Rob de Bie

Thanks Tony! I found an auction on Ebay that shows a bit of the the contents: http:// https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166886200061 Ebay suggested a few more books that look interesting. Again I searched for auctions that show a bit of the contents: 'Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD': https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356403265381 'How to Build Sci-Fi Model Spacecraft': https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335532304765 Rob

Thanks for checking! That brings me to the idea that I need to check my collection of FSM issues for inspiration regarding 'retro' SF models.. Rob

Noel, thanks for the tip! Indeed it was a 'Scale Models' special, and what a great cover. Here's a nice peek ito the special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vdsurd0FgA&ab_channel=MrEModels It seems there's another book(let) with the same name, by Fine Scale Modeler 🙂 Rob

I agree, they were fantastic! In my opinion it was the best club table theme we ever did. It was a major undertaking, but it was worth the effort. At the risk of thread drift, here are three more photos: Rob

Maybe 30 years ago, an old friend donated all his built models that he built during his youth. Lots of parts had come loose, and he had built most wheels-up, so tons of wheels and landing gears. That collection was the basis for my spare parts collection. I added maybe 10-20% from my own modelling projects. I use my spares boxes quite regularly, the contents often come handy. I still have a large cardbox box filled with his wrecks. I don't use those much, but from time to time they are useful. Like for this occasion in 2017, when we mocked-up the idea of doing 'mini-museums' for our club table at Euro Scale Modeling. We made six of them, two are shown here: More here: https://www.ipms.nl/regios/regio-zuid-holland/regio-zuid-holland-artiklelen/regiotafel-zuid-holland-op-de-esm-2017-deel-1 https://www.ipms.nl/regios/regio-zuid-holland/regio-zuid-holland-artiklelen/regiotafel-zuid-holland-op-de-esm-2017-deel-2 Rob

Here are mine: Rob

I studied the petals some more, and made a sketch. One detail that looks pretty unique to me is that the petals slide into each other - in most nozzle designs there's another element to 'fill the gap'. Sorry for the bad explanation, but maybe it helps in the identification. Rob

Michael, thanks for your expert comments, and a big thanks for checking the Tumansky and Lyulka engines in your museum! When I tried to identify the nozzle on the internet, I too got the idea that most engines were not identified correctly, and that this made the investigation nearly hopeless. I was hoping there would be an expert on the forum (say former RAF intel) who could recognise it himself. It's difficult to count the number of nozzle petals. If I use the first photo, and count on the right side, I think I count 10 or 11, making 20 or 22 in total. It looks like a pure convergent nozzle, not a more modern convergent-divergent one. Maybe it's the 'first' nozzle of an ejector nozzle, that effectively has two nozzles (like the early versions of the J79). On the other hand, the green coating looks fresh, suggesting it's from a 'recent' crash, although it must be at least 30 years old. I forgot to mention it was found in East Germany, and the Soviet air force was gone in 1994. Rob

CT7567, I can see you went through the same process as I did 🙂 Those R-11 nozzle petals do have the correct exterior profile, but they are much wider and flatter. Close but no cigar.. Rob

CT7567, thanks! I think I looked at that page too, and the match is great, but not perfect. On the web page, the exterior shape of each petal is a continuous sort-of circular shape, but the wreck parts have a more complex third-order polynomial. It's probably for the nozzle 'programming' by that control ring that is pulled back to close the nozzle. Rob

Can anyone identify this nozzle / exhaust of a Soviet jet? I looked up Tumansky R-11., R-13, R-25 and Lyulka AL-7 and AL-21, and I don't see a match. But I'm not sure the pictured engines were identified correctly. Rob

Andre, thanks for the Pegasus Hobbies 1:144 Luna Rocketship suggestion! It's the subject of the one-but-last chapter of Mat Irvine's book 'Scale Spacecraft Modelling', and I like it! I didn't have Pegasus Hobbies on my radar, but the Dutch importer has an interesting list of Pegasus kits: https://www.hobbytime.nl/producten/pegasus/sciencefictionpegasus Rob

