popeye the sailor

glad I didn't miss the whole build saw one of these on oldmodelkits........but at a larger scale. it's good to see more of your fine work

sorry for the delay, but the glass is proving to be more of a problem than I thought. I cleaned them off because I didn't like how they looked and did them again......but came out with the same results. ....just too much bleed under the tape. cleaning them up again, I tried to do them freehand with a fine brush......started out good, but the steady hand waned and ruined the job. a second try gave the same results. through all this, I've been using brake fluid to remove the paint.......so far so good that the parts haven't been affected. the third attempt I decided to try paint pens......bad thing is, I only have silver. it didn't go so well..........so I tossed them back in the brake fluid to remove the paint. for some reason, the paint would not come off. it took some doing to remove the paint.......a second try was just as bad. I was on the verge of giving up on it, but knowing the model wouldn't look right, I'm going to press on. I'll go back to the tape and hope for the best.........hard to understand.......it worked reasonably well on the other bombers. I started to play around with the decals.......I decided to go with the red outlined insignias, since they were used for short period in 1943. they would also work well with the color scheme. I have a set with the B 25 decals......but they are 1:48......I can only get away with using two for the fuselage. I have slammer ones for the wings from the Smithsonian kit by Lindberg { something about the sky......forget what the title of the kit was}. the decals looked funky, but I didn't put two and two together till I put one on the wing.........the sheet had been wet at one time and allowed to dry. the decals were so fragile, that lightly rubbing them would cause them to break up on the model!. after removing that mess, I took another pair and sprayed them with decal bonder.......see if that saves the day. I hate to tell the admiral that I need more decals. here are a few pictures of where I am on the model. thanks all for your interest

that's quite a model your embarking on yea........with all that detail, your going to need to do something for display. best yet is to leave the top removable. ....a very sweet looking model indeed! keep it up, and you'll make me want to do another tank ........haven't done one in years!

these are installed from the inside Ken........only the surrounding casing can be seen glad I was correct in deciding not to add frames I'm even happier that the window openings cut as well as they did! these are also the supplied windows.......I had already cut the openings for the metal ones......I'd probably have trouble getting the Tichy ones to fit. but as mentioned, it's OK......I'll certainly be able to use the Tichy windows for another project {which I do have one in the wings another thing I thought about was the corners.......this structure would really benefit from finding some of that brick overlayment. I could cut 2 mm strips and match up the pattern, covering the corners over.......ahhhh.....but then there's the color match problem...... ...my head hurts! the boilers were located on the second floor Ron, according to the back story at the beginning of the instructions. there were chutes that moved the ash to the first floor for easier removal.......likely had grates in the fire boxes. as is told, they had three boilers in this particular building. I've already thought of adding the boilers using large dowel that I have on hand. I will have to look into how the 'fuel' was brought to the second floor to feed the boilers..........I'll see if I can find pictures of the interior of one of these, and go from there. the premise of this structure was the production of steam, to power various aspects of the facility. the power house used it to produce electricity. to use one product to produce another, is a very interesting premise

I think the tinted cello will work ........I had to show you! this stuff I found one day while taking Gibbs out for a walk in the field by our house. it's used for tint on automotive windows how it got there.......I have no idea, but I though I could find a use for it.....and I have. a simple test shows that it doesn't take too much away from the interior......not that I plan to add anything in there. I had just fitted the top windows in the power house, when I got the urge to check this out after cleaning the cello, the size was measured and strips were cut to fit the space. one strip was cemented in place......I used CA on it it looks pretty good.......but it will be darker when the roof is put on. lighting could be added, but that will mean that the interior would need to be fleshed out some. now.....how deep down the rabbit hole do I want to go?

thanks all......so far this has been fun.......just like when I started to work on the snow plow. it was new.....something I had never tried before. this coming from a guy that felt daunted with wooden ships.......go figure now I can safely say and suggest to try thing you've never done before. sure you'll make mistakes.......but you get the same ups and downs with mediums your familiar with. don't you? I hear ya Ken.......I don't think there's a kit made, that some aspect or another isn't scratch built or changed to make things easier. I don't have to get too crazy with the roof framing.......as long as the roof sits well the metal windows seem clumsy.......lord knows how many times I dropped them, in trying to clean them up. yea......I dunno, white just seemed residential to me........darker colors means the cleaning lady doesn't have to fuss to much over the sills I did the front of the power house last night. I took a picture this morning, and I noticed right away that the door was sticking out at the bottom.......arg! I've adjusted it and now it fits flush. I filed around the casings before painting, to flatten the tabs along the sides. as I was fitting them in place, I did some finish sanding to make them fit better. to me......the templates were the biggest pain, but how else are you to mark and center the cut outs? you might not notice, but because of the template, the door opening was too tall and there was an 1/8 inch gap at the top. I could have been creative and added a transom, but you never see then on an exterior door. so, I added a piece to take up the space. these openings came out better than the Boiler house.........since the exterior is brick, there may not be a need for framing around the windows. the thickness of the wall panels is around 1/16.........around the equivalent of 2 mm. 3 mm might be a little too wide........I will have to go smaller for the window frames {I will have to do them on the Boiler house} I will try to get more done today, but I got three tires to mount for the Toyota......juggle them around, put on a new toilet seat, and finish what I was doing in the garage. the landlord's carpenters are back to reside the garage and put in a new window {I won't open that can 'o worms....I'm miffed enough about it}. I'm hoping that the Morano will fit in there, but I think it's too high.......might scrape the roof. beat that........a 1950's garage trying to house a 2010 automobile.......the shape of things to come { I hear that song in my head } oh.......before I forget.... the kit I ordered from oldmodelkits has shipped.......with any luck, I will see it by Friday. can't wait to show it to you

