Landlubber Mike
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Posts posted by Landlubber Mike
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Congratulations on the sale! Good to know there is a market for others completed models. I was wondering just the other day what to do with mine, especially after seeing how big the stash has grown. For me modeling has always been more about the journey than the destination (I usually get an odd, almost depressed feeling when I finally complete one), but throwing them into the trash just doesn't seem right.
My wooden ship models are really fragile with all the masting and rigging. I only have one done now, but I've been considering donating it to a library, school, daycare center, etc. They take up quite a bit of room.
Congrats again!
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I placed an order a couple of summers ago with HLJ and was really impressed with their service. Took a while to get in, but no problems at all with the order or shipping. I had ordered a bunch of their remaining Wingnut kits and some Z-M stuff - shipping wasn't inexpensive, but the cost of the products was very good.
At the time, they had a "warehousing" option which I thought was really cool. They would reserve your items for you for a period of time in case they needed to acquire products out of stock or you wanted to add to your order. Then they would ship everything out so you only had to pay shipping once. Not sure if they still do that, but it was nice (and cheaper) having a single box come rather than multiple shipments as they filled my orders.
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Hey Ernie, sorry, didn't mean to put pressure on you to keep going on your Brewster. Thanks for the kind words on mine - I had a little experience cutting up my Tamiya Wildcat, but this Buffalo is a whole another level. Fun to open things up a little on what is a somewhat plain looking aircraft - especially for the 339-23, which the kit allows you to do as one of two RAAF planes or two USAAF planes. The two RAAF and one of the USAAF is in green/olive drab camo, while the last USAAF plane is in all silver (aluminum?) as the personal aircraft of the base commander.
You sound like me, have a lot of projects on the bench!
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I got hooked when I bought my house and was looking at Japanese Maples for the yard. JMs are used extensively in bonsai, and I ended up coming across pictures. Eventually I joined a club and started buying trees, pots, etc. Then kids came, and I'm just happy to be able to try to make sure they don't die, let alone work on styling them, etc. There is a fun, relaxing aspect to the hobby sitting outside and working on them, even just looking at them. Also being one that likes nature, I've always loved trees.
Funny thing is bonsai is what turned me back to modeling. I had done models as a kid with my dad, but they were the farthest thing from my mind after college and grad school. I was a member of a bonsai forum, and a guy there said in the winter when bonsai activities end, he did ship modeling. I chatted with him a bit, which brought me to MSW, and the rest is history (well, a few years ago I met Ernie there, and he invited me to join you guys here).
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5 minutes ago, GazzaS said:
I didn't even know there were bonsai competitions. Have you posted any pictures in the "my other hobby" thread? I think it would be interesting to see.
I haven't posted any. It really takes a number of years to get a tree looking great, at least to what I'd like to achieve, especially with deciduous trees. You can buy ones that have already been worked on for years, if not decades, but those can run into the thousands easy. Plus, you need good skills which can mean hiring professionals, taking courses, being an apprentice, etc. I have young kids and frankly, even if I didn't, I am not that into the hobby to do all that.
People new to bonsai think you just clip here and there and you have bonsai. To a certain extent that's true, but you have to work with the tree's natural growth to essentially "grow" a tree into a bonsai. Seems counterintuitive, but that's how you develop taper, ramification of branches, etc. You reduce the rate of growth using pots, different soil particle size, different fertilization, etc. Then you have to worry about pests and diseases, as you have a living thing you are working on. It can be excruciatingly frustrating when a tree you've worked on for years dies. At the same time, it's fascinating really, but I just don't have the time these days with my kids playing travel sports. I'm trying to figure out whether I want to stay in the hobby for the next ten years so I have something to do when the kids are in college, or do I want to just drop out of the hobby and restart later.
Instead of posting my trees, here are some pictures from Japan's Kokufu-Ten show (the top show in the world), and last year's US national show:
https://bonsaitonight.com/2020/02/21/prize-winning-trees-from-the-94th-kokufu-bonsai-exhibition/
https://bonsaitonight.com/2021/09/24/u-s-national-exhibition-critique/
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Martin, I don't blame you for not slaving away on a model when you have that outside your door. I'm jealous! Canadian Rockies are on my wish list!
