Landlubber Mike

I think you're right Ernie - there's a close affiliation of CMK and Special Hobby, and I think you can buy SH kits direct from CMK. I'm using five CMK aftermarket kits for my Special Hobby Buffalo build. First time using them, but the quality and detail is high. Similar to the quality I experienced using the Aires set for my Wildcat build. Pieces can be fragile as with any resin, so check the bags in case any of the parts have pieces broken off. You also have to sometimes put in some elbow grease to make the parts work, but overall, I've been very pleased with them. I have their sets for a few of my other 1/48 and 1/72 kits and the quality looks quite nice.

Are we supposed to log in here on this thread for the GB? Mine is the Airfix Walrus in 1/48 sitting on an NeOmega catapult coupled with a Niko HMS Albatross in 1/700.

Looking forward to this one Chris. It's definitely a big one for sure! On the weight, is your tail solid? I think the later versions are hollowed out, as the solid ones are really heavy. Mine I think is one of the first iterations and it weighs a ton. I was hoping to build mine on the ground, but I wonder if the landing gear can handle it. In flight is probably the way to go!

Looking forward to this one Hubert - good luck with the house moves!

Nice! Looking forward to this one! Nice big scale for it.

I find the 1/700 PE isn't that bad - usually you have fewer pieces but more folds. 1/350 seems to have more pieces but with small pieces on the order of what you see in 1/700. I like the 1/700 scale models as they have a lot of very interesting subjects that you don't see in 1/350 or larger scales, especially when it comes to auxiliary ships. An Optivisor and really fine tweezers are a must! I have a two-ship diorama of the Asashio getting repaired after Midway that I'm trying to finish up so I can work on this GB. I've got an abbreviated build log on MSW, but here are a couple of pictures. First is of the IJN destroyer Asashio. Second is of one of the repair cranes of the IJN repair ship Akashi.

Thanks Rob - I'm happy you changed your mind too as your model would surely put mine to shame. I'll let you know how the kit is - it seems to get fairly good reviews out there.

Cool! Have always liked the looks of these.

That picture is great lol

Just wanted to say that the Niko kit is really really nice. I have a few 1/700 Niko kits, and am really impressed by what you get. Lots of resin and PE, and the hull already includes lots of crisp details. Should be a fun one to put together.

Thanks! Should be a cool project. Hope the frustration factor isn't too high! They give two! And with multiple parts to it!

Great to hear that the old kit looks so good. 1967 molds, wow! Can't wait to see your work! Ugh, didn't hear that about Yellow Wings Decals. All these small AM guys put out great products for a few years then close up shop. Really sad

Some cool pics of the Albatross: Some catapult pics - these I think are from other ships:

Excited to join you guys on my first GB! Just saw that I only have six months so at the rate I build, I'll need to step things up. I'm building the Airfix Walrus in 1/48 using this kit: With lots of aftermarket goodies, including a Vector resin engine given how prominent the engine is on this plane: Resource: I also have the catapult set from NeOmega: I wasn't too enthused by building this as a "silver wings" scheme, so I went looking for decals (unfortunately I couldn't find the earlier release of this kit which had the two tone camo scheme which I preferred). That led me to picking up the following decals and mask/stencil sets: There were a few options I liked that were ship-based and launched from catapults. In particular, I really liked these two schemes which were based on the HMS Albatross. Although I like the first scheme a little better, I have the HpH 1/32 Walrus kit which has a similar scheme so I'm leaning towards the second one. The Albatross was a quirky looking ship, which really piqued my interest and I came to found out that Niko Models made a fantastic 1/700 kit for it. Even better, it includes a 1/700 scale Walrus to add to the catapult at the bow. After an extensive search, found a kit at Freetime Hobbies, and here it is: So, I'm planning to build a combined display of the Walrus on the NeOmega catapult, coupled with its ship the HMS Albatross. I'm thinking a two tiered display with the 1/48 Walrus/catapult as the main, higher tier of the display, with the 1/700 version presented on a lower tier to the side and/or front of the main Walrus. Hopefully can pull it all off!

Wow, this will be a cool subject. Looking forward to seeing this one come together!

Looking fantastic Ernie. The paint lifting shouldn't be too difficult to correct, nice job!

Wow, this is looking really good. The chassis is incredible, and those resin parts really add a lot of detail. I better stop reading your log or I'll be wanting to add trucks to the stash 😬

Geez, at the rate I build would take me five years or more to hit that! Happy New Year!

Great choice Peter! I really love this plane. I considered building the Kitty Hawk kit I bought from you last year but want to up my skills a bit more to do it justice. For now, I'll sit back and be inspired watching you work your magic!

Real beauty Rob - was following your build on MSW and so impressed by your skills. Makes me want to hang up my airbrush! Happy New Year!

Great choice Kevin, looking forward to this one coming along!

John what was the final total?

Happy New Year Ernie and crew!

You were a busy boy! What great works, you should be proud of those - I know I would be! Happy New Year to you!

Thanks Peter! This one is coming out better than I expected - was looking rough in the beginning with all the resin aftermarket. I'll probably clear tomorrow and start weathering on Sunday. Maybe wrap it up by next weekend.