TwoHands

THAT GEAR IS SUPER!!!!

All the pics I can find show a bright glossy green bottle with white printing and black retaining straps. The head fitting is brass with a white/grey knob on top. The only lines I can see coming from it are a small dia metal pipe that'scopper in one shot and alluminum in annother. There is a corrugated O2 hose laying there but I can't see how it connects to the bottle... so fudge it! Don't foget those gun charging handles on the floor. Jeff

Very nice clean build!!! The cockpit looks great! Is that harrolds??? J

Today I realized I have 2 interior sets for my flight of Hasegawa Hellcats. One is the verlinden set and the other is by CMK. Anybody use either/both and can shed some light on the best choice?? Thanks. Jeff

I will be wanting a sabre pit Harrold! J

I have a Typhoon, TBM, and a Hellcat that I was going to put rockets on. Were the same 5 inch rockets used by all aircraft? I'm looking for good drawings/dimensions so I can make up a bunch for future projects. Jeff

Very nice job!!! I have two of them beckoning me from the closet! J

I think sheen is one of the things you can play with to make a model look "right". Tires, exhaust stains, markings, and paint outs all have a different sheen than he base paint. Some areas are prone to scuffs and other wear. Shinny does look toylike but so does coating everything with one level of sheen. I like future buffed with 0000 steel wool for paint work but use flat base and colors to create variations that avoid the look of a "dip job". Coating your plane and you canopy in future (or polishing the plastic) not only looks bad IMO, but I have seen planes where the paint work shined more than the canopy. When was the last time you SAW a giant glare line on a canopy?? A very soft sheen looks great on a modern jet and a crisp shine looks bad on a prop carrier plane. J

NICE WORK!!! PLEASE tell us about your finishing procedure! The primer and bare metal are just right!! How did you do the chipping? Did the surface texture on the flaps come on the kit or did you sand and rivet them yourself? One tiny nit... those cooling flaps would look just spectacular if they were done it metal to avoid the thick look edge. Really spectacular job! Jeff

I played around a bit today with some paint. I liked the somewhat more bluish green depicted in the squadron book so I started with FS34227 (pale green) and added FS35042 (NS sea blue) in small amounts. I settled on a nearly 70/30 mix that was not too grey, somewhat dark, somewhat blue, and somewhat minty! I like the color a lot! Try a bit of on a card! It will make a very unique SBD! I'm going to start looking for decals and do some research to put in the box and add it to the "to do list"!!!

Thanks Jim! The Squadron book says the aircraft is BuNo 4628 marked 2-S-9 from an un-named scouting unit aboard the Lexington in late '41. There is also a pic of the same aircraft on a ramp in Oakland California. Could it be the same bird? To be honest, I like the color and since nobody can tell me "that aint it" I was going to do one up. I had planned on hanging it in a dive but if it was a scouting unit??? Would the Lex have been in action with VF-2 in late '41? If not totally accurate I would like the setting to be plausable. Jeff

There is a profile in the Squadron navy colors book of an SBD in "grey green". I did some checking around and FS34227 seems to be in the ballpark. Anybody know more about his color and it's use? Thanks, Jeff

I thought about this very thing the other day. I wondered... if they filled the seams, and the wigs flex under load, what did they have in the early 40's the could fill a seam and take those loads without cracking and falling out? Oakum? HA HA!! Jeff

If you take the floats off a Rufe do you get a Zeke? What model Zeke? Is it more complicated than that??? Jeff

Thanks very much. I suspected there was a variance in practice based on mfgr and wartime scarcity. Thanks. Jeff

Is chromate ever used as a primer over entire aircraft? As I think about it I have never see an aircraft in production COVERED in chromate. I also have seen planes being stripped etc and never noticed any chromate coming off or seen chipping that revealed chromate underneath. By the same token I have seen some aircraft in the pacific that seem to be fading towards a very chromate like color. I assume that's because of the way the paint weathers? J

I use needles from the pharmacy. Just sharpen the inside with a dremel and give it a twist. You can put two on a stick and "walk" them around almost any curve. Jeff

I could use a set too! The new kits come with BOTH sets? That means I need to swap...

So if anything over #8069 is new the #8120 "the fall of the reich" should be good too! J

I have been working on a Hasegawa Hellcat for a while and spent some time on the cowling. In order to get the cowl out of the mold Has had to make the intake openings wedge shaped and going nowhere. After doing some research I have decided I can't live with the shape of the kit cowl intakes. The solution is to cut away the lower part so the lower lip conforms more to the shape of the outside of the cowl. The upper surface seems OK, but the lower surface and the two dividers need replacing as they are wedge shaped. The problem is- How do I get the lower lip and dividers out without botching the whole cowl? Take a look at the parts if you have them and tell me... what would you do? I have a plan but I'm looking for a better way! Jeff

I am looking at a Hasegawa D9 and can't tell what kits are new tool and what are not. Anybody know what numbers/box art are the newest release? Jeff

I have not said much but I'm watching and she's coming GREAT!!! The work in the wheel wells was stellar. I almost always neglect the wells because the just don't show and I'm a damn Yankee! If it don't show without you touching it then I leave it! Your gonna do the small cut outs on too the LE of the flap too right??? One is square corners and the other is tapered. They just barely show when the flap is fully deployed. Double check on the LG because I recall having seen some with a raised seam on the outside of the oleo. Maybe they didn't get that final once over??? Jeff

I have always hated the way 1/32 scale ordinace (and pylons/missile rails) look. Who makes the best 1/32 winder? Why are there no sweet etch/resin winders on the market??? If your doing a sweet F-16 or 'cat I can't see blinking at $15-$20 for a pair a sweet foxes for it can you?? Jeff

I have looked at this kit over and over and while I think the surface shows nice details I can't stop thinking it's overdone. Parts of the wings look almost like they have a stressed skin effect I'm not used to seeing on Sabres. The access cover look the worst IMO. I'm half thinking of using a Hasegawa saber just because I can sand it clean and start over. What do you guys think??? Jeff

I have film of crews painting invasion stripes with BROOMS!!! There was no masking tape involved! Nice sharp invasion stripes look great but they were hastily applied and temporary so decals would be out! Jeff