Pete, thanks for the suggestions, I think they would qualify for what I have in mind. The doubt I feel is that Dick Tracy is hardly know here in the Netherlands. I found more information on the red rocket that I showed in my first message. It's not some kind of Jules Verne moon rocket, but a planetarium device. Here's the full text to go with that cover: "Rocket Ride is New Planetarium Exhibit" "Rocketing through space at lightning speeds, encircling the moon, streaking past planets, racing with a comet -- these are some of the startling sensations promised visitors to an ingenious planetarium planned for an international exposition. Outside the domed structure, visitors enter a steel rocket ship fitted with circular windows. Wheeled through an arched doorway, the space ship glides onto a steel turntable where it is tipped upward, pointing into the heavens pictured on the inside of the planetarium dome. As chemical vapor illuminated by colored lights roars out of exhaust vents at the rear of the ship, specially prepared motion pictures are projected onto the circular ceiling to give the effect of speeding through space on a whirlwind tour of the universe." [Popular Science, p.65] Souce: https://www.flickr.com/photos/57440551@N03/32596495383/in/photostream/ Rob

I'm looking for one or more 'retro SF' models, say up to 1955, like the Willy Ley models by Monogram and Aurora. Pre-WW2 would be nice. One example, maybe a bit extreme, would be this manned rocket: Since I can't think of many injection-moulded models, it's likely that it will be 3D printed models (or STL files thereof). Does anyone know of any models that would fit these criteria? Thanks in advance! Rob

I don't know the direct answer, but on bare metal Lockheed F-104s, the areas that required paint were all FSx6473, what we usually call ADC Gray. This comes from the Structural Repair Manual. FSx6473 matches your desciptions of the colour, I think. Rob

I found one here: http://www.rockymountainaeromodelers.com/eic/Kirkham_Library.html Plus a lot more.. 🙂 Rob

dimaADA, Malc, cpoud117 and Bob, thanks for the compliments! I had to look up 'peanut scale models', but I know now they are 13" lightweight rubber-powered free-flying models 🙂 Rob

wanders_up_the_wrekin, Stuart, k5054nz, AlxBNE, thank you all for the kind words! As a beginning modeller back then, learning to assemble a model without gaps showing, I would never have guessed that one day I would be able to print a model and make the decals for it. Amazing technical progress! Rob

Thanks! I used the Prusa slicer. But all supports were defined by hand, maybe 10x more than what the automated version did, and still plenty of failed prints. Rob

I just uploaded my finished 3D printed Cassutt 111M pylon racer to the RFI section, for those interested: 3D printed Cassutt 111M pylon racer in 1/72 scale Rob

No, the book describes the whole build process. The scratchbuilding examples are fairly simple. I should have added that the writing style is also to be commented on: Mr Verlinden also knows how to bang his own drum.. Rob

Just in time for Euro Scale Modeling 2024, I finished my Cassutt 111M pylon racer in 1/72 scale. I designed it in 3D CAD, based on A.A.P. Lloyd drawings. A friendly club member printed the parts for me. Decals are my own design, printed by SpotModel, the canopy was vacformed over an undersized canopy 'buck'. Canopy masks were cut by another friendly club member. Over to the finished model: Two photos to show the small size of the model: Two pictures showing start and finish of the 3D CAD design work, It took me around 40 hours, of which 1/3 was wasted time because of inexperience. And a picture of the printed parts, made on a Prusa resin printer. Not all parts are shown here. All in all a very interesting project, and I'm happy with the result! I've made web pages about the 3D CAD and 3D printing and about the Build process. Rob

Two negative comments on 'Scratch-built!'. This book show such fantastic models, that you're almost discouraged, afraid to try it yourself. Plus I found it hard to read, the writing style annoyed me severely. Maybe too much banging their own drum? A much simpler book would be Francois Verlinden's 'On plastic wings'. Rob

How about a 0.1 mm thick (thin) JLC razor saw? That's what I used to make 0.2 mm slots for photo-etched vortex generators on a Barracuda UAV. Here's a picture of a JLC razor saw. It's one of my essential modelling tools. Rob

You can roughly date a Humbrol tin using my 'Humbrol tin evolution' webpage: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/humbrol.htm Rob