popeye the sailor

SWEET!

awesome diorama your putting together Alan! it really looks super!

superb finish on the E.V Chris.........hard to believe that it's made from paper! very well done!

superb jog on the Corsair Rob........the paint work is really spectacular! I've done a little on masking detail markings, but not to the level you did on this one.....they came out great! really nice looking bird!

really nice work on the Harrier.....impressive to see it in different scales hope you and yours had a super holiday season and a very prosperous New Year!

thanks OC...and thanks for the likes. made a little more progress had a very nice Christmas with the family........hope you all had a great holiday as well!

there is different densities with balsa wood..........I've got two in this kit alone. I'm using the denser stuff for the struts. if I was going to competitions, I'd likely do the same. how many flights can an average person get out of one of these planes? rubber doesn't last too long.......the rest is all glide. weight has always been an issue.......even in the real world. it was thought that paint would add too much weight to the plane, so they opted for printed canvas to cover them. all I was saying is that with the electric motors they have out there now, they can provide the constant push needed to get them off the ground and keep them in the air. from what I've read, basswood is a second choice for wood........they even have lightweight plywood out there for larger plane kits.

Christmas is tomorrow..........can't lie.........I'm on the edge on my seat! I keep bugg'in the admiral..............and she keeps telling me to knock it off! my younger son and his fiancé {thanks spell check!] are coming over, and we spend the evening playing games....one year mixing it up and watched a Christmas movie. however it works..........it should be a fun evening. my oldest........though it would be nice to have them all over, he has his own brood and they have a separate party with her in-laws { I can respect that } I think back to my younger days..........there was a time when the ENTIRE Wenzel family used to enjoy gatherings throughout the year. I'm talking as far back as second..........and even third cousins! through the following years.........everyone got older..........older relations died........and a disagreement {I'll call it that} between two families, literally destroyed the tradition I reminisce.............. "time it 'twas, and what a time it 'twas" it 'twas......... a time of innocence, a time of consequences." "Long ago, it must be....... I have a photograph." "preserve your memories........ their all that's left you......." {Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel} so............as we arrive at the big day, I think it's a good time to update you all on where I am with this model. the bottom of the wing has been painted and allowed to dry. I didn't use the Iron Crosses like I wanted to, opting to use the simplified crosses instead. this way, I can use up the thicker ones I have on the wing bottom........for some reason, I only have three of them........thought there was four. the decals are very brittle.........it's been hard to apply them without breakage. then a major development occurred........they wouldn't stick! there must be something with the White Ensign paint.........either that, or the wood sucked in most of the paint 'quality', leaving the pigments on the surface! most disheartening! a quick remedy for this is to spray a clear lacquer over the wing to seal the wood. I removed the decals {what a job}........and sprayed the wing, giving it a couple coats on both sides. I couldn't find the flat lacquer, so I used dull cote instead. I had no problem with the rudder decals, because I used Testor's flat white on the rudder and stabilizer top surface. this is what makes me thing that it's the type of paint, and not a wood issue. not to say that it isn't though......the bottom is balsa and the top is basswood {could be the type of wood}. the decals stuck to the revised wood surface, but I do notice some lifting.......I'm running a test at the moment. get this solved before the wing goes on......... there is a white chip missing on the port underside........found it on the floor, but it was so brittle, that it was impossible to pick up {I'll try and fix it with some paint}. the cowl has bee added to the fuselage and painted. the coaming has also been added around the cockpit opening....I'm surprised it worked, since it is thick thread and wax coated. I bought the spool thinking it might work well for rigging, but it didn't. the machine guns are added as well. I will need to cut the slots for the cabane struts.........with the poor quality die cutting, they kinda got lost in the process. I let the bottom wing decals dry before applying the top decals. I had to cut them so they would lap over the aileron gap. being treated with the dull cote, these stuck better than the underside decals. I went over the aileron detail with a mechanical pencil and that's it.........this is where I am at this point in time .........from out in the kitchen, there rose such a clatter..........guess I should go and see what's the matter!

