popeye the sailor

nicely detailed kit.....look'in very nice

I have a chance to do another for the Progress. once I shaped the one for the Nordkap, I sealed it and then did the finish sanding. I did the hawse holes for the anchors like I did for the Nordkap, but I'm thinking of changing it to a more oval look. I see you left the boat crane as a manual crank. this was the first wood kit I ever built, and being uncut forced me to learn scratch early. I assembled the one that came with the kit and the one from the fitting kit........I may use them both. I'm also playing with the idea of a fore deck, which will deviate from the pictures I have of the Progress. your probably wondering.......the Progress kit was produced around the same time as the Nordkap kit.......it is basically a clone of the Nordkap kit. there were two kits, the full size Progress and a Junior kit. another kit that was produced in this fashion was the Wavney class life boat...

she looks awesome Mike! I enjoyed shaping the funnel for mine...took my belt sander, laid it upside down in a milk crate, and had at it blue seems to be the fitting color for this model....I used a grabber blue. you really did a nice job! the base is sweet!

couldn't keep my fingers out of that Patton tank........got a few pictures. waiting to do some painting

really good article Ken.......the gent did a lot more than I did with mine there were a few good ideas I'd like to try out though

great start OC...........

I'm sorry I missed this one Greg........so much went into her and the planes look so very good....I can see why your nails are so short such beautiful detail and so much of it.......amazing how much your able to stuff into your models! good info on the deck....I have one that I got a wood deck for, and haven't even thought how I'm going to be able to place it since I've never done one before. you have a way bringing out the life in a model.......I'm envious, but glad to partake in seeing how you do it

good to see I'm early too........I know I have a lot of catching up to do very nice job on the cockpit........nicely detailed! fingers are crossed that you can pull it off...look'in forward to see the finish.

but that's the point Roger.....there are more roads than tracks. there could have been an advantage here. but I do agree about the instability......I think the gondola should be shorter. it likely would also require stabilizer legs, much like heavy construction equipment for support, and when positioned, the tanks could have been turned 45 degrees to help counter the residual recoil. the K5 gun itself has the ability to buffer the recoil, built in...hard to say how much more would be left over. thanks for the pictures Patrick.....interesting that there was a pillar system on the drawing board, considering that most mechanized mortars were short, an utilized the coupler and King pin concept. given what I had to work with, I figured it figured it wouldn't be too hard to snaz up Hasegawa's shortcomings. this concept doesn't mean that it would be a totally 'off road' piece of equipment, but it opens up more strategic advantages for it to be more effective. even tanks navigated roads, as well as open field, to get where they were needed. most of the time, they were in a convoy along with other pieces of equipment that would have a hard time. as said, I do think that the wheel base is too long, but reading this information, made it too hard to ignore. it was a great exercise in the 'what if' catagory I have the next two days off........along with my normal week end, I should have more to add here

thanks Bug and OC........I guess it was good that I held off on showing the process. one gets to see it as a whole {or close to it} rather than in sessions, like normal logs run. I've done a few tanks.......haven't done one in quite a while. I'd love to do more. the admiral today commented on the chassis, saying that they are too small......she'd like to see them bigger. I told her........OK.......I can get one in 1:16 scale.....the detail on them are so much more! there was talk about cost.......as a matter of fact, we were at Hobby Lobby yesterday, and saw that there was a sale on kits....40% off. so I bought two kits......a '59 Chevy El Camino and this tank....... 1:35 is a decent scale......I showed her the difference in body length, as opposed to the 1:72 chassis. it even comes with several army figures.......I doubt I will ever used them {any takers?}. hey....who knows.......maybe I can angle my way towards getting one of those large scale kits ! aside from this diversion......I still have been play'in......I have some automotive engines I've been work'in on for future projects. it seems that the 1950's is my play field thanks for look'in in......I hope I did good

ok....the blood is up to my head.......if this was to have come to fruition, it would have been a monster.........a total game changer, in my view. Leopold would have had the ability to better positioning.....would have made a huge difference at Anzio. here is what Leopold would have looked like, if it had been mechanized. the chassis is level....high enough off the ground to navigate rough terrain. I mention the antennas, since it is crucial that the lead chassis be in constant communication with the trailing chassis {and vise versa}. I thought about the turrets.......I think rather than buy another kit to use just the gondola, I may scratch build another gondola, a bit different than this one, and base the turrets on it. I can also shorten it up a bit.......I'll do a different log again, I apologize for digressing like this, but this was too good of a concept to ignore. with so many kits out there, this was too tempting not to exploit on with the normal programming......

of course........I also found a little time for Leopold. the aft deck of the gondola has been added to the model, along with the 'tilt' loading platform just behind the breech. then I did something stupid........I used a brush to touch it up in spite of my shaking the bottle of paint, it still dried a different hue than what the airbrush laid down....I will have to go back over it. the top decks were finally cemented into the rail cars........ I did some here too.......given getting over spray where I don't want it, I may just try and blend it somehow. the main pivots for the gun still needs to be added...the parts are in the back ground.. so where we are at with Leopold...is here. outside of the shading.......I'm ready to move on. here it is again on the rail cars. I'll get that shading in check as can be seen though, there isn't much of a need for clearance......the tolerance between the gondola and the rail cars is minimal....not much gets in the way. if this was to have gone through with mechanization, I did find that the tolerance would need to be more, due to what is on the chassis tops and the exhaust....etc. I am glad I gave it as much as I did..........get a load of this

