popeye the sailor

a recent development has occurred with this project. I'm always on the lookout for updated kits and stuff......but I haven't been following the histories as closely, as I used to. ..........way bigger stuff on the mind. I was looking on the home page of my internet browser. it amazes me how they can tailor the home page to show you things that you look for.........kinda neat. I saw on E Bay, that there was another Lincoln Futura in the offerings. this one is produced by Monogram {2003}. I'm thinking.......like wow.........perhaps they retooled it to assemble like a regular model kit, and not that caveman version I built. some of the old kits were produced like that......body assembled in panels and such. Atlantis and Round 2 are producing these kits..........I have an '56 Atlantis Cadilac Eldorado convertible that is like that. if I had given it some thought, I would have answered my own question. the box art for the revel kit is the same as shown on this Monogram kit..........also one has to remember that revel merged with Monogram back in the 80's or 90's. but as they say.........curiosity killed the cat........right?!?! look familiar?............the body color is even the same. I'm glad they showed it in black...........likely made the light bulb go on for the Batmobile. I did it in red to depict the movie "it started with a kiss". here is the revel box art... I received the kit yesterday...............opening the box, revealed that no updating had taken place. nice that it is molded in white, but sad that it still has plastic tires. the instructions differ slightly in the overall layout, but they are the same. keen to note that the polar lights Batmobile is roughly a half inch longer than these two models, but that may be scale difference {I haven't checked}. the parts look cleaner, free of excessive flash and stuff............proof is in the pudding

looking good Chris

I've always wanted to try the laser cut version of this model. the one I built was over 40 years old when I got it. I got another one some Christmas's ago, which I am scratch building the Progress. I'm still in the early process's of it..........still a ways to go yet. a few years ago, Billing finally began producing a fittings kit for this model........bit I'm not happy with some of the contents. they cheaped it out by supplying some of the metal parts with wood. the nice thing about yours, is you got netting with it........I had to source some for 'Ole Nordie {that's what I nicknamed her}. you've done a super job so far.........looking really sweet! don't mind me..........I love Billing kits - built quite a few in the past. the Nordkap and the Cux 87 were my first two wood builds.

super looking tanks Greg.........great job with paint and weather

time has flown for this project........I have been too busy to get back to anything really. we are settled into the new house, but there are still things that need to get done. the big ones are out of the way for the time being, so I'm hoping I can return to the table. this of course has not stopped my acquiring new kits...the one shown above is one of them. a short time ago...........yes, on that accusive site I keep visiting.........I saw yet another Leopold model listed. this one is a 1:35 scale kit..........and I thought to myself, "I wonder how big it is". I'm sure that it would dwarf the 1:72 kit. the price was reasonable, so I ordered it. I was amazed to learn that the box was 14 LBS, which made me want to see it all the more.........holy cow! I looked inside and found that this kit was never unpacked............I'll get more into it when I start the log on it. it won't be for a little while yet. curious, I got out the 1:72 kit and compared the gondolas..........here the size really strikes home! combined with the Panzerjagerwagen, I think this will be an interesting display......when I get to it

good use of the law of probabilities. if it lacks the wood grain look, I might never know that it was wood. your use of the stock styrene makes me wonder though.........was that cab part too intricate to scratch build? I like what you did with the bed......well done

thanks for the replies gents! my god, it feels like it's been ages.......the only thing I've been playing with, are those new Lego kits that have been showing up in the stores. this is one of several that I've built. yes I know.........not productive use of my time so I tried to get back into ships......... I want to get the Titanic.........but the cost is what scares me. they even have the Endeavor. the issue with these is that they don't take long to build.........and then what do ya have?!?! they are fun to build, but don't really challenge the mind. I recently moved the tables around, so the admiral can do her puzzles in there. not that it matters much, but we've always shared a room when I modeled, so it should kick start something. I do have to sort table white out, due to it turning into a 'collect all' while the change was taking place. once that's done, I will likely continue with the Falcon. stay tuned...

interesting..............is this metal? sure looks it I was never the greatest with figures.........the only ones I did were the were the early Aurora offerings. of course, I was a kid at the time. if your focus is in figures, you might want to check out oldmodelkits.com. they have quite a few kits.......some of them are quite old. nice work thus far!

