popeye the sailor

superb job on the tank! really nice weathering as well look'in forward to see what's next

well hello there stranger! it's so good to hear from you! yea.........just going back to my roots. I grew up with plastic models....built quite a few in my day. I took a period of time off to deal with life........back in the '90's I got the bug back. here is a picture of me building the U.S.S. United States....... ....so long ago ~sigh~ the wood model bug bit me in 2009....wish it would have bitten me sooner. I like to think I've gained some experience.....but there are folks here that show me that more prep is needed have you added to your active projects? I'll have to check! thanks for the kind word.......hope you follow along

sweet look'in body.........good you got the clear coat sorted out. I get the same thing sometimes..........spray cans have poor control. how far away from the item is important, but how fast you move is more important, I think. some rattle cans have adjustable nozzles........holding the can as upright as possible will insure a good spray. when I'm going to use a can, I will shake it periodically several times before using to insure mixing, and warming the can will bring the paint to room temp.........a bowl of warm water will do the trick. the same trick works well with compressed air cans too...if you use an airbrush with compressed air {the one I use can be used with these cans}. I fitted it though, so I can run it on a small compressor. you might have had the can at an angle where the tube inside sucked up some of the gassed propellant....may have disrupted the spray. there are time where a second light coat will lessen the effect.........but you arrived at a suitable solution that your satisfied with.....so all is good gonna be a sweet look'in body when you get some wheels under it!

canopy looks good I use artist's brushes that are pointed.....like they are molded or something. I find it's all in how much pressure that's put on the tip of the brush.........keep it from fanning out. I need to get a few more........they tend not to keep the pointiness for very long

impressive planes..........painted on decaling?........I've not done that before hope your feeling better!

thanks.....sorry 'bout being belated........just haven't had any gumption lately I have been tinkering.......I'll show what it is a bit later, but nothing really exciting to speak about. I finally got a date on the procedure on my legs.........yea, both of them........Sept 8th. the nice thing is that there isn't any major restrictions.........just not to do any heavy lifting for a week........and to walk as much as possible. more on it later. I had a large scale model of this plane when I was a youngster at home........I forget the scale.......had to be at least 1:32, if I were to take a stab at it. my siblings destroyed it on me though....... very sad story.......... I'd love to get another one...........a lot more detail. the exhaust was a kicker..........just went to press one in the slot and it broke in half. it was nice that they included the Africa version exhaust in the kit.........does seem funny though, that they would include the bomb pods, but no bombs to add to them. the 1:72 scale kit is an old kit........I've seen a couple of kits that were put out there using these moulds. Guillows does have a kit.........series 1000.........it's a 1:16 scale model with 34 1/2 wingspan! that would be an impressive model I hope to have more done on it soon.

it appears you had a great vacation! outstanding model........very well aged, right down to the patina on the stone foundation! looks super as a cut away..........a fine stand alone model, and even if you later decided to add it to a diorama, it wouldn't take away from it's beauty! superb job and a really nice subject

he had many planes at his disposal...... controversial on how he died, all evidence pointed to anti aircraft fire that killed him. it was indeed lucky that he was flying close to the ground when shot.....he was able to land the plane without crashing. he broke his rule upon seeing his cousin Wolfram being attacked.....later to pursue the attacker, Ltn. Wilfred May........the precursor to his death

I was thinking of dry brushing. I have a life color kit that pertains to flesh color, but they are acrylics, and I only use enamels. I do have colors to match....... I gotta bone up on this.......never really done it to a great degree. I got these folks to do once I get into the stagecoach project...... I still have the two 'mime' guys to finish too. they're not done yet gonna browse youtube for tutorials

should I use a brown?.........how dark?