decaling for these tanks is located mainly on the turrets. where it is though that the chassis used likely came off the assembly line, rather than the field, I simply gave then the German insignia. they were positioned in places where I could use the rest of the detail parts, like sections of repair track, the cables, and such. I would imagine that if there were antennas, they would would be tied down, in the form of a 'whip'........I haven't added them yet. the cables were painted in flat steel and dry brushed with the rust color. this morning, I took another picture of the two........in a different light. the shackles were also added.......just a couple more parts to go

the first chassis is done.......I used Ca to speed up the process, and it was a better glue to keep the sections in place, so I could continue with the assembly, without so many discouraging words. after touch ups, the outer fenders were added to the chassis. the other chassis got the tracks added and the production line came to the conclusion of the track fiasco. the exhaust parts and detail was added to the rear, now that I can move forward finally rear fenders as well.... I did some dry brushing to the tops of the couplers front parts were added.......and then I gave them their camo stripes they are coming down to the smaller added bits of detail. keen to note that I said a half truth earlier.......there are tools that are molded detail. added detail is a shovel and a crank, used for something or 'other. that's next in the process.

hello everyone!.......remember me?!?!? I'm that guy with the 'fly away' mind it's been a busy place 'round here at the wharf...from snow storms that may as well be called slush events, to changes in life and work { I wish the work part would fade......but that another story } . I have had moments where I could devote some time on this project though.......the concept is too cool now that I see it in the flesh. to pick up where I left off takes us back to the end of January, when it was time to put on the tracks.......a step that would have been better, had I done it when the side panels were off the main chassis. I would have had more room to piece together the track links. as can be seen, there are the flat sections to the tracks, and they are to be joined by the smaller parts of the track where ever the need to turn to meet the flat sections. they were first base coated in the Dunkel gray.......then dry brushed in flat steel, and later to be dry brushed with the rust color {nothing more than flat red primer}. it was kinda frustrating to assemble the tracks.......but it went well and I got the job done once the chassis were painted in the sand yellow, the gears and bogies were also dry brushed in prep for the task. I did leave some of the gray shadowing beneath the fenders...the outer part of the fenders will be added once the tracks are in place. ...and let the fun commence!

she looks great Mike! you've come quite a long way with her so true........these old kits are not laser cut, which makes life a bit more challenging. the fitting kit does have the upgrades, but there were a few things that I wasn't crazy about. in the original fitting kit, the anchor winch and the net winch were made of metal ....in the new fitting kit, the main bodies are laser cut wood parts. the boat crane is plastic, but it wasn't part of the original kit. I cut the parts out and assembled it.......later getting the idea to motorize it. the kit I got to build the Progress is an older kit.....the parts panels and the planking is mahogany. I used basswood and Obechi, and save the mahogany planking for future use {a sailing ship perhaps}. I also fancied the idea to elongate the hull and build this vessel: the stern came out really nice.......I had a heck of a time with mine. the outer panel broke and I had to repair it. superb job all the way around......very nice choice of paint!

catching up on your Cutty Peter....gotta say she looks fantastic! great job on the masting, and I as well use the plastic blocks if I have them......they look fine and work just as good very nice progress indeed!

I've seen a few plastic kits around........I think it would be neat to see a display like that

did you see the picture?

must have been cool to own your very own tank..........drive around........scare the neighbors I've always run into kits that parts that I would thing should be separate, are molded into the associated part { like oil filters to oil pan etc...}. I have one at the moment with this problem.......if that wasn't bad, the starter is molded on too .....and this particular kit is 1:16 scale! very sad state of affairs indeed.......wa....wa....waaaaaaaa I'm currently doing this sort of mod with a pair of Tiger II's.........look'in forward in seeing what you do to this one

superb job Chris........the spit looks almost real! I always do a little sanding to my tires......it's like weathering

models with possibilities........that's what I see when buying and building a model. here I am, happy to be able to show one........you've shown us five! stellar job my friend!

the framing looks excellent........well done!

very sharp chassis and engine the numbering looks cool too!

hello Kathy.......now I really feel embarrassed 4 years..............that's the same as a term for the presidency! has it been that long??? to be hones, she's been under drape all this time.....doing my best not to let the dust settle on her. I do have a reason for getting her back on the table......but I did as well in the case of the Half Moon.......and I missed the boat on that one too I was in the process of trying to find the life boats for her, since the kit has a shortcoming on this area. the aft supports are dry fitted in this photo, I believe....another pair are to be positioned on the roof of the forward cabin. it been trial and error.......so I think I will settle for what I've got and go with them.......I'll just fudge them a little to suit. I also wanted to add a few other bits of detail.......and with that, I think I will lower the scope a little, so the project will be a bit more achievable. the idea of building a second model to accompany this one did come to some sort of fruition........I built a hull {using that one bow bulkhead I showed back in the early part of the project}, but instead of continuing it as the Cutty Sark, I thought to do something very different. I decided to build a clipper battle ship. there are some aspects that I still need to iron out....like propulsion {I plan on 2 to 4 screw}, and masting, but it is doable. I have pictures of what I have done on her......I am so 'itching' to digress.......but I shouldn't. here is just one picture of the hull..... I guess the idea came about, when I was working on the Arizona {which I still need to finish as well}...or I might have been tinkering with the guns on the New Jersey {which I am so itching to start}. the idea ran though my head.......could I make these from wood? ....and that's what kicked it off..... I have some PE to play with for her.......it's been about a year since I last pulled her out. I'm always play'in with something.....make no mistake. one day I may get up the gusto to create a log.....I just don't want to scare folks, thinking that I've gone off the deep end I have......>evil grin<. so keep an eye on this log.........I will be back