Egilman

Now if I remember stitch & glue construction, it is generally used on planing panel built hulls.... The stitches, (wire) tying the hull panels together while the glue (epoxy) sets up.... then the stitches are removed and the hull is fiberglassed.... Is this basically the same process? the strakes are assembled, (semi-lapstraked) the hull is stitched -n- glued then fiberglassed/epoxied?

Yes, the age old tried and true method... Wonder first, figure it out next and remember forever...... No secrets, just discoveries to be made.... It's what makes this fun... And sometimes, in some situations, just doing it the straight up way is best.... rather than the extended exploratory attempt/learning experience..... It's very very interesting to see that even in scale, masonry is still the same ancient trade..... Learning the art of stacking blocks...... and the skills needed to do it correctly.... Well done guys....

The main problem with the wildcat was it was underpowered. The versions flown by the navy early in the war had 1,000 hp engines same as the Zero with twice the weight.... In the hands of an experienced pilot they could turn with a zero and out dive a zero, but they couldn't outclimb or outpower it... They learned to fly it to it's limits and do amazing things with it as long as they stayed away from the vertical fight. Some of the pilots became aces in one mission in it, I believe the record was nine victories in one mission, (in a corsair) 7 victories on one mission was done several times but only once in an F4F..... Most of the top aces had a large score mission like that..... Luftwaffe pilots were doing it on many occasions, But that is an entirely different story with the way they granted credit for kills.... Our pilots had to have witnesses or gun camera footage of the victory to get the credit... In the hands of a good pilot, the Wildcat was a deadly aircraft... The US navy soon got the F6F Hellcat which had a 2,000 hp engine and was only 20% heavier, then they could wipe out the zero... But they still flew the FM-1 off the small escort carriers that couldn't carry the Hellcat but they then had a 1,500 hp engine by that time and were on better more equal terms against the Zero. The British pilots loved it they couldn't get enough of them, the German pilots hated it..... (too hard to hit)

Yep it's the life raft... A quick demonstration was performed for the trainees, November '42...... So it will probably be bright yellow... {chuckle} Superglue medium set to give a bit of time for repositioning.... That is a REAL detailed resin set there..... Nice....

So how close are you now to filling out the TO&E of your 1st battalion? Impressive my friend, especially at the scale your working in.... I would never have guessed that there were that many 1/72nd scale armor vehicles.... Damned impressive.... EG

I'm here brother... I wouldn't miss this one....

Good Deal! Been missin ya brother....

Good choice, they always look better with some contrast between the shiny skin with more flat looking markings and insignias.... Semi Gloss would probably been more photographically correct but flat makes the skin pop... Beautiful work my friend, best looking F3F's I've ever seen... Great Job finishing...

I think this might be at least your ship type.... http://www.agenziabozzo.it/vecchie_navi/B-Vapore/Navi_1850-1950_B555_Fanny_Brunner_nave_mercantile_costruzione_1925.htm Built in the same period, she has the same profile and deck structures....

Ok, I'm getting ready to do some shipbuilding, namely the USS Arizona.... Now I know the Arizona was in Ms. 1 scheme, Sea Blue 5-S... the research I've been doing says she was painted by the crew just after she left drydock in November from her Collision with the Oklahoma.... But in my travels thru the archives, (mine and others) I've found a number of other color references to the battle line in Pearl on that fateful day. In the video that USS frolic posted above we have the West Virginia in Sea Blue, and later the USS Nevada in Dark Grey... Now from prior research I know that the USS Oklahoma was also in Dark Grey and the USS Tennessee was in Sea Blue... but what about the others? The USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania & USS California? Well I think I've resolved the USS Maryland.... she was in Sea Blue.... Notice the hull behind the capsized USS Oklahoma? that is the USS Maryland.... Sure looks like blue to me... (another pic from a slightly different angle) Here you can pick out the sharp raked bow of the USS Maryland to the left of the ships stack you can also pick out the sheer of the hull... (another pic from a different day, dark and overcast and across the bay, I guestimate at least a half a mile away) Now the sheer of the hull will naturally appear as black at this distance but with the smoke clearing from the attack you can clearly see her upper works.... Clearly, on a muted gloomy overcast day, the camera from a great distance recorded blue.... The USS Maryland was Blue.... You can clearly see the steam arising from the USS West Virginia as she was cooling down and the Black smoke still arising from the still burning USS Arizona... This has to be the day after the attack.... One more shot of her on the 9th just before they pull her out from behind the USS Oklahoma... And oblique angle yes, but you can clearly see the hull and parts of the superstructure reflecting blue... I think that settles it for the USS Maryland..... I also found a couple of shots of the USS Arizona before they started salvaging her... The Arizona was badly burned and was so hot that she started fires on the USS Tennessee and USS West Virginia, the heat reached back to where it scorched the legs of the main mast and was so hot that the catapult mounted to her turret #3 was warped... Here you can see the level of scorching but her #3 turret still shows blue and the lower main mast and boat crane pedestals still show blue peeking aout from beneath the scorched paint... There is another shot at a slightly different angle.... Just rotated slightly to the right, the change in light angle clearly shows the blue paint on her boat crane pedestals.... One more shot, different day, reverse angle, different light, different camera... About week after the attack, the forward works, (now bare metal) haven't started rusting yet but the fires are out. Here she is still cooling down you can clearly see the paint scorched off the legs of the mainmast, and the port side boat crane, look at the scorched starboard side boat crane, I"mm be darned if she doesn't present as blue, even from the side that took a massive amount of heat..... I think that confirms that the AZ was blue.... In fact, despite most of the confusion the official documents show about painting the Pacific Fleet Battleships, in general the battle line was predominantly in Measure 1, given their 5-L light grey tops and 5-S Sea Blue on everything else.... The Pacific Fleet was almost all the way through repainting the battleship line in 5-S Sea Blue at the time of the attack in the same Ms 1 pattern they were in before.... They only had three ships left to go.... EG