hello John! I see you have been quite busy since I last looked in! I have never seen this ship before, but it goes back to what I've said a long time ago...........there are so many ships, obscure to history, that deserve to be modeled. and as you've outlined in your initial post, some models even have a complex history as well she looks absolutely stunning..........you have come so far in making her a reality! love how you're creating the sails, not leaving them out, or finishing it as an admiralty model {that would be hiding how complex these ships were}. are you going to stick to simplified rigging, or are you going to include the other sail rigging {bunt, clew, lifts etc.} time sounds like an enemy..........looking at the time you started, your making great progress you'll have her out of drydock in no time my time here has been pretty scant........the past year has been quite busy for me as well. I hope to be back at my tables soon. the admiral will be happy too.........I'm beginning to get the idea that I have been 'underfoot' long enough. I hope your medical issue is progressing well and the duchess keeps you in tip top shape. keenly following along.

I see you caught the fever too. I'm not done with my 1:72 Leopold.........I had to box it up due to the flooding at the apartment {2023}. recently, an opportunity to purchase a larger scale of Leopold was presented to me, and I got it. OMG!!!! the size is staggering! unfortunately, I can't see a lot of your pictures, but it might be on my end. what I see though looks really good, with a lot of cool detail. following with interest.

hello Andy...........thought I'd pop in and see what your doing while I keep telling myself I should invest in armor kits, I seem to keep buying war ships, cars and planes. I agree with your view of the molds that make these kits........some have been passed around so much. the 1:72 stuka dive bomber is a good example. I believe the molds started out with Fujimi {hope I spelt it right}, and through the years, past hands to at least four other model manufacturers. the amount of flash is a good indicator as to how old a mold is. too much and they get retooled. some are different subjects, but are the same kit. cars do it too..........look at the older models and you'll see it. great job so far............I'm keen to follow

hello to all! yea......I can't believe it happened again..........life grabbed me by the nethers again things started off with the same thing that got us here in the first place.........roof leaks! we had the roof done, along with a few other bumps along the way. the hobby room is still not where I want it, but the recent changes I made in there will make it more tempting to pull something out. I hope so..........I haven't been building, but I am still collecting new projects. big to do concerning Leopold........wait till you see what I have found my car stash has gone mental........a few of them I built as a young lad...........scavenger hunting down nostalgia road. so here I am...........now the hope is to get in the hobby room and create some plastic or wood dust. at this point, I don't care.........as long as I can get back into the fray. the admiral will be happy too I'm not sure if I have any pictures I haven't posted on this build, but if I do, I will post them for you. I still plan to add tissue to these planes, all I needed was an atomizer bottle. I have it, so now to see where I left off. I also started to play with the Tomcat, but so far, it's been just the frame. I'll be back!

I see your still building these wonderful works of art! very nice.......the Fokker planes are among my favorites. still working to figure out how to do the lozenge though........hard to figure out the pattern. I noticed you had the same problem I had when building these planes in the past.......the tail skid breaking. a remedy I came up with was to rest the tail on something while building the model, so there is no weight on it. then there is the old favorite idea of adding it toward the end of the build. F1's and Dr1's have the wing skids...........those were another thing that needed to be watched out for. super job though........you truly are the master of paper!

this will catch the progress up on the build so far. it's starting to look like a jet more to come. drat...........it's snowing this wet gunky stuff! might be a tough drive to work tomorrow

I've started on the starboard wing here........the main ribs are in place. the stringers were added, but I didn't box in the trailing end of the ribs until later {I hadn't thought of it at this time}. I only put in one of the wing tabs.........I used the harder wood for it and will use it for the others. I'll add the others later when the wings are complete. the reason behind it is ease of sanding, to eliminate stringer stubbles. the port side here's where I boxed in the trailing end of the ribs

