popeye the sailor

look'in very nice........fine layout gonna look even better with the added weathering

thanks OC........working on the nacelles at the moment...... mixed reviews

thanks Jack ........almost ready to be put together. I'm itch'in to see it all together.... I swear..........I haven't even done a dry fit! that's going some for me.......... while I was presenting the latest update, I assembled the tail assembly. most of my brushes I have out have become misshapen, so I got a couple of fresh ones and touched up a few of the more noticeable bleeds. I like it I previously did a few touch ups on the wings........they are fully dry now. I painted the tires and the outer hub caps as well.

got an update for yuns........got more time on her last night. I was going to do the other side of the rudder ailerons, but never got to them.......trying to figure out the belly turret. it's the large opening under the fuselage........the assembly is built on the filler, and then cemented in place. the big thing is.....will it touch the two tabs that are inside the opening?! I've been hoo-doo'd by assemblies of this nature before.......put it all together, only to find that id won't fit.........too tall and won't seat correctly. the filler plate and the frame for the turret assembly has ben assembled...the part that is now on the top is my concern. the rudders are ready for the paint booth. the ball was painted on the inside and the glass has been added to it. I use window maker to fill in the gun slots...there will be no guns in it. there will be guns at the tail, the dorsal....not decided on the nose. there will be no waist gunners......as mentioned, some 'teeth' but that's it. I did some more fiddling before sack time..........this morning, the rudder ailerons were painted. one has been assembled, so you can see what the outer side will look like. I'm still wrack 'in my head about the nacelles. the outside of the ball has been painted.......the areas where the yoke connects to the ball, has also been painted. ........and now both of the rudders are assembled.......I let the striping go all the way down, instead of breaking it off with the gray.

AWESOME! they are here! first...from Gofer racing decals, I saw this sheet and figured that at least a couple of them might work. they are for 1:24 / 1:25 scale models, but I'm glad I bought them....... the other sheet is from Archer.......these are a bit different than the normal waterslide. they are what they call NCF decals {no clear film}. they are national insignias for jeep and 1/2 ton truck models.......just the stars. they come in what looks like several different sizes. I was hoping to find a sheet that were all the same size, so I could arrange them in a flag formation. but I wasn't opposed to laying them in odd sequences either. looks like the latter wins out. now to go digging through the archives.

extra sharp Vermont for me...........with beer

c'on......I'm just a back seat driver really nice progress you've done so far.......yea, you really need to build the car around the figures, that 's the main reason why I don't like to do them either. do the figures come with insignia decals? if not, they can be bought at Mega Hobby...looks to be a huge sheet of 'em. neat array of different kits too........the 'Walking Dead' dio look really cool I watched Hogan's Heroes regularly.......never knew the background to the show either. it's a wonder they got any of them to do it

coming along great OC good to hear the airbrush is working out well for you

so hey.........whilst I'm here......I may as well lay some more pictures on you! there were a couple of "awww nutz" moments, but they were fairly easy to overcome and proceed. the nacelles are being painted at the moment, and the other sides of the rudder ailerons have been given the coat of white...now I just have to stripe them. the wing ailerons have been assembled......I didn't continue the striping where they mate the wings......I hope this doesn't bite me later, but that's how they painted, so I stuck with it. the landing gear have also been painted. there are quite a few 'bleeds' as well.......I will try to touch them up as best I can. I likely will have to let a near empty bottle of white sit and separate, siphon off the liquid, and use the pigment to do the touchups. fresh paint.....and this color combination in particular, is prone for becoming active and mixing........last thing I want is a pink plane the wings themselves are kinda complex........the flaps, ailerons and landing gear must be assembled all together. the flaps were a bit of a let down.......they are very thin and bowed enough to make them look sloppy if left in the down position. so I'll be showing them in the closed position. it would have been good if the ribbing inside helped to align the flap, but they don't even touch them. I didn't notice this till after the fact, but I have them on the wrong side. the pins for the pivots should be inward and not showing on the outer surface of the wing....they appear more inset than they should. looking at the assembled wing, it doesn't look too bad though......the hinge parts look sunken in a bit more, but it add to the detail that these parts are movable, just like the ailerons {they don't have that 'molded' appearance}. the stabilizer was assembled......other than a few 'bleeds', it looks really good. the misgiving of the fuselage stripes shows up badly here......I'm not going to even try to fix it........thoughts of pink come to mind. in this somewhat dim picture, you can see what happens when the fuselage halves were poorly matched when I masked off for the blue. I will have to repair this. the cockpit was cemented in place on only one side of the fuselage........still more to add before this can happen. the landing gear will be cemented in place too. the kit features landing gear that can be retracted or in the down position. I have very little need for movable gears, so I had to arrest the gear in the wing as it dries. once they are set, I can assemble the wings. it can be seen how much of a gap there is on the flaps........this will be less when the wings are assembled and clamped in these areas. the starboard wing is assembled........don't know why I always start with the starboard side.........habit I guess I fixed the stripe with the blue. the port side is clamped up.......... the blue on the fuselage has also been repaired...... as mentioned......I should see the decals today, then I can elaborate on that further. I'm gonna look in the other decal packs I have to see if I can use any of those too.......I should have enough