What you think is best my friend, your looking to match the finish in as thin a coat as possible.... Only you can see what it needs to be..... I think you'll do it right.... You have the touch....

It's sure does look the part... nice job....

Yeah it was, but all of the Colonials, French, British and German troops carried powder horns during the revolution, but they were using flintlocks. Cartridges/cartridge boxes didn't take hold in the British army until 1804 or so..... The War 1812 introduced them to the American army.....

Microscale micro-flat is the answer. Of course the best way is to wait in the canopy masking removal until the decals are all on, but I've been where you are many times as well...... Sometimes we just have to see the art... Finish looks great my friend, another piece of art...

Nice work on the Main entrance and the Dressage entrance, can't wait to see what you do with the servants entrance and gallery........ A right proud manor house I would say...

I'm here, I'm always amazed at these paper things when they are finished... I know it's just another medium, but it's one I've never been able to get a foot in. My attempts always seem to bubble, wrinkle and warp...... It amazes me what some modelers can do with them... Fascinating...

No, smaller....

Yeah, it gave you a bit of orange peel there from drying too fast.... The problem with recoating is getting the finish too thick, Looks great and I like the subtle shading effect. I would experiment on scrap with some clear coats and see how far you can thin them for spraying yet still get them to level...... Beautiful yellow birds.....

The Air Force didn't want to give it up, McNamara ordered it to be decommissioned..... over strenuous objections...... Besides they were working on the TFX Tactical fighter system to be used jointly by the AF & Navy off of carriers.... (the TFX eventually developed into the FB-111, a far superior aircraft to the B-58 in the low level nuclear delivery role once the fighter role was dropped) The FB-111 could do supersonic nap of the earth flight profiles which the B-58 could not...... The soviet missile was the S-2 Guideline, similar to the Nike-Hercules and was almost successful in taking down a couple of SR-71's that's why they stopped overflying Russia & China with the SR-71...... (eventually they were going to get one and that would be worse than getting the pair of U-2's they did shoot down)

Well I might have taken a nap in the comfy chair while waiting, but I see there's someone ruminating around the workbench so it's probably time to wake up.....

Those were flintlocks back then. the engineering progression goes Matchlock - Flintlock - Caplock... the percussion cap was the first efficient and truly safe way to fire one of those... Running around with a flintlock was a lot safer than having to run' load and fire handling open gunpowder with a burning match attached to you all the time...

The Atlantis kits are old Revell molds, I believe they were the original "Box" scales from the 50's early 60's..... yes they actually designed models to fit the box they were being packed in!.... But they are probably molded in today's formulation of styrene plastic, not that silver, green or blue thin brittle stuff.... Nice kits if you can live with the non uniform scale....

I'll give you a clue to what it tells us looking on.... Forget the qualifier, you ARE a modeler is what it tells me, whatever medium you work in you produce quality..... that is what we all strive for and you have it.... Beautiful Job..... Well done...

Hi Phil... I built this one when I was a kid. Been meaning to do another but not until I get the finish down.... There are many techniques for doing a Bare Metal Finish.... Polished Aluminum is one of the most difficult as my F-104 build demonstrated....... Will be following closely, pulling up the comfy chair right now.... (in for the long run) EG

Welcome aboard Tom! Glad to have you... And for everyone I haven't forgot this one... I've just been dealing with some real life again, seems like it's coming at faster and faster intervals nowadays....