mine if you are looking for model kits. Lesson #2 - stay off eBay. I first started this summer by picking up the Hasegawa 1/350 Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi -- from Craig of all people -- yes, I blame him! 😁 That's like near the pinnacle of 1/350 kits, so I figured I should get experience with a few other 1/350 ship kits before tackling the Akagi. That wasn't that bad. Then I decided that I could use some practice on plastic with painting, weathering, PE, etc. so picked up a bunch of 1/700 ship kits (fairly inexpensive so not a big outlay until you buy the detail sets). Then I came across WWI and WWII planes built by people like Plasmo on youtube. Much shorter projects I convinced myself, so picked up a few of them. Then somehow I got into cars from the 1910s-1930s era. Picked up a few of those. If you start looking at cars, be careful because it might lead you into buying some of the nicer kits like Revival and Pocher. Picked up a few of those. I was telling a friend the other day that i tend to like the subjects represented by plastic models more than the wooden ones. The ability to detail them with PE these days is incredible, and all the techniques, washes, airbrushes, etc. make painting them a whole new ballgame from me painting them by hand as a kid using Testor's enamels. At the same time, I do like the flexibility of working with wood when it comes to wood models (including working with the various tools, woods, etc.) -- the kit subjects to me though are typically all the same (British warships with X amount of cannons) and tend to be less interesting to me for that reason. To do different subjects you're looking at scratch building, and I'm not sure that I'd like to do all the research, CAD work, etc. that needs to go into the front end before you cut your first plank. Good news is that I generally have picked these plastic kits up for significant discounts off of retail, so if I don't get to them, I can sell them without losing much if at all. At some point the kids will leave the house and I'll be retired with plenty of free time. The Admiral will be plenty glad that I have the stash or I will drive her crazy. So, I'm thinking ahead to marital harmony. At least that's what I tell myself. Ok, I'll be quiet now. 🤐

Really nice Alan! Not sure I've seen someone do a POB SIB build (usually they are solid hull or pieces thereof) but yours came out fantastic. Even more important, it fit through the neck of the bottle Thanks for sharing!

You're doing a really nice job on it. Great work! I'm with you on the PE. My introduction has been working on a 1/700 destroyer with a full PE detail set. Stupid me, but for some reason I thought that 1/700 would be better introduction since the kit and PE set were cheaper than a a similar 1/350 kit, but I didn't realize the pieces would be that small. Optivisor is a must as the parts are practically microscopic, and you better not sneeze! I think I'm getting the hang of it though. When I start with 1/350, the PE might look much bigger (though they probably have similarly sized extreme detail pieces).

Nicely done OC! That paint scheme is going to look really sharp. Looking forward to seeing this come together.

Making some really good progress there Mark. Very nice job!

Very cool model - love the set up against the picture. Well done!

Yes, MSW needs to add a warning label to Craig's and other build logs on here. I went from not having done a plastic kit since a kid to now having a bunch stacked up on a shelf - ships, planes, and now cars.

If you saw how many hours I spent fumbling around with things, it wouldn't have looked too easy But thank you for the kind words. I have to say that while dealing with gunport strips on Caldercraft, Amati and other kits can be a little of a pain, in the end they are much easier to deal with than cutting out your own. It might have been a lot easier if the bulkheads were arranged in such a way (and quantity) that the gunport fit equidistant between bulkheads, but that wasn't the case with this kit.

Really looking nice - love the pin up 👍 I have the Tamiya P-47D kit and am inspired to get similar nose art. With the Future, did you apply it over the whole model or just where the decals went? Not sure if you are weathering or not, but in your experience, is it worth applying a gloss finish before using washes, etc.? I think I’ve seen folks use the Tamiya panel line washes and oil paints over a gloss finish, yet it seems to me that one could use the Vallejo washes right over a painted surface without a gloss finish. Don't mean to interrupt your build log with the question. I’m near the point of decaling and weathering a couple 1/72 planes and am not quite sure I understand what is typically done.

Very nice Jack! Love the colors you settled on.

I got this one - seems to work very nicely. I have some larger kits that won't fit in there, but it works great for models on the smaller side. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MGGYH2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm probably not the person to ask given that I've only used the airbrush I have now and can't really compare it to anything else aside from Tamiya acrylics. They seem pretty thin to me though, certainly thinner than Tamiya if that helps. They are designed to be used directly out of the bottle for airbrushing.

I posted this same question about six months ago and Kurt and others gave me a lot of good things to think about. For what it's worth, for the airbrush I went with an Iwata Eclipse and an Iwata compressor. I also bought a spray both off of Amazon. I've really enjoyed using Vallejo's air paints. I've used them straight from the bottle but will start adding a bit of flow improver because I tend to get dry tips (doesn't help airbrushing in the winter when the air is drier). I've used Tamiya acrylics and they are really nice too. Tamiya lacquers stink to high hell though, so venting is a good idea. For me, even when spraying acrylics I turn the vent on the booth so that the particles are pulled away from me. You can see a slight fog when airbrushing, so I feel it's better to pull them away from my lungs (and surrounding area) and into the filter pad.

One thing to keep in mind is the in and out feed from some tools like the band saw. Tools like those can't really be put against a wall, so a moveable table or some other option should be considered.

That's a nice set up. I have been thinking of making a hood for my Sherline lathe which throws dust everywhere.

I had a problem with my saw (user error!) when I first got it. I emailed Jim and he actually spent an hour on the phone walking me through the problem - on a holiday weekend no less. Well above and beyond what I would have expected. I've dealt with him and Donna since on multiple occasions and nothing but the best and most courteous service.

Craig, how do you find the Gator Glue on very tiny parts, or parts that have a tiny contact point? I tried using it on my current 1/700 destroyer build where the PE is ridiculously tiny, and had trouble getting it to work with attaching things like railings where the contact point is smaller than the head of a pin I might try it again. I've been using CA but CA dries so fast. The thin is way too quick for models I think. The medium is better set-time wise, but I find you have to smear it before putting it on a part or it's too thick. Then again, this is my experience with 1/700 scale which is a good scale to torture yourself and ruin your eyesight with 😳

Yes, I bought mine around that time and had to do that. It was a pretty quick turnaround. Well worth it I would say, especially if you are going to use Jim's sliding table.

Bob said it all - safety, accuracy with repeatable cuts. Is it necessary? Probably not, but makes the job a lot easier and safer. I'm very happy with mine.

I would ask him. I ordered mine last year and I think he had a few extra on hand at the time.

I recently picked up a couple Pocher and Revival kits. Must...stay...off...eBay...