lmagna

Thank you all for the comments and the likes!
 
Denis,
  I just painted really carefully.  Painting the canopies on WWII bombers is the hardest part for me.
 
My apologies to all for the lapse in updates! Life has been really busy and I have had time to steal a few minutes here and there to work on my model, but not to update the build log too.
 
The model only lacks a few more decals, one of which I need to remake.
The decals were really old on this model and one of the USAF logos did not survive installation so I’ll make another one the next time I work on the model.
 

I made the nose art from a picture of the Delaware Aviation Museum’s flying replica and got the tail number of the original from their website.

I cropped one of their photos and resized it in Word.
 
I need to install the tail number that I also printed off.

I still need to finish the props and install them.  The last step will be final detailing.  I broke the pitot tube off, so I need to make another one out of wire, but that will be one of the last steps.

Hi Mike
No problem really. Just go to the upper right hand corner and next to the "#79" click on the three dots. Go to the "edit" feature on the drop down menu click it and make your changes then re-submit your post and it is all good and Mark can quit pretending to be Mike, and go back to being grumpy old Mark. (Not as grumpy as me though)
 
Great work on the Mikasa. Your Arizona looks impressive as well. 

Very nice progress Yves.
 
Just as a by-the-way, and I could be wrong, but I am fairly certain that the structure at the base of the mast  is the radio room. As such I think you will find that  there should be some antenna wires that will eventually be run from the yardarm on the mast going back to the ready ammo box on the two pounder platform. I have been told that the structure at the front of the bridge had many uses, the Asdic and I believe chart and radar room. But I have always wondered if the radio direction finder antenna located on the front of it indicated that it was possibly used for that as well.

really nice job on the plane.........even more impressive is the lighting     shaping up for a very nice display!

Hope we see more of your projects.
 
OC.

Roger // Thanks for the comment. I'll pay attention to the case more.
 
Egilman // I've never seen any real fabric wing with silver dope in South Korea just like middle age sailing boat. I hope to see the old biplanes if I have a chance. I applied one coat of Holbein acrylic ink - pearl silver color with vallejo gloss varnish.

There is nothing in the world that compares to a fabric covered airplane in a fresh coat of silver dope.....
 
It has that shimmery quality that makes them look like a piece of jewelry....
 
Well done....

I just finished an airplane.
 

 
I didn't decide case design yet... Both wood and acryil works take a lot of money and time.

What can one say? It just keeps getting better and better.

Most parts are fine or bit annoying, but not a real big problem. This was really huge issue.
 
 

 
It almost killed me... I would have given up if this last approach was failed.
 

 
NOT BAD. NOT BAD.
 
The main issue is that length of the rods are not correct. I would say that they are designed to folding position. I had to cut them a lot.

I'm building one that that was made with 1956 molds...reissue of a very early Revell kit.  we both seem to find enjoyment from older kits  

Popeye // I didn't know about the water slide decal issue because of the frequent use on plastic kits. This kit also have a decal sheet and it looks fine, and I'll build my own water slide decal to emulate the 1936 original model plane. I want to finish it quick and simple, so I won't use stencil technique.
 
This kit has embossed rivets and panel lines unlike modern engraved panel lines. It is one of reasons I don't retouch this kit heavily unlike the Russian modeller.  If someone want to retool the kit, sanding is very quick and simple. This kit has some errors and mistakes due to hand made mold, but it doesn't harm joy of assembly, and imaging how they designed it in 1960s is funny. 😄

this is the same kit you have.   early models didn't have rivets or much in the way of panel lines........the retooling you speak of,  they must have added them then.
FROG 1/72 Blackburn Shark (Out Of Box) | The Sprue Lagoon

I'm building the world's first plastic model made by British company IMA. Here are some interesting stories regarding the International Model Aircraft.
 
https://frogpenguin.com/
http://archivesite.jetex.org/history/path_to_jetex.html
 

 
Actually, this kit is a new tool launched in 1968, and the first kit was produced in 1936. I decided to build this kit to pay respect to the pioneers. Also, this kit is 'genuine kit' by original company unlike many russian kits on the Ebay.
 

 
The good thing of this original kit is that molding line is very clear and sharp.
 
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235047566-blackburn-shark-mkii-eastern-express-172/
This is an ambitious work by russian modeller and my reference page.
 
https://karopka.ru/forum/forum259/topic23364/?PAGEN_1=10
While I was researching his walkthrough pages, I found that his russian kit after several decades is fairly damaged. Of course, it is not important if you sand and fix all of them.
 

 
The downside of too old kit is that some parts were missing when I bought. I bought the cheapest Frog kit on the Ebay.  I designed and printed the missing parts using 3D printer.
 

 
Unlike the Russian' guy's master work, my goal is immitating the original 1936 work using the 1968 kit without heavy modification. I want to celebrate the first plastic model company in the world in my own way.   
 
https://www.vectis.co.uk/lot/frog-penguin-series-blackburn_563155
The painting and decals will be like this. In addition, I'll add some gimmicks such as 1930's neon sign like LED advertising on the top of case.

agreed!.....very high marks for realism!   the drill press looks awesome   

Hi Gary
 
I just found your build log for this wonderful project. It's simply beautiful and so much fun to see. Going to take my time and look very closely at all the photos just to take it all in. Fantastic craftsmanship. Love it.

Superb scratch-build. Best in show! Full points.

Amazing work Gary,    so much fine detail.
 
OC.

Gary, incredible. 

No words.... just in awe.

