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ccoyle

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Everything posted by ccoyle

  1. Also no parachute, no armor, no self-sealing fuel tank -- basically flying around in a tinder box made of doped fabric and twigs. Anyways, last pic for today -- finished windscreen.
  2. Fuselage work continues. The trick with pieces like these is to get them pre-shaped as best as possible. With parts like the forward half of the upper fuselage skin, I find it works better to tack down one side, let that set, and then tack down the other side. The fine-tip glue dispenser I purchased this spring has proven to be a big help in laying down beads of glue.
  3. Welcome aboard, Frank!
  4. Neither chain has stud links, and that fact is easily visible on the larger chain. It is less obvious on the smaller chain. It's a minor point, but something to take into consideration.
  5. Side and bottom skins done. And just for fun, here's a little size comparison. Yes, these are in the same scale. 😆
  6. Considering the materials you started with, that's a pretty amazing looking hull -- very well done!
  7. The cockpit is now complete -- no major issues so far. I'm sharing more than the usual number of photos for this step, because like most airplane builds, a lot of this won't be readily visible once the fuselage skins are added.
  8. Are you sure you don't mean 1/64 scale? MS1447 is Model Shipways' 1/64 scale Bluenose kit. If that's the case, they have the instruction manual posted online here, or you can contact the company for a hard copy. Cheers!
  9. You managed to obtain a very nice stash all in one swoop! There really isn't a bad kit in that bunch. One thing to generally ignore is the difficulty ratings provided on kits by Model Shipways. Ratings are generally intended to sell kits and not always a good indicator of how challenging a kit is to build. A good rule of thumb is the more "stuff" a kit has, e.g. guns, masts, rigging, etc., the harder it is to build. If you follow that guideline, Flying Fish is hands-down the most difficult kit on your list. Another thing to observe is that all of your kits are plank-on-bulkhead except for two (Emma C Berry and Sultana). The best way to learn POB construction is to build a POB kit. From your list, that makes Latham, Glad Tidings, and the AVS the best choices. The final choice comes down to which kit subject piques your interest the most. Building a wooden ship model can be a slog at times, and having a kit you really like can help keep you motivated. Have fun with your projects!
  10. First cuts on the diminutive Nieuport -- a few interior walls. Only two doubled parts so far.
  11. So, not gonna rest on my laurels and will instead roll right on to the next project. I found the Hellcat build a little taxing, so I'm turning again to a publisher with whom I've had good success, Kartonowa Koleckcja. I have chosen the Nieuport 11c.1 Bébé for several reasons: It's a biplane. Biplanes are cool. It's French. I have no French planes in the finished pile. It's from the Great War. So far, the five biplanes I have completed are all inter-war designs. It has interesting livery options (more on this later). It has a relatively low parts count -- shouldn't take too long to build. It's small. Unlike the Hellcat, it fits my display options. Like all KK kits, this 2009 publication is attractively presented. The glossy cover features artwork done by the designer, Pawel Mistewicz. The parts are also very nicely rendered. The kit provides optional skins for three different aircraft. And one of those options is a mount from the Lafayette Escadrille (bottom) -- that sealed the deal. I also have the laser-cut frames. Look for first cuts soon!
  12. Ah, reminds of my days spent playing "Arab-Israeli Wars" from Avalon Hill.
  13. Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen! I do have a Halinski kit near the top of the build queue (the exact order of 'next projects' is always in a certain amount of flux), but it is not a Thunderbolt. I have purposely stayed away from P-47s due to their size -- bigger even than the Hellcat, as you know. I do have USS England to get back to, but for that I need to order some after-market parts, which I'm not ready to do just yet. In the meantime, I'm thinking about knocking out another Kartonowa Kolekcja kit, just to get the GPM taste out of my mouth!
  14. And now, the BIG REVEAL! But first, some finishing remarks. Last bits were indeed the gun barrels and aerials: two whip aerials, two mast aerials, and the wire aerial between the two masts. The whip aerials needed to be quite thin, so I dredged up a skill I haven't used in many, many years -- stretching styrene rod over an open flame. You may notice that one of the wheels is a bit canted. I tried and tried to remedy that, but to no avail. It's in no danger of falling off -- just crooked. I have a huge amount of surplus parts left over from the kit, unlike anything I have ever run into before with a card kit. As for GPM, well, what can we say? I finished it, but it wasn't the most fun I've ever had with a kit. I won't be sending any more hard cash GPM's way in the near future. The finished model is the largest plane I have yet built -- it doesn't fit on any of my shelves! 😳 And now, enjoy some pictures! Cheers!
  15. The tail wheel and arresting hook are completed. The hook is scarcely visible at all and will probably never be noticed by a casual viewer once the bird is upright. I believe all I have left to do are gun barrels and aerials. I'll have to double-check, of course, but I think this puts us close enough to being done to warrant the next batch of photos waiting until the big reveal. Cheers!
  16. Hi, Phil. If it sounds like folks are reacting a bit harshly, take time to consider what it looks like from a potential buyer's perspective. You're offering a large number of books while giving very little information about them -- no titles, no photos, no estimated value, no asking price. As has been said, shipping such a large number of books as a single lot would be an expensive proposition in itself. If you absolutely won't consider selling your collection in smaller lots, you may be facing a very tough sell.
  17. Randy Biddle, a well known modeler from SoCal, also uses mostly hand tools, same as Lou, and it's pretty near impossible to find fault with his work.
  18. That's my recollection of what you told me some years ago. So would it be safe to say that these early Caldercraft kits didn't get the amount of research that you now put into Vanguard offerings?
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