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Clunkmeister

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Everything posted by Clunkmeister

  1. Later, for 1st Pursuit, I’ll so Dick Rossi’s and for 2nd Pursuit, Tex Hill, of course. I met the man, and almost worshiped the ground he walked on. 3rd Pursuit this build, though. Most likely Chuck Older
  2. Thanks Chris. Those are the kit barrels. I’m positively blowing through this one. Strictly OOB with no hanky pinky or game playing. I doctored up the kit barrels a bit, and they look fabulous. BUT, it’s a really crappy time to be adding gun barrels. 😡 Attrition may mean Master barrels, yet. 😂
  3. Thanks! I really want to build one from each Squadron, but I think I’ll start with something from 3 Sqn, Hells Angels, I believe. Chuck Older is an obvious choice, but there is also one on the Eagle Editions sheet, Bill Reed’s ride, that still has the RAF roundels in place on the top wing. Tommy Haywood’s ride is cool as well, with the unfinished shark mouth. It seems no two birds were the same. One thing I’ve been contemplating, is that since the RAF roundels were painted over in theatre, wouldn’t the paint used there be a slightly different tone? Maybe even adding the RAF roundels, then painting over, allowing some to show vaguely through? For all that the AVG was documented and memorialized, there is precious little to show of its early days. Also, as to the Disney “flying tiger” decal. Wasn’t it varnished in place? Most decal sheets seem to show a black background, but I’ve also heard said that it wasn’t black, just a discoloration due to the clear varnish application affecting the film differently. Thoughts?
  4. The worst part so far has been the gun fairings. They were “OK” but they sat slightly proud all around. So I simply taped them in place one at a time before inserting the buns, and sanded the front and top down flush, being careful to avoid surface detail. Then I inserted the guns and glued in the fairings. After it all sets up, I’ll attack the bottoms. Not a huge deal, all in all, it took me bout 10 minutes to clean them up. DON’T try to do it after the guns are in place.
  5. We have the center section complete, and the fillets on the wing. Once the fillet joints set up, I’ll drop the wing in place. Preliminary fit looks great so far, although the wing will need to be clamped in place as it dries.
  6. I owned that kit. For about 15 minutes. I built the Craftworks kit years ago, and it was an accurate model, but certainly was a lot of work.
  7. And a member of the Caterpillar Club as well. J-79 reheat cans did their very best to snuff him out. Twice. Once, they contained it, the second time, it got the other side as well.
  8. 5 year cancer fight and it finally caught up. Charles couldn’t kill him in ‘Nam McDonnell-Douglas couldn’t kill him in the 70s and 80s Crazy C-46 maniacs couldn’t kill him in the 90s Herds of cattle couldn’t kill him all through his life But the Big C eventually got him. Fly West and I’ll see you soon, bud. Godspeed, callsign Flash.
  9. John, you brought out the best in an almost, but not quite great kit. It looks stunning, and I just love a short nose Spitty. Sex on the wing.
  10. Talk about blowing all our socks off, settling in, and making yourself at home! You, sir, are blowing my mind with this stuff. I’m ready to pack up all my armor and ship it to you to build for your collection. Armor is just so beyond me, but most of the members here are closet armor builders, so… Please, keep it up! Consider my tiny little mind officially blown.
  11. Yeah, I’m nowhere near finished yet, so my opinions certainly don’t mean much yet. But the willingness of Chinese manufacturers in general it give us these incredibly substandard instructions is beyond comprehension. Tamiya, Wingnut, ICM, IBG, Airfix, etc, gave given us clear, easy to understand instruction manuals. ZM’s are intentionally busy, but once you get past the technical info, they’re simple. Even Revell, who for years, had instructions scribbled by a toddler in Crayola, have improved remarkably. The misnumbered parts just boggle my mind.
  12. Well, most of it is simply the kit. It’s a no brainer through now.
  13. Yes, it’s almost beating a dead horse regarding the Sand and Spinach RAF temperate scheme, but the lower color? The blue or the grey? My gut says grey, but being that I’m doing one of the first 100 nicked from RAF stocks, maybe that blue? I have the AK real colors RAF SEAC color set, which should work, with appropriate fading for sun effects, and I assume those are accurate enough? And, behind the coves, under the quarter glass….. continuation of camo, but not as faded?
  14. For $180.00, this had BETTER be a good kit, and so far, it has delivered. Fit has been better than Tamiya with almost snap tite precision. BUT, as with most Chinese kits, the instructions let you down in a big way. Vague isometric views, some numbers incorrect, some parts missed altogether and suddenly they just “show” up as being installed. I can see what Peter is talking about when it comes to the nose fit. That wing-fillet-belly duct-cowl intersection looks like it could end up being a massive trainwreck if you’re not careful. A lot of stuff comes together right there at the firewall.
  15. Oh man, I never even noticed. Good thing I wasn’t excited or there would have really been a photobomb. 😎 Tell me all about it. I dropped a #11 in a handle one time and it landed straight in the top of my foot. Went in about 1/2 inch too. After I pulled it out, the arterial squirt was impressive. My wife did some first aid, I got to the ER, and the doc made sure you tetanus was up to date.
  16. I have a nice, quiet little auto start/stop compressor. You can hardly hear it run. Now, I am just this side of deaf, so, hey….
  17. Well, my armor weathering often comes courtesy of an American size 11E Tony Llama boot. STOMP!
  18. Yes, I had and executed a cunning plan…. and, Great Success!!
  19. TMI, Hubert. TMI. I’m not sure TMI translates well, but it stands for “Too much information”, or “information overload”, or in common man’s terms, “that’s a visual that I will never, ever unsee”.
  20. That’s brilliant execution on an old kit. I can only wish I could build armor, but mine look hideous. The big Chieftan looks like he’s ready to deal out a loving touch to those who anger him.
  21. Planning…. Actually, I had one at the office I use for checking transmission valve bodies. I liberated it for a day. 🤣
  22. Big Time!! But it’s because I’m bored, sitting in a hotel, 60 miles from home.
  23. Did all this in about 7 hours over two days. So far, this kit has been a dream. Everything fits beautifully as of now. If the rest of this builds as big let, this will be better than even Tamiya. FYI, I did ditch pretty much all of the extra crap in the rear fuselage, except for the big tank behind the seat. I expect that can be seen around the seat. Price I also closed the avionics hatch, and lo and behold, IT fIT PERFECTLY!!!
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