sixgunns

Hey Jeff, I just e-bought 4X from that original list link to spruebros. Can't wait to see them. Glad you got a nice response from your inquiry - I am sure more out there benefitted. I had wondered and asked in the past about the -B variant. Some decals are hard to find but there are sources out there. I managed to accumulate a collection of 1/32 Aeromaster, CAM and EagleStrike decals for my WWII and very few jet AC. sixgunns

Here is the LINK: http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/ You can read the general message board '1:18 Scale Forum' - there is a 1/24 MPC / Airfix thread now. You can probably find some conversion / fix ideas. Or you can go to the 'Customs & Mods' section and thay are specifically talking about the ' Tricks, Tips, Hints, Cheats, Tools, Whatever!!!!'. It is on-going and popular - naturally. << Beware >>, there are lots of 1/18 etc. figures - but also some interesting re-builds. I've learned a lot there. When I first got a 1/18 th scale P-51D I saw a toy needing work. How does one work on these ? Luckily I found this board where everyone was asking that and many other questions like availability of new models. When, Where, How much ? What I liked was My small collection of 1/18 cars I had already collected to present in a possible diorama with these birds. I have for example one 'Ansco Prestige Edition' 1932 Maybach DS8 'Zepplin' - still boxed to preserve. This is a convertable in black with a red stripe, blackwall tires [ big ] , with an opening hood [ nice engine compartment ], both front doors open, trunk opens, and includes steerable front wheels. The exposed interior is excellent. A little paint detailing, etc. is needed here. Vehicle is 12 inches long and a 'staff car' type. I don't know if it was actually used as one but I have this one and it will be part of my populated dio in the future. I have one grey 'combat' Kubelwagen in 1/18th scale. I also came across a Solido 1934 Ford Sedan 'diecast'. This is the one that surprised me - it must be a short run vehicle. 4-door [ two in front open only ] in dark green - authentic color ? It has Mil paint staff car type Army i.d. serial # and 1942 white star in circle. Steerable whitewall front tires and brown interior. I have not found another one of these. It took a while to find and I'm saving it for a dio. That would need some room but I'll keep watching for items to use like good figures. I don't like the articulated figs for a serious dio. I've searched for good replacements and read of fig joint [permanent] fixes. I even wonder if they are truly 1/18 scale. IN FACT, I don't have personal verification on accurate 1/18 scale for any of these models. I have other 'diecast' plastic and metal cars. For some reason the 'HQ' posts don't mention vehicles from these same scale 'other mfgrs'. Maybe I missed their posts. When searching for 1930s and '40s vehicles be aware of the modernized versions. Such as a 'PICK UP PRO STREET'. Be sure and study the picture or ask for one to verify it is an authentic original build. sixgunns

I'll assume you have been in the 1/18th message board. There are people posting with a lot of experience. The messages are accessable for a long period too. Here are some 21st reviews too : http://www.cybermodeler.com/miscreview.shtml Even a basic google search will help you : 21st Century 1:18 This is a new site to me but might be helpful : http://www.epinions.com/21st_Century_Toys_..._2_Figures_Toys I don't have the Fw-190D-9 BLUE 12 but would like to see one. eBay will sell me one - or one of the stores for a higher price. Yes, eBay will give you a good auction on a good day. But be knowledgeable of the seller. Look at their history and feedback....you probably know that. I've won maybe 8 1/18th aircraft scale auctions and fortunately had happy outcomes on all. You can find a low price. The Bf 109G-6 JG 54 'Green Hearts' would be of interest to me. I have the Me-109G-6 "Seemann". Nice color. sixgunns

1/32 scale : AP-2 Neptune YES vote here.....My father flew P2Vs as Air Chief. I was looking at my 1/32 F-4 fuselage a while ago. It's big. I don't think I've seen one built up close. Can't decide what model to finish as. And that Trump 1/32 F4U-4 is really the cat's meow. I will upgrade what has to be done when the time comes. I have 2X Revell Huey Gunships 1/24 scale to build. Nice decals. Very long and the blades circle will be something else. Today I got an email from the Canadian seller that my Guillow's Sandy is on it's way - mailed. He listed it as 1/24 scale - we'll see. sixgunns

That was one of my questions. I wondered about the 1/24 lineage. So the MPC kit is the airfix. If so I'll build my MPC that is open and keep the unopened Airfix kit for a rainy day. Here is a favorite on-line review of the Trump Mustang. See the thumbs for the prop parts on sprue. http://www.kitreview.com/kitreviews/p51d24previewbg_1.htm sixgunns

