Finally finished!

After a month break from building, I finally finished Revell’s 1/72 Su-27 Flanker. Wow, did I ever want to give up on this one. All in all I think it turned out alright, considering the problems this kit had. From beginning to end, this kit was a nightmare. I kept thinking that it would get better after each snag. Unfortunately, another problem awaited me.
I tend to have bad luck with Revell kits anyway and this was no exception. It started off with the instructions calling for the ejection seat placement too far back. Not a big fix, but worth noting. The fuselage went together very well, but the wings were the disaster of this build. The gaps were pretty large to fill. On one side, the filler kept cracking. I think I went through this twice before I was gentle enough to move on. It took a lot of filling and sanding to get the wings corrected. After that I rescribed the panel lines that were sanded away. The two stabilizers required a great deal of attention as well. The nose cone was the biggest surprise as it fit perfectly.
For the paint, I used all Model Masters colors. I used Camouflage Gray for the base color with Flanker Blue/Gray and Flanker Pale Blue. I used a set of Authentic Decals to finish it off. This was an unusually frustrating build for me. Overall, I think I managed to build a nice looking Flanker.

Like a kid in a candy store.

Just when I think that I am officially out of room for more models, I am able to reorganize them like a game of Tetris. I recently went on a shopping spree with a very generous budget. I managed to stay somewhat responsible. I ended up spending roughly $280.00 at ScaleHobbyist.com, SprueBrothers.com, and eBay. I may have to let my collection dictate when I get a bigger house.
All kits are 1/72 scale.
Academy MiG-21 Fishbed ( I purchased two of these)
Academy OV-10A Bronco
Academy F-15D Eagle
Academy F-22 Raptor
Academy F-8E Crusader VF-111 Sundowners
Academy B-17G Flying Fortress Nose Art Special Edition
Hasegawa Delta Dart
Hasegawa AV-8B Harrier II Plus VMA-513 & VMA-214 Combo
Hobby Boss N/AW A-10 Thunderbolt II
PM Models F-5A Freedom Fighter
PM Models F-5B Freedom Fighter
Trumpeter RA-5C Vigilante
Trumpeter F-105D Thunderchief
Trumpeter F-105G Thunderchief

Beware of the Blacksnakes.

We all have our favorite airplane. As a kid, I used to love the F-14 Tomcat. I still enjoy it and have a few kits of it. I can’t recall how or when I changed my mind, but along came the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog). Ugly to some, I believe that it is a wonderful aircraft. Rugged and built for it’s purpose.
I learned a while back that the Indiana National Guard was phasing out the F-16C and replacing it with the A-10. I do what I always do and go online to look for kits or decals of that plane. Luckily I was able to find a set of decals from Wolfpak. If you haven’t visited their site, you should. They mix their decal sheets up. On my set came decals for my A-10, an F-16, F-105, U-2, and a Predator UAV. Good value($17) for the product. I ordered those and went to Scale Hobbyist for my kit. I used a 1/72 Academy kit with a Verlinden update set that I already had.
When I first came back into the hobby, I built two A-10’s that I can say aren’t the greatest builds. In my opinion, they stink. Even though they aren’t showpieces, they are quite valuable. I learned from those two kits. I learned how to fill and sand, and made mistakes that I don’t make anymore. This new A-10 was going to be quite an improvement from the others.
I was apprehensive to use the update set. It required me to cut pieces out of a brand new model. I cut out the panels with my Craftsman dremel tool. I wanted to get all the cutting done first in case I ruined the kit. I cut just below the panel lines and then sanded the rest to give it a good fit. Aside from the update set, I used cardboard and foil for the intake covers. I also used Femo dough for the end caps on the sidewinders. All the normal building followed from there. The engines gave me a few problems during sanding, but that about did it for frustration. This was also my first time airbrushing as well. I was definitely nervous at first. I quickly realized how easy it was to airbrush and vowed never to use sprays again. I used Model Masters paints to accomplish the ghost scheme. I added Eduard’s remove before flight flags, a base with Hasegawa’s Weapons Loading Set and done.
For those of you in the Fort Wayne, IN area, there will be an air show featuring the A-10 Blacksnakes Aug. 31-Sept. 2.