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Thanks Peter! All the aftermarket is a bit daunting, especially as there are times in the CMK and Brengun instructions (frankly, as well as the Special Hobby instructions) where it's not quite clear what you need to do. Also, the CMK and Brengun sets have you thin the wing plastic to almost paper thin thickness. I used a micromotor to hollow things out, but at a certain point you need to be careful because the remaining plastic warps - my guess from the friction heat. So, I had to replace some of it with very thin plastic card. Good experience to go through.
I'm not sure if Brengun got the flaps correct, but I'm just going to build it as is. They did a really nice job on the elevators, rudder and ailerons though. It's always a bit nerve wracking removing that much material, but so far, things look ok.
The CMK engine set has you remove the section of the kit just behind the cowl so you can expose the engine. I'm a little unclear how the cowl is attached, as it seems to only connect to the top air shaft, but has no connection at the bottom. I'll have to figure that out when I get to it.
Thanks again for looking in!
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Hey Ernie and Peter, have you been working on your Buffalos? I'm slowly coming along with my 1/48 339-23 from Special Hobby. It's turning into a bit of a Frankenstein with all the CMK and Brengun aftermarket. Fit on kit has been ok I suppose, needed some shims and filler, but it's mostly together now. I'm in the process of re-scribing panel lines, and will try to add rivets as well before painting.
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I get being disappointed, but I think you should really be proud of those models. Excellent work, and many of us wish we could model that well.
I'm not sure that I'd ever submit an entry to a show. Seems like there is always so much drama around them. Looked like for your show, flashy models with shark mouths and loud color schemes were favored by the judges. For what it's worth, I would think that any model presented with a base that includes the ground, carrier top, etc. and/or with figures should qualify as a "diorama" but what do i know? Actually, I do know that I really enjoyed your 110, and felt like I was there in the discussion with the airmen.
This atmosphere in model shows is not unique. Another hobby of mine is bonsai, and I've seen pictures of trees that were winners that were real headscratchers, and in some cases even, winners were those affiliated with the judges. It is what is though. There naturally is a level of personal taste and subjectivity that comes into play with shows, but it's the non-subjective biases that really are disheartening.
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Fantastic choice of a not so often modeled subject! Love the engine pods - they seem almost out of scale for the aircraft. Will be following this one closely!
I'm working on my first Special Hobby kit - the 1/48 Buffalo - and you're right, there's a lot of test fitting and extra work to get things to fit with these kits. I had a few gaps, but nothing too difficult to fill with strips, putty, etc. The instructions can be a bit of a head scratcher at times, but they seem to build into nice kits.
By the way, love how you added your current work to your signature. Cool touch!
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Very nice job! That must be a really impressive model, both in looks and in size.
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I agree with Scott - very easy to cut your own round stencil and paint it. I used stencils to do the US insignia on my F3F builds, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.
Very nice Zero by the way!
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Beautiful work Sasha - amazing!
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Looks great! How are you going to secure the folded wing to the stub? I've run into that question on my Vindicator build. Have to build the wing fold mechanism from scratch, and wondering how to secure the wings.
I was thinking about brass rod inserted into a glob of epoxy clay in the hollow of the wings, but never quite figured out the solution and started a new kit instead
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Hey Kevin, good to see you here. Just posted on the MSW site
Love the lines on this one! The Japanese navy had a lot of beautiful ships.
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Wow Peter, what a great model! Excellent job!
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That came out really great, fantastic job! Can I ask how you did the snow? Looks very realistic, especially with the foot prints/depressions (and their subtle blue tone), etc.
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Was it good for you? 🚬
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Looking good Peter! Great start!
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9 hours ago, Drifter said:
We should hava a name and shame thread, to help other members avoid the same issues going forward.
Agree with this 100%
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Never buy from Kitlinx. I ordered two Taurus resin engines from them - shown in stock, shown shipped, but weren't in the box that arrived. I emailed Kitlinx multiple times, including Loic the owner himself, and never heard back from them. They essentially stole close to $100 from me.
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That's looking fantastic Kevin - really nice job! Subtle indication of the panel lines, great base as you move forward with decaling and weathering.
I've always liked the He111 - I have the Hasegawa 1/72 kit in the stash and was thinking about a desert scheme as well.
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Looking nice and smooth Peter - great job!
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Another beauty Sasha, nice job!
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JA37 Viggen
in LSM 1/35 and Larger Work In Progress
Posted
Looks really sharp Mark, wow! Camo looks sweet!