I'll have to check out that site CW.........I've only done a few rubber powered planes. in my experience with these types of models, the use of basswood really doesn't add much weight at all. I've subbed in basswood on this model, and it still feels very lightweight. this is not to say that it doesn't, but powered with an electric or gas engine, I really don't think it would be a huge issue. when I built the Spitfire, I subbed in basswood stringers. it is set up to fly, having installed the rubber band...........I did other aspects differently as well. throughout the assembly of these planes, they use a paint called Dope......IE, doping the plane.......tissue.......ect. I used diluted white glue to coat the tissue.........it shrunk the tissue as it dried, just as spraying it with water would. I gave it a couple more coats, and then airbrushed it with enamel paint. this did loosen the tissue, which I was hoping wouldn't happen, but it tightened back up as it dried, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. it also got a coat or two of clear lacquer. I've got it sitting in the hallway at the moment........a year or two after I built it. it proved not to be the safest place though..........I noticed that one of the stabilizers was broken off and had to repair it. I hadn't built another flying model since the 70's. I'm not sure if temperature would play a huge part for flight, but now I'm tempted to send this one up to see how I did. my past experience with the more modern fixed wing aircraft didn't do so well. the Piper cub I did back when I was in school flew fairly well.........but the real success story was the Fokker D VIII. my reason for not using the Dope was with the smell and the toxic nature........this stuff can send you into another world if not used in a well ventilated area. kinda reminded me of Lenny Bruce and the aero plane glue skit he did at the time, I really wasn't set up to handle this stuff safely. back with all the others, I used no paint at all, but white glue in the assembly process. thanks to you folks for the kind comments and the likes as a static model, I'm trying to add as much as possible....most from memory, since I've built quite a few of these planes. I may not get everything I want on it, but I think it will turn out to be an interesting model. it has a wingspan of 14 inches....the stabilizer is 4 1/2 inches wide........can't measure the goodbar............I ate it

nice work on your figure Jack.........very life like

superb job.......a tribute to the amazing art work that is found on these planes

this afternoon, I got to sit down again with the model.........not much, but enough the tail skid is painted.........the machine guns are painted their base color.......and I got to work on the wing some more. the top had been painted earlier with the steel gray.......still needs the darker gray on the underside. I was standing over the fuselage...I took this picture.......... the plans show the struts for the wing..........I'm about to make the pairs. for the wing I did the same camo design. I was curious as to how it would look. I think it will fit the bill alright I'm hoping to get more done before the holidays........ ☃️🎅

the Christmas rush.........who came up with that? they must not have heard about the check out line it's been crazy 'round here..........barely time to breathe. we've gotten our first snow as well.........1.2 inches 'round here and maybe a foot for the north. we got a bit more for today, but it got knocked down by the rain that was sandwiched in between. I managed to get some done last week, but pictures are scant due to how broken up the session was. yesterday was the big one.......I got more done. to recap the steps taken last week........the cockpit was cemented into place..........which led to the nose to get closed up. that was a bit of a compound step because I had to finish shaping the cowl. on the exposed cylinders of the engine, I added exhaust tubes, and the nose for the prop was added. I also got to do some painting.......hard to say what the base color is.......wait.......{get out the Humbrol color chart}........OK...#87 is a steel gray. I just did some simple camo wavy pattern........closest I can come to the color is a red/brown {it is a bottle of 'oops' paint I made up some time ago}. when I got to the point of finishing the fuselage paint, I found that the can had jelled. I only had the single can. so I painted the nose section with a blue/gray from the White Ensign collection I have. I was curious how it would cover wood, as opposed to plastic, and I found that it is better suited for wood. makes me very happy the engine is in place, as well as the stabilizer and rudder. the only decals so far.......I really wanted to do the Iron Cross. I'm not sure if it is correct to mix them, but then again, I'm not modeling this to any specific plane. most of the pictures I found were in black n white. the insignias are timeline specific, and since I added a bottom surface to the wing, I want to be able to add insignias there too. I have a full set of the Iron Crosses, but odd sets {collection} of the simplified crosses. I might have mentioned that I painted the tire rims. I also added the two holes in the cowl ...a little more work on the machine guns the tail skid, the steps {one for each side }, and the grab handles were shaped out. with the additional part made up, I thought to add some at this point. the tail skid was cut to shape and added in the beginning, the D VIII didn't have the stabilizer braces. these were added a bit later in their production as I was working on the machine guns, I thought about the cut out that they were nestled in. the ammo boxes were located under them. to help in their placement, I cut out the recess to fit them there will be some sort of batten around the cockpit opening....not sure whether to use leather or thick thread. the gun butts were shortened a little and handles were added on the ends. a bit of plastic gives it a little more detail. I did the same for the Fokker Dr 1 that I have in the closet......they are bigger though

