Lee White

FWIW, I'm going to be up-close and personal with a genuine P-47N this Saturday the 17th. The local museum has a restored one, and I'll take pics, but they don't, or didn't, have a way for folks like us to get up to the cockpit to take pics, and climbing is frowned upon. I'll try to get a Docent to take pics with my camera, but if anyone needs specific pics that I can take from ground level, I would be happy to oblige- Lee Edit- Here is a camera ohone pic from the last visit- That is one VERY large plane!

1/48 P-51D?

Hi Denie, Thank you for providing some information on this plane. The more I look at it, it seems less of a Mossie derivative and more of a mossie/Beaufighter hybrid. The IA- 30, though, looks to be an out-and-out copy of the hornet though. I am intrigued by the test pilots name, also.... I must say that I've come to an "Elementary" conclusion with regards to his ancestors..... Lee

Hey everyone, surfing the net, I found some photos of an argentinian plane, called the IA-24 Calquin. Looks like a sawed=off mosse with Twin wasps! Anyone ever thought of doing this in 1/32?

looks light years ahead of my Combat 410.

Thanks, Stephen, You touched on one of my concerns- Epoxy resin or Polyester resin? The poly will eat the foam, but supposedly a barrier can be made by coating the foam with white glue. But how well does the epoxy sand for finishing? I do want to add an interior, but only in the areas of the top gunner, and from the bulkhead behind the pilot to the front of the fuselage. Maybe some selective foam removal would be in order here- Lee PS- I just realized I've hijacked my own thread- how's that for bad manners? Shame on me!

I do not understand about the P-40. Why do an early P-40 if Trumpeter has one out in kit form?Unless they did it first. The Trumpy kit is 1/32, and the VFS kit is 1/24, so the complement each other rather than compete- That Seamew airplane looks good. Something that ungainly has a great attraction for me. Stephen Amen, Bruthaa! I have also been looking to do a Heyeford, but am going to try the fiberglass over foam method, then removing the foam with acetone. Don't know what weight glass cloth to use tho. Any tips would be appreciated!! Lee

Thanks Derek, I have not forgotten your kit or Larry's. My building time has been limited somewhat, and when I do build, I tend tostart something new, and therefore don't make much progress. I am planning on finishing a kit before starting another, so the seamew is gettting all the attention lately. I hope to purchase some plastic soon and make some more parts shortly, and put yiurs in the post. Best wishes, Lee

Here is my 1/32 seamew kit. All the major components are placed with tape, to show what it will look like. I still have to send some out, hopefully soon, when I purchase some plastic sheet. I have not forgotten guys!!

May 15? Hmm, I might be able to get the Verlinden cockpit for the N/aW bird by then.... I'll let you know- Lee

Hi Ian, Thanks for the note- I'm presently tryong to clear some half-finished projects off of the bench for the Vulcan build- I kinda promised myself I'd do this, and have taken my Seamew from parts to 50% done in about a week, so I'm glad I did this. Soon, though, I'll be back to the Tin Triangle, as I have to build it, or else!! Lee

Hello my friend! The problem lies with the nav's cockpit- I think it's too deep, and rather square in cross section, as opposed to the round cross section of the fuselage. Some detail seems spurious, also. I'm going to see what i can doo to remedy it- I'll keep you posted, and please let me know what you think- Lee

Seeing this build reminds me of an article I read several years ago that highlighted the plight of some salvage experts that raised a Hellcat from a sandbar, off Connecticut, I believe. No sooner had they raised it when the Navy showed up, and laid claim to it. Seems the Navy, unlike the USAF, does not abandon crashed planes, but claims ownership in perpetuity, so if you have some Navy types knocking at the door..... Lee

Not to hijack this thread, but I'd like to welcome Dr. Metz back to the forums. I hope you are well, Dr. Metz! Lee

Hey guys, Glad I wasn't the only one to get this kit. Did you guys get the separate cockpit set? I did, and built it, painted it, and have grinded away 80% of it trying to get it to fit. I might just toss the cockpit and make my own. Let me know if you can get it to fit, please! Lee

Hey Russ, VERY nice build here, and I can't believe the speed at which you are building this beast. Keep up the good work! As a side note, the Roman numeral designations on Spits seems to have been dropped around the time the Mk.19 made it's appearance. Other Spitophiles (Ooh, that sounds nasty, doesn't it?) can ring in and correct me here- Lee

HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL!!!! If it wasn't in white plastic, I would have bet money it was real!

Interesting. I normally use the two-part stuff, but it's biggest drawback seems to be if you don't use it all soon after opening the bottles, the unused stuff goes bad. The 2 part foam has an advantage over foam-in-a-can, in that it does not need air to dry- it sets up very hard, very quickly. But I like how this acrylic stuff seems to work, vs. the polyurethane stuff. I'm gonna buy it and try it!

Well, I might be off here, but I believe that the B boxing was from many years ago, and used the old mold, whereas the C was put out with the old mold, and also with the all new mold from the mid '90's. if the boxtop shows the "30 years of Phabulous Phantoms", or the KYANG bird, it's the new mold, but if the boxtop shows a marine B or an all white Luftwaffe bird, it's the old mold. Hopefully, others will chime in to add info here. Lee

I guess Larry didn't get that memo- http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/F-22/F22.html

Hi Ray, I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your daughter- As I said, they are family, and losing a pet can be hard on folks- I don't know what more I can add- Lee

Here the affected areas have been cut out, and then backed with styrene. It looks a bit 2-dimensional here, bur afrer it was puttied and sanded, it looks more like it is supposed to.

Some pics of the modified spine-

I feel your pain, Ray. My American Bulldog, Penny, who I got for "free" has cost me several thousand dollars for spay/dental/knee replacement surgery. But, they ARE family, so what can you do? Lee