Plastic modeling

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Yeah, I dropped the prices I had for kits on eBay just a little and sales really took off. You still get the guy who offers 13 bucks for a kit that will cost 12 in fees and postage, but whaddayagonnadoo.

I just got through doing another 2 square feet of WW2 game minis for a friend, 1/56 scale.

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Derp. The actual plastic models are on the right.

 

[atomheartbevo 89628]

On 1/7/2021 at 10:17 PM, Braff Zacklin said:

I suspect it's a bit of a manufactured shortage, a la the semiconductor industry, but I'm a cynical ass, so the truth might be elsewhere.

I don't know - I would imagine that ramping up production of plastic scale models is not easy.  It's not insurmountable, but the issue is that most models are not in constant production - they may do batches of like 10,000 or so at a time.  They probably line up what their production runs are going to be for several months in advance, so if a model sells out, they may not have room in their schedule to re-issue it for quite a while.

I've seen more of it on the RC side of things - I farted around and found out, and didn't get a couple of re-released buggies for less than MSRP when they were released last year, and they are now running at $100 over (or more) MSRP.  Then again, RC is a helluva lot harder to ramp up and down.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Pics from the Focsle of the USS Lexington.

 

I took these pics back in 2015 when our Cub Scout Pack did an overnighter there.

 

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Had a hell of a lot of important things to do today, but they got SNAFUd by situations outside my control. I was in a frenzy sending messages to try to get it sorted out.

Then I said Fuggit.

Now I am happily puttering with a 1/56 scale M3A1 Halftrack kit, putting it together for me.

All that alleged real-world stuff will be just fine later.

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Several more days into it, 4 halftracks assembled. They are 1/56 scale models from Warlord Games for their "Bolt Action" rules set, which is a beer and pretzels Sgt. Rock Saves Pvt. Ryan sort of thing with 28mm toy soldiers.

I am attempting to build a fairly realistic version of a US Armored Infantry Platoon with whatever they really had at hand.

The kits are better than my modeling skills. I used Gorilla Glue because these are game pieces that will get handled. I plan to cover the fingerprints and mismatched seams with liberal applications of "mud" and maybe a strategic tarp or two.

 

[RDCanecutter 26383]

In addition to the Warlord Games figures, I have some Wargames Factory ones in the same scale. They are in less dramatic poses, many of them just standing around, so I am dragooning some of them to be vehicle crew. This fellow's right arm originally held a BAR, but I cut off the weapon and now he'll be holding a Lucky Strike.

[RDCanecutter 26383]

The .50 cals are fiddly and one of the barrels broke. To fix this one I cut two thin strips of card stock, then stuck one to what was left of the barrel, let the Gorilla Glue soak it. When that dried, I added more glue and lined the broken piece of barrel where it was supposed to be. Once that dried, I glued the second piece of card stock on the other side of the break so they'd act as a splint.

Probably next I'll take a small square of normal paper, soak it in white glue, and mold it over the gun like a tarp so just the end of the barrel peaks out, paint the "tarp" olive drab after it dries, and it will help hold the barrel together.

I guess I could chop the whole barrel off and replace it with wire, but I know I'll get stabbed by my own gun if I do.

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Getting reinforcements. A resin and metal Trenchworx White Scout Car got here in the mail, very little flash, nice detail. The only thing off is the shallowness of the crew compartment, I guess so the resin floor would be thick enough to hold up. I did have to carve off the Warlord Games driver's legs so he'd fit, but now he is a Scout Car centaur.

Another thing you can do in this scale is find toy vehicles for conversions. Here is a Disney/Pixar "Sarge" jeep that cost a fraction of a model kit. I converted one mostly with a paint job. The blue windshield doesn't really get the reflection effect I was going for, but it's less freaky than those eyes.

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Been doing a little scratch-building using linoleum, balsa, copper wire, and scraps from the bitbox. Finished a .30 cal MG and a 60mm mortar to support my 1/56 scale toy soldiers.

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

Great stuff, RD. Hope to see 'em painted up soon.

[RDCanecutter 26383]

20 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Great stuff, RD. Hope to see 'em painted up soon.

Thanks. Shouldn't be long, geologically speaking.

[wd40 1976]

3 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

Been doing a little scratch-building using linoleum, balsa, copper wire, and scraps from the bitbox. Finished a .30 cal MG and a 60mm mortar to support my 1/56 scale toy soldiers.