In most shops, the front pully shroud would be removed to facilitate speed changes off the front pully rather than the rear one.... (one changed speeds by pushing down on the belt while turning the pully forcing the belt to jump to the next lower pully on the rear then pulling the belt while holding down to force the belt to the next larger pully on the front... you could change speeds in seconds this way without messing with the shroud...)
 
Excellent rendition of a must have shop tool....
 
Well Done!!!! 

Okay...  I am giving up on this hobby... 😞
 
That is simply amazing. I am so glad to not work at 1/87th scale..... Your work is just incredible.
 
Yves

Thanks to everyone for the fine comments and suggestions - it is always so appreciated.
 
And thanks for the likes and to those watching quietly.
 
 
Not a bunch accomplished on the diorama in the last several weeks, but here's an update on what I have done.
 
More Garage Equipment - Acetylene Torch
 
I don't have any in-process photos to share with you on this torch.  It was one of those constructions where I spent most of my time tossing things in the trash with nothing of value to show.  In the end, I was happy just to get the thing finished, such as it is.
 
I began by gathering materials - .005” brass shim stock, phosphor/bronze wire (.012” and .02” dia), assorted styrene rods, a scrap stick of white-metal that scaled to 9” dia., some chain, some insulated wire and a couple of injection molded wheels.
 

 
 
The white-metal stick was cut into two lengths, chucked into my hand drill and worked with needle files until they resembled a pair of tanks. The cart is mostly brass and bronze soldered together.  A brass wire axle was inserted through the cart and the wheels glued on.  The tanks are colored with permanent markers for a translucent effect.  Green oxygen and red acetylene are modern tank colors and probably not the standard in 1940. Conspicuous by its absence is the torch/nozzle itself, which I'm pretending is hanging behind the cart.
 
So you may be wondering why I chose chain large enough to anchor a steamship for the tanks' safety chain.  Actually, this chain is 40 LPI and I haven't found anything finer than this that still resembles actual link chain.  Fine chain is so useful in modeling and if anyone knows a source please share.  The hoses are also on the large side, but it's one of those strange eye/mind things where the proper size looked flimsy and wrong.
 


 
Drill Press
 
I need a piece of equipment to be positioned against the left wall and up front towards the shadowbox glass.  Because it's right up front, it needs to be fairly detailed.  I had originally intended for the arbor press to be placed there, but I now feel that in profile it isn't that interesting visually.  And I wonder how many non-mechanical people would know what it is or what it's used for.  So I decided on a floor drill press to fill the slot.  It has an interesting shape and recognizable by most people.  The arbor press will be stationed elsewhere.
 
As a reference to build from I chose model #71 from Atlas Manufacturing that dates to 1933-36. 
 
 
 
Although it isn't mechanically complicated, it is of course the size that provides the challenge in making it.  In 1:87 it is less that 7/8” (22mm) in height.  It is a delicate little thing and a tad exasperating.
 
I began with the spindle head which is simply two short sections of brass tubing wrapped in paper.  The paper is the sticky part of a Post-It note and it holds things together long enough to saturate it with thin CA.  You wouldn't know it by looking at the photo below, but the brass tube on the right is slightly larger than the one on the left as it accepts the main post.
 

 
 
The lower part of the spindle is glued in and also the main post.  The spindle is tapered to mimic a chuck and a thin wall brass tube is slid on over the top.  I have a decent collection of fine brass and phosphor/bronze wire as well as a good selection of ultra fine tubing in brass, nickel and stainless. These materials proved to be very handy in making this drill press.
 

 
 
I then made up the table/bracket from styrene and attached it to another section of tubing that will slide fit onto the main post.
 

 
 
The base.
 

 
 
I decided to leave out the spindle head pulley guard for two reasons.  First, I wanted to show the pulleys and belt as a visual detail, and secondly (the honest reason) is that making a multi-dimensional cowl guard that is less than 1/8” in size would cause permanent psychological scarring.
 
The pulleys are made by slide fitting brass tubing into one another and leaving an equal reveal between them.  I soldered them together and cut off the pulley.
 

 
 
The motor is made up and pulley added.  This was simple to make because it's just pieces of round things fitting into other round things.  The “bearings” are a single brass tube with a wire run through it which in turn slide fits into a piece of styrene tube.  I added a band of paper around the center of the motor to suggest separate bearing bell housings.
 

 
 
A second pulley was pushed onto a brass rod and glued into the spindle top.  In the image below you can see a depth gauge has been added and a short horizontal tube that along with an identical one on the opposite side will hold the motor.
 
 
Front view.
 

 
 
Pushing two dress maker's pins through paper and into the motor mountings gave me the distance between the mounting rods which was then transferred to the motor base.
 

 
 

 
 
The three spokes on the feed wheel are .008” phosphor/bronze chemically colored with Jax Flemish Gray.  The ends of the wire were dipped into a craft product called Gallery Glass to create the knobs.  The knobs will be painted black.  The wheel center is styrene stretched to the diameter I wanted.
 

 
 
Adjustment handles of different sizes were also made up. 
 

 
 
All that was left is to glue it together and add some paint.  Touch ups are still needed as seen in the photo below, but I used enamel – silver, steel, gray and black.  I added a styrene table face to the base.  The belt is 8 lb. ice fishing jigging line and it has a sort of oval/flat cross section. 
 

 
 
Done.
 

 
 
And both items are glued into place on the dio.
 

 
Thanks for taking a look. 
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

the can doesn't look too old though.........it didn't do it when I laid the paint over the testor's paint.......just when I gave the upper section the second coat.  
   the body has had quite a bit of time to dry......I could try buffing them out.  I'll have to look at it.......
 
thanks for the kind word folks!  

Great project Denis! Just found your build log. Love the oldies like this, they bring back so many good old memories.