Hi wingman777, It's called Small Scale Military Headquarters. Just bookmark directly into the 1/18 Forum : http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/viewforum.php?f=1 It's really loaded - good to see photo reviews. Since these are expensive on the wallet. And watch for posts sending to past threads for modifications. I hope the LSP moderator doesn't mind. It's another free site that we can learn from. One very nice example is a NARG school page for the TBM : http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/NARG/...walkaround.html Just follow instructions. NARG has image galleries and variants listed. sixgunns

You're right Astro32. I too was bitten by the 1/18th mosquito. I didn't notice at first but my wife started asking me questions like: ''Hey, please do something about these bigger boxes than normal'' and ''Now let me guess : another big 1/17 scale airplane ?'' and eventually ''What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports Is a Goin On Here ?'' So I quit buyin em. They're really nice. My favorite being the Kepford Corsair . It's big but sweet and shapely - - like a thin big airplane. But it's big. You get used to it. You don't have to do anything with them - they come ready to put the wings on and what armaments or fuel tanks you get. The gear can be raised and lowered. Opening canopy, prop spins - that's about it. The pilot comes out and you can play with him - if that's your thing. He's articulated, I think. There is a message board where they talk about nothing else but these. They give you the latest info and what Walmart has what TBF. Kind of interesting - for a while. Some one or two guys discovered you can modify. This led to some pretty ingenious solutions to these big plain jane planes looking like a scale model. I own approx. [ not sure exactly ] 7 various Mustangs, 4 various P-47s, 4 FW-190, 2 Me-109, and 4 Corsairs. The pricing at times is unpredictable and too tempting. Wal-mart is by far the best deal for 21st Century AC cost - you just have to search and decide when you are standing there staring at them. But if you take one home and open it and examine it - you will be impressed. sixgunns

Guillow's - came the voice from the back of the room. Slowly it quieted down and the quiet big scale modeler arose. I was looking on eBay and found a tempting auction. I rememebred the question here. After it ended I wonderded if the guy in Toronto would sell still. 300040853709 - ''A-1H SKYRAIDER- NOT PIPER GUILLOW'S'' : ''LOT OF 2 :A-1H SKYRAIDER GUILLOWS 1/24 BALSA EXTREMELY RARE PERFECTLY DONE SORRY NO DECALS+PIPER SUPER CUB 24 " WING SPAN PARTIALLY ASSEMBLED(WINGS)''. Here's his image [ he says 1/24 tho I can't read the box - and I forgot to confirm ] : http://i10.ebayimg.com/05/i/08/bf/ea/08_1.JPG I emailed him and he sold me the Skyraider alone. I just have to decide what to do with it after getting my paws on it and looking it over. I'll decide on a squadron and era and get decals made. I'm a sucker for the 1940s and '50s AC. This one stands out - hopefully the plastic vac parts are resonable. I have a couple of 1/48 kits [ to build ] . If anyone's interested - I'll post a review. I am familiar with Guillow's kits. He's keeping the piper. sixgunns

I am wondering if the spar is worth it. We have better glues today and that in theory should hold this together. One would be cutting and fitting after accessing the wing interior. Yes, it is a solid way to proceed , but has anyone actually done this in plastic in 1/24 th ? I'm concerned about the two wings' symmetry mirroring ea other regardless of 5 deg. or 4 1/2 deg. final finish. I wondered too if I might just remove a little of the upper wing by sanding. Where it butts the fuselage. That is easy to control equality on ea wing top. A small amount of the lower wing part will be reduced too. Edgar, what is the title of that Patrick Stevens book ? J.K. sixgunns

Thanks D, I thought if it was a real problem with this kit that I could figure out a way to put the dihedral back in. I think a twin in-wing dihedral brace would be the thing. This size Mustang is not something to take lightly and i want to build the Maj. Preddy AC and do it right. I have the decal. I have an old MPC waiting too - 1/24 scale passed me by for years.... now I have the itch like a lot of other diehard AC modelers. I always figured someone engineered these big 1/24 AC so there was plenty of problem-free time building them. Evidently even the Trumpeter 1/24s are not perfect. Though their 1/24 Japanese Rufe looks mighty fine - just looking in the box anyway. I just ordered a 1/32 Trump Corsair F4U-4 - couldn't resist. That's an old favorite and I've built & detailed the Rev. 1/32 Corsair.... and stockpiled a couple as they became cheaper. The images on-line were just too much. When I get my hands on their new Hellcat I'll have a life experience probably. And I wish they had put the 5" HVAR rockets into one of the re-pops of the Rev. 1/32 Typhoon. I have to make my own. J.K. sixgunns

