biggtim

That's great, Jerry, what a cool thing! Crazy to think that some of those kids will be able to remember knowing you. I am 54, and if my paternal great grandfather had lived long enough for me to know him, he would have been at least 120! Tim

That's pretty cool that you are young enough to get to know your great-grandkids! My great-grandparents were all dead before I was born (some may have died when I was very small), due to very large generation gap in my family. My paternal great-grandfather (yes, only one great) was born in 1850 and died in 1899......69 years before I was born. My own grandfather was born in 1894, so there was no chance my kids would have gotten to meet him. I envy you, Jerry! Tim

Really glad to see Eli back at it!!!

That's a good question! I did find this on a quick search: https://thanlont.blogspot.com/2015/07/post-war-eastern-tbm-variants.html. I didn't have time to read it thoroughly yet. It looks like the TBM used 3 different types of radar pods, one of which was very similar. Some apparently used the APS-3 radar, some used the APS-4, which is the same one used on the -2 Corsair. The obvious issue would be the wing shape. Each pod fairing would have to be redesigned for the plane type it was going on, though this pod could probably be adapted to fit that type of plane. Something to add to the list to investigate when I'm not so buried.

I believe his website is long dead. I use FB to contact him.

UPDATE: 21 September - I have successfully upgraded the antennas with 3D printed parts, and am now working to model and print the control box as well, which should be pretty simple. I will not ship any new sets for a week or so to give me time to include both new parts. The price for new sets will go up to 25 USD to cover the extra cost of materials and special packaging. I will be offering the 3D printed upgrades to anyone who already received their sets for the difference in cost (3 USD) plus tax and shipping. If you've purchased a set and would like the upgrades when they are ready, please email me at bnbresindesign@gmail.com. Thanks! TIM

Not if I ever wanted to do it again......

If it makes you feel any better, I was working on that F4U-5N conversion last night, and I put some thin CA on a part and got too much. It ran into a hole I did not want it in, so I blew a quick puff of air into the hole to get it out. It came out all right, and landed on my lower lip! At least I had the foresight not to close my lips at that moment, or things could have been much worse. I had to sand my lip to get the crap off. I quit for the night after that. Tim

No. It's just that we're all abnormal together.

Sounds like a possible source of some of Roy's financial woes, eh?

As a matter of fact, I am planning to do some Vietnam era matting at some point. Would you rather have them as individual panels, or as a premade base? The "truss web" style is much easier, obviously, but less interesting.

Thought I would post a bit about the new work design work I've been doing for those that are not on LSP. F4U-2 radar conversion for the Tamiya F4U-1A or D kit - first set of remastered parts cast very well, with the the exception of the T shaped antennae for the bottom of the fuse. Those little buggers are very fiddly and break easily, so I need to do some more work on that. Question for all of you: would you be interested in the -2 conversion with just the radome, radar screen, exhaust flame shrouds, and small cowl scoop (which is what was in the original from AMS) WITHOUT the two T antennae? You'd have to fab your own antennae from plastic rod or wire. If that is acceptable, then I can have them ready to go as soon as I write up some new instructions. If you'd rather have me include the antennae, then it will take longer. Let me know what you think. F4U-5N conversion for the Trumpy F4U-4 kit - I copied the original parts I borrowed from Ray Peterson this weekend, and started cleaning up the firewall piece. I also printed a new cowl ring from the models supplied by Jumpei Temma - turned out great!!! Should make a really nice master, once I can figure out how to deal with those dainty little grille bars in the intake openings.... Still a very long way to go...

You are not alone, Mark. My mojo left me about 3 years ago, and didn't really return until we picked up the AMS Resin stuff and I started working on new projects for that. Now I spend way too much time doing that stuff! Take a break and enjoy doing something else for a while. Tim

The Other Site, meaning LSP. If you're a Star Trek fan, it means The Original Series. 🤪

I would I would love to see that, Hubert!!

Ouch!!

Was that a resin canopy?

Since I don't have a website yet, I'll post a few photos here when I add something new to the "catalog". The most recent addition is item BB32134, 1:32 WW2 German "Rasenteine" airfield paving tiles. These were inspired by the great diorama Kent Karlsen did, which is now in one of Kevin's great build books. Thanks, Kent! Each tile is approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm). I'm asking 10 USD for a set of 12 pieces, plus shipping to wherever you are.

Someone else asked the same question on TOS, so I'll be looking into it.

Deleted due to image issues - will update later.

Here's the progress on the F4U-2 Radome, so far. Before (original AMS version): After some re-work: Now onto the rest of it...

