easixpedro

Thanks...though I swear I don’t hold a candle to the other Petes (Pig and Airscale) around here. I’m giving them both a bad name! Ben too. Seriously there is so much talent on this forum it’s unreal. I’m just happy to share a bit of my hamfisted building with everyone. And speaking of that, put the first layer of paint on tonight. Leather jacket actually looks pretty dang good, all things considered! More soon! -Peter

Alrighty Amigos Proof of life. Managing to sneek down to the work area and do a couple of things here and there. Half hour tops since my last post. Added some more details to the figure such as the pockets on his legs. Not perfect, and slightly exaggerated...but should look good buried in the depths of the cockpit (and remember the rudder pedals are underneath the IP, so be hard to make out too many details). Also fixed the right boot which was bent in the kit figures...just needs sanding to shape. Also did a little surgery on the right arm to make it the same length as his l

Holy smokes, that’s looking GOOD! I can’t wait to see your weathering on those rivets...

I ran into the same issue for my current F6F build. You can check out how I’m slowly making my own: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/86796-124-f6f-5-hellcat-in-flight/ I figure the cost was about the same as any aftermarket (if it existed). A little more work, but is shaping up nicely. Peter

Ok, here's some quick snaps to show the head. Took one of the heads from the garage kit and used bits of sprue to make rhe headphones and the goggles. Used a bit of putty to fill / blend it all in. Next up is to add the Mae West and parachute harness. Will add some pockets on the flight suit legs as well. Also the hand and control stick...as I look at his right arm its a bit longer than the left. Might need to perform some surgery. All in all, am pretty happy with how he turned out. Hopefully will look good under paint! -Peter

Tacoma was on my list too, but ended up with the new Ranger. Awesome truck, and I'm on my second after the 1st was totalled with me in it (less than 3k miles on it, and someone ran a stop sign in front of me--auto brakes were working before I could even respond and still not enough!) Got another and love it even more. Its not the little old Ranger of yesteryear. Was (until the Gladiator came out) best in class in pretty much everything. I'm getting low 20s for MPG in suburbia, and almost 30 on Hwy MPG (in a truck?!) Supposed to have a manual xmission in the next upgrade...thats what I wa

Or not. Read the Ault Report available at history.navy.mil. They tended to fail alot because they were never downloaded once put on an a/c. Hence the high failure rates in Vietnam (something like 20% successful IIRC). Only after the study did they start downloading them to check for such failures. The Ault Report is also what led to the founding of TOP GUN. Fascinating reading if you're so inclined

Thanks! As I alluded, it was kind of fun and something I haven’t done before. I’ll have some cleanup to do, but I figure between paint and a closed canopy, it’ll look the part. Hopefully I can pull off the cloth helmet and goggles. Still debating an oxygen mask. I am not the best at painting figures—at least flesh. It’s one of the reasons I decided to go with the jacket: less flesh to paint! Even less if I cover up his face with a mask and goggles!

About a month ago, someone posted about a battery operated compress/airbrush combo on Amazon. I showed my wife and next thing I know it arrived for my birthday. Believe it was around $60? Used it a few weeks ago for a test run and seemed to work pretty well. The brush isn’t the best but the cordless compressor was super quiet and worked well. Looks like it’d fit other airbrushes, though I haven’t tried. Might be an option?

Egads, it makes the old Monogram kit pale in comparison. But I’ll totally want to build a HAL-3 bird and leave the doors off. But think of the blank slate you get! I must have a screw loose...

Ok, so by no means am I a figure modeler. But I was sick of installing cabinets, so took a break tonight. Was kind of fun to imagine how he'd look moving the control and firewalling the throttle... Last night, I'd made the beginnings of the G3 leather jacket out of Apoxie Sculpt. Looked at mine while sculpting it. I did leave the pocket off the front as I figure they'll be covered by the life preserver. The fur collar was made with putty and then dapped with a toothbrush. After that dried overnight, it was onto the arms. I used a piece of sprue the approximate len

I saw that and was wondering if you’d seen it as well! As much as I hate the book of face, it can be useful for researching.

OK, thought I’d at least show what little bit I’ve done (not much). This kit is a gem though and easily the best Hellcat in any scale. Here’s the cockpit. First time I’ve tried black basing. Used a super thinned Vallejo Interior Green , but I mixed a bit of yellow and brown to get a bit closer to color pics (specifically that color photo of David McCampell in his cockpit). Followed it up with a quick dry brushing of the straight color. Still need to do some silver chipping, but quite happy with the results. Tonight on the way home from work, I stopped by the local

Ha, I hope I can! Several things working against me at the moment. 1) there are no good figures in this scale to put in the cockpit... 2) I somehow ended up starting our kitchen remodel this weekend. Bought cabinets on sale awhile back, and they have been sitting in our dining room since July. My better half started asking if it’d be done before the holidays (like we’re going to have guests at this rate?) So instead of working on this Hellcat or the Prowler this weekend, I was tearing out drywall and doing electrical work. It’s sitting there mocking me at my workbench when I go d

This is what I miss about living in Japan. They love miniatures of everything. The cuter the better of course (Kawaii). Seriously though...I remember going grocery shopping and having endcaps full of 1/144 prepainted kits between the fruit section and the fish. Made grocery shopping fun, and my wife never knew what I’d come home with. Food or plastic...or both! -Peter