 

 

guy on the left looks to me like Gunny Hartman, demonstrating the proper technique for strokin' it in the Marine Corp.

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

3 minutes ago, wd40 said:

guy on the left looks to me like Gunny Hartman, demonstrating the proper technique for strokin' it in the Marine Corp.

 

[RDCanecutter 26383]

It's not a necro bump if it's been less than an entire year.

All that stuff upthread, ain't none o that been touched. Got busy doing other stuff and forgot it. In the meantime, an old friend asked me to do some more painting for him. 10 years ago when I was broke, he sent me enough work to pay off my wife's new car. So sure, I'll do a little more.

The kits arrive and, instead of simple resin or metal pieces like before, minimum assembly, these are 1/100 styrene plastic kits. Fun but slow.

Got 5 knocked out, gonna wait a couple of days for all the tiny finger-tip stabs to heal.

[GoPokes83 2240]

One of my fb friends builds incredible large scale Star Trek models as a hobby. He recently purchased a C8 Corvette and made a model of it. The level of detail is beyond my comprehension! Every bit is made by him, nothing purchased. He built a vacuum form for the windshield and the rest of the “glass”. Just phenomenal work!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02ey6FCoc8F6dwn6swBZbypf3hsPQWzP1RrRZAsQv74w5uoZdAuLYwcX53vEQpsriel&id=1547600689&mibextid=qC1gEa

[RDCanecutter 26383]

Necrobump again. Finally got the German halftracks and other stuff finished and mailed off.

Yes that's fake snow. I was going to use real snow but it kept melting.

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

9 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Yes that's fake snow. I was going to use real snow but it kept melting.

 

[atomheartbevo 89628]

So I’m letting my kid do models on his own, and the Hobby Boss kits are good for that. We were at a model  shop (the only one in Austin it seems) and I was talking to somebody at the counter and my kid came up with a Mig-15 and asked “what’s a fagot”

 

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

On 3/12/2024 at 6:03 PM, atomheartbevo said:

So I’m letting my kid do models on his own, and the Hobby Boss kits are good for that. We were at a model  shop (the only one in Austin it seems) and I was talking to somebody at the counter and my kid came up with a Mig-15 and asked “what’s a fagot”

 

Tell him that a fagot is a bundle of sticks.  That has been its usage for far longer than the other.

[Shoxthemonkey 1977]

On 3/12/2024 at 6:03 PM, atomheartbevo said:

So I’m letting my kid do models on his own, and the Hobby Boss kits are good for that. We were at a model  shop (the only one in Austin it seems) and I was talking to somebody at the counter and my kid came up with a Mig-15 and asked “what’s a fagot”

 

I was at The Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson Saturday. They had a couple of these on display with the nickname on the plaque. I imagine that there were a lot of parents that weren't pleased to answer the question.

[elfenix 34223]

On 3/12/2024 at 6:03 PM, atomheartbevo said:

So I’m letting my kid do models on his own, and the Hobby Boss kits are good for that. We were at a model  shop (the only one in Austin it seems) and I was talking to somebody at the counter and my kid came up with a Mig-15 and asked “what’s a fagot”

 

Uses a Rolls Royce centrifugal (not axial, which is odd for a turbojet powering a fixed wing aircraft) turbojet that the Brits literally gave to the Sovs. Otherwise they’d have been powered by some shit ass BMW 003 development.

[atomheartbevo 89628]

8 minutes ago, elfenix said:

Uses a Rolls Royce centrifugal (not axial, which is odd for a turbojet powering a fixed wing aircraft) turbojet that the Brits literally gave to the Sovs. Otherwise they’d have been powered by some shit ass BMW 003 development.

This is why Surly is awesome.

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

1 hour ago, elfenix said:

Uses a Rolls Royce centrifugal (not axial, which is odd for a turbojet powering a fixed wing aircraft) turbojet that the Brits literally gave to the Sovs. Otherwise they’d have been powered by some shit ass BMW 003 development.

The centrifugal-flow Nene was superior to the axial-flow BMW 003 or Jumo 004 in terms of power and reliability, but in terms of future growth and technology in the aviation industry, ze Germans und Hans von Ohain took the better path.

The Brits were terribly naive in donating a Nene, imo.

[wd40 1976]

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

Who are two people who have never been in my kitchen?