it is interesting Mark........old glory is in reference to ships........or the captain of a ship. this is a plane, but it can be, and has been referred to, as a ship. there is no actual plane { that I'm aware of} that was called Old Glory, it was the catchy phrase that came to me with the idea for the paint scheme. I can't with good conscience take away from this gent, because of his affiliation in the Military..........he came up with it.........Betsy Ross didn't even coin the phrase when she sewed the first flag { she should have}. his story is an interesting one.........think of it.........he had the flag....the confederates went to his house to take it from him..........he said he didn't have it {he sewed it in a quilt}........they searched his house and couldn't find it. the man must have been laughing his a$$ off! what he told his daughter before he died was touching.....a real sense of importance. but it's OK though.......it wasn't hard at all to come up with a new angle. when I expanded Wenzel's Wharf on Word Press, I named a page that I posted all of my aircraft models......Popeye Squadron. at the moment, I'm stuck because I haven't finished the Guillow's Fokker Dr 1....{I really should}. I have some catching up to do when I finally finish it.......I have several models done since then........I'll likely do a recap, especially the string of captured planes. I also found an image that best suits the page, though it is hardly shown anywhere.......but I kept it in the event that I ever do. she will be renamed " all American". I had also sized it down to use as an avatar at one time......... the only other model that has anything to do with Popeye, is none other than the Nordkap. in the helm room, there is a picture of Popeye and Olive dancing, and a picture of Poopdeck Pappy, Popeye's father. I did it as a funny joke for Tom Richardson, as I was sending him built logs to post on his website BB USA {my god........this seems so long ago}. if I were to used it on the model, it would be downsized so much, it would be illegible.........might look better on a 1:48 or even a 1:32 scale model. this paint scheme is VERY tempting....but without the mistakes I made with this one. I'll see what it looks like. I got a notification on the decals I ordered......they initially said Saturday, but the one I got this morning says today.........I hope! I'll explain more when I get them. to be frank.......many folks call the flag 'old Glory', but they have no idea of the phrase origin....some don't even care to find out. research give one a better understanding of things.....and to be honest, I'd rather not shadow anything anyone has done......there is more satisfaction in one's own creation. even though Popeye is naval in appearance, his bulging muscle has shown many facets of military hardware.......be it a Battleship, a tank, or an artillery piece......even an electric generator!

....as I've always said....."there's a masterpiece in the box somewhere......rest assured I'll find it!"

it wasn't hard to find......... How the Flag Came to be Called Old Glory | History | Smithsonian Magazine

I ordered some decals last evening............and I also found out that I can't use the subject 'old Glory'. I'm going to have to decide on another premise. I neglected to book mark the info I found.......I'll tell yas why when I find it again.

train models are always a pleaser

sometimes low expectations produces the best looking models

thanks Javlin

thanks gents........I never knew that there were so many.........then again, that they even existed. I saw them........but the wild paint made me thing that it was someone's idea.......it wasn't real. I'm not into building models that don't exist, although I have built a few because of the novelty aspect they possessed. you buy a model and look up the subject, only to find not a shred of evidence that there was an actual plane or vessel. I did that with the Nordkap........I found squat on her. but I was told here on the site, that there was such a vessel....a person who is quite knowledgeable.......I had no cause to disbelieve him after looking up the Buffalo Bill........I quickly found that it was nothing more than B.S. the assembly ship is interesting.....there is a creative value to it. the planes themselves aren't from military blueprint........they are painted by the squadrons they represent........'field paint'. the planes are older planes that through repeated repairs and age, are given an entirely new use instead of scrapped or cannibalized. strange to hear that after a war's end, the military would destroy pieces that they don't intend to bring home. from what I've read about PT boats, very few were actually brought home....the rest were scuttled or burned. these planes were stripped of armament and other equipment {which I may have stated earlier}, but a few of them possessed just enough to get home on. there are times that the mission took them close to the action {I'll have a few guns on mine}. I'm almost ready to get some of these parts assembled.......just a bit more to go thanks again all........thanks to Lou for pointing them out

these wooden kits are interesting though.........although sheeting hulls takes some getting used to I have the Hasegawa kit of the Missouri in 1:450 scale. plastic, but likely not as much fun, as your having I subbed wood sheeting for the plastic stuff Dumas supplies in their PT boat........I found it a lot more malleable. perhaps pictures online may help you form a more perfect keesta. {stern looks from the audience}

