popeye the sailor

thanks Lou for shedding a bit more light on the kit. I guess we have an unknown sailor on our hands. I still want to try and leave the work he did on it and preserve it....a monument to another modeler who didn't have the time to finish his ultimate model.......something I think we all strive to accomplish. I have the utmost respect for this.....to any modeler. it is their license..........their course of direction. it is our job to encourage....not discourage, no matter which way the model goes.........their triumph to sit proudly on their mantle, or go down in flames and end up in the circular file. the hope is that they learn from it and continue, and we should do our best to perpetuate the craft. I am glad to have has some {small} hand in seeing Augie's Confederacy come to fruition.........and now I have an opportunity..........*crack*..............oh sh__ .....the soapbox broke* well......while it may not be as good as some of the more accomplished steel navy modelers here........I will do my best! I like what he did....I never pictured the deck {s} bordered off in color like this........never did one like this either. finding the antifoul paint last nigh is pretty big.....I had better get a move on and source some pedestals for it.....and the wood base. your trying to get me killed aren't you?!?!?!........the admiral saw me browsing {of course I looked as soon as I saw it }. I bookmarked it..........if I can get something by.....we'll see. I left the ship as I left it last night {you'll see with the update I have for you all}.......and asked her to envision upgrades..........yea, that went over like flatulence in the clergy....but I'll keep trying. it may also be a good thing for the Hasegawa Missouri or the Nichimo Shokaku that I have stashed away. thanks for the link ..........and yes, the instructions were in the kit........it is complete. does strike me odd {a little} that there are some extra parts........so far they pertain to a fourth turret....there may be more. makes one wonder if one of these sprues {molds} was used for other large scale kits. you'll like the kit Egilman........it's a nicely detailed kit. PE wise........the model could benefit with doors and small stuff, but overall, out of the box, it's going to look really nice welcome Jack.........good to have you look'in in enjoy! Hi Mike.....I had just gotten Christine out of my system........although I have another '58 Plymouth Fury to do a custom job out of...that can wait I wanted to get back to ships....lou's comment kinda helped me along. I've promised him long enough enjoy! are you still holding off on your find? welcome Matt welcome Jim I'll keep your kind offer in mind! I have bookmarked sites for research........if you have pictures or take some, by all means post them..........we'd all love to see them thank you! welcome Ken........good to have you look'in in I have a small chest freezer........it's big enough for the hull I started to break the super structure down, but basically to do some of the missing detail paint....window glass, etc. I figured I could get it done without damaging anything, so I stopped. it's an option to keep in mind on with the update

good to see you OC..........still gotta finish catching up on you hood meant to ask.........whatever happened to waiting on building it? you jumped in with both feet! I know........I know........you needed something to straighten your eyes, painting those figures........... believe it or not........I think this is my first Tamiya model. gotta remember..........I'm old school. my only stray from the US based companies was Heller. even back then, I never did any mixing.....not unless I was looking for some off the wall color. as a matter of fact.........a little while ago, I was rummaging through one of the White Ensign bins { I have two of those three drawer plastic thingies}, when I believe I found the paint he used for the anti foul paint he used on the bottom. "RN 19 Royal Navy WWII Antifouling Red" perhaps the hull color is in this bin too you wouldn't believe the colors I have...I must have at least 10 shades of gray {I'm still look'in for the other 40 }

hello Todd.......welcome aboard. I've ben living in another part of the forum........I just got back! this is going to be an out of the box build..........PE would be nice, but I don't think the admiral would approve it. from what I've seen so far, there are some parts that should have already been added to what's been done. I hope there isn't too much of it, cuz he did a lot of jumping around. depending on the model, I tend to do it too, so I shouldn't be too surprised. the model is nicely detailed......so far, the only nuance is drilling the holes for the inboard screws { an aide for centering later on}. enjoy welcome Egilman......is your Missouri by Tamiya? I have the Hasegawa 1:450 Missouri {talk about a kit that could use PE }. I bought the wood decks for it.......something I've never done before. I'm sure the popcorn machine will be rolling in pretty soon.........just what I need.........butterfingers enjoy my friend!