I did a bit more on this one today...again, since I was home I started off with more painting....... the spats { as the instructions call them} were painted and assembled with the wheels. they were cemented in place along with the coolers on the wings the prop was painted along with the spinner, later to be added to the model. the wheels turn and the prop turns...usually I just glue them. the exhaust broke on one side........these exhaust ports are usually found on the Africa variants, although the instructions do not show them. I used them. the cannons are also in place. the stabilizers are next.

since I stayed home today, I finished painting Ltn. Jacobs

off to a good start!

your really moving along OC.........the figures look great! really nice detail

get better my friend...........meanwhile.......are there any pictures?

the silver looks really good........you must use gloves look'in forward to see the wings.

look'in really sweet.............first picture, I thought it was in your driveway

thanks OC......and thanks again EG really glad I chose to go with this subject..........I had the decals. I kinda wish I could get another one.........I'd try and go the other way and make the ailerons look the way they should.......single rib curvature.

thanks EG some believe that the Baron wasn't fully recovered from his last injury...........I think he got a shoulder wound. the D VII had it's fuselage lengthened by one bay {probably equates to a couple feet} trim on the wings, and added surface to the stabilizer {they gave it a triangular look}. yep........it's too bad Richthofen didn't get to retest the D VII.........he might have changed his mind keen to note that there were problems with the D VII. the ammo boxes were nestled within the front of the fuselage.........there were times that the intense heat would cause the shells to go off prematurely. to stop this from happening, cooling vents were fashioned into the sides of the fuselage. others were plagued with poor workmanship. a useful feature other than it's good maneuverability, was the that it could 'stand' on it's prop, so the pilot could hone in on his pyey and spray it with a concentrated barrage of bullets

I would have gone to work today, but my foot was bothering me, so I took the day off. I'm set up to have the procedure done on Sept 8th, so there's light at the end of the tunnel here's what I've done so far.........it's a huge jump not too many Dr 1's were left by the war's end. they likely had parts to keep them flying, but I think they gave up on them, having other planes to utilize. signing the armistice agreement at the end of the war, the only planes mentioned were the Fokker D VII's. they were to be handed over to the allies. Anthony Fokker move his entire operation to the Netherlands, to escape paying the back taxes he owed. he didn't leave empty handed though...along with the factory, he took a number of plane with him as well. with the control levers in place on the top wing, the other cables were connected as well. after the touch ups were done, the wing was added to the model. it was set up with tape to hold the wing in place so it could have time to dry and set aside. later, the cabane struts were added.........I didn't take any photos. I didn't get too far before I realized it the prop was given the final bit of detail paint as mentioned earlier.......I wasn't too keen on how the control cables were connected to the top wing, but it works. upside down, the cables were rigged through the holes and cemented. the prop was added after the cables were trimmed. the prop does rotate along with the engine the control levers were added to the elevators.......these were later rigged and touched up. the last to be added to the plane, is the rudder...........I still need to paint it.

your making some nice progress....the figures will add to the diorama

looks good I have a '60 Chevy Impala Hardtop kit that has decals like that and lots of chrome mouldings. I wanted to do it as a '59, but the tail lights are different and they don't supply them in the kit. that would be my mother's car when I was a kid............she called her Agnes my Dad had a black '60....funny story....... we had a barn...I grew up on a small farm. we as kids used to go up in the hay loft, and my Dad threatened that if he caught us up there, we'd spend the night up there. well........he caught me up there and he made good on the threat. that evening, I was sent up there.......think I was 9 or so......... there was lofts on the right and left, and a ten foot area that joined the two side together. down below, was where Dad parked his car. well sir, we used the area in the center for old stuff we were not using any more...one being my old tricycle........all beat up from use and the pedals were gone. all that was left were the center pegs that the pedals rotated on. I decided to ride it, to pass the time before I went to sleep. it was fun for a while......until I was making a turn and one of the rear wheels went off the edge of the platform! I didn't have time to catch myself, and over I went..........right down on the hood of my father's car! our impact put a huge dent in the hood! I ended up on the floor........the trike was still on the car..........my Mother and Father came runn'in in! Mom checked me out.........I was fine.........I wasn't hurt ......but after Dad pulled the trike off the hood, he found that the pedal peg went through the hood, and into the valve cover {it had an L6 engine}. He was pretty ticked off......but it got buffered by my Mother giving him a piece of her mind I ended up back in my own bed the next day, we went to Currier's junk yard to buy a hood and valve cover. this happened back in the mid '60's. it was good that the car was there....if not, I would have landed on the concrete floor!

this should prove to be a better kit for you

agreed.........I'm working on one right now. not so much the fit, but the subject was all off........very easy to change but you are right.......there are some kits out there that aren't worth the time. I've never done a Matchbox kit.

looks good when I build balsa planes, I use a pine board to pin the plans to. it's pretty soft wood and I cover it with clear plastic wrap to protect the plans.