Can the Airfix 1/24 P- 51 D kit be built with correctly canted wings O.O.B. ? I see this built with wings having no cant upward when looking at the front. How could the wings go on horizontal straight ? All drawings of P-51s clearly show canting. No getting away from this flat look when displaying – especially grounded. So I wondered if this is a problem with the Airfix 1/24 scale kit . I haven't built this YET but observed the problem .... is it a problem ? Thanks in advance. J.K. sixgunns

Thank you all for the help. TimC. I kind of thought the re-tool was a NO. Reinstalling tips after lopping off the -40 tips will be the answer for me. Jack’s drwg. shows the aileron extended all the way to the end. Jack, that drwg. of your F86F-30 version is very nice. I probably would not have found it. Edgar, I read about the variation for the models with & without the LE slats. And I see a larger gun bay door for the -2 'Gun Val' I’m interested in. So that extension covering the doors on the E model note is helpful. Smithery’s aircraft I.D. list will obviously help me to narrow down particular AC with pilot’s [ i.e. Joe McConnel, 39th FIS ] mounts. The 334th and the 335th had great pilots with leading kills too. That in fact is a good way to approach this. I’ve already run across a comprehensive list of WWII P-51 squadrons histories and tabular data in a Google search. The color published book images are impressive but I’ll try Google for F-86 questions too. I did see another Eagle Strike USAF 1/32 decal for the F-86 listed. Has anyone seen this ? I have Eagle Strike 32046a and this is one of the reasons I wanted to go ahead with this project. But if I build a -2 'Gun Val'. With the T-160 20mm guns it will be another research project. No biggie, just another decision – negating the decal use partially. That color pic from Martin Bowman's Airlife 'Combat Legends : F-86 book is an “ F-86F-2 “ 1953 at K-14. I'll assume this is 4th FIW.This view is about 30 ft. back broadside and the left side gun bay door is off with armorers working. Now I see three additional pics all left side showing presumable 20mm gun applications in this book. A 1957 F-86H-10 parked : Air Guard, A 1970 F-86H-10 parked : Air Guard and an aerial 1955 F-86H-10 : USAF. Martin Bowman : “ Four F-86E-10 and six F-86F-1 “models recvd. these T-160 gun conversions. They were “re-designated as F-86F-2 “. Also “Two F-86F-1 armed with Oerlikon-type 20mm guns were redesignated as F-86F-3.” Maybe I’ll build two Sabres. J.K. / sixgunns “ Make it fly or scratch-build it.”

My question concerns the old 1/32 HASEGAWA F-86F kit. Is the HASEGAWA F-86F [uSAF decals] a different kit from the kit # 08060 F-86 F – 40 Sabre J.A.S.D.F. ? Are the wings re-tooled for the -40 kit ? I have no way of comparing this with the other Has. 1/32 Sabre kits. That is the one I have and have finally just acquired the Eagle Strike 32046a USAF 1/32 decal . It is nicer than I expected. Of course the more I read the more I had to wonder if this is a post-Korean War version. I didn’t want the -40 ‘HighGrade Series/ALL TRANSPARENT PARTS’ version just a Korean War finish in 1/32 scale. And this – 40 Sabre J.A.S.D.F. kit looked like high quality. Can I build, Detail and apply my 32047a decals ? If not maybe I will convert to a -2 'Gun Val'. The 4X T-160 20mm s would be interesting. There would be a cockpit change, maybe the gunsight. Presently I only have the color image in Martin Bowman's Airlife 'Combat Legends : F-86' book. Omitted [surprisingly] from the wonderful Osprey book " F-86 Sabre Fighter-Bomber Units over Korea " (Osprey Frontline ) . Any helpful reference suggestions for a -2 'Gun Val' ? TIA. [ I was posting a year or so ago before the new site came on. Very nice improvement – nothing wrong with the old. Thanks for all the suggestions, photos of great work and links.] J.K. / sixgunns “ Make it fly or scratch-build it.”