the Battle ship U.S.S. New Jersey {BB 62} was the second of four IOWA class Dreadnaughts, launched in Dec 1942, built during WWII. she served through the entire war with the Japanese.......may of 1943 through to the end of the conflict. at the end of every conflict, she would be decommissioned.......only to be recommissioned for the next one. she served in the Korean war and Viet Nam, and was later commissioned to aide in the Lebanon conflict. in the 40 years, she is the only BB class vessel to have participated in four major conflicts. though her looks might not appear to have changed much in these 40 years {per the instruction sheet}, there were many modifications done on the vessel, in preparation for each of her missions. as outfitted in the kit, she has the following: 3 triple 16 inch guns {turrets} 6 twin 5 inch gun {turrets} 8 Quad Tomahawk missile launchers 4 quad Harpoon missile launchers 4 Vulcan/Phalanx 20 mm guns 3 Sikorsky SH-60B Sea Hawk Helicopters {the kit only supplies two}.............oh, I get it..........the third one is flying around in the picture { I see that now} this kit was produced in 1984, so most of the information in the instructions is likely old news..........I did bookmark some sites for further research. the box is in pretty decent shape.........but the hull sustained some rub marks and etch scratches. most didn't take the paint off, but some touch ups and buffing will be in order if I intend to save the paint job. I removed the rudders in order to drill holes for the inboard screws. the screws have holes, so I will fit them with a pin to center them in place. some parts were painted on the sprues, but there are a lot of loose pieces. I would guess that he was doing some dry fitting. this might not be a big deal, but it makes me think that he wasn't working according to the instructions...........these parts span over 4 or 5 pages. some are not painted at all....some of these parts are sub assemblies that consist of 2 or 3 pieces. the 16 inch gun turrets are partially assembled........and partially painted. I will take them apart and do more paint work to them. as can be seen......I don't care for the stand. I may source some pedestals and go that route. it will be hard since he cemented in the bow and stern deck sections. I'll look into it icky Mae bottom left there........you see the superstructure has some assembly. I did attempt to remove parts, but I stopped in fear that I might damage something. it has been assembled fairly well.......once I dial in the paints used, I can touch up tell tale places. there is some slight ghosting in places, so it is a safe bet that he used the White Ensign paints. I've used them for a few projects and that is one thing I observed with them. they are already fairly thin, so thinning them down further will need to be experimented with. I also saw that Tamiya instructs you to mix a lot of the colors used, so they are not 'out of the tin' colors. I'm not into doing that all that much, so I will need to match the colors as close as I can, and mix where I need to. a few more sprues of parts and Bob's your uncle..........that's the kit. there are some decals that should already have been put in place on the superstructure that I need to catch up on as well. I tinkered with it a little the other day, but a got more done today.........I'll have that update for you soon

this ought to bring a smile to your face Lou I was indecisive as to what to amuse myself with next.........could have been any one of the many active projects I have ongoing, but a recent exchange caused me to bring this out of the closet. I guess it's been over a year since Lou sent me this kit.........a kit that had been started by another gentleman, whose passing was how Lou came in possession of it. he also got/bought a rather vast array of different paints in many forms.......bottles, tins and sprays. it's been so long ago, that I can't recall what the deal was, but I got a good portion of these paints. Japanese, German, Royal Navy, French, UN....you name it.......I got a sampling of each nation. there were plenty of Testors paints too.......some quite old {I think he told me some were from his inventory}. I'm sure Lou can add to this. the fellow did a lot of prepainting and some assembly on the kit. I don't believe I got the fellow's name.......I don't recall it if Lou told me...I hope I'm not being rude after seeing what he painted, I did say that in light of how well he did, I wouldn't change any of it...>I didn't take into account that I would have to match up the paints before proceeding. I did do a light inventory to make sure all the parts were here..........and by my guess, it is complete. this will be the largest plastic ship I will have done to date. so now, the model is out of the box and I am evaluating where he left off, and what the best starting point is on it. since I received the paints, they are separated and I have been sourcing color charts for White Ensign and Humbrol........I already have one for Testors, and recently found a good one for Humbrol. White Ensign is a tough nut.......can't seem to find one........even if I did, it likely would be many charts to cover all the nations. so here we go.........down another rabbit hole

aircraft carriers are always fun to do.........depending on the kit, you can get a little of everything wonderful start!

MAN!...........I've seen a battle ship with guns............but I've never seen guns with a battleship! there are more guns on this one Greg, than any ship you've done so far. very interesting looking too!

I took some pictures of a project that had been started by another gentleman.....he passed away and the project was given to me. it's been a bit busy 'round here........that and I was undecided on what to bring out next. these pictures were stuck in the camera.......though I'd pass them along. they are of the Jukebox Ford and Christine together. for the month of June, the calendar sports a 1949 Pontiac Chieftain convertible .....not in this color, but this is what it looks like. the hard top can be purchased with or without the roof visor. could be a contender for a pro mod look........but it doesn't look too bad as a custom job either. I'd have done a metalflake job on her.........but to each their own I've yet to see if there's a kit on it

superb look'in bomber Jav.....great paint!