it use to be that some could only be done with rubber...........the larger kits were the R/C only. but now with electric motors as small as they are, even the smaller kits can be modified. the gas engines can still be found. I never got into it though

what caused problems with the Fokker planes was deficiencies and deterioration of the wing joints. wings back then were not as thick as they are today and possessed a curvature in the wing surfaces that you don't see in today's planes.

the French biplanes also had small rudders. looking at the makeup of the Fokker rudder shows that they utilized the air channeled over both planes - top and bottom. it shows that looking at different planes of this era, each manufacturer had their own distinct design. the earliest design thought was based on the kite.......without a tail, it flew erratic........but with a tail added, it flew straight. I believe it was the Chinese who firs came out with the box kite.....this design was used for the Wright Bros. plane, as well as the early bombers......the Vickers Vimy and the Hadley Page. Junkers had their ideas.......even with the Junkers JU187 with the rudder inverted. the Beechcraft Bonanza utilized the stabilizers to perform both functions....there were a couple other planes that were configured like this. some even had multiple rudders. the stabilizer performs the horizontal aspect and the rudder performed the straight ahead aspects........in some planes, it depended how they were fixed to give the best performance. I'm certainly not a whiz with this, but the base aspect was the overall weight of the plane and what it would take to get it and keep it aloft. the Me 262 is a good example of high stabilizer placement....rate of climb and maneuverability were greatly improved. most jets have tall rudders.....with air speed they could go, they needed more rudder surface to be as nimble as they are. note that on some, the stabilizers are almost, or level with the trailing edges of the wings.......this streamlined the horizontal aspects. but yes, the amount of surface guided how they handled in the air........in spite of this, the D VII, the D VIII, and the Dr 1 flew very well. if the Dr1 and the D VIII hadn't suffered from wing fatigue, they would have been great planes.

WOW! she's quite a looker Ed! you did a great job! too bad about the folding wings, ........either way though, you would still have a great looking model

the top of the stabilizer was painted flat white, as well as the rudder {the most well known color of Fokker tails doing the stab ailerons in marker pen was kinda futile.......it highlights, but very little. I have a scriber I'm going to try.......first time using it. it can be purchased at Billing USA, or wherever they sell Model Craft tools. not so good either.......it had diamond bits, so it tears the balsa, rather than grooving it......so I stopped using it and resorted to using the back spine of a single edge razor blade. worked just as well the underside of the stabilizer was done in a dark German Gray. cleaning up the groove a bit and running a pencil along them, they were touched up with paint. after sanding the fuselage, it was painted with Humbrol matt 87 - Steel Gray. it looks the perfect base color for what I have in mind. the undersides of the fuselage and landing gear was done in the flat dark German Gray. looking in on Chris's log gave me enough insight as for the shape of the ailerons on the wing. I drew them in pencil, and grooved them with the razor blade. the balsa side was a little less forgiving...had to fix a couple of pho-pars. the two slots in the center still need to be filled in....I later did that too. a bit of filler and some sanding should do them nicely. the wheel hubs were painted and a little more was done on the guns. the prop needs work.......I'll get to that soon......engine too. it can be seen where I added a wafer to the center of the engine....need to cut another wafer for the front, to give it proper spacing inside the cowl. the last picture is the top of the stabilizer and the rudder.......need to decide what decals I'm gonna use. more soon

that was done on the 29th.........this is the 30th......more sanding on the cockpit box to get it to fit better. now it slides in perfectly. the seat was cemented in place, since it will be the same color as the box........this is that chromate green I mixed a while ago....... added is a panel....a lever of sorts will be added later. I felt bad for the pilot, so I'm making some leather pads for the seat and back rest. I have the template traced out for the instrument panel......just haven't made it yet. I later added the lever, the foot pedals {painted flat steel}, and the base for the stick. I tried to make a decent stick......with the hand grip, but I kept botching it, so a simple stick it is. the leather pads have been added to the seat. I did some more painting, which will highlight the next update. lucky for you folks {or maybe not}.......it's ready for presentation coming right up!

