Clunkmeister

As my SB2C-4 Helldiver build is drawing to a close, I will enter our GB with a genuine seaplane, a WW1 German patrol plane. I picked this kit up from my fellow intrepid Administrator Fran, who swapped me a GWH Flying Tigers Hawk. So building it is a foregone conclusion. I’m itching for some wood and wire, so this should be a nice break from short run IM. Short run resin… whoop whoop! My build will be one of these two schemes. CDL and wood. Rigging is simple enough, as usual, I’ll use mono line and 1/48 turnbuckles, with EZ Line for control lines. It’ll be a moment or two till I start, as I need to wrap up my Helldiver. The engine and many of the smaller parts are 3D printed, the main components are wire reinforced resin. My heart tells me it needs to be a Polish aircraft, but my head says black crosses, and as no Polish markings are included in this kit, black crosses it is.

Abso - F’ing - lutely!

Chris, I’m gonna need to build the Kittykawk CF-101 Voodoo just show you actually how GOOD you have it. That kit is an absolute bear to build. And you gain little except recessed panel lines.

Oh what we’ve learned since….

Well, Hollywood writes the scripts, and he only times Canada gets a mention is when an American joins the RCAF to go fly in Europe before they joined the war.

Those pics of VB-83 on the Essex should be at the start of the Okinawa campaign? VB-83 was also heavily involved in the sinking of the Yamato. Their Helldivers played serious roles in the final months of the war and were usually right in the thick of things.

Yes I certainly did. Not as much as in that picture, and I had added some today, but will add a bit more. You can see a bit of it in the last pic I posted above of the model itself. I need to make it a bit more noticeable, I think. That’s a great picture of White 207, a much photographed Helldiver. Looking at that Wave-Off, and they look crazy treacherous back then with the straight deck carriers they had then. Probably a fairly decent chance of torque rolling or stalling and falling into the drink.

They sounded decent. The room hAdd so-so acoustics, but I’m a perfectionist. William Lee Golden was a bit flat at times, and Richard Sterban was struggling but Richard was in serious pain as he had pulled a ligament in his right arm earlier the day before. It was in a full cast and he was loaded with pain killers, fresh out of Baylor McKinney.

Wheeeeee… a tiny bit of progress

Exactly. And all my life it stuck with me. Myself and three buddies formed a 4 part group in high school where we sang some decent enough tight harmonies that got us into the various Baptist Churches and garnered us much love and respect from the blue haired old ladies. All our buddies were listening to Led Zeppelin and CCR and we were trying to catch the Florida Boys and the Cathedral Quartet n🤣. And the the Army came a-callin… and life stepped in. But, even today, three of us afflicted formed a trio and can’t get away from looking for those tight, heart lifting harmonies. These guys are a real window to my past and proof that you can make amazing music, hit it big, and not lose yourself in the stupidity of drugs and addiction.

Hey Oliver, I had emailed you through your Adriatic Models to find out about 3D printed H34 conversions. Are you the guy who was or is offering these? If so, I’d like to arrange to purchase a couple sets.

I will say this: When one of these guys passes, it’s gonna hurt. Joy and I both really like these guys. As Godly men and performers.

The singers are the same guys since the 70s. The band has changed. The longest serving bandsman is the keyboard guy. He’s been with them 40 years. The Oak Ridge Boys have been around since the 40s as a gospel quartet. They started as a quartet of workers from the Oak Ridge, Tennessee nuclear laboratory, hence the name. They changed up singers as guys moved on until these four got together, and the first time they hit it big was in the late 70s. They became monstrous in the 80s. Richard Sterban, the little guy on our far right sang with Elvis Presley, so that gives you an idea how old these guys are. He was in rough shape tonight but still gave a good show. He had pulled a ligament in his right arm and it was in a cast. Joe on the left has a bad leg so sat on a stool all night and was carried on and off stage. But, man, they have a passion for singing and for Christ. They have theirs now, everything they do now is for children’s burn units. Between Joy and I, we must have seen these guys a hundred times. We’ve both been on stage with them for charity, and I can testify that their hearts are pure. Their top 40 hits make money, their gospel music make Believers. This is what I found as far as the guys go. I forgot that William had left for a few years (the beard).

Oh yeah! Leavin’ Lousiana in the broad daylight!

That might be what y’all say in Cali, I dunno. 🤣 Y’all ride around on Papa out there in the land of fruits and nuts? My Daddy’d throw his hip out.

James, I’m a real fan of the BOAC courier birds. There’s a bit of work to do on the nacelles, the Siamese exhaust was eliminated on them and a tiny bit of describing is needed, but Fündecals makes a really nice set for it. I’m halfway through the glass nose version using the HK kit. Most were solid nose so the Tamiya kit is the answer

I’ve always loved these guys, I’ve seen them probably 50 times, and tonight it’ll be in Greenville, Tx A nice dinner tonight with my Bride, a glorious prairie sunset, and what will be an awesome evening of fun.

Many come with really decent seatbelts as well. The problem with Quinta is that they’re Russian, so availability can be spotty. But Hannants and Sprue Brothers usually keep ample supply.

James, I’m a firm believer in 3D printed decals. Quinta makes a full line of them and Hannants carry’s them as well. You apply them like decals but I like to use Future or similar as an adhesive as well. And they look stunning.

Peter, I’ve been working on a Brig rig sloop, HMS Speedy, by the same kit amer, Vanguard Models, and all I can say is that Vanguard makes it attainable, even for me. The construction manual is simply amazing. Think Wingnut but full color and about 200 pages, plus full scale blueprints for reference as well. If you ever want to try a wooden ship, I highly recommend Vanguard Models.

Good grief!! This is stunning!!

Ooooh, I’m looking forward to this! We need more resin and short run kit builds around here!

I expect I’ll be there. It’s a 5 hour drive for me.