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Cowboy Chuck Wagon 1860 by JohnB40 - FINISHED - Model Trailways - 1:12 Scale


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Hi to all,

Decided to join the 'Wagoneers' over here on shore leave after seeing Dan's and the other wagon builds in progress. I needed a break from the Unicorn for a while and wanted to try my hand at something different. I chose the Chuck Wagon partly because I live on a cattle ranch and partly for nostalgia from old films. I really like the Kit,instructions,and the plans. All the parts with exception the ply sheet used for the wheel rims are first class. The ply is kind of rough with splintering and gouges on top and bottom surfaces,which I don't think can be rescued with filler. I will send an email to John at Model expo to see if replacements can be sent.

59014353adda2_ChuckWagon005.JPG.60313c3f7888cfd83ea2cd9342f59653.JPG

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Started on Rear axle assembly. Turned down the axle shafts to fit hubs. Followed Dan's #11 blade scraping method,followed by polishing with 600 grit paper.Then primered,painted black and sealed with Dullcote. The other wood parts Have been trimmed,sanded and sealed with Dullcote. I am trying the Dullcote as a sealer/primer after reading online how it is popular with model train layout builders. Seems to work well,lays really flat,dosen't lift the grain and sands easily. I will know for sure when I paint the parts red tomorrow. I masked areas to be glued in the hope to be able to paint and then assemble as I go with minor touch up as needed

Chuck Wagon 002.JPG

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I need some of the etched brass parts to assemble the rear axle assembly. I decided to blacken the whole sheet instead of the just the parts as needed for each assembly . This  is also the safest way to store them till needed. I searched the forum for blackening tips and after reading up,went with the following.  I started by carefully by sanding the front and rear surfaces with 1500 grit paper.My wife donated an old 8" x 8" baking pan. Using latex gloves,I filled this with enough acetone to just cover the sheet and cleaned off any photo resist and oil left on it. I left the sheet to dry,rinsed the pan and refilled with white vinegar. I left the sheet in the vinegar for 15 minutes,agitating and lightly wet sanding the surfaces again with the 1500 grit ,followed by a thorough rinsing. I then immersed the sheet in a solution of 7 parts water to 1 part BC Brass Black for 10 minutes. I removed the sheet,rinsed,wiped the film off and returned to the pan to repeat the process twice more until it was a uniform black after the film was rubbed off. It was then rinsed and returned to the pan with a baking soda solution,then rinsed again and left to dry on a paper towel. I am really happy with the results. I have used BC Brass before but I was never happy with the result,it was always crusty and not uniformly black. I now know it was not the product at fault,but bad prep and impatience on my part

Chuck Wagon 006.JPG

Chuck Wagon 001.JPG

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Hey howya goin John mate, great to have you along for the ride I'll be following along mate. Great tutorial mate thanks.  :bird-vi:

 

Soon there will be enough of us to change the name from Model ship World to Model Stage Coach World mwahahaha.   

I'm probably not going to live long enough to build all these but I'm BLOODY going to try HAHAHA.

 

Future Builds: The Schooner Bluenose, scale 1:48, POF Scratch Build (Gene Bodnar practicum - Plans from modelshipbuilder.com)

                       HMS Victory, scale 1:64 or 1:48, POF Scratch Build (John McKay's plans)

                        

Current Builds: 42ft Longboat Armed for War 1834, scale 1:36 POF Scratch Build (Plans from A.N.C.R.E.) 

                        Galley Washington 1776, scale 1:48, POF Scratch Build (NRG's Plans)

                        Ragusian Carrack, scale 1:59, POB kit (MarisStella)

                        King of the Mississippi, scale 1:80, POB Kit (Artesania Latina)

                        HMS Snake 1797, 18 Gun Sloop of War, scale 1:64, POB Kit (Jotika/CalderCraft)

 


Current Build: Stage Coach 1848, scale 1:10, Kit (Artesania Latina) Shhh don't tell the Admins I'm building this I'll hide it here ^under this line^ so they don't see it HAHAHA.

                       

 

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The parts of the rear axle assembly are painted and ready for assembly. With the painting finish,I went back and forth on whether to to go with a new off the showroom floor or a has been on the Chisom trail weathered look. My wife settled it for the latter option by saying its not a "circus wagon". After primer,I used thinned flat red with a  spot of black mix and used fine sand paper and rubbed with a piece of leather to give it a sun bleached,well used look. I went over to an old red barn and tried to replicate the look of the paint on it...They must have used the same red oxide,skimmed milk and lime paint on the wagons. I epoxied the axle to the axle bed. To keep everything squared and aligned while gluing I made up a jig. The ironwork comes next.....