[InkaUtexas 25863]

dammit.... Busting out my 1/72. Want to do eastern front. Seelow heights.

Anyone want to drink beer and paint?

[RDCanecutter 26383]

7 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

dammit.... Busting out my 1/72. Want to do eastern front. Seelow heights.

Anyone want to drink beer and paint?

I remember when I last assembled a 1/72 plastic fighting vehicle. Some little German tank. It had 8,000 individual road wheels, and they would bounce way up under every piece of furniture in the room.

[InkaUtexas 25863]

1 minute ago, RDCanecutter said:

I remember when I last assembled a 1/72 plastic fighting vehicle. Some little German tank. It had 8,000 individual road wheels, and they would bounce way up under every piece of furniture in the room.

And if you lose any more than a bit of glue they melt. So they get blackened and a blow out.

 

[Chad Fuck 17659]

Then you all will be interested in some pics I took very recently.

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

What a Chad! Who also Fucks.

[atomheartbevo 89628]

This guy needs to do more model kit reviews.

“my  best friend and soulmate capillary action does all the heavy lifting, in this process the cement  seeps through even the tightest of crevices leaving no survivors”

“I first lay down a coat of Tamiya hull red mixed with flat red at an unknown ratio.  Then I follow that up with an even more unknown mixture of a brighter red as a highlight tone.”

”Removing masking tape is along life’s greatest pleasures”

”I still do not have the thinner for this black primer, boohoo, watching my poor Iwata Neo clogging up while desperately trying to spray this stuff was heartbreaking but the lil bro knew what he signed up for.”

”the main mast is really fragile but I’m able to put it together without a hitch.  I’m proud to say that for the first time in my life I haven’t broken any of the masts on this model which is one of my top five achievements bested only by that time I won a chess tournament in elementary school and the birth of my second son. “

”just drown the surface in primer. My Lord, this spray can sure does emanate a most noxious aroma.  So noxious I haven't heard from the family in over a week. Just like my wife and her boyfriend, the masking tape makes its leave as I brutally pull it apart. Luckily an even layer of black paint  cleanses us of our sins and prepares the hole for painting.”

”The gloss coat  gives a smoother harder surface like a metal baseball bat while a flat or semigloss Surface is  rough like the edge of my serrated saw. Remember this kids, always gloss coat your model before washes and blunt force trauma leaves little to no evidence. Before I can use the black wash on  the hull I need to apply the water slide decals. Immersion in boiling water is enough to cripple anyone's resolve.”

He has a D.I.C.K. ratings scale - Detail, Interesting to build, Craftsmanship, Keen-fit.

 

[RDCanecutter 26383]

On 6/5/2020 at 1:09 PM, Braff Zacklin said:

Have you abandoned the Vampire Van?

Only for 4 1/2 years.

I've had 13 tedious things to sort out, so instead of doing that, I reverted to 7th grade and ignored them all while finally adding some red to the seats and curtains on the Vampire Van.

And not nice painting either. Sorta blobbed it on like a kid, with just a smidge of shading. But Priming? Sealing? For the cost of primer and sealer I could buy a drink, a candy bar, and 3 or 4 comic books.

I forgot why I stopped on it. Maybe something about it taking too many steps. Now I crave taking pointless extra steps on it.

Prolly give the red one more coat on the raised areas.

 

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

Good to see the update, @RDCanecutter! I know you've had some much more important problems to tackle but hope you're recovering and feeling well enough to keep building.

I've done very little modeling in the past 3-4 years. Just can't seem to find the mojo. Maybe some activity here will inspire me. LoL

 

[RDCanecutter 26383]

30 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Good to see the update, @RDCanecutter! I know you've had some much more important problems to tackle but hope you're recovering and feeling well enough to keep building.

I've done very little modeling in the past 3-4 years. Just can't seem to find the mojo. Maybe some activity here will inspire me. LoL

 

I have kept busy doing art and going to shows, and I'm blessed that people buy what I make. But I do find myself missing weekends when I could just kick back and, I dunno, assemble little sailing ships then meet up with friends at a hobby shop and push them around on a table top pretending to be Master and Commander.

Of course, weekends came with Real Jobs during the week. Hell with that.

 

[Braff Zacklin 13553]

Ah, you bastard--don't get me sidetracked on M&C! Pretty much a perfect movie, imo, with a soundtrack to match.

I've always loved how this piece tells a whole story by itself: