Modeling during COVID

[Neil]

Sounds like hip waders and a garden rake might have been good accessories .

[robert.]

I watched a few guys fly a C 130 remote control plane . I was powered by 4 Briggs lawnmower motors. That thing had about a 20 foot wingspan.

[chuck]

Sounds like hip waders and a garden rake might have been good accessories

These were pretty skanky "ponds" and the models weren't that large but were pretty delicate. I'm not sure how much I would have recovered!

My all time favorite aquatic "toy" was my Lionel Submarine from the 6830 Submarine car. It was powered by rubber bands and had a small block of foam in the "conning tower so it had to float!. A lot of folks poked fun at this but the sub was actually based on a real Navy vessel:



I don't know if it ever went anywhere on a railroad flat car.

That was the prototype. This is the Lionel version



I'd wind up the nose and put in the swimming pull and it would dive and resurface over and over. Still have most of it.

BTW, you could buy the operating submarine as a separate kit:

[robert.]

Captain Crunch had a toy submarine. I got one free out of a cereal box. You filled it with baking powder and it sunk and floated back up. I tried it out in our fish tank. Tried for an hour to make it work. No luck. A few of the fish died the next day.

[chuck]

I got mine from a box of Frosted Flakes. It was supposed to be the Nautilus. We didn't have a fish tank so I used a glass of water. It worked, sort off. Depended on how fresh the baking powder was. My mother and grandmother weren't too keen on our getting into the baking powder as almost any humidity starts to weaken the reaction and it's pretty humid on the east coast, especially on Long Island.

All sorts of box top "prizes: and crap inside the box. I think the worlds smallest Polaris sub was inside a box of Trix! The drawing in the back of the box was something like 10x the one inside. I wonder how they got it launch the missile. You usually got one good launch and then the worlds smallest missile disappeared to who knows where.

There was a nice wind up stage coach from Kellog's, 35 cents plus two box tops! They also did a 1/300 scale Mayflower "kit" along with the Constitution, Santa Maria, and a Barbary Pirate. 25 cents plus one Rice Krispies box top per model.

Pre consumer Product Safety Commission. You could definitely choke on this stuff or shoot your eye out!

[chuck]

Update

This is two of four attempts at the 1/700 scale F-18. I am going to rest and see if there are some other changes to assembly I can make to make this actually feasible.



The 1950's artist misconception of a manned rocket ship is almost done. I need to "seal" the metalizer before putting on the decals and do some touchup on the umbilical tower.



Skymaster main paint job done. I need to mask the aircraft to paint the top of the wing white and then I can add the landing gear and props and remove the window masks.



B-58 with metalizer. I did get the engine pods painted and may be able to glue them on later tonight (or not). Then she gets a clear coat and decals. Canopies will be added after I mask and paint them and finally the landing gear. Instruction sheets are a guide to where parts go. I am less worried about assembling stuff in order than I am in how hard is this going to be to paint.



This metalizer is really great. Best I've used. Easier/less messy/less toxic than Alclad. Once sealed with the clear varnish and that has hardened it masks well and decals are EZPZ.

[RBH29]

Chuck, your model building skills are amazing. Does the metalizer coat require an airbrush?
Regards.

[chuck]

The best application is with an airbrush, over their gloss black "primer"/undercoat. It can be brush applied but the finish will not be as smooth.

I hope to show that when I put the engine pods on the B-58. Main paint was airbrushed duraluminum over the gloss black but the tail cones and darker (magnesium and burnt iron respectively) are applied with a 10/0 brush. You really need to make sure the paint is mixed well. It also requires throttling down on the paint supply for the airbrush. I have the needle almost closed down. If you forget and try to paint with a normal needle opening you tend to flood the model with the coating.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

This metalizer is really great. Best I've used. Easier/less messy/less toxic than Alclad. Once sealed with the clear varnish and that has hardened it masks well and decals are EZPZ.

Specifics, please? What brand(s), application methods, surface prep, etc.

