Greif8

Very nice construction and painting of the Engine Damian! You got the look of the cylinder heads just right. Ernest

Wow, that is some awesomely excellent work Mike! The replication of the wood on the rudder area is top! Ernest

Superb painting work man! Ernest

Nice save Tom! I could never get Vallejo paints to work for me, you have obviously mastered their use! Ernest

Beautiful work Jay, your painting is outstanding. Ernest

Solid work on the figures Gary, they look just fine. I think you got the right effect on the canvas, looks fine to me. A like the way you used different colors to add interest and variety to the parachute area. Ernest

Progress on the cockpit continues. I just need to finish painting the leather padding and add a bit of wear and tear and the cockpit will be finished. I sprayed a black primer coat then oversprayed the areas that needed the cockpit color with a Tamiya Olive Drab and Khaki mixed at a 6:4 ratio. Once the paint had dried I added the rest of the wires/cables, gave things a wash and highlighted a few areas. Both the IP and any instruments on the sidewalls were replicated with a mix of painting and AM decals; the kit decals fell apart once I brushed some setting fluid on them - not a good sign for future use that. Ernest Work remains to be done on the leather padding and some wear needs to be added. The IP turned out halfway decent, much better than I expected due to having to use generic decals and hand painting. Not much to say about the sidewalls, they get the job done.

Thank you for your comments Maru! The two museums that are closest to me have both expressed no interest in in displaying models. As to my stash of kits, I plan to build those; and might just be able to as my stash is not that large. Also, German society is pretty pacifist in its general outlook and offering to give kits military models to kids would not be positively recieved by most people. Ernest

Knocking over a good pint, or here in Germany a half liter, is nearly as tragic as dropping a freshly completed model. I hear you about our wives! Mine actually has expressed a bit of interest from time to time and has shown off some of my work to her friends when they have come to the house for coffee. Ernest

Sadly no. The Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany is only 2.5 hours away, but they were not interested in displaying any models when I asked them a year or so ago. The museum had a lot of actual aircraft of all types on display, as well as a good many armor vehicles and a very eclectic collection of autos from F1 to normal street cars. Given that, I can understand why they don't see the need to display models. Ernest

Superb (and fast) work as always Miloslav! Ernest

Very nice pit Tom! The Quinta decals are really nice and give the cockpit a lot of "pop". Ernest

NIce work thus far Michael! Ernest

Welcome aboard Gary, and mighty glad to have you! Speaking of figures my build might just be a rare "no figure" build as the pewter figure that came in the kit has a terrible stepped line across the face due to a miscast, impossible to eradicate. And like you I don't have any 1/32 Japanese figures. Ernest

That will look very fetching once completed. The jets to be built in this thread certainly have very colorful schemes! Ernest

Very nice work Tom! The Hs-129 IP looks somewhat like a modern aircraft's. Ernest

Hi Richard, it is a bit sad that we are forced to dispose of some of our built models due to space issues. Someday, when my children are grown and gone, I plan to turn one of their former bedrooms into a display room - if I can get the Minister of Interior - also known as my wife, to agree! Ernest

Thank you for your comments Jim! I tend to agree with you. The only exceptions would be some of my builds that I consider in the top 10%. Those will probably only be trashed when I am gone. Ernest

Thank you for the insights man, pretty much my view as well! Though if I should be able to find a buyer for my WNW builds that is willing to meet me halfway for a personal delivery I am willing to do that. You build high quality models; I have seen some of them when you posted them for sale, and those are worth the effort and risk to ship to a buyer. Ernest

Started working on the cockpit last night. I did sone very minor scratchbuilding adding some cabling and wires, a couple of connectors and minor modifications. The sidewall on the left has had a few wires added and, though hard to see in the photo, I have modified the throttle handle by cutting and bending it to a more correct angle, as well as adding two tiny levers/handles to a couple of the molded components. Finally I added a line connection point at the lower right of the large rectangular part. I will add a few more lines and wires added after painting. The sidewall on the right has also gotten some wiring and lines added to it. As with the other sidewall I will add a few more after painting. Other additions are the beige colored bottle with line and a couple of line connectors. Though not the best photo you can make out the modified throttle handle and one of the crank handles I added.

Great work thus far Paolo, I know the feeling when things like the cowl cover occur. I am also positive that you will sort it out to look perfect. Ernest

Some excellent precision work Mike! Ernest

Some exceptional and very clever scratchbuilding John. The build looks great thus far. Ernest

Very nice cockpit Damian, and great start to your build! The IP looks especially fetching. Ernest

As the threat title states, I threw several built models away yesterday. Among the victims were several 1/48 scale builds that I had done in the past, a couple of 1/32 scale aircraft and a 1/72 scale Uboat. My wife was shocked when she saw me placing the models in a large garbage bag for disposal and asked why I was doing so. Good question! She made me look at why I had/have decided on the route I took and below is a bit of an explanation of my reasoning. It would be interesting to hear what others think about my thoughts and how the situation would apply to them if/when the time comes. I explained to her that no one on our family was interested in recieving one or more of the models to display in their respective homes; which is just fine by the way, I completely understand that I am in a minority of one when it comes to modelling in all its aspects. She countered by telling me that I have sold built models in the past and she knows that others have expressed interest in buying some of my stuff. What she said is true enough, and I told her I did not go that route for two reasons. First, I did not feel that the models, while of decent quality, were up to the standard that I would feel comfortable with putting them up for sell. The second reason will be very familiar with those of you who have sold builds, that is - preparing them for shipping and than keeping your fingers crossed that all the effort you put into packing the model(s) will allow them to arrive at their new owner(s) in undamaged, or at least with very minor damage. To be brutally honest, most of all with myself, I did not believe the quality of the finished models was worth the effort. I had to laugh when my wife, she of little to no interest in my hobby, rather strongly disagreed. Reflecting on our conversation about the above later made me think about what I am going to do when the time comes in the future to again clear space in my display cases. The majority of models are of the quality that I would be comfortable selling; however some of the such as the WNW WWI aircraft are far too fragile - in my opinion at least - to be able to pack well enough to avoid major damage or destruction during shipping. Two models that I sold and shipped in the past suffered significant damage or total destruction though they were very well packed, double boxed, secured in a way nothing fragile was under stress, marked as Fragile on all sides of the box, etc,. Even though both models were well insured, the issues they brought up have been very off putting to me. With all the above in mind I have reached, what to some might be an unthinkable conclusion. The ships and most armor will probably be sold. Given how their shapes tend to make them more robust - in most cases - and easier to pack in a way that greatly reduces the risk of damage that seems to be worth the effort. Sadly, most of my LSP aircraft do not fall into that catagory and will probably end up in the trash. Painful to be sure, but I got the pleasure of building them and will still have many photos to remind me of them. It is what it is, as the saying goes.