CDW

Been in a modeling funk. Maybe a little Sci Fi kit will help me get rolling again. Interesting how Bandai integrates several colors, even clear parts, all on the same sprue.

Most people wouldn't realize it, but old Florida was about as wild as wild could be when it was opened to settlers. Besides the bandits and outlaws, the environment was hostile to say the least. I know because my family was part of it and the tales were passed down to we children. Even then, stories might have been embellished or altered to some degree. I do know my family herded and sold cattle for gold and had to transport that gold back home across rugged terrain and guard against bandits. All done with wagons and horses. Oh, and I should have added, this was at a time when there were no lawmen roaming about to help. A single federal marshall made a circuit from town to town picking up prisoners arrested and held/jailed by ordinary citizens. Many outlaws and bandits, maybe most, never made it into custody. They were dealt with on the spot. As a matter of fact, many settlers came during period when congress initiated the Armed Occupation Act. Settlers who came were required to arm themselves and defend themselves because no support infrastructure was in place. Not until much, much later did that happen. Decades.

I've generally heard riders on top like that called, straphangers. Don't believe it was first class by any sense of the word.

Ooohhhh...this looks like fun! Happy to follow you with this build.

I've completed a couple of orders with Angelo at Sunward and found them to be a great modeling resource and would also recommend them as well.

Great-looking ship. Something you don't often see modeled. I like it.

Super nice!

Excellent

Very interesting to see this

Fabulous job on that copper plating. That task stopped me dead in my tracks on my HMS Victory build. Your work is an inspiration, Yves.

Very nice!

Those are gonna be awesome in 1:35 scale. Can't wait to see them.

All I can tell ya is, I been there done that and got the Tee shirt. With flying models, we very bit of weight matters. A lot. Try hats why there is “contest balsa”. It’s the lightest weight stuff. Modelers bring sensitive gram weight postal scales to choose their sheet balsa for flying models. Like I said, if it’s a shelf sitter, it won’t matter a bit, but with flying models, weight is a huge deal.

Only two I know of are, one from Hobbycraft and a harder-to-find one from Fisher Models in resin, cast metal and photo etch. Both are 1:32 scale. A dear price for the Fisher Model, around 300 - 500 dollars, and the Hobbycraft one often goes for 100 - 200 dollars. The Hobbycraft kit needs a lot of help. Both have been OOP for a long time. I bid on a Fisher Models one from a guy in Germany but got outbid. Not interested in one for $200+. Will wait until one comes out from Asia which is bound to happen sooner or later. Surprised Trumpeter hasn't already done one in 1:32 really.

Merry Christmas all! Gonna be a cold one this year in NA

Great-looking base for your subjects. Reminds me of when I was knee-deep in wet clay mud, how it stuck to clothing and boots and felt like my legs weighed a ton. On tracked vehicles, it's a constant battle to keep the buildup of mud removed from tracks and running gear. It will actually make the tracks derail from the road wheels and drive sprockets.

I've had similar results on my clear canopy when using lacquer paint. I think it's because I had too much reducer added and it blead through the tape, not under the edges. At least that's the only reason I could think of why it happened.

Great looking model Denis. She's going to be a beauty when you're finished with her. I wanted to introduce you guys to a vendor who laser cuts old balsa kits that have been long out of production. It's called Aero-Werks, a division of DPC Models, Ltd. A decade ago, a good friend and R/C scale model flying buddy got me hooked on building and flying "micro-scale" R/C aircraft. For decades, I had built and flown large scale R/C models, but this modern age had produced R/C equipment in micro-scale and made possible the conversion of these old balsa kits into flying R/C scale models. For many, they will have no interest in flying R/C, but for the guy who likes to build static scale models, this is the place to go (Aero-werks) to get that old kit you remember from way back when, without spending stupid prices on Ebay to buy an original. The only downside, there are no vacuform parts included, no decals, and in some cases but not all, no plans. It only includes the shaped balsa parts, laser cut. You the builder provide your own balsa stringers, usually 1/16 inch ones. Canute mentioned using basswood instead of balsa for a stronger model, and that is fine for a static build, but only choose the very lightest balsa you can find for building a flying scale model. Every gram of weight counts and wing loading is a huge deal when building a flying model. Anyway, here is the link for the website. If nothing else, you will drool at the selection of old WW1 flying models you can purchase at a small cost each. Some have not been seen in decades. Aero-werkes (aerowerkes.com)

Thanks! That's certainly much better. No minimum order required, but the 45 degree elbows are not in stock right now. I'll probably be better off having HobbyTown order them for me for the time being.

I was disappointed to find out my regular web suppliers don't carry the Plastruct elbows. Plastruct website requires a $25 minimum order, with a $15 shipping fee. After taxes, it's close to $50 for a dozen or so elbows. I'm going to ask my local Hobby Town to order the elbows with their next resupply order. I think the packages of elbows retail for around $4 each pack of a half dozen.

I ordered this 1:32 Trumpeter Bf-109 E3 thinking it was an old release from Trumpeter’s early days. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box to see a much more modern tooling. Actually I believe it’s going to be a great kit. Box shows a copyright date of 2019. Very favorable pricing. I got this delivered from Amazon for less than $50. Mmm ow I want to order a later variant to see if that’s a new tool as well.

The dog ate my distributor caps. Fur real! 😀 Actually, he chewed on them a bit. But how the heck can you get mad when you see a face like this looking back at you?

Awesome livery! Are there any operable examples of these busses still running in Europe? Did you see them when you were a youngster?

Really enjoy seeing interesting subjects like this. First time I've ever seen one.

Very nice. I like that a lot!