Chuck wagon 010.JPG

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Thanks for the likes on the build so far.

The rear carriage (hounds) now has the iron work installed. The parts went together well. The only finicky part was fitting the gasket material square nuts. I found a piece of small diameter brass tubing in the scrap box and used it to push the nuts down in the bolts after applying a dot of CA glue. The brake mechanism parts are prepped and ready for installation. Will be starting on the front hounds next.

Front Hounds 001.JPG

Front Hounds 002.JPG

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Hi there, I will watch as well if you don't mind. I have done this chuck wagon myself and it was good fun. I left mine natural wood for the wheels and chassis rather than paint and, whilst I know they are supposed to be black I love to leave bits brass against the wood.

 

anyway, you have made a great start.

 

 

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IMGP4212.JPG

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Current build : Fokker Dr 1

 

Completed non-boat build 1/16 Model expo Sopwith Camel - in shore leave.

Previous boat builds:

Yacht Mary

Artesania Latina Red Dragon (Modified)

Non-boat build 1/24 scale Dennis bus by OcCre - in shore leave.

Mare Nostrum (modified)  Amati Oseberg (modified)  Chaperon sternwheel steamer 1884   Constructo Lady Smith kit/scratch build   

OcCre Santisima Trinidad Cross Section 

Constructo Robert E Lee Paddle Steamer  Constructo Louise, steam powered river boat   OcCre Bounty with cutaway hull 

Corel Scotland Baltic Ketch (not on MSW) OcCre Spirit of Mississippi paddle steamer (not on MSW)

In the Gallery:
 Mare Nostrum   Oesberg  Constructo Lady Smith   Constructo Robert E Lee   Constructo Louise   OcCre Bounty   OcCre Spirit of Mississippi

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Mike,

Very nice chuck wagon indeed.

I am looking in on your Dennis Bus build,I always associate that company with fire engines. I built the Airfix Type B many moons ago. I boarded up the windows and painted it khaki for the #10 Ypres route

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  • 2 weeks later...

Greetings all,

The fore and rear hounds are now completed on the chuck wagon.

I will be starting on the assembly of the wheels next. Model Expo sent a new laser cut ply sheet for the wheels to replace the defective one...Great customer service.

Building this kit reminded me of a visit to the Gene Autry Museum Of The American West in LA. One section had a display of old 'Salesman Models' from the later 19th century. These were highly detailed scale models of Items ranging from plows to wagons,which traveling salesmen would use to show potential customers their products. My wife had to drag me out of there.

Chuck Wagon 3 002.JPG

Chuck Wagon 3 004.JPG

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Hey howya goin John mate, looking good mate.    :bird-vi:

I'm probably not going to live long enough to build all these but I'm BLOODY going to try HAHAHA.

 

Future Builds: The Schooner Bluenose, scale 1:48, POF Scratch Build (Gene Bodnar practicum - Plans from modelshipbuilder.com)

                       HMS Victory, scale 1:64 or 1:48, POF Scratch Build (John McKay's plans)

                        

Current Builds: 42ft Longboat Armed for War 1834, scale 1:36 POF Scratch Build (Plans from A.N.C.R.E.) 

                        Galley Washington 1776, scale 1:48, POF Scratch Build (NRG's Plans)

                        Ragusian Carrack, scale 1:59, POB kit (MarisStella)

                        King of the Mississippi, scale 1:80, POB Kit (Artesania Latina)

                        HMS Snake 1797, 18 Gun Sloop of War, scale 1:64, POB Kit (Jotika/CalderCraft)

 


Current Build: Stage Coach 1848, scale 1:10, Kit (Artesania Latina) Shhh don't tell the Admins I'm building this I'll hide it here ^under this line^ so they don't see it HAHAHA.

                       

 

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Looks good so far.

Current build : Fokker Dr 1

 

Completed non-boat build 1/16 Model expo Sopwith Camel - in shore leave.

Previous boat builds:

Yacht Mary

Artesania Latina Red Dragon (Modified)

Non-boat build 1/24 scale Dennis bus by OcCre - in shore leave.

Mare Nostrum (modified)  Amati Oseberg (modified)  Chaperon sternwheel steamer 1884   Constructo Lady Smith kit/scratch build   

OcCre Santisima Trinidad Cross Section 

Constructo Robert E Lee Paddle Steamer  Constructo Louise, steam powered river boat   OcCre Bounty with cutaway hull 

Corel Scotland Baltic Ketch (not on MSW) OcCre Spirit of Mississippi paddle steamer (not on MSW)

In the Gallery:
 Mare Nostrum   Oesberg  Constructo Lady Smith   Constructo Robert E Lee   Constructo Louise   OcCre Bounty   OcCre Spirit of Mississippi

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  • 2 weeks later...

