lmagna

Just goes to show what I know. In fact my wife would confirm that I really know very little! I had no idea! Now that you make it obvious to me I wonder about some of my other Testors kits. In addition to the two 246 Dino's, I have a 512S/Porsche 917K combo kit that could also be Fujimi. I have a cast metal and plastic 250LM kit that I always suspected was a kit version of some other company's cast model, and a Ford GT MKIV that is in 1/25th so I suspect it is possibly a MPC rebox. In the future I will look more closely at any Testors kit I may see that I consider of interest. Thanks.

I think they are also painted black sometimes like the wales often are.

I also disagree Yves. By adding the additional parts and showing how must stuff is really inside the pressure hull and how cramped it really is you will project the true nature of just how small the type VII really was, especially when you consider how much crew had to live and work in these quarters for weeks on end and sometimes in pretty foul weather conditions. Can you guess how hard it was to get around inside the pitching hull while on the surface in the North Atlantic charging batteries? I think that if you back tracked back to the forward torpedo room and living quarters and did the same thing so that the observer has to look through the starboard side items in order to see the interior it would convey the close quarters even further! Either way your results so far have truly been impressive!

I have two Dino 246's in my stash, a GT and a GTS but they are the cheaper quality Testors kits. I got them as a set at a VERY low price or I probably would not have bothered. Kind of not my normal kind of car. But I must admit they have some character even if they were not really competition cars. Too bad you didn't put your name and info in the bottom of the cars. I would like to see what the new owner would have said then. I only left a model in a shop for display once and to be honest I would not have done it if I ever had really wanted to get it back. I am pretty certain that from your explanation of the owner in your case I would have not been doing much business in his store after that. You are not modeling a back yard Mark! You have to dig the hole and put the model in it! Actually I think your idea might be a better idea for some of the cars I have built! I know what you mean. I owned a MGTF at one point. It even ran, some of the time! and I had visions of restoring it to prime condition. But I also needed to use it as a car to get around in and pretty much spent all my spare money keeping it running right rather than improving on it. I finally had to get rid of it when I went into the Army. Still miss it today and wonder what it would have been like "if". Today I have to settle for my Mini (BMW style not the classic) and while it's fun to drive, and ultra reliable, is just not the same as a 1950s T style MG.

You finally decide to build a car that I know a little about, and I am late to the party and end up in the rafters again in able to even see what is going on! You kind of threw me on the engine swap at first but you appear to have straightened it out pretty quickly. Looking forward to how you end up building it. To bad you were not doing a Dino 246. Then you could do some weathering https://jalopnik.com/the-true-story-of-how-a-ferrari-ended-up-buried-in-some-5872514 and https://jalopnik.com/we-solve-the-mystery-of-how-a-ferrari-ended-up-buried-i-5933077 I really like the "After" picture but outside of David Piper, who ever heard of a green Ferrari? I will email you on a couple of ideas for the 365 GTB rather than clutter up your build log.

Looks like I may be a little late on this one Ed. But I'm a busy body and I will throw in my .2 cents in anyway. From the looks of the assembly and parts involved I wonder if the designers made an assumption that the cross platform was able to swivel inside the funnels. While they are different sizes in profile they are almost exactly the same width. (I could go downstairs and check my older set of 12 pages of plans for the Hood by P.C. Coker, but I am still a little iffy on stairs and the ones to the basement are kind of steep). It appears that the platform was suspended from the stack frameworks like a window washer or painter's scaffolding, and possibly could have swiveled 360 degrees. If that was the case then it could be no longer than the side to side measurements of the stacks which is about the same for both. Here is the only picture I could find: It came from this guy's work: http://ontheslipway.com/?p=1535 (You may have to click on the top picture for the funnel picture to become visible.) Then there is this work by some guy we don't even know around here, https://modelshipworld.com/uploads/monthly_2018_05/5b072125bd09e_ForwardFunnel(7).thumb.JPG.4a753a7ace5428cb73a8c6c49a97012e.JPG https://modelshipworld.com/topic/17961-hms-hood-by-dan-vadas-halinski-1200-card-finished/page/4/ If you go by Dan's work then there is a possibility that the walkways were in an X pattern or from the top picture there could have been a "T" shaped walkway that is partly obscured by a rigging line in the top picture. I do like your solution to the problem though so I will crawl back into my crevice and watch from the background again. Great looking build.