hello Bob.......fine looking ship your building nice to see that there are a few 1:96 fans out there...I have long enjoyed this series of ship models. when I built my second Cutty model, I ran into the same problem with the decals.......they were old and micro cracked. I ordered another set from Revell, along with a request for another set of sails.....got only a couple of the sail sheets {they were done in beige, rather than the white vacu-plastic}, but I got another decal sheet. sad to find that they were just as old as the ones I had! I tried to source out for a set from places that did custom decals, but all I got was excuses and the run around. after a bit more searching, I stumbled onto the Testor's "decal it" program. you can make your own decals using your printer. getting into it though, I found that that there were limitations to what the program can do, and that it wasn't possible. even trying to do them in "paint shop" was a bust.......mainly showing the limits of an ink jet printer....the inability to print white, and metallic. it does work well for other applications though, so I found that it wasn't a total waste of money. one thing I gleaned from your log though, are the complaints concerning the inaccuracies with the kit. folks should keep in mind that back in the day {the kit was produced back in the mid 50's}, that they were considered cutting edge for ship models.........highly detailed with the information available at the time. Revell over the years has gone though a lot of changes.......last I checked, it acquired the name Hobico, and the only inkling of the name Revell is Revell Germany. I've yet to see any updated retooling of this kit, with so many older kits popping out of the wood work on E Bay {and other site like 'em}. I've heard that R.G. is reproducing and expanding the 1:96 line....the Connie kit being the only one that was still being produced through the years. I have never used metal on these kits...nor have I ever put brass rods in the masts...haven't felt the need to. the one thing that urked me, was the segmented decks and trying to hide the joints. one thing I tried, which I need to get back to, was I made wooden decks for my second U.S.S. United States. it was a tedious task, but the results came out really good. I did have to do a second set though, because I took too long getting back to the model and the decks warped. I took precautions with this set and hopefully, it won't happen when I get back to it I have another Constitution kit....it will be my second as well. there should be a log for my second Cutty in the archives.......along with the one for the United States. some of the inaccuracies are actually design modifications for ease of assembly.......the dead eye racks are the most obvious. if they were to be located on the pin rails {the way they should be}, it would be almost impossible to tie off the rigging to the belaying pins. so they moved them onto the cap rails to make it easier. as with any model........there are ways to enhance them to add realism...you've done well with the rabbit holes you've gone down

so glad to see you are well and safe my friend! such stunning progress you've made on your model, under such circumstances...... your model is truly amazing!

one thing you didn't mention Craig, is that the washes you used on the plane mottled the flat finish a bit more, killing more of the flat sheen. that made it look even better.....more life like great job on the plane!

super job on the Porsche KP........a very nice rendition of the car {model}

much better Kevin! congrats on an awesome project!

hi there! I was looking for your log. I quite agree.........it's good to see young blood flowing in this old hobby I was around 35 when I built the United States, and even younger when I built the Constitution for my mother. she's a grand vessel..........and not a bad kit either welcome to the forum!

back in the day, I was a Guillow's / Comet fan.........mainly rubber power. I got started by my English lit teacher. we were all assigned a book project to report on....our choice. about a week into it, he noticed I hadn't turned in a title, so he asked me about it. hearing that I didn't have one......and my feeble reason.......he told me not to worry and that he had just the thing. the next day, he gave me a paper bag.....in it was a Balsa flying Piper cub plane kit.......don't recall if it was Guillows or Comet.......it was blue and yellow. I was instructed to write on it......the building process.....what I did, what I used to build it, the flight afterwards...everything I did with the model. I built it, and it flew.........and I got a decent grade too. the plane was still intact..........I put it on his desk A few years ago, I built the Spitfire MK1....I have the Fokker Dr1 in the closet. it's in the sanding process.......I will get back to it one day look'in forward to your log..........

thanks Phil

look'in really good so far have you looked into Shapeways?

I hope your vaccinated........hoping for a speedy recovery too! I used to think that way........prepping an airbrush for a few small parts was too time consuming to me. when I got into wooden ships, I began to revive a new appreciation for the air brush ........rattle cans are nice, but the control isn't there. I still use a brush for small parts, but for areas where brush strokes would be an issue, I use the A.B. practical might not be a good description.........I love finding the masterpiece they hid in the box of shards

off on another gem for your collection.........all in to see the show late observation......if visibility is an issue, I first though you might simply paint the area you cut out in the color of the interior. but after seeing what your results are.......you've done an outstanding job. superb solution to your problem!

if they are to take the place of two of the screws, you can set the other two up as dummies........that's quite a set up!

....knew you were gonna say that guess I'd better start matching up the paints .....huh?!?!

it's not building them......the visual aides are good enough. I just like to know what the parts are called......helps when writing a log or blog. I know I can count on folks here...appreciate ya look'in

glad to see your getting better OC.......I take probiotics when I have to take antibiotics........last time had me runn'in to the lavi on a regular basis good it hasn't stopped you either...nice work on the current regiment. use the time to think about the trees........like what Miagi {spelling.....whatever}........think tree

I've built a number of these 1:96 scale kits and love them .........I've used the eye bolts on them all. the one thing that bugged me was the seam lines in the decks........so much, that after finding another United States kit, I made wooden decks for it. somewhere in the archives, there is a log, but currently it's in my closet and I haven't touched it. I really should get back to her........had to make a second set, since I procrastinated and the first set warped. I also acquired another Connie kit...up in the air as to what I want to do with it. I agree with the ratlines........they are like impervious to most glues....they always seemed to come loose for me.