JSConnolly

WOW! THIS is AMAZING! I'm currently working on a 1/32 Adolf Galland "White-3" ME 262 from "21st. Century Toys" that I snagged from a local rummage sale for $5.00. It's all complete but I want to make it more realistic! I also have a "Missing Parts/Doner Kit" of a Hasegawa ME 262 that I'm combining with and also some after market parts for the upgrading! I want to see just HOW Well I can Improve on this "Toy"?! To me it's a challenge and I LOVE challenges! Once done I will post pics of it on here! T THIS Model is AWESOME and gives me alot to help with my project! VERY, VERY Nice Job! The ME 262 is my All Time FAV Aircraft and my dad worked with a guy in the Lithograph trade that was a pilot and mech on these! He got his family out of Germany when he heard that "262 Pilots, Mechanics and anyone involved with or knowledge of the 262 were "Disappearing!" He told me old friends and their entire families were just GONE in the middle of the night! So they grabbed what they could carry and made their way to Switzerland and then to England and then to the US. He was a VERY Interesting person to talk to! I could have spent DAYS talking to him!

Well... If you are displaying it at a model club meeting or model show, then you can/would set it up as you wish? I've attended model car shows that have an "Operational/Functions" table and corresponding category for models with those "Extra" touches so to speak?!

My Grand Father was from Innisheer of the Aran Islands and my Grand Mothers parents were from "Cunty Cark" as they pronounced it! Twice a year in my Grand Fathers Honor/Memory I make our 5 or 6 generations old "Irish Stew" recipe and Invite friends and family over for the "Great Feast" as I like to call it! I even bake my OWN Home Made 'Sour Dough Bread' for the occasion! However my Paternal Grand Father was Austrian-Hungarian-German of the "Yeager/Jeager" clans which were septs of the "Hass Yaeger/Hass Kastle" clans and Related to "Vlad the Impaler"! Before he had his strokes, I remember him telling me about sitting on the roof of his home at the base of the Carpathian Mountains and on a clear day you could actually SEE the Top Minarets of "Castle Dracul" and to THIS VERY DAY... people STILL put Garlic and Wolf's Bane around their windows and doors and the actual Window Frames Are in the shape of a "CROSS" to ward of "Things that Walk the Night" as he told me. Legends happen BECAUSE there is always part TRUTH to them!

WOW! Thank You Maru. That was a VERY Nice reply and welcome! I AM one of those "Jokers/Jokesters" you mentioned above. I have a VERY Left of Center/Irish sense of humor I inherited from my Parents and Irish Grand Father on my Dad's side. He LOVED a good/stupid joke and had this sort of... course, hissing laugh! I'm his name sake and he ALWAYS Lit up when we went to my cousins to visit! He passed away at age 88 in 1982 when I was a Junior in High School, and there STILL isn't a day goes by I don't think of him OR other long gone family! Out of five kids and two parents only my Brother whom, is ten years older then me and I are left! All three sisters and both parents are gone. My brother has now outlived everyone in our family. BUT we have many nieces and nephews and cousins that are "Keeping the Irish Flames Alive" for them! When I replace my now dead digital camera, I will post pics of my work. Thanks again for the sweet comment. Be Safe and Well. Peace. Joe

{These comments do not necessarily reflect this forum or it's sponsors.} with that being said... TO MY FELLOW MODLERS AROUND THE WORLD... I'm 57 yrs. old. I've been modeling for most of my life starting at about age 5 or so. I have belonged to MANY different "Clubs, Groups, Organizations, Bands {as a musician} etc." And I just want to say that MODELERS/HOBBIESTS seem to be the BEST PEOPLE! And when I say that I mean the MOST Friends, Helpful, and Social people I've EVER MET In my life! My Model Clubs that I belong to {3} I have been with longer then ANY OTHER groups, organizations, etc. BECAUSE the PEOPLE MAKE THE CLUB! I've spent time at fellow modelers' homes doing builds, tech talk, Bull Sessions and have had them go into the wee hours of the morning making them turn into "Sleep Overs" and this is ALL BECAUSE Modelers just {AGAIN in MY HUMBLE Opinion!} Are THE BEST PEOPLE! ALWAYS Willing to HELP, Share PARTS, Tips, Literature and whatever OTHER were in need of/for! With ALL of the INSANE Violence and whatnot, that seems to permeate our modern times more and more... It's like a Solice or beacon of light to know that my fellow modelers are people/friends I can ALWAYS count on! So to ALL OF YOU I say a Heart Felt THANK YOU! Not JUST For the Modeling... but ALSO for the friendship and the knowledge that there is STILL "Hope for the Future"! Be Safe and Well Everyone. I am HONORDED to be a part of this community! Thanks You! Sincerely, Joe Connolly Jefferson, Wisconsin USA

YES! Well said! I remember those too! Again I think it can be done VERY WELL if one does their research and is a skilled modeler!

As the Great "Indiana Jones" once said... "It isn't the years... it's the MILEAGE!" LOL

I've read alot about and been in discussions with fellow modelers about the "To have Retractable or NOT to have Retractable Landing Gear?" and here is MY take on it! {This also goes with other "WORKING" parts on 1/32 scale or ANY scale Model Aircraft!} As I don't JUST model Aircraft of different scales and eras... I ALSO Model, Cars, Tanks, Ships/Subs, and Sci-Fi Vehicles. And whenever I see someone do 'WORKING PARTS" it makes ME go, "WOW! Please tell me how you DID THAT?!" Some people think that "Working Landing Gear/Parts" on model aircraft turns them into "Toys"! But I TOTALLY Disagree! I've seen some AMAZING things done to model cars with working doors, hoods, trunks LIGHTS AND Directionals! Even automatic Extending Radio Antenna! Just some truly astounding details! I have a friend that did a 1/24th scale "James Bond Aston Martin DB-5" that had retractable machine guns, tire slashers, Working head and taillights AND Dropping taillights for the oil and other "Defense" items! Even the "Ejector Seat" was Spring Loaded and REALLY Launched! He won MANY awards with it! I say all of this because I've recently gotten into collecting 1/32 scale 21st. Century Toys WWII Aircraft AND some of the "Model Kits" they offered and I have to say, that despite them being considered "Toys"... they DO offer ALOT in way of adding detailing and upgrades! If a person is a skilled modeler {as at age 57 and having been a modeler for over fifty years I would LIKE to think I am?!} with all of the great "After Market" parts available AND some "Old School" work... You CAN turn these "TOYS" Into some pretty impressive looking models WITH "Working Parts"?! And as of now I am currently working on a pair of 1/32 Focke Wulf FW190D's that I'm having alot of fun with "Sprucing Up"! LOL I would love to hear others thoughts and comments on this? Be Safe and Well everyone. Peace. Joe Connolly Jefferson, Wisconsin USA