Guest Peterpools Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 (edited) UPDATE: BACK AT THE BENCH 8/6/16 It's been some time since I posted on the forum; I just plain ran out of steam, as the fires in the boilers had gone dark. I'm closing in on retirement and even the reduced hours, still take their toll. With summer in full swing, I'm actually spending time outdoors for the first time in decades, breathing fresh air and shooting loads of digital film. I started two projects that I was biting at the bit to build (the Mirage IIIC and the F2B-2) and neither advanced past assembling the front office and gluing up the fuselage. I reached 19,000 posts and the bottom plum fell out. I needed time away from the hobby and the time I spent indoors with my Mac; Photoshop and Lightroom, reading mail and a bit of lurking. My twin brother, a modeler in 48th scale and in the same quondam, thought the ticket out just might possibly be building towards clear goal, placing our work on the contest table and open to all comments in the flesh. I needed time to think, time evaluate the consequences and time to decide if I wanted to follow a path I had walked away from over 40 years ago. The Past: Back in the day I was deeply committed to IPMS contests and always served as a judge. I served as Contest Chairman at the first IPMS National Convention our club hosted, Contest Chairman on at least two Noreastcons and and for years was our clubs Contest Chairman. Contest building became an obsession, I built strictly for contests and eventually the fun was gone, the passion vanished, I was worn out, beat up and walked away. 40 plus years bring me to: The Present The more I thought about the possibilities, maybe it was time to test the waters, as so much had changed over the past four decades. I needed time to think. The embers in the boilers started to glow. Maybe this would be the ticket to the road back. Maybe this time I would not be drawn into an all encompassing obsession. Look forward to contest day - nothing more and nothing less - win or not, the reward would just be seeing my model on the contest table again. I wasn't going to let building become an all encompassing, every spare minute obsession. I would plan my course, take my time with the goal of being ready for next April. The Contest: MosquitoCon - New Jersey, 2017. Not having a clue or the slightest idea what I would find, I decided on large scale aircraft of course and simply go box stock, concentrating on building and finishing to the highest level I was capable of. I have no idea how my work and skill level will match up but that's the goal. I'm pumped up and under way, eager to spend time again at the bench. And so the journey back begins. My build: Tamiya's fantastic Mossie - straight from the box, not hits, no runs no errors; just concentrate on the Gem Papa Tamiya has given us. Box Stock, OOB; no AM resin or PE, only new decals if I desired so for new markings and that's it. Holy smokes; when was the last time I went with just what was in the box? No better test then with Tamiya's Mossie. My cost: the going price of the Mossie and one EagleCal decal sheet; Amazing! I took an oath to build the Mossie from Step 1 - Step 105, following the instructions to the 'Tee' and of course, borrowing some detail painting tips and ideas from Wolf's Mossie build. Being far from an expert on RAF WWII colors, I compared numerous color photos of the interior and only wanted to be close, as there is no perfect answer. I know all the negatives in to trying match colors on line and rom books as well; I calibrate my Mac weekly, sometimes bi weekly depending how lazy I am feeling using X-Rite's Colormunki hardware and software and I should be close. Tamiya calls out for XF-71 for the RAF interior green and to these old eyes, it seems a bit light in shade. I came up with a mix that appears a bit closer: Model Air 71.095 Pale Green; 6 drops + MIG 201 Light Gray Green: 4 drops + 3 drops of Vallejo Thinner and 1 drop of W&N Flow Enhancer over MIG gray primer; sure looks good to me. For the most part, I followed a combination of Tamaya color callouts and Wolf's suggestions from his build. OMG, am I impressed with Tamiya's Mossie and building OOB for a contest has so far been nothing but fun and as we used to say back in the day: a blast! The front office is done and took a lot longer then I thought but shear enjoyment. The ammo chutes for the Brownings are a good case in point. Right from the start, I decided to leave open the machine gun bays, bomb bay and hatches ,so the kit details could be seen. All went well until I started working on the ammo chutes; a nine piece assembly with a nasty glue seam smack in the middle of each chute. I lost track of the hours I devoted to filling the seams with Bondo, sanding and then repeating numerous times until I was happy - not perfect but it's the best I could do. Of course, the Carpet Monster reared it's head and swallowed part K1 and the First Aid decal. A quick call to Tamiya Customer Service, a few dollars and the necessary decal and part were in my mailbox in four days; talk about customer service. They were added right after the first round of photographs and won't show up until the next update. So far Thanks for checking in Next up: Closing up the fuselage and the beautiful Merlins. The Kit Step One of the Front Office The IP The office Pretty Much Done: Edited February 4, 2017 by Peterpools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Wow, what John said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Thanks John Much appreciated and felt good to fire up the boilers and get back to building. I have some catching up to do and looking forward to it. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 HI Brian Much appreciated and digging in. I read with astonishment and some heart palpitations that HPH is finally bring us a 32nd scale Tigercat - I could only guess what your pulse rate must have been. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Curious why you were so silent Peter (including your brother at ARC). Glad to see you back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Real nice start, Peter. Ought to be swell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Hi Shakai Glad to be back. Just needed a a rest and time to refocus. Sometimes I have a habit of drifting and loosing focus and my best medicine is to fall back, take a break, re-group the troops and come back fresh. Deciding on trying my hand at the contest tables and seeing how my work compares, has greatly helped me focus and and not wander. I'm Gung Ho (geez, I sound like Randolph Scott) and all fired up. I'll ask my brother to post on ARC and as he has been in the same.\9 We're twins so we kind of know how the other one feels) Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Looking good! Maybe someday my coals will re-ignite and I'll finish mine. I just can seem to work up the desire to turn on the work shop lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Thanks Kev The Mossie is beyond description and what a canvas for a Box Stock Contest entry. I'm anxious to see how my work compare with the other models on the table (it's been over four decades since my last go at a contest) and nothing like sticking to the basic for my first time out. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Hi Ron Much appreciated and I know it's been a while, just give it time. Maybe doing something like I'm working towards: a contest entry, box stock, would be the ticket to light the fires. Winning isn't important, it's just seeing my model on the table and knowing I did my best. You'll know when it's time ... just keep the faith Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Good to see you back, Peter. The work you've done on the Mossie so far is simply brilliant! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Back with a vengeance! I'd been wondering where you were, now I know ... that office looks brilliant Peter. Great work. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Buddee Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Way to go Peter! Missed you Bro, I figured you were waist deep in work. Great to see you workin' on the Mossie. You're absolutely right about Tamiya's Mossie being the perfect canvas for an out of the box build. Hopefully you'll inspire me to get back to my Mossie sooner than later. There's just been too much happenin' since summer began to spend a lot of time on the bench. Truly great to see you back at the bench though. Cheers, Wolf Harold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Looks great Peter. Glad to see you back at the bench. One day my Mossie burnout will end and I'll get back to mine. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Peter, that looks great so far, a real winner! ...and welcome back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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