pennausamike

It has only been about 14 years since I started this build, but I'm FINALLY closing in on the finish line. I want to have this finished for a get-together with some aviation museum/ model building friends this upcoming Saturday. I've tinkered with building a few projects over the last decade, but haven't finished a plastic model. The biggest thing I'm finding is that my skills and eye sight have degraded to the point where this isn't as fun and relaxing as I remember it. I've never minded that I'm not as skilled as some of the amazing builders on this (and other) modelling sites, but I had sort of settled into a hobby comfort zone of satisfaction with my results. Well, I'm trying a lot harder it seems to achieve even those results, but hey, at least I'm building again. So without further ado, here is my closer-to-finished Rex from the front. and from the back. Still a fair amount to do, but at least it looks like an airplane instead of an ad for body putty. Mike

Well, OBVIOUSLY LOU IV was blue..... The eyewitness accounts in combination with the photos are why I accept that LOU IV was over painted in a dark blue. This is the old Revell P-51 with the fin fillet cut off and filled. Mike

Well, I ordered one off eBay. Looking forward to receiving it! Mike

I definitely want one of these. I have some neat pics of the Tsurgi sitting on its skid at Silver Hill. Now, I have to figure out how to follow thisone. Mike

More importantly, would you part with hard-earned cash for one? I know I would, especially for "The Dragon and his Tail". Mike

Sorry, I have no idea where that came from. I'm guessing eBay? But it would have been years ago. I did a quick google search; a deeper look may turn up who made the conversion. (I found a builder who used the same conversion but no info who made the resin pieces.) Good Luck! Mike

Heyo Bill: I gave up on this method of deciding what to buy years ago. My goal now (with 200-ish kits in the stash) is to buy the most important of what I like (because there has to be SOME limit) with the idea that whatever I've got a desire to work on, I know I've got one "right here". I harbor no illusion that I'll ever finish them all, just the ones that called to me the loudest. As far as passing them on, I took the time to write a suggested price and quick eBay description to shove in the boxes, (in about the time it would take me to build one decent model) and as much for my enjoyment as posterity, I took pictures of each model. Oh, and yes, I did buy the B-17E/F.

I don't know; I think that kit is unbuildable........... :-) Mike

Just build the PBY and tow it behind the boat. There, problem solved. Mike PS: I forgot to add, I got the '17-F for Christmas, and it is amazing to my eyes!

I didn't realize it was on, at all. I really should get my birthday present He-51 out and build something! Mike

And yet, you're building/ have built a couple of them? (Very impressively, too.) I love the old Revell 32nd scale kits and I still feel the Monogram P-51D is the most P-51D-looking kit out there. One of the things I love and appreciate most about them is, THEY CAME WITH INFLIGHT AIRCREW! And yes, I am rather shouting, there. I currently have two B-25's, a B-17 and an He-111 (among many others) that I want to build in flight. On just those four models alone, I'm missing 23 crewmen! With aftermarket figures costing ten to twenty dollars each, aircrew that I got included in the old kits, are now an expense that can exceed the price of the airplane to stick them in. Having grown up on the old kits, this current state of the hobby sticks in my craw, even as I am (mostly) enjoying the explosion of great 32nd scale kits to add to my collection. Like the OP, nostalgia is a part of my enjoyment, and I'm even comfortable with the fact that my skills aren't much better than they ever were, and my eyesight is continually getting worse. http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50674&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50705&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50734&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50801&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50848&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50890&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50908&hl= http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=2182&hl=

I took a picture of every kit I own, wrote a simple eBay listing and give a value so that my collection is an asset rather than a dumpster liner.

I have one of them to turn into a Rufe, as well; using the old Horizon vac conversion kit. I think it will build up pretty nice, er...um...assuming I ever get a chance to build it... Mike

I think there is quite a bit that is interchangeable from a model building standpoint. What doesn't interchange is the spinner, the cowling, removing the wing cannon sponsons, the upward curve of the bottom of the tail, and the lack of landing gear. So, a conversion should include spinner and cowling, landing gear and cut-off cannon filler panels, an upswept lower tail, the main float and the two wing-mounted outrigger floats. The N1K1 and the N1K2 have far less in common than the N1K1 and the Rex. edit to add another pic: Mike

My plan is to cut the wingtips off a Swallow/Tomy Model 21 and graft on a Hasegawa Model 52 engine and cowl. The Model 52 engine has to be back dated by turning the individual stacks into a collector and dual exhausts. Mike