Greetings to all,

Some more progress on the chuck wagon...

The jig supplied with the kit made the wheels construction easier than I anticipated. For the outer bands on the hubs I cut shrink tubing to the correct width and used a heat gun to shrink in place

The chassis is complete with the exception of trimming the axle shafts to the correct length and fitting the axle nuts. For some reason presently unknown to me the instructions list this as the last thing to do after the wagon body is complete. I will stick to this as every time I don't follow instructions it never ends well.

Moving on to start the wagon bed construction tomorrow.

.

 

Chuck Wagon Chasis 026.JPG

Chuck Wagon Chasis 023.JPG

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Hi John, great build so far :) .

 

Top idea using Heat- Shrink for the axle rims. The stuff supplied worked well, but I had to be careful to cut the joins properly - you only get one go if it's too short :D .

 

Couple of points :

1. You don't need to use CA for the gasket "nuts" - PVA holds them just fine, which is good if you need to remove them again for any reason (I did). A wipe with alcohol loosens them again.

2. Good move not fitting the wheels yet - they will probably be in the way when it comes to fitting the wagon body to the chassis. The Stagecoach body would have been near impossible to fit if the wheels were on.

 

:cheers:  Danny

Cheers, Danny

________________________________________________________________________________
Current Build :    Forced Retirement from Modelling due to Health Issues

Build Logs :   Norfolk Sloop  HMS Vulture - (TFFM)  HMS Vulture Cross-section  18 foot Cutter    Concord Stagecoach   18th Century Longboat in a BOTTLE 

CARD Model Build Logs :   Mosel   Sydney Opera House (Schreiber-Bogen)   WWII Mk. IX Spitfire (Halinski)  Rolls Royce Merlin Engine  Cape Byron Lighthouse (HMV)       Stug 40 (Halinski)    Yamaha MT-01   Yamaha YA-1  HMS Hood (Halinski)  Bismarck (GPM)  IJN Amatsukaze 1940 Destroyer (Halinski)   HMVS Cerberus   Mi24D Hind (Halinski)  Bulgar Steam Locomotive - (ModelikTanker and Beer Wagons (Modelik)  Flat Bed Wagon (Modelik)  Peterbuilt Semi Trailer  Fender Guitar  

Restorations for Others :  King of the Mississippi  HMS Victory
Gallery : Norfolk Sloop,   HMAT Supply,   HMS Bounty,   HMS Victory,   Charles W. Morgan,   18' Cutter for HMS Vulture,   HMS Vulture,  HMS Vulture Cross-section,             18th Century Longboat in a Bottle 

Other Previous Builds : Le Mirage, Norske Love, King of the Mississippi

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A lovely looking chassis, Dan is right about the wheels, don't put them on yet they will definitely be in the way. Love the wheel rims but can you give a bit more information about how you did it. I can't see any resemblance to a tube of shrink wrap stuff.

Current build : Fokker Dr 1

 

Completed non-boat build 1/16 Model expo Sopwith Camel - in shore leave.

Previous boat builds:

Yacht Mary

Artesania Latina Red Dragon (Modified)

Non-boat build 1/24 scale Dennis bus by OcCre - in shore leave.

Mare Nostrum (modified)  Amati Oseberg (modified)  Chaperon sternwheel steamer 1884   Constructo Lady Smith kit/scratch build   

OcCre Santisima Trinidad Cross Section 

Constructo Robert E Lee Paddle Steamer  Constructo Louise, steam powered river boat   OcCre Bounty with cutaway hull 

Corel Scotland Baltic Ketch (not on MSW) OcCre Spirit of Mississippi paddle steamer (not on MSW)

In the Gallery:
 Mare Nostrum   Oesberg  Constructo Lady Smith   Constructo Robert E Lee   Constructo Louise   OcCre Bounty   OcCre Spirit of Mississippi

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Mike, it's not Shrink WRAP, but HEAT Shrink. It's a special plastic tubing that shrinks when it's heated, usually by using a heat gun. Electricians (among others) use it for insulating soldered wires instead of using tape. Check out the pics where I used some on the tapered end of an Xacto handle :

 

IMG_3505.JPG

IMG_3506.JPG

 

After using the heat gun :

 

IMG_3507.JPG

 Trimmed off :

IMG_3508.JPG

John's tubing would have started out at about 4" diameter. A tube that size would shrink down to nearly 2".