what the heck........no time like the present......right?!?!? after I logged off, I figured that it would take no time at all to take a few pictures.....I also have a picture of that tool I was tell'in you about. I bought this as an assortment........I was going to see if they would work with this project, but I've pulled the trigger on the supplied windows and doors. so I'll save these for other projects {the mind of a pack rat } the scary part is..........I DO have something in mind.........I just have to get started on it ***huge rabbit hole*** the assortment comes as ten packs of twelve......come complete with the clear glazing and shades { for all you Peter Noone fans } they have a larger set too.......I think over 200 pieces......but I think you have to order the glazing separately. heck......who knows......I may even build my OWN house we'll see what happens! about the tool........this was given to me a while back. I had no idea what the heck it was. when I started working on the PT boat, I used it to make a couple handles..........and that's when it hit me. it's use is to make the bends for grab Iron handles and brass railings. loosen the knob and position the brass to whatever step you need...tighten and bend away another thing to add to the project, is that I've saved all the cut outs from the larger windows. I figured they would make great chimneys. what the Grabhandler is sitting on, is a piece of artist's poster board.......to keep me from hacking up the table. I saw that was happening and I came up with this stuff that was in the closet gathering dust. forgot why I bought it....... I see a large mat in my future..........

I did some work during my work week.........surprisingly {wonders never cease}. I need to fit the rest of the windows, so I can paint the entire lot. still flip flopp'in on the color, so while I was cutting the windows out of the powerhouse walls, I can bat it around in my head. the templates that I cut out don't match the size of the wall billets, which the outer wall is already done in a brick motif. I decided not to downsize the overall size of the building, but drop the height..........about 10 mm should be good. I was also going to leave the walls and scratch build the eaves and pitched roof, but I ended up pitching the roof using this 10 mm spec, leaving enough to box in the soffits. the back wall has no windows........the side walls are identical......only the front wall has a door {so much for fire codes}. I thought I had taken some pictures of the assembly.....but I thought wrong. the corners will have moldings to hide the bare wood.......I painted up some .5 x 3 mm strip stock to cover them. wish I had 2 mm, but this is all I got at this point in time. I added some form of framing inside to help strengthen the structure. with all the windows and doors cut and delegated, I can paint them........I went with a dark gray. the kit did not supply anything for the glass, so now the question is, whether to use that tinted cello I have on hand, or use clear stuff {which I also have plenty}. I find that today's clear product packaging does a great deed to keep me well stocked {and in different thicknesses too}. I also ordered an assortment of windows from Micro Mark, produced by Tichy.......I'll show you what they look like in the next update......they are pretty cool unlike the boiler house, I decided to drop a floor in there for the second level. this kinda forces my hand......now it is likely that I will do it for the boiler house. the last thing I did before we had to go out again, was to add the side sills for the rafters and A frames, which will be likely from scratch as well. hope to get more done.......I'm on the week end

I got a chance during the past week to work on this project, but time wasn't on my side to present it. as mentioned, I got to paint the exterior of the boiler house. to clear this up { I was confused too} the larger structure is the boiler house......the smaller brick building is the power house. as said, I used the same green that I used on the PT boat. I'm kinda debating whether I want to do floors in it. I decided to do the single smoke stack .......glued the four sides together. I gave it a bottom.......cut them from scratch, since the supplied pieces didn't fit. the top wasn't flush, so I added another piece on the top. the windows took some time to clean up......I still need to paint them. debating what color to paint them..........white to me, seems kinda residential, don't you agree?!?! the smoke stack will fit on the back wall.....the one facing you in the above picture. the instructions are pretty vague on the piping, so research is under way.