Time for an update!! We've got things set up enough to start casting, so here's how we're going to do this for the time being: I will post a google drive link to a new "catalog" at the end of this message. If you see something on there you want, either PM me here or email us at the address provided on the catalog, and we'll dig up the molds (or make new ones as needed) and cast it for you. If you can't open it, just email us at bnbresindesign@gmail.com, and we'll send it to you. As I mentioned before, this is very much a side business for us, as we both have full time jobs (plus a part-time one for me), and would like to not spend ALL our free time casting resin! We're not trying to make a living from this - it's more for fun and a little extra cash, and to keep Harold's great work available to those who want it. Plus, it gives me an outlet for some of my own designs. Since we will carry no inventory (limited space), it may take a weeks or two to get things made and shipped out, so please be patient with us. That said, we'll do everything we can to get it done as quick as possible for you. We will be using the exact same resin AMS used, so you shouldn't see any difference in that respect. The prices are also exactly the same. Shipping costs (to anywhere) will be estimated when you provide your address, and payment will be accepted via paypal. I will provide you with the paypal user ID when you order (because that will be changing soon once the business account is set up properly, so I don't want to post it here yet). For now, we will not be selling through Sprue Brothers, BnA, or any other outlet, though I will be making contact with them so we can consider that for the future. I apologize to the folks outside North America, but we want to ease into this and see how things go before biting that off. We'll do everything we can to keep the shipping costs down for all of you, especially those overseas. So far, I've been able to ship to anywhere in the continental US for about 7-8 USD. We do not have a website yet, but are considering setting one up if things go well enough to warrant that kind of commitment. If you want to see photos of an item, either email, PM, or you can find most of the former AMS items on the Scalemates database, or online by searching the the item number. To make that even easier, the new item numbers are exactly the same as the old AMS numbers, just with a "BB" prefix. In most cases, we will be using the same molds Harold used to cast these parts. If the mold is too old, damaged, or we just can't find it, we'll make a new one from the masters. One caveat: To the best of our knowledge, we've already located either the molds or have masters to make new molds from for everything on the list. However, it is possible that we missed something, and will find it is no longer available after you ask for it. If that happens, we'll communicate that to you asap and refund your money if you've already paid. You'll see a couple of things at the end of the 1:32 list that are my own designs, so please take a look! One of them you have seen, one is new. I am developing a few new items, so I will update the catalog periodically. Please post any questions or suggestions you have here, or by email or PM. Thanks a lot!! Tim https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QSfVNtxAaFRyXGnRz58SFo1f5Y10AIlA/view?usp=sharing

Yes, indeed I am. The list of things to master is growing quickly! I will add this to it.

I see what you mean! They've sold recently on ebay for between 88 and 190 USD, with most being 135 and up. That's a chunk of change for sure. I see one on there right now for 225 or best offer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175768409575?hash=item28ec9d15e7:g:1JUAAOSwRKtkDhCy&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4KsGvA7MByuU2%2F1o72guD3zyik8dBffXp3mP3B4wVrVqpRLjPu4ZoMtsAHwWugEBQNlEDeGwyYgej6rPGy71So7lfR00xUwiOdiZpamxXUbihFP%2FOcbyOIukjcSFjOM2areaAX%2BgPbUBt5TaVuCu1HY7POyyQMKBWIt6sLQJTDGzv5vsBhVP6ePfkn%2F787D7rWmn9uUB9Wm%2B3Febk1tT0U1MnoXQ37XaHTG%2B9cwldraYEFjwonJJbSnlavjDLRI8cKRlZ6i0MBPYVEVGieTvykZ%2B94zsoxl48O%2FlNd%2BFumAJ|tkp%3ABk9SR8SWsJOWYg and another more reasonable one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125742350907?hash=item1d46d4023b:g:WTsAAOSw9Y1j1asK&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwNKZenYKA%2BPcM9Srk1kF%2FXx2upYx5Fq5UduQSl3EQyr5Nd2RKIGbEoB%2FnhPYbOIvwcKTmcmewAUQK8FtUlattr%2B7Mqsj%2Bam86K9SwDA4ohC5pqh3Yqm2QNbzS%2Fvmj8ORBwtvsYXtWH2rCh7Q9SUKr1pjDgQoI1Yr1mc5ejgx8mNhYLJaYEEhcb%2Fvl4hG3vQblJmFTU3zlbRFfVBI4wDrJKQTjTUPSpTHxvPZQn8awZc6M%2Box5rxknuoQh6N5Mc1PBQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4b7vJOWYg

Let me know via PM if you do. Another person asked for that one, so I've already been working on getting the parts all hunted down and put together. Should be ready soon.