rbeach84

Thank you for the updates, guys~ Just goes to show 'plans of mice and men'... so we enjoy our craft while we can! Best wishes for Dennis, I've appreciated all the sharing of these modeling journeys! Kind regards, Robert

Bit of a zombie post, but just in case someone else has the same interest as myself, I found Nils' article in the V5.4 issue of 'Model Aircraft Monthly'. Cheers! Robert

There are some pix from another's build of the Martin Sanger kit... on Zealot.com. For some reason, the URL will not post here, but a search for 'papermodel thunderfighter buck rogers' should provide the listing. "Revell-Fan" is the modeler who made the posting...or you can perform some manual editing of the URL string using the below: https: / / www.zealot.com/threads/buck-rogers-thunderfighter.168714/ Cheers! R/ Robert

Don't discount the availability of paper model kits, like that hosted on http://www.paperaviation.de/index.html. I have built this model and it was challenging but the end result was very nice. Having some experience working with paper helps, but being that the raw material is rather cheap, it is possible to make several 'runs' at the parts as one's experience grows. I'd provide an image of my model unfortunately, it is in a display case at the local hobby shop at this time. It is quite detailed however and there are even detailing 'sets' for it for a cockpit, etc. Hope this is helpful! Regards, Robert

Belvedere! What wonderful rotored weirdness, though not really all that odd, no more so than a Chinook! The harmonics over such a long slender fuselage just wiggles my heli-opter brain stem! Not to mention, 1/48 scale would allow for some excellent detailing opportunities, indeed! Regards, Robert

Sure, the molds have a lot of mileage on them, resulting in softer molding than originally. Still, very accurate in most areas, very good panel lines (if raised), excellent cockpit for a kit offering, though again, a product of the time. Competently built and painted, it still looks the part. Just takes more effort... and full set of sanding tools! I'd rather have had the markings from the new movie and not the original movie's scheme (if that is what it is...?) just for the fun of it. A 'stashed' Tomcat in a hostile nation's airbase? Riiight! I'm fettling a previous but still not initial molding and it is providing a *lot* of modelling action! The worst feature is likely the Phoenix missiles which have very thick control/flight surfaces and minimal detailing. I'm experimenting on how to create a well detailed, accurate master for casting some replacements, which I can leverage into the builds of all the other copies in my stash, including a couple of original issues. Y'all be good, cheers! R/ Robert

Well, now that I have one in my hot paws I won't, I suppose, have to build that Contrail kit! 😜 Cheers! R/ Robert

Rather bizarre that the US release will be a 'degraded' issue! Guess I'll be know which boxing to look for... Cheers! R/ Robert

Rather bizarre that the US release will be a 'degraded' issue! Guess I'll be know which boxing to look for... Cheers! R/ Robert

Discussions regarding the practicality of Star Wars spaceship designs is a bit of a waste, don't you think? SW falls firmly within the 'space opera fantasy' category rather than good/better SyFy (Science Fiction) such as '2001', 'Babylon 5', 'Stargate' and 'The Expanse'. SW is all in fun, and if re-imagining the hardware designs, then one can choose what paradigms to apply. As has been said 'build what you like, how you like'. Cheers! Regards, Robert

Hey, this is a perfect example of the problems with the sanding on a sheet method! It is quite difficult to sand evenly without introducing *uneven* pressure, resulting in spots having more removed than others. If I may add my two pence... My personal method to removing and cleaning up parts follows these basic steps: -Outline the parts on the sheet with a fine tip permanent black marker. I use a Sharpie brand marker. The mark is half on the part, half on the sheet, right at the juncture. -Use light scoring right at the part edge - at 45 degree angle of the blade tip - 3-4 passes enough to allow a clean separation while flexing at the cut (takes some practice, but becomes quite easy) Use care with sharp inside angles (think of where a fin meets a fuselage) to ensure snapping the part free doesn't 'tear' across the part. It may require more thorough cutting or simply score across the corner, leaving a small triangle to be carved out later. The goal is to have *no* border around the part, just a small wedge section of the backing sheet to be removed from the part. -With knife or razor, remove most of the excess material using the marker line as a visual gauge. I think of it as "whittling"... -Finish the part edge using sanding blocks (such as the T-blocks recommended by 'Aeroclub'.) Take care to sand just shy of the black marker line - sanding right to the line causes the ink to flake off and 'moving' your gauge line little by little. I like to get within a hair and then finish with a finer grit. Wings and such require a different strategy to treat those trailing edges (especially!) where the top and bottom surfaces of the part come together along a sharp, acute edge. Mostly, it involves scrapping the 'inside' to establish a good mating surface followed again with fine finish sanding. Best to stay away from the exact edge to avoid changing its shape or outline. And there it is - a major part of the satisfaction of a vacuform project is how the "fit and finish" of the parts is all in your hands. Solving the puzzle that is the collection of bits at a more basic level than any injection molded kit gives in my opinion more joy from tackling and taming the engineering challenges. Some really groove on the painting and decaling, for myself, it is what comes before. Back to the regular "show". Cheers! Robert

Man, I can smell the bearing grease! Really looking forward to this beaut! Regards, Robert

Got a 'preview kit' of the P-38 at the IPMS/USA NATS (in the exact box pictured.) Apparently Tamiya provided !300! copies to the Chattanooga Chapter team who then had a lottery drawing for folks to purchase them. Some very interesting engineering is used to ensure all the parts are correctly aligned. Haven't yet dived in more than a quick review of the box contents but it appears to be the usual Tamiya yumminess. Cheers! Robert (the second?) 😜

I thought we were talking about the Cheyenne and I agreed would be nice to see one in 1/48th scale. I saw the Cheyenne parts at the Atlantis table at the IPMS/USA National Convention and they looked fine. Still very basic, just like the HUP kit, which I purchased. Atlantis didn't have anything for sale as I recall, just showing the 'goods'.

Too bad they didn't combine their awesome resin with vacuformed airframe partsd. Would have been much more economical and easire to work with... gotta use the best materials for the job (like having metal landing gear, or at least metal reinforced which HPH does...) But still, wonderful having the option! Regards, Robert