par-don yet again..........grilled supper, but got tied into a movie while I ate. blame it on Vin Diesel the guy doing the drum roll on this big reveal is very happy to see me.......ok.......you can stop now now......this starts out with the car showing her bad side. the body is back together, but when I went to fit the front bumper, I found that the halves weren't matched up correctly. so I had to split the halves apart again and refit them, so the bumper would line up. touch ups have been done. it looks terrible now, but along the sides, a long chrome strip goes on from front to back....both bumpers have to line up. as you can see, I have the front bumper in place already. I decanted some of the paint, to paint the undersides of the headlight tunnels. I focused on the gaps I saw when I did the last dry fit to the rear bumper. I found that the chrome strip will cover over it, so I need not be concerned. so that the chrome strips will fit flush to the body line, I sanded the mating line from front to back......made it look even worse. I did some chroming to the canopy........ I may go around the base of it.......still to be done. the chrome strips actually went on pretty well.......I used CA to cement them in place. this is one of the few times I've actually used CA on plastic. and the rear bumper is in place now. I was in the process of digging up some deeper red for the tail lights. not much more to go the steering wheel is nearby......I painted around the rim of it. more soon......

apologize for the delay.......too much going on the admiral is having issues that we've been dealing with....finally getting good results. we bought another vehicle...a 2010 Nissan Marano..........barely a week and already in the shop. we brought it back to them because of a minor EVAP leak. these are the more prominent upheavals........ every time I turn around........we gotta go somewhere......... har-umph! I must have started this too late..........now I gotta go grill supper

good to see your making progress on her....... look'in really good

according to this book, there are no B 25's or late war aircraft that were used by the Germans. I'm always on the look out for other books pertaining to this subject. the fact that there were decal sheets on the Wulfe Hound and Sunshine is a bit interesting.......I would imagine that this subject has been visited in the past. more browsing needed later on in the war, there was a lot of turmoil in the ranks.......high ranking officers were being killed......and the foiled attempt on Hitler's life.

off to a good start

that's a neat look'in engine

I'm still working on her......I did the frames on the nose and cockpit glass with a fine brush.....and they came out looking terrible! so I cleaned them off using brake fluid and ready to try something else. more soon

happy to report that there is some movement with this model. it was touch 'n go there for a while.......the darn thing didn't want to fit together, but to this point in time, I managed pictures in a bit......the admiral is anxious to take the new {used} car out for another spin. we got errands to run.

the molds are........the molds. they present a chance that there could be a second run. this could impact the rarity........there are kits out there that only had one run. the prices for these kits are astounding! I would imagine that after the heat they endure, the molds would need to be planed after so many runs, to insure flatness {to limit flash}.

that's what I was planning to do, hence the split track. I'm going to order a bumper stop for it, along with other bits of scenery. another friend suggested I get a 'dummy' loco and have it pulling a couple other cars. now that there is a couple of larger buildings in the picture, I'm going to have to widen the diorama. it's OK.........now I can add more haven't done much to the structure......want to get the exterior, windows, and doors painted first without the roofs on. I did go out and look for 1/64 basswood, but there wasn't any. I think Hobby Lobby is becoming unreliable for wood stuff. I got some 1/32 flat stock instead.......no thicker than the supplied wood panels. I also ordered some windows to experiment with........I do have a future project to think about I'm not enthused about the metal trusses either......I may just frame the roofs out in wood. they are fragile........broke one trying to clean off the flash {not to the point I can't use it}.

glad I didn't offend you I also liked the full color pictures of some of the German built planes.

very nice Mike........those guns look great!

super nice progress so far Craig........really looks good with all that PE

the pair are looking great! when I saw you were working on the Langley, I figured you were finished with these two. I see you have more tricks up your sleeve the after market so far looks awesome........amazing what there is out there today

I finally took the B&M snow plow out of the closet.......this was my early stab at a diorama for some reason {I didn't use flash}, they came out kinda dark. I was just going to do a bit of scenery and a scratch built structure or two, signs, and other railroad bits. this structure kinda changed that, causing me to think larger. that's where I am on the snow plow.......I was working on the wings. I had gone to Hobby Town to get the trucks and couplers. I even have the slips........these are Bettendorf trucks. whether it's my goof or what, the front trucks don't have the ability to turn too tight a radius. I had to redo the cupola.....broken or misshapen parts.......I would have to look in the old log on her to recall it was 2011 when I got it.......not much was done. it was fun getting her to this point. I do have a tool to make grab irons........know I have a picture of it somewhere. I even dug out the decals I bought for her. for a chuckle, I even put the military train car on the track.......that includes a ramp / platform, so there's something else to plan for. before I forget.......my excursion didn't pan out much......Hobby Lobby is limited on what they carry for plastruct. I'll have to do the corner molding from scratch, unless I can go to Hobby Town.......I'm sure they have more.

wingnut has always been out of my price range........may be a quality kit, but I can't afford them. for that price, I'd expect not to feel that aftermarket enhancements would be needed.