CANicoll

I still love this aircraft. Can't wait to see what you do with this, Peter! We seem to be hitting the old Monogram kits for this build. The Cat has a fair bit of flash to deal with - ahh, just like the old days! Chris

Scott, That is a very cool chest for your builds! Wow Can't wait to see how this goes. Chris

Very cool! I've always wondered about this kit as I think it is a terrific subject. Looking forward to your build, and the flak gun add-on. Chris

It begins! With the older models - this one from 1996 - I always give the sprues a good bath, and the resin got washed as well. I built a 1/72 Catalina and completely underestimated how BIG this bird is. OMG. The sprues didn't fit in the sink! There is something weird with some of the sprues, however. More on that in a minute. Oh yeah, with the resin tail I can't imagine this not being a huge tail-sitter so going to show this build 'in-flight". Amazingly, when I opened the box, the sprues were still in their bags. I don't think the box had been opened beyond the top being removed to put the resin bits in. Not much in the way of decals. Spruebrothers has a decal set for the Black Cats, but over all these planes are largely devoid of markings so not sure it is worth $14 just to get some codes. On the other hand, not sure 27-year-old decals are going to hold up very well... We will see. This is a lot of styrene!! Whew. Didn't photograph everything exactly... They took up most of the kitchen, drying For some reason, several places look like there is some sort of residue left over - and it would not wash off. Hmmm. This is a first for me! At least it is only on the insides. Somewhere along the way some goodies got included in the box - so TECHNICALLY I'm building OOB, since this stuff was IN the box when I bought it... The True Details set adds really nice-looking sidewalls and a couple of pilots seats among other bits. The resin TD IP is pretty detailed, so will see how well the decal does with it, or might just paint it and either add individual gauges from my spares, or will just paint each one individually (not ideal!). And now here is some major surgery that I don't think I have ever attempted before: So will see what I start with on Monday. And in the meantime, making progress on the Voodoo. This will be interesting! Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm hoping to build 20% of John's 2022 total. Who is with me?

Rob, Beautiful build and the frustrations at the end not withstanding - a great looking bird. I'm with you. It really takes a lot of steam out of me too, when I get to the finishing stages, and things like staining blue tac (I don't even try and use it anymore), or fogging canopies (I still dip all mine in Future and now I have THREE different clear cements to use!). But once things are fixed and you get a result a nice as you have, well yes, the memories of the pain and frustration are still there! And we now have proof from you and Scott of the Nautilus builds so no sneaking them into the GB this year!!

Beautiful John!! Love your cockpits - excellent work there! BTW, do you have a clone that takes care of esoteric things like eating, and grocery shopping, doing laundy and such so you can model?

Wow, look how faded and worn the paint is! esp at the gull-wing but also top of the fuselage to the bottom..

Oh boy. Let's see I built the 1/32nd F-101, and two Me-262s: 1/32 and 1/48. There was a 1/72 Serian in the mix...Working on the F-104 now. Ummm... that's half a years' worth of building for me...

Thanks guys and especially for sharing your pics, Jerry. The overall encouragement is appreciated. I'll likely get some bench time this weekend so will see what progress I can make. Thanks! Chris

Thank you Scott! My raffle prize showed up today and I can pretty confidently say that nobody beats Scott's wrapping! And it came with a sweet, surprise - and I LOVE peanut M&Ms. And the goodies! Scott, thank you again - this was a terrific raffle gift and the extra bonus just as sweet. \ Happy holidays to everyone!! Chris

Well, biting the bullet and doing a quick build of this old model (copyright says 1990!). Going to do this in SEA camo so lets see how this turns out. Starting badly as I've made terrible choices on cockpit color (way too dark on the gray - the painting instructions are woefully inadequate...) and gear bays (green? Per the instructions). Oh well. Started on the interior - this will be interesting. The fuselage goes together in step 2 and everything goes in from the bottom. Huh. ALL raised rivets and seams - this will be an ugly build but I love this aircraft. I'm paying a bit of attention to the online resources - but mostly for the camo pattern and colors. Can't wait for someone to come up with a really nice Voodoo kit. Hopefully when I'm done it will look something like this - but I do need to find some decals for one of these birds. Here is a bit of a view of the instructions, and some of the initial parts I've started painting A bit out of focus - sorry! PITA doing each individual gauge. Still a lot to do, but it is a start! Vallejo paints and after a gloss coat, a black wash so far. Four days until the GB starts!

This is my solution and I do the same - close the window on it. So far so good!

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

@Artful69 sending you a PM now. Happy holidays!!

Thank you, SANTA!!! Thanks Ernie. Really appreciate you doing this for all of us minions here. Merry Christmas everyone!

Just beautiful!!! Love the closed canopy - shows off the lines of the plane so well. How did you mask the spinner? I've had the hardest time trying to paint those curls! The base is terrific, too, and really adds to the build. I really need to learn how to make bases like yours.

I pulled out the old Monogram Century Series F101 kit I have to start as a parallel build to the GB but I can't decipher the instructions. Believe it or not, the sprues are still in the original bag (except the clear parts - the main canopy has some blemishes which can be polished out). The decals are aged and I wonder if they might fracture - but I'm not sure I can make heads or tails out of the instructions! It was made in WHITE STYRENE of all things. I might just have to give it a go anyway. Gotta find some new decals, however...

First things, first. What does Burl Ives say in his song? "Have a cup of cheer".

I finally went to Home Depot and picked up some flexible dryer vent hose to use with the dryer vent to exhaust my spray booth. I have the old MicroMark single fan booth which is 20x15. With the foam board I can block out the rest of the window so even on the coldest of days I can use the spray booth without freezing myself out of my hobby room. Do you have one or two ports off the back of your booth?

Peter: "Now if I could only actually remember where I put things - that's the challenge these days. " That is increasingly my problem, too!! Merry Christmas!

And this is the not-cleaned-up-yet part. I usually pull the paints that I'll be using for a build down onto the table. The paint shelves are from IKEA. I finally organized all of my sanding sticks using a silverware organizer.

Peter, I really like your paint shelves!! Did you make those?

I always start off this way, but it doesn't stay that way very long! The black mesh baskets are a huge help in keeping things organized, especially when I'm doing two builds at the same time, or have a lot of AM to keep organized. I didn't the wall rack of my paints or the wood table where I organized the paints I'm going to use and line up the parts to be painted. Like you, it helps me keep things in the same place so I remember what is where. Periodically I look through my other bins to remind my self what is in there. And also, can't have enough light! The magnifying ring light is my best and most used tool. I almost can't build without it.

Merry Christmas Gary!!