Lee White

some progress pics

Well, it looks like the cmputer problem MIGHT be solved- I'm online, but the broadband is going very slow, so, something still isn't right. I'm going to try to upload some photos- first of the laminated wood cut to profile, and another of the molds partially sanded to shape.

Hi The Vulcan is moving along slowly, but the Yak-38 is shaping up nicely. The fuselage is mostly carved and shaped, and I'm trying to find a way to post pics, as my computer crashed,and I now have to post with my cell phone. As soon as I can post pics, I will. Lee

Hey Sbre, I'll get with you when i start popping, and hook you up- Lee

Hi Kev, It's taken me a while to respond, as my computer has succumbed to something called "Antivirus 2009", which I do not know anything about, other than my computer doesn't compute anymore. I have also misplaced the cable that transfers photos from my camera to the computer. I'm snapping pics, so as soon as I am able, I'll post them. Don't know if my wife will let me post pics from her computer{this one}. right now, all the balsa slabs have been glued, and the profile band-sawed . Lee

Hi Greg, I'm making some progress, but at this point it looks like a scale lumberyard- jut piles of laminatd balsa, not much to see yet. When it begins to resemble a plane, i'll post a pic! thanks, Lee

Sssssssmmmmokkkkkin' build there! nice scratchwork there- can't wait to see the finished product!!

I think that's vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in that pic. I think (hope) it's photoshopped....

Hi Rigor, The Yak will be a scratchbuild, made along the lines of the other molds i've made, except this time i'll use balsa instead of basswood. I hope to start laminating 1/2 inch (12.5mm) sheets of balsa together by this weekend. Then bandsaw out the plan and profile, and whittle away all that does not look like a yak. It looks like I will be able to use 1/48 F-15 wings, as they are very close to the yak's in 1/32. I'll post pics as soon as I can- Lee

Hey guys, just got back from enlarging the plans i'm gonna use- I've spent money, so now it's official, I guess! The -38 was not a large plane, about the size of a Mirage III, but I'm still going to have to break the assemblies down so they will fit on my vac machine. This is going to be fun, as I have not been doing much building lately, and am looking forward to getting "back in the saddle", so-to-speak. Here are the plans I'll be using-

Awesome work, Loic. Could an A6M2 cowl be used on your kate? Flawless scratchbuilding going on here- you need to write a how-to book!! Lee

Hey Russ! Thanks, but I've settled on another oddball carrier plane- i've decided to do a Yak-38, and will start a new thread when I've started it. The pancake will still be on my to-do list, tho- Lee

Hey Russ! I was contemplating doing this one too, but you've beat me to it! Oh well, I still am enjoying your build of the pancake. I might steal some of your ideas..... Lee

Your yard looks like something painted by Claude Monet!

Hmmm,,, Lemme guess- the grey/green one, white spinner, mid pack, code LO-(?) is the one that's not yours, right? What did I win??!!

Hello all, Thank you for the responses to my query. Griz and Alphonso, thank you for reminding me of the Lodela kit. I do not have that kit, but your info reminded me that I have those vac parts in my stash- I cannot believe that I forgot that, and thank you for reminding me!! Thanks Alan for the heads-up on that build- It will come in handy, I'm certain of that! Derek, thank you for explaining the tailplane center section configuration to me. Not having to induce the dihedral into the root section will save me some time and effort, as I really want this to be a relaxing build, without the headaches of some of my other recent builds. One puzzle remains, though- The vac stabs are quite a bit longer in length than the kit parts, and wonder if some versions had longer parts, or if this was a goof on Lodela's part- Thanks again, Lee

Hi, Want to do a mostly OOB build to fight the AMS bug, but I can't leave things well enough alone, and want to do an Aussie DAP-21, with the canted stabs. Anyone have any ideas on how to modify the kit parts to fit? I don't want to hack out the roots unless I really have to- mebbe some of them had straight stabs....?? Lee

"Can't we all just get along?" Seriously, I think it all boils down to a personal "pain threshhold", that being what the majority of modelers are willing to live with. If I'm scratching a model, I try to do my best, shooting for a "Tamiya", even if I end up with a "Revell", and I can live with this, as my personal threshold may me lower than others. What I'm saying is that while many folks can/do live with a kit's issues, others cannot/will not, and that will translate into a diminished bottom line for the manufacturers. Trumpeter has shown, in the past, a willingness to address issues, such as the infamous Wildcat fuselage debacle. But have they addresed any other issues? I'm thinking P-47 windscreen, Zero fuselage, the entire p-51, etc,. If they won't fix an issue, then enough folks, AKA the average modeler, are buying the kits as-is, and it doesn't make sense for them to fix "what ain't broke". Until the lines on the accuracy-vs.-cost chart cross, we will continue to get some half-baked kits, crammed with useless parts (P-47 turbo ducting, etc.) designed to "add value" to a kit, and therefore justify it's astronomical price. With the cost of petroleum going thru the roof, especially here in the States, with our weak greenback, we will see the cost of these kits go up, as plastic is petroleum product. These companies will be forced to either; live with a lower profit margin, and keep prices the same, or, raise prices, and push the accuracy-vs.cost issue onto the front burner, and pony up the goods and give the buyer something that has real value, or watch 'em go elsewhere. just my $.02, which is getting to be worth less every day-

Looks like Gabby to me! Is that who the figure is supposed to represent?

That Buchon needs some clear flat applied over the Future coat!

TOUCHE!!!

Chirp. chirp. chirp........ crickets are getting loud here.....

Yup. I still have this FSM special issue too. I was so "wow"ed with it that I broke down and spent my tax refund on a complete hobby vac rig, which was advertised in FSM back then. Got as far as cutting down the turtledeck and making a balsa buck, but never went any further for some reason. Awesome modeling there.

Is the interior green and the exterior green the same color? Looks like it in the photos, but it may be my moniter- Lee

Just for info's sake, this conversion has been done in the past, by fellow LSP'er James Merrigan. Check out the mode about halfway down the page- http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/J...p35_others.html Lee