after a bit of 'do this and do that', I finally got to remove the masking. I can say that covering over some of the imperfections with these colors is a bit on the hard side, especially if they are darker than the paint covering them. I need to wait anyway.......all this needs to fully dry before trying anything. I did in a couple of areas and the paint became active........ if I can't touch it up with a brush, I'll need to remask and spray. where I masked over the gray on the fuselage, there were a few spots that showed the base plastic.....I've already touched these areas up. the main thought was how the stripes will run.........either differently on the fuselage and wings, or all in the same direction. I think the latter will look better. when I was removing the rudder parts from the masking, a tip on one of the rudders almost broke off........I patched it with cement and will let it dry. I also painted the gray areas on the inner rudder parts. ....and here are the rest of the parts to complete the color scheme still a lot more painting to go

glad you mad it through OK........I've been seeing the news and it don't look good down there. we got a lot of rain up here from her, but it wasn't nothing compared to what you folks endured! now lets hope that help comes as fast as the storm did

not so much a stranger this time...........catching up was a lot quicker really nice job with the dio.........the pool looks great and your small set up shows how good it's gonna look! I got back into airbrushing when I started to build wood ships........too much surface area for a brush alone! yup...practice will make all the difference. the more you do, the better your gonna get! fantastic job so far my friend.......keep up the good work!

I've seen those solid wood model kits........scared to pull the trigger but then again, I was daunted with wooden boats....and that was silly. the person who I got the Nordkap from also gave me a PT boat kit by Marine Model Co.......solid wood hull. I haven't started it yet, but the hull is already precarved. love to see the 1:28 B 17....bet she is a monster! looking forward in seeing your next project...the A 10 sounds cool

thanks Phil for the kind comment and thanks to all for the likes more has been done in the paint dept. I had a though to paint the top surface in front of the cockpit.........I was going to do flat black for this, but I decided to do it in the bomber green. then I moved on to the rudders and stabilizer. I was reminded that I only painted one side of the rudder flaps.....so I still gotta do that. the stabilizer is now masked for painting. this tape that I'm using is Testor's pin striping tape........comes in three different widths. it is a trustworthy tape for me the outside surfaces of the rudders will not be striped, since they are now flat blue....just the inside surfaces. the bottom sections under the stabilizer, will be done in light gray, like the underbelly of the fuselage and wings. the fuselage halves were next to get the masking job. the cowls will be done in flat white, later to get their decoration, yet to be see ...and then it came to the paint by this time, I had to leave to take the admiral to her doctor's appointment. now that I'm back, I can remove all the masking and see what it all looks like. more on the process soon........reminds me of the scene where the doctor remove the bandages from Joker's face, in the first Batman

it's been a busy couple of weeks.........work has been a bear.........celebrated my birthday on the 31st.......replaced the right front axle and lower control arm in my son's car, as well as all the lug studs on the left front. he took it to a dealer to have the transmission replaced {a month ago} and they over torqued the wheel lugs, ruining the left front rim. he bought a replacement rim the other day, per my suggestion. I went to take it off and two of them were loose again, as well as one of them being seized. I got the tire off by snapping the lug with a breaker bar and length of pipe, for more leverage it's bad when you can look at the lug holes and actually see the damage! the right front was over torqued as well, but he hasn't had to retighten them {he stopped by the house one day complaining of a noise in the left front........that is what we found}. it's a long story.........sigh all the rain we've had.......I also got to mow the lawns finally........the jungle had returned. one issue I've run into with this project, is that when I repainted the bottom pan, I removed the masking, only to find that the adhesive had stuck to the part and not on the tape . true, I left it on for a couple of days, but the other masking tapes I have hasn't done this. I'm not sure, but I think this is Tamiya tape. so now I want to remove the adhesive so I can repaint the undercarriage. once I get it off, the black can be touched up and I can move on with it. I am in the process of testing the tape. I stuck some on a wing and will leave it a couple of days, to see if it is just a time thing.........but I think the introduction of paint and paint thinner may have caused it. we'll see.

WOW! you've made some really good progress ! very nice indeed ! a couple of comments I'd like to add is that the fuel tank is where it is for a good reason. fuel systems relied on suction for mechanical fuel pumps.......pressure for today's cars. the early systems likely relied on gravity feed for fuel delivery.....putting the tank over the engine would certainly accomplish that. ....and yes.....most batteries were located under the driver's seat of floor board. the master cylinder is probably there as well. my brother knew a guy that had an old American staff car, and that was how it was set up.....except it had a mechanical fuel pump...the tank was located in the rear undercarriage. good you held off on some of the rust and dirt....now that the body is in place, you can go mental but it does matter though on how long it's been out in the 'wild' ....could have been a new addition to the pool. great job......looking spectacular!