hello Yves ........welcome! one reason why tissue is used, is weight. for planes that fly, the added weight might disable it, especially if it is rubber powered. if equipped with a gas engine, this might be enough thrust to give the plane the lift it needs. now..........there are other types of coverings that can be used. the plastic that is used for mylar balloons could likely be used. tissue is shrinkable........once the model is covered, a light spray of water will cause the tissue to shrink when dry, leaving a smooth appearance. most folks use a product called 'dope' to glue on the tissue. the stuff smells the high heavens, and if done in a closed room, can get you high as well. I don't like to use it.........instead, I use a 50/50 mix of white glue and water to start. I go 60/40 with the second and third coat {if it needs it}. now it can be sprayed with paint...........it may go limp again, but it will stiffen up when dry. I have a story on how I got turned on to this medium.........it involves an English teacher and a book report. Mr. Miller was a cool guy.........he was also the boys Basketball coach. in class, he gave us our assignment, a book report on a favorite book. a few days later, I guess he noticed that I wasn't engrossed in a book, cuz he wanted to see me after class. home life.........heck, I didn't have time to read........I was too busy doing chores and farm stuff. besides......someone else was reading the book I would have chosen. I don't know how he thought of it, but he told me to see him tomorrow. the next day, he handed me a brown paper bag. in it was a Comet Piper Cub plane kit, and a bottle of white glue. he wanted me to build it..........writing down every step to make it. I was to fly it and describe everything it did, how far it flew, along with any other aspect of the experience. well sir...........I did it.........I built it. it was blue and yellow tissue, and I actually had fun building it. it lasted for several flights..........of course there were the repairs and tissue patches. the day the book report was due, I brought him the report and the plane.......unflyable, but proof that I did it. I got a passing grade I built a few others but only achieved limited success. I didn't pick it back up till I moved to Florida. my best one was a Fokker D VIII. it seems I've picked it back up again, but I haven't flown one. we have quite a few open areas here at Medville..........I may try it one day.

these are the smaller parts for the leading edge of the wings. the small diagrams left and right of the rudder profiles, are the added parts of the rudder, and what areas need to be tapered. these are the additional parts for the rudder. once the rudder is dry, I can add them. with this drying, I can start on the wings.

I don't have the build board any more........don't know what happened to it. it likely got thrown in the dumpster the guys were using for the apartment renovation. that's alright.........I still have this one once clamped to the table, the wing section instructions were laid down, and clear plastic wrap was laid over it. parts were punched out for the stabilizers and the rudder, and cemented in position over the templates. the next concern I had was the ribs in the wings. in most planes I've built, the ribs usually lap over the trailing edge, later to be tapered down with sanding. these do not.........they butt up against it and that's it. I will add short pieces of stripping to box in the ribs, giving them a stronger anchor. the stabilizers are done, and the rudder is laid down. the stabs are out of there. the wings were framed out at this point. the rudder stringers were added as well, with a small addition. the stringer near the base is an added part. there is a dotted line there that shows where the tops of the left and right bottom rudder root part go. they make the bottom of the rudder appear thicker........I'll show you what they look like. to not put this stringer in place, would leave a gap............it will fill it in and give it something to cement to. time to notch out the wing ribs.

once the rear part of the fuselage was framed out, the two plates that the stabilizers are attached to, were reinforced with the parts that will box them in. I saw a gap along the ends and the inner sides facing the thruster nozzle, so I filled them in with some cast off wood. I did some sanding in this area as well. the added strips can be seen here in this picture. it stiffened them up quite nicely the front and rear cockpit shims were added here. I did some sanding to smooth out the frame. I may need to do more to the forward wing root. better shot of the reinforcements for the wing plates. here's looking under the nose where the intake will be. I had cut out the intake, but I see it was one of the pictures I lost. here is an overall shot of the fuselage

there is more to go. I just loaded up more pictures from the camera, and I seem to have deleted some by accident. I also made a couple of changes to a few of the weaker areas. here is one last picture of the wing plates. the change I made to these plates, was to add short strips of strip to the inner surfaces of the front and rear sections. the strips are 1/16x1/16 and are of a harder wood, like beech or walnut. I will point them out in future pictures. I made sure that they will not interfere with the wing installation.