Four months well worth it.

I’ve been working on Italeri’s 1/72 B-52G since April and I am glad and in some ways sad to see it finished. For the countless hours of filling and sanding to the scratch building of the bombay, it was a healthy task to accept.
Back in February, on our trip to Florida, my father-in-law and I took a flight on a Stearman. When we got back, I grabbed one in my inventory and built it for him. Long story short, his boss’s husband liked the models that I had built for my father- in-law(B-17G, Ford Tri Motor, USS Oriskany, and now the Stearman). Wonderfully enough, he was in the Air Force and flew in a B-52G. I offered to build a model for him and needless to say I was a little overwhelmed. The biggest kit I had built was a C-130. A challenge is a great thing for a modeler. It makes us work harder to succeed. It makes us look closer at the details.
To make things easier, I started on all of the ground equipment and figures first. It took me about eighty hours to complete them all. Next, I chose to piece the B-52 together. I built the engines and then moved to the landing gear. I built a total of eighteen 500lb. bombs and twelve JDAM’s. I tried to keep it as simple as I could.
The time came to start on the plane itself. Before I could do anything, I had to cut out the bombay doors. Almost immediately after I cut them out, I realized that they were double hinged. I had to cut one in half and put it back on the plane. More customization later. The fuselage was a bad fit entirely. I had to saw the halves apart near the wing to force it flush. Even then it wasn’t 100%. Out came my Craftsman hand sander. I used 400 grit sandpaper to get the problem areas down and then switched to 600 grit. I know it sounds like a gruesome method, but it worked. After the torture, I filled all the gaps with Testors putty. A few more rounds of this and I was ready for final sanding. I used 1000 grit for this.
Next came the assembly of the huge wings. Right from the start there were issues to address. In certain areas, plastic was missing. Luckily most of it was on the bottom of the wings. After corrections, normal filling and sanding did the trick. After attaching the wings to the fuselage, all that was left was the final prep work. I had to cut new panel lines on the top of the fuselage from the heavy sanding.
Painting this monster was the easiest part. My paint of choice for this kit was all Model Masters paints. I started by painting the entire plane in SAC Bomber Green(FS34159). When that cured, I used Dark Green(FS34079) to start the camouflage. Next came SAC Bomber Tan to finish off the camouflage scheme. I shot the nose with Euro I Gray(FS36081) to complete the paint job.
Final assembly is one of my favorite steps in the building process. The fruits of your labor are finally showing. For the most part, assembly went smooth. I ended up using spare parts from an F-22 Raptor and an Oriskany kit to scratch build the bombay. The landing gear gave me a few headaches fitting, but I was able to make do. For the decals, I ended up using the ones provided with the kit. Coincidentally it turns out that he actually flew on this tail number. For the base, I used masonite spray painted gray. I used a sharpie to grid the concrete and added oil spots for more realism. Arrange, super glue, and finished. This was definitely my most challenging build. I put many hours into this kit and looking back, I enjoyed every bit of it. Then I had to give it away. It ended up being a birthday present and I couldn’t have asked for a better recipient. Although it was hard to let go, I know that it will be appreciated. Ultimately, the challenge of the build exceeds the end result for me. Now here comes the kit list.
1/72 Italeri B-52G
Hasegawa US Aircraft Weapons Loading Set
Hasegawa US Aerospace Ground Equipment Set
Hasegawa US Pilot/Ground Crew Set
Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons:1
Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons:1X
Buff Master Designs ejection seats
Buff Master Designs HSAB’s(Heavy Stores Adapter Beam)
Central Valley HO scale ladders
SAC landing gear

True Details wheel set