Congratulations on getting the parts you so needed to do this build the way you wanted. I think I know how you feel in a way. I was settled on taking a model of the USS Indianapolis and converting to to hopefully something close to the USS Houston when I found a model of a long discontinued Houston available. Really made my day, even though it did cost me a bit.

I have done it also. CDW is right that using epoxy or polyester is about the same over time. Some people say that you have to use the cloth for strength and to prevent the finish, (fiberglass) from cracking but I have never had the finish fail. It is pretty much like any other hull coating, you can even add color to it if you want. Thee only time I ever took any damage to a fiberglass covered hull, (With or without cloth) was when I played ice breaker one day. Ice is HARD and sharp. I don't know about epoxy but you can thin down polyester resin with Acetone, (Use care) and it will soak into the wood pretty well making the hull much more resistant and strong.

I know what you mean. It almost always happens to me as well. A simple question leads to the information, that in turn leads to more research and the discovery of additional reading, > another point of view,> conflicting information,> personal accounts, > information only available in book form and so on. I almost doubled my WWII library when doing my research on the Providence and later on the Houston. I have read all of the Providence related material, (There is really not that much) but still have a few more to go on the Houston/ early WWII pacific. Did some refreshing up on the Battle of Leyte Gulf et all in the process also and picked up a couple of more books for that era as well. The USS Johnston and the Taffy 3 story has always been a favorite of mine. Possibly your pain will be smoothed soon though. Maybe they will get this done sometime in our lifetime and we will have another Hollywood shortcut to use kind of like Cliff Notes. https://deadline.com/2015/10/wwii-biopic-come-hell-or-high-water-to-be-directed-by-john-moore-1201597566/

I have that same paint stand and I think ALL it has ever been used for has been car bodies!

I have to admit that I have done "research" that way also.🙄 After all we all know that Hollywierd never gets it wrong!

Impressive build of a challenging model. She turned out just incredible!

Does it weaken the glue joints for parts that have already been glued on? I have a Porsche that is probably at the stage that it would be better to start all over rather than do touch-up work.

I have been following your work for quite some time now and it still gets a "WOW" from me.

I have to be honest, that is the first time I have read the full story.

And I will be watching Carl as well. He is not totally trustable either. 🙂 Now is the chance to show granddad that you don't really need non-toxic white glue and that you can handle the "real " stuff.

Great work Jack it was an interesting build to follow. Congratulations

That is without a doubt. And I'm not even much of a type VII U-Boat fan.

I suppose I should have put a smiley face in there somewhere. My comments were meant to be somewhat a joke even though they are also pretty much true at the same time. While the last few months have been challenging at times and things around the house are falling apart, and I am getting older all of the sudden, it has not really been that bad. We all face our challenges every day and mine could be FAR worse.

Sorry Ed I'm going to mark it up as total confusion. I am in the unique position of entering the next decade of my life in a few days while relearning how to walk as of a few days ago, all at the same time. With all of the trying to keep up with life and catch up with all that has managed to go wrong in the last three months while I was unable to deal with it, it's a wonder that I am reading anything right! The good part is that you did say what your name is, so now I can get it right. Regardless of what your name is, I loved your build and look forward to the Hood.

I agree that your concept of using unfinished brass makes a most beautiful and unique model and it is clear you have truly created a striking model. Well done Paul.

Welcome back Dan I hope that you at least got rested and recharged and all was not wasted.

I don't know what level you set as expensive but there are these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ala-Kart-1929-Ford-Pick-Up-1-24-1-25-Waterslide-Decals/332895255195?hash=item4d821a7a9b:g:mwYAAMXQbXtRCpPt Or these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/FRED-CADY-DECALS-DRAG-HOT-ROD-1-24-1-25-PLASTIC-MODEL-KIT-ACCESSORIES-KS182/113613727481?hash=item1a73e7e6f9:m:mZkM1CPmkaA8-M5H6QP41kw

It will never fail to amaze me how fast and flawlessly you are able to make these masterpieces. I also find the color fascinating in how it changes in depth every time you move it to take another picture.

Nice bit of soldering Frank. Truly a part of the model that you will be proud to look at, knowing what it took to build them.