Messages

4261

Warplane Art / Re: Nordic Dragon

« on: August 06, 2011, 08:02:19 AM »

Indeed..... When I spotted the airplane (in 2001 or 2002, I suppose) it was still in the normal camouflage and hadn't yet been "modified". At least it is supplying spare parts to another J-35.

4262

Warplane Art / Re: Nordic Dragon

« on: August 06, 2011, 07:16:48 AM »

Good heavens, I found the Wichita/Jabara Draken. It's a little over halfway down the page here:
http://www.milfly.net/?paged=2
I didn't recognize it as a SAAB product until I read further!!!!!

4263

Warplane Art / Re: Nordic Dragon

« on: August 05, 2011, 08:39:12 PM »

 

There used to be a Draken parked in Wichita at Jabara Airport and I've always wondered where it vanished to.......

4264

Aircraft Modeling / Re: PZL P.11c LTD 1/48

« on: August 05, 2011, 06:54:21 PM »

Thanks for the kind words, y'all. Now I'm on to the hardest part of this project, constructing a realistic looking "power egg". I should have kept the engine and cowling on-pace with the rest of the airplane--I'm fired up to paint the airframe but since it will require some handling to get the powerplant fitted I have to wait with the airbrush.

4265

Aircraft Modeling / Re: PZL P.11c LTD 1/48

« on: August 04, 2011, 07:08:44 PM »

Hope you have completed this perfectly

The alignment went pretty easily accomplished. The fuselage cutout and wing attachment point are fairly accurate with regard to the horizontal alignment. I thought about building a fixture to align the wing perpendicular to the fuselage in the other axis. Instead I simply used my trusty steel rule and made certain that the measurement from each tip to the tail was identical.

It'll need just a tiny bit of filler at the trailing edge where the windscreen mounts.

4266

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Airacobra Under New Management

« on: August 04, 2011, 04:27:08 PM »

47C!!!!

It didn't quite make it to 47C--I sometimes take a thermometer along out to the flight line when I'm going to be there a long time and it peaked at 115F. It didn't quite make it to the all-time Oklahoma record which was 116F set during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. The humidity has been quite low so it reminds me of working in the desert of Arizona. As long as you drink plenty of water it isn't too bad. The worst part is that the airplane is so darned hot that gloves are almost required to work on it!

4267

Aircraft Modeling / Re: PZL P.11c LTD 1/48

« on: August 03, 2011, 08:09:29 PM »

I assembled the main elements and then had to figure out how to finish the seam in the "armpit" between fuselage and wing. I decided to use CA glue by running a small bead in each armpit and vertically clamping the assembly in my vise to cure. It worked great and no further work will be required in there!

4268

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Airacobra Under New Management

« on: August 03, 2011, 08:06:04 PM »

Small progress on the Cobra production line. It's really too darned hot to paint here--today is forecast to hit 47 Celsius!!!!!!!! I'm really looking forward to work today as I'll be on the apron with our Flight Test department all afternoon.........

4269

Warplane Art / Re: Grumman Hellcat

« on: August 03, 2011, 05:52:31 PM »

Very nice!

4270

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Fokker D.VII Group build

« on: August 02, 2011, 03:57:19 PM »

BEAUTIFUL!

4271

Aircraft Modeling / Re: PZL P.11c LTD 1/48

« on: August 02, 2011, 07:22:39 AM »

Me too, especially when the shape is so attractive! I've always liked the look of the PZL series and even more now that I'm building this model. I reckon I need to get a P.24 one of these days as I feel it is the ultimate evolution of this design. I'd like to have seen the designers adapt a Grumman-type retractable landing gear to this machine--what a beauty that would be.

4272

Aircraft Modeling / Re: PZL P.11c LTD 1/48

« on: August 01, 2011, 07:08:18 PM »

It took a great deal of massaging and a long time waiting on the adhesive to dry, but the two halves are one and a little filler applied to the seams. I set the wing in place and it'll need a small amount of fitting, but not too much.

4273

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Airacobra Under New Management

« on: August 01, 2011, 08:14:23 AM »

Eduard supplies several prop options in their 1/48 Airacobra also, I think. In my case I'm just using up my extra parts to make these old things more presentable. I'd always wanted to build a P-39 with the four-blade propeller and this was as good a time as any.

4274

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Fokker D.VII Group build

« on: August 01, 2011, 07:53:05 AM »

Without morning coffee I couldn't even see the model box, let alone the struts...
Usually I drink coffee throughout the day, and all the time I'm modelling - almost like a juice
Tonight I've finished work around two, took a last sip of coffee and went straight to bed - no problem for me

That schedule sounds familiar! I worked a midnight shift for eight years so coffee hasn't much effect on me either.....

Great work and thanks for the updates!

4275

Aircraft Modeling / Re: PZL P.11c LTD 1/48

« on: August 01, 2011, 07:44:47 AM »

We were correct--you can't see all that much when the fuselage halves are joined!

For anyone who might want to build one of these kits I recommend using a lot of patience during the fuselage joining. My sample has warped halves and I had to drill holes for alignment pins that I made from safety wire. Then I glued the front of the fuselage together as far aft as the cockpit and let the adhesive fully cure before trying to bring the back half together. The end result will be fine but it is a two-step process.