popeye the sailor

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.

hate to break it to you, but on the tenth of March 1944,  the 2nd Staffel of the Versuchsverband OKL had one.......by the 30th of March,  they had two.  at the same time,  respectively,  one turned into two P 38 lightnings in the same time span.  as time went on the numbers grew and shrunk,  the list is somewhat long......Mosquitoes,  P-47s,  lightnings,  Spitfires,  Mustangs,  Harvards,  and Typhoons.  they focused quite a bit though on bombers......at any time they kept no less than at least 20 in the air,  and that was just the B 17s.  there is a glossary in the back of the KG 200 book that timelines the existence of these planes and how many were airworthy.  it's a good read  

yes...I'm aware that access into the ball turret was from the inside.......I didn't imply that it was done outside.  worded it wrong....probably.......but there were other manufacturers for these turrets.....some were introduced later.

surprised that being as detailed as it is,  there wouldn't be molded detail.  

what was wrong with the supplied blocks for the ship?  I've used the Revell supplied blocks on all my 1:96 scale ships,  and they were fine.  I have a method with rigging them,  that doesn't put a lot of stress on the plastic eye bolts.  I haven't resorted to filling the masts with metal rod either.

I saw you were finished!  I can't describe how good this looks............this look is harder than displaying her in a battle situation......   "it's everyday life aboard a carrier".  populating her with the people and laundry is a seriously nice look    you have done such a superb job with this one.  as for the Jap flying boat........you were just playing........weren't you    you certainly pulled it off with the other planes!  I think though that she should be put on a higher shelf...........it's a 'top shelf' job   

this is a push........the kind I like    I think I made enough sense with the wood panels.......time to get them on the frame now that the windows and such are cut out.  as mentioned,  I made a few goofs,  so I'll remedy this by making exterior frames.  some of the sheets didn't go the full span of the wall,  so I added some 1/8 pieces,  so I'd have something to glue to. we start with the back wall.

the pieces I added can be seen here......they won't impact the window installation.  this side does not go all the way to the top.......they mention this in the instructions.

the other piece was added to the back wall......now on to the side wall.  this wall overlaps the back wall.  personally,  I thought the ground floor windows were a bit low,  especially since I allowed the 1/8 for the doors.........but there are instances where the windows are lower {seen on more modern buildings}.  foundation-wise.......they have stuff out there that will imitate stone,  cement.........just about anything you want.  I'm not sure of the future,  but this is screaming dio  ....we'll have to see.

big jump here.......one side is done and the other side is getting the second half of it's exterior siding {I'm almost beside myself!  }

keeping the corners flush......very important.  I have some of the small Plastruct angle stock I was going to use as corner molding,  but I can't seem to find it..........this will make another pilgrimage to Hobby Lobby more important!  I'll just couple it with a trip to Home Depot or Wal Mart and I can get it past the budget director.

the front is on now........I started to look at the upper part.  I like the metal trusses,  but between the flash and that I noticed some deformities,  I'd be more inclined to make them out of wood strip.  another thing I see,  is there is nothing to anchor them to the wall.  the panels for the upper face drop down,  but not all the way to the cross beams below the roof line.......you may see them,  but I made marks there,  where the face panels go down to.

the skeletal in no way impacts the window placements.  where I marked out the line........cross beams were added,  and the upper fascia was put on.

the construction so far has been great........I like how sturdy it is,  and in spite of the vagueness of the instructions,  not terribly tough to figure out.  I think Gibbs is fuss'in to go out.........and I have a mission.  the admiral is thumbing through bank stuff........we're getting another car {we don't want to, but I think it's time,  before a house falls on it  }  more on this project soon  

the left over wood is the roof........I was going to paint them aluminum and probably weather them......likely since the fresh paint will be shiny     I was on the fence with the overall color.......I'm thinking green though.  I have that can of flat green I used on the PT boat......I figure that with flat white window frames,  that I will need to make.  materials not supplied in the kit.  here is the Green I was thinking of.

darker I could go with a flat medium green......I've always like that color    the metal siding your talking about...........well,  I have two choices now  

this is the stuff I just bought.......it has wider ripples.  you can see that there are some minor defects,  but I can either try to scribe them out,  or leave them,  chalking it up to the building enduring occasional hail storms and such.  I was going through my plastic sheeting,  and found a package of aluminum siding with narrower ripples.

that's a sheet of .005 brass behind it......I have other sizes that came with the brass assortment I got from Micro Mark.  I have odd pieces too......

good picture showing the ripple indentation.  I've got other stuff.......copper and such.......I am such a pack rat     I hear you on the wood thickness,  but I'm having some thoughts on the rafter parts.......this lead like metal is something to work with...probably Britannia,  but not sure......all it says is that they contain lead {not for small children}.   for the exterior window framing,  I ran into a slight dilemma.........most of what I have is .5 X 3 mm strip and would be a bit out of scale.  I did find my assortment of mahogany strip that is a mix of 1 and 2 mm widths.  I think I have enough.

another trip to Hobby Lobby might be in order......I believe they have 1/64 basswood sheet that might work better for the roof.  the metal stuff is good, but I think a backing might give it some stability.  I may even resort to card if all else fails.

drat........I gave you folks a preview of my next update 

dialing in the color spectrum......gotta be one of the hard parts  

my grandson asks me why I haven't built a tank.........one day perhaps     so........where's that gluey smell I hear tell about?

I'm fairly sure that I read that the ball on b 17's was retractable......that's how they could get in and out.  the skid appears to be in a place that would give space to the ball........that's how I figured it.  I kept the protrusion with the idea that the guns would fit into the slots...I did want to make it somewhat visible,  since there are no guns in it.   at least I was right in keeping the skid extended      I would imagine that if anything was done that would alter the balance of the plane,  they would erect a prop for the tail.  I've seen other planes with tricycle gear propped up in this manner.

I did do a little on her.......touched up the underside parts and painted the props.   now to go through the task of framing the cockpit and nose glass