 

:cheers:  Danny

Cheers, Danny

________________________________________________________________________________
Current Build :    Forced Retirement from Modelling due to Health Issues

Build Logs :   Norfolk Sloop  HMS Vulture - (TFFM)  HMS Vulture Cross-section  18 foot Cutter    Concord Stagecoach   18th Century Longboat in a BOTTLE 

CARD Model Build Logs :   Mosel   Sydney Opera House (Schreiber-Bogen)   WWII Mk. IX Spitfire (Halinski)  Rolls Royce Merlin Engine  Cape Byron Lighthouse (HMV)       Stug 40 (Halinski)    Yamaha MT-01   Yamaha YA-1  HMS Hood (Halinski)  Bismarck (GPM)  IJN Amatsukaze 1940 Destroyer (Halinski)   HMVS Cerberus   Mi24D Hind (Halinski)  Bulgar Steam Locomotive - (ModelikTanker and Beer Wagons (Modelik)  Flat Bed Wagon (Modelik)  Peterbuilt Semi Trailer  Fender Guitar  

Restorations for Others :  King of the Mississippi  HMS Victory
Gallery : Norfolk Sloop,   HMAT Supply,   HMS Bounty,   HMS Victory,   Charles W. Morgan,   18' Cutter for HMS Vulture,   HMS Vulture,  HMS Vulture Cross-section,             18th Century Longboat in a Bottle 

Other Previous Builds : Le Mirage, Norske Love, King of the Mississippi

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Hey Danny, I know what heat shrink tubing is. Believe it or not my stepfather actually invented the stuff and has his name on the patent to prove it.

 

My question really is how can you use that to make flat tyres?

Current build : Fokker Dr 1

 

Completed non-boat build 1/16 Model expo Sopwith Camel - in shore leave.

Previous boat builds:

Yacht Mary

Artesania Latina Red Dragon (Modified)

Non-boat build 1/24 scale Dennis bus by OcCre - in shore leave.

Mare Nostrum (modified)  Amati Oseberg (modified)  Chaperon sternwheel steamer 1884   Constructo Lady Smith kit/scratch build   

OcCre Santisima Trinidad Cross Section 

Constructo Robert E Lee Paddle Steamer  Constructo Louise, steam powered river boat   OcCre Bounty with cutaway hull 

Corel Scotland Baltic Ketch (not on MSW) OcCre Spirit of Mississippi paddle steamer (not on MSW)

In the Gallery:
 Mare Nostrum   Oesberg  Constructo Lady Smith   Constructo Robert E Lee   Constructo Louise   OcCre Bounty   OcCre Spirit of Mississippi

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Greetings to all,

 Thanks for the likes and replies.

 A bit of nomenclature confusion over the wheels. I used shrink tubing on the wheel hubs and not the rim iron tires. After assembly and painting,I did a web search looking for pictures of 19th century wagon wheels. The wheel hubs were wood with iron reinforcing bands to help stop them splitting. One was on the outer end of the hub and one was further inwards where the spokes join the hub. There was probably more on the inboard side too (no photo found). I ended up just doing the outers as it was impossible to paint or use the tubing for the spoke band without making a mess of it.

 

wheel hub bands 005.JPG

wheel hubs 3 003.JPG

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Thank John, now I understand. I actually made my rings out of paper but the heat shrink tube looks great.

Current build : Fokker Dr 1

 

Completed non-boat build 1/16 Model expo Sopwith Camel - in shore leave.

Previous boat builds:

Yacht Mary

Artesania Latina Red Dragon (Modified)

Non-boat build 1/24 scale Dennis bus by OcCre - in shore leave.

Mare Nostrum (modified)  Amati Oseberg (modified)  Chaperon sternwheel steamer 1884   Constructo Lady Smith kit/scratch build   

OcCre Santisima Trinidad Cross Section 

Constructo Robert E Lee Paddle Steamer  Constructo Louise, steam powered river boat   OcCre Bounty with cutaway hull 

Corel Scotland Baltic Ketch (not on MSW) OcCre Spirit of Mississippi paddle steamer (not on MSW)

In the Gallery:
 Mare Nostrum   Oesberg  Constructo Lady Smith   Constructo Robert E Lee   Constructo Louise   OcCre Bounty   OcCre Spirit of Mississippi

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:D:D:D . You had me confused as well John. My Stagecoach didn't have the iron bands on the hubs. The idea of using Heat Shrink tubing on the wheel RIMS is still a valid one though :D .