damn those dreaded obstacles! I see a lot of that at work.......apparently, there are drivers that can't navigate the yellow poles! they cut it too close and rub the side rails.......I'd love to show you pictures of the damage! I didn't do it long enough........with enough experience, you can get these planes to do some pretty neat things. I might get back into it......today.........Dec 1st.......I got a letter from social security informing me that as of today, I can formally file for retirement! 66 and four months........I made it! reality check...........it's still a pipe dream maybe in another couple of years {sympathetic pat on the back.......there, there} but........there is an update........so onward stout! 🆕 I had left off with the cockpit box......strengthening it with support bars. I ended up having to shorten it because I had made it too long and it was hitting the tabs from the landing gear struts. I tried to remove the stubbles, but I realized that I could possibly weaken them, so I gave up and altered the box. it wasn't too hard to make up the seat.......I gave it a pair of braces and a single leg for under the fanny area. the goal is to get it so it fits flush in the fuselage, and give it some sort of detail. I'm going to try and do as much as I can. oh....and I also made up the foot pedals. when it's time to put on the top fuselage panel, I need to make formers that will give me something to glue to, and help me give the panel the correct curvature, flush to the aft section and the cowl {which still needs to be refined}. I did a trace of the curvature and trimmed the part to do the job. ....and then finally.......a splash of paint! using some Humbrol and Monogram flat paints, the interior walls was done in a flat wood brown. I got the few parts that were in the spare room together, here at my desk, so I wouldn't lose them. I also filled in the rest of the imperfections and gaps. sanding never ends

Wow Jack....sorry to hear of your eye problems. none still, you managed to pull off a very interesting model! ! looks great!

superb workmanship Chris!

I read an article about the camo. early planes had it painted on, but with the concern that the added paint might put more weight on the plane, it was decided to make the canvas with the camo printed on. they would roll off the assembly line with that camo design.......either a four or five color pattern. Lozenge camouflage pattern | The Aerofile nice job Chris. I've been researching the shape of the ailerons........your picture is a huge help! looking really good!

thanks for the picture Doc.......if you look in the link I posted earlier, picture #33 shows Ernst Udet in a D VIII. it doesn't look like it has the machine guns on it either, but it has the lozenge camo. do I dare try it? I do have some of his decals in 1:48.......maybe not the same configuration, but it could be done { after all, it is a static model}. the decals I plan to use are from a Dr 1..........I can pretty much use them all except for the plane production numbers. the decals are for an F1 flown by Richthofen in the final test flights. he took the plane out on Sept 1, 1917 and shot down two planes. he came back very happy with the way the plane handled........the plane he flew, F1 102/17 was awarded to Kurt Wolff, along with F1 103/17 to Werner Voss. both died in the same month.........Wolff on the 15th, and Voss on the 23rd. as you can see.....I have other decals as well. so if these don't pan out, I'm not stuck I've only had a couple of good flyers out of all the planes I've built. a P40...........I built the Guillow's P40.........had a nasty run in with a palm tree. received an impacted cowl if I remember right dihedral and balance are the two important things to remember....they are a lot of fun to build. the only thing I don't like about balsa, is that it is so easy to dent the wood.......even finger nail marks.. I almost have enough to post another update.....the cockpit see you soon!

old research meets the new research!........that is the biggest thing about older kits. so much now is known about what subjects looked like back then....there is a lot more info out there. there is a bit of nostalgia that goes along with it. I think back to when I was younger.....nice to get a second chance every once in a while really nice job on the chassis!