the stringers are 1/16x1/16.......I try to make them a tiny bit longer, by cutting off most of the uncut ends and separate them {the end cuts are uneven}. bulkhead #8 is made up of two bulkheads, glued together........the stringers make it easily to this junction. I started at the bottom from the intake, back. more were added...... it got a little confusing here..........the stringer notches were not lining up. the black squares on bulkhead #5 are termination points for those stringers so, that's what I did in that case. it can be seen where I ended that run and then continued it the rest of the way to the nose. the wing plates were added at the ends of #6, #7, and #8. later on, the more I handled the fuselage, the more fragile these wing plates seemed to be. for fear of breaking them, after knocking one loose, I began thinking of a solution to make them stronger. as I finally got a grasp on this, I found that this is where the cockpit will be. other parts are going to be added later. the wings are to have two 'tabs' that will go into these holes on the wing plates. from the backside of bulkhead #8, the tail section will be framed. more to come

thanks for the comment, OC. it's been a strange hiatus; I can tell ya that! while I wasn't in the position of posting or modeling, I was able to acquire a few more kits. never a dull moment thanks also for those who hit the like button punching out and cutting the notches is well under way at this time. as mentioned, a worn die cutter does not leave clean cuts. I used a new razor blade for this work. the instructions direct you to use an xactor knife, but take it from me.......the thinner the cutting blade, the better. still quite a few to do yet. I continued to do as I had mentioned earlier...........if a piece broke off, it was quickly glued back on, and another part was put into play. the bottom flaps of the bulkheads were evened out.........some fit tight and caused them to look crooked. the mis ship came next. soon, the rest of the bulkheads were in place. more to come.

yep.........the parts prep is slow and tedious. the trick is keeping an eye on the bits and edges that break off, and glue them back on before they get lost. it gets put aside till it dries........picking up another part for the time being, until it happens to that part. it just becomes a vicious circle until they are all trimmed out. while I'm doing this, here are what other aspects of the instruction sheets look like. the parts above are 1:1 in the event that a part gets damaged. a new one can be made from cast off wood or 1/16 flat stock that is included in the kit. Balsa modelers expect that sort of thing something that is different about the kit, is that the fuselage is a bulkhead frame. there is no need for a build board. it has a center keel, just like a plank on frame ship model. the stringer notches can clearly be seen in this last photo. with most Guillow's planes, the bulkheads are in halves and fitted on a flat framework...........port and starboard sides, later to be joined together to create the full fuselage. the only parts that will need a build board will be the wings, stabilizers, and rudder. should be ready for glue soon

hey there everyone! I'm finally back to the point where I can get back to work it's been a crazy hiatus...........getting flooded out of our apartment {end result} in 12/23.......spending most of the summer of 24 in a hotel........ending this nightmare by buying a home. the rents were just too expensive to continue as renters. we had renter's insurance.......they were supposed to help us in finding another place, but they merely dragged their feet with that endeavor. we also found that Gibbs, our dog, had a mass in his abdomen, later to be diagnosed as cancer. we ended up having him put down in August, almost a month after moving into the new house. then came the series of 'firsts'........first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and first New Years. even the first Tax season............ retirement will be the next big hurdle............I hope I can get to it. anyway.............Christmas is where this log starts. I was looking up some possible gift ideas, when I saw these two kits. both of these kits are sealed...........never opened! they looked to be an intriguing build, never building a jet before.....and seeing that they are static kits, I thought I'd give them a go. I'm no stranger to flying models, having built many in my younger days. I do have one in progress.........that's the Fokker Dr 1...........I had to shelve it due to the flooding. I will post that one when I get back to it........quite a lot of sanding needs to be done. so, for the first one, I chose to do the F 16a. tearing off the plastic.......opening the box.........everything had been untouched by human hands {other than the person who boxed it}. I was hoping that this kit was laser cut.........I had heard that Guillow's was making changes towards laser cutting their kits, but I saw that die cutting was still being done. these kits were produced around 1989. I can see that removing these parts will require some prep work. I removed some of the fuselage parts, to begin cutting out the rest of the notches for the stringers. Balsa is a very soft wood.........if the die cutter is in any degree worn, the cuts may not be so good. it tends to crush the wood surrounding the cuts, making the trimming a bit harder. there will be repairs. some of the parts are not cut, requiring you to do it yourself. the stringer wood is rough..........light sanding is required {right photo} there is tissue, if you decide to cover the model. there are also decals, tires, plastic detail parts and a clear plastic cockpit. printed card stock in also in the box.........rocket fins and added cockpit detail. the instruction sheets are very detailed outlined step by step. the build starts.................it's good to be back

hey there Chris! I'm finally getting back to the table, and a return to the site. I was about to start my log when I saw your build. I'm a big fan of the Focke Wolfes, but the meshies are a big draw for me. again, your work with paper amazes me............a fine looking model indeed! superb model!