 

4 hours ago, Mike Dowling said:

Believe it or not my stepfather actually invented the stuff and has his name on the patent to prove it.

Well fancy that Mike. Small world :D .

 

BTW John - don't throw away the scraps of the grey gasket material. If your kit was similar to mine you won't have enough of the square "nuts" to finish the job. I had to make about 20 or so by first drilling then cutting them out with a sharp blade.

 

:cheers:  Danny

Cheers, Danny

________________________________________________________________________________
Current Build :    Forced Retirement from Modelling due to Health Issues

Build Logs :   Norfolk Sloop  HMS Vulture - (TFFM)  HMS Vulture Cross-section  18 foot Cutter    Concord Stagecoach   18th Century Longboat in a BOTTLE 

CARD Model Build Logs :   Mosel   Sydney Opera House (Schreiber-Bogen)   WWII Mk. IX Spitfire (Halinski)  Rolls Royce Merlin Engine  Cape Byron Lighthouse (HMV)       Stug 40 (Halinski)    Yamaha MT-01   Yamaha YA-1  HMS Hood (Halinski)  Bismarck (GPM)  IJN Amatsukaze 1940 Destroyer (Halinski)   HMVS Cerberus   Mi24D Hind (Halinski)  Bulgar Steam Locomotive - (ModelikTanker and Beer Wagons (Modelik)  Flat Bed Wagon (Modelik)  Peterbuilt Semi Trailer  Fender Guitar  

Restorations for Others :  King of the Mississippi  HMS Victory
Gallery : Norfolk Sloop,   HMAT Supply,   HMS Bounty,   HMS Victory,   Charles W. Morgan,   18' Cutter for HMS Vulture,   HMS Vulture,  HMS Vulture Cross-section,             18th Century Longboat in a Bottle 

Other Previous Builds : Le Mirage, Norske Love, King of the Mississippi

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Greetings to all,

Thanks for the likes,and thanks Dan for the advice.

 

Some progress on the wagon box so far. The box bed floor is together ready for sealing and finish.

I wear glasses because besides other issues I have an astigmatism. The prescription to rectify this is ok for general use/reading,but causes weird parallaxes when focusing close up. As a result I needed a guide for keeping objects at right angles etc. I made a jig for the wagon box using a just milled piece of squared pine. I attached a back stop for the floorboards parallel to the end and then drew in 2 lines perpendicular to it the width of the bed. Using this as a guide I laid the boards in position and clamped them down. I was then able to glue and clamp the sills and cross beams in place one at a time,checking for alignment and squareness from several points. I let it set up and released the clamps and was glad all was as it should be,even though my eyes were telling a different story. I reckon I can use the jig for for the rest of the bed to keep everything true.

Wagon Box Bed 007.JPG

Wagon Box Bed 016.JPG

Wagon Box Bed 018.JPG

Wagon Box Bed 021.JPG

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  • 3 weeks later...

Greetings All'

Some progress made on the wagon bed. Components were painted beforehand,masking the surfaces to be glued.

Wagon Bed 002.JPG

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I then used the right angle jig to glue the components together using Titebond 3 and JB Weld's Woodweld epoxy. It is the first time I used Woodweld and I think it is a good product. It sets up in 6 minutes and is fully cured in 1-3 hours. An added bonus is it dries a tan colour and is easily painted. I kept everything square,used clamps and rubber bands and was pleased everything went together well. Just a few more bits of ironwork to add on and then on to the chuck box........

Wagon Bed 001.JPG

Wagon Bed 009.JPG

Wagon Bed 015.JPG

Wagon Bed 021.JPG

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  • 4 weeks later...

Greetings to all,

Well the diversion into wagon building is completed. I have enjoyed building the kit,and it is now back to the ship construction for me. It was nice to have a project that could be completed in a shortish period of time,as I have been working to make Corel's Unicorn into a reasonable rendition of a 'first frigate' for quite a time.

I have left the canvas cover in my wife's hands. I decide whether to attach it fully covering the bed or folded up when she is finished.

Finished Chuck Wagon 012.JPG

Finished Chuck Wagon 020.JPG

Finished Chuck Wagon 026.JPG

Finished Chuck Wagon 029.JPG

Finished Chuck Wagon 033.JPG

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  • 1 month later...
  • 6 years later...

Hi Jerry, The square nuts were stamped on small sheets of black fiber board. If they are missing,Model Expo will send you replacements. They have very good customer service.

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Wow, I missed this build John.  Really nice job!  Hope you are doing well.

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72  IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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