[chuck]

First post. Fifth image.

It is a Vallejo product. They make a line of Metalizing coatings that are acrylic based. They make a gloss black primer/under coat and a top coat clear varnish. They are intended for airbrushing but they can be brush applied. You MUST agitate thoroughly. The key is getting the "sediment" on the bottom of the bottle into suspension.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

First post. Fifth image.

It is a Vallejo product. They make a line of Metalizing coatings that are acrylic based. They make a gloss black primer/under coat and a top coat clear varnish. They are intended for airbrushing but they can be brush applied. You MUST agitate thoroughly. The key is getting the "sediment" on the bottom of the bottle into suspension.

Thanks - saved image!

[chuck]

This is the plane with the engines installed.





I've prepped the landing gear bays with chromate yellow and I will be painting the centerline weapons pod and landing gear itself shortly.

In reference to Rufus query about the paint. Here is the video review on the paints from the Flory Models channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKtJ2sx3VJY

Saw this and I decided to try it. It's not the cheapest coating put it a) looks fantastic and b) the coverage is deceptively extensive (aka the bottles last a long time). The video is about 45 minutes long, it's a pretty thorough review.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

In reference to Rufus query about the paint. Here is the video review on the paints from the Flory Models channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKtJ2sx3VJY

Saw this and I decided to try it. It's not the cheapest coating put it a) looks fantastic and b) the coverage is deceptively extensive (aka the bottles last a long time). The video is about 45 minutes long, it's a pretty thorough review.

Excellent - thanks!

[chuck]

As the space rocket and the B-58 are closing in on completion I've rolled out an almost built Type 21 U-Boat, 1/144 scale (coincidentally the same scale as the B-58. I have a couple of other subs that are also 1/144 and I find it to be a good scale for WW2 though modern era subs (exception being a Typhoon). Unfortunately most of the model making companies disagree and most boats are 1/350 or 1/700. Trumpeter has done the Gato class, the Seawolf and a bunch of Russian/Chinese subs in 1/144. I will probably do the modern British Astute class. Unlikely that any SLBM's will be avaiable because of the size. An Ohio class or Typhoon boat would be about 4' long.

This model is a cutaway, it showcases the interior of this extremely advanced submarine that could have changed the outcome of WW-2



I have to finish up the conning tower and paint the lower part of the hull. This is my second build of this kit. The cat knocked the first one off of a shelf where it was displayed. Four foot crash dive did a pretty good job of "finishing it off".

[chuck]

This is the last of the "sections" of kits that I typically model. These are from the Star Trek universe. The Enterprise kits are in various stages of construction. The A is complete but old enough that some of the decals have actually worn off. Kit was part of a set released when STNG first was aired. All of the these models are the same scale and were "allegedly" snap-fit. I glued them anyway. The B and E models are much newer and have there base base white undercoat and I have to paint the details (warp nacelles, Bussard collectors, deflector dishes) and apply the decals. I have the C and D models as well, probably in another box.



This is the Bird of Prey that I build a long while back. I even built a display stand for it but that's either in storage or out at the land fill. This kit is a match for the AMT "standard" motion picture Enterprise kit that has been issued many times. I had one of these done up in the "Aztec" paint scheme with lights and sound until I took it into work and a colleagues daughter tried to make it fly. Never took another model in after that.



I'll see about finishing up the B and E Enterprise and the Type 21 before starting anything "new".

I do have a Revell NS Savanah kit that is a re-pop from Revell AG. It is a beautiful kit BUT the reactor model (actually pretty accurate) and the ship model are both to scale but are different scales. The ship is around 1/400 and the reactor is around 1/200. I am still debating on scratch building a new reactor to scale or possibly incorporating the kit reactor into the base. I got to visit the real ship in 1969 when it docked in New Jersey and was open to the public for touring. Very impressive. She is currently docked in Baltimore and they are trying to raise funds to finish restoring the vessel and open it up as a museum. I wish them good luck.