JohnReid

I used my Fokker as part of a diorama build.I depicted it as a crashed airplane on a flatbed sitting in a hangar waiting for the engineers to figure out why it crashed.Seems that the Fokker design for the ailerons was the problem.Fokker almost went out of business over this poor design until they found a solution.

I actually built two Camels, both 1/16th scale as a commissioned diorama piece for the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.One was inside the hangar and painted in German markings to represent a captured aircraft that was forced down.This often happened in WW1 when the opposition was looking for possible new technology.The other Camel I turned into an old airshow airplane being towed to the railway station for delivery to Hollywood to be used in the movies.Cheers! John.

I built the Model Expo prairie schooner in 1/16th scale.It is a fun model to build and a very fine looking piece when finished.In my part of the world, they were used by the United Empire Loyalists when they immigrated to Canada years ago and settled mostly in Southern Ontario at the time.They were of two types, a heavy eastern version, and the lighter western version .Cheers ! John.

Hi Mike! I used flexible beading wire for my rigging.It is nylon coated stainless steel .018 diameter by Beadalon..Part # JW03T-0.Cheers! John.

great job! Love it.

Nice !

I built this model as part of a diorama that I was working on for the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. Cheers! John.

Love it.Cheers! John.

Hi ! the one I built was started in 1973.The kit I had,had very rudimentary plans and the small booklet that was poorly translated from Italian, they were useless and  I threw them out right away and bought the Longridge book for reference.I changed the scale from 1/78 to 1/72 by modifying the bulkheads etc...much like I am doing today with the Confederacy from 1/64 to 1/72.There was not much info in those days, in fact, a few modeling buds of mine in England actually went to the ship and took some measuring info for me.  I wrote a lot of letters and spent more time on research than actual building and it still took up my spare time for almost 20 years.I remember that a fellow that I corresponded with in California built a scratch built Victory in 6,000 hours but he was a lot more experienced than I was at the time.I had to teach myself with no internet available.Eventually, I turned it into a diorama.A much different era than today.I am 76.Cheers! John.

Hi ! is this the old Sergal kit ? Cheers ! John.

Good luck  Cheers ! John.

Congrats Ken,wonderful contribution to our passion for ship modeling.Cheers ! John. Good luck on the next one.

Your grandsons will love the figures as it brings the whole thing alive for them and gives a wonderful sense of scale.I never understood why someone would build a ship under full sail with nary a soul on board. Love it, Cheers! John.

Wow Ken ! so glad to hear that you are doing a diorama with figures.What storyline do you have in mind ? Anything that I can help you with please advise.Cheers! John.

Love your stuff Ken always have and always will. Cheers! John.

Looks like a great start, Cheers ! John.

Wonderful pic Ken.

Thanks so much Ken.My Victory was a 1/72 Sergal kit I bought back in 1973.Lousy instructions and plans.I had to replace everything and used Longridges plans to build it and turned it into a diorama.Cheers! John.

Thank you so much Ken and Michael Cheers! John.

Hi Ken ! Lovely work my old friend.I am almost 77 now and I need a little help with a little math.I want to reduce my model from 1/64 scale to 1/72 and I'll be damned if I can figure it out.The model that I am modifying is a 1/64 Confederacy by Model Shipways.I am doing this because fittings and figures are not readily available in 1/64 scale and I don't have the time to make my own.You know it is funny that as you get older and increasingly forgetful , I find that my modeling skills are not affected at all and luckily my hands and eyes are still good. The Confederacy's  basic hull length is  31 1/2 inches or 800 cm ,its beam is 7 inches or 178 cm.Could you please convert that to 1/72 scale both in inches and centimeters.Thank you so much,your modeling bud John.

Love it Ken.

Yeah my collection of dental tools work just great on my Geswein handpiece up to 50,000 RPM.

Hi Ken ! where do you find the time to do such a nice step-step build ? Love all the pics.I wonder if you ever miss doing aircraft? did you ever get your Stearman finished ?

Cheers! John.