No_85_Gramps Posted June 17 Posted June 17 5 minutes ago, Ghost666 said: @BornToBattle Thank you. The Layout is in a spare bedroom, 11 x 12 foot. There is about 160 foot of main line on 2 levels. 🚂 Would like to see a few photos of the layout! I'm sure there is some plastic in there somewhere...
Ghost666 Posted June 17 Posted June 17 This is a WIP and has been for the last 4 or 5 yeas and will remain so for ever! 11 2
BornToBattle Posted June 18 Posted June 18 (edited) On 6/17/2025 at 9:41 AM, Ghost666 said: @BornToBattle Thank you. The Layout is in a spare bedroom, 11 x 12 foot. There is about 160 foot of main line on 2 levels. 🚂 Awesome! I just noticed the pics you posted so I had to go back an edit this message. Steam era looks like to me and man oh man, that’s my cup of tea!!! My grandfather was an RPO clerk on the PRR. Retired and loved it but he said the cinders during the summer blasting through the RPO car was the pits. I’ve got tons of HO items I inherited from my dad some of which I had when I was pre-teen even which was many moons ago but with space and me doing my railroading sim on the PC now they just sit boxed. “Old school” hobby layouts to me still and always will be cool! Enjoy it. Another great hobby! Like my wife says, there’s always worse things to spend your money on and she knows where I’m at! Edited June 18 by BornToBattle 3 1 1
JMax Posted June 18 Posted June 18 On 6/17/2025 at 9:10 AM, Ghost666 said: This is a WIP and has been for the last 4 or 5 yeas and will remain so for ever! Looks really great! I am an N scale aficionado,but havent had a layout for a long while. Always ready to start building a layout,but then realize I have WAY too many hobbies I am into....🙂. And the model kits are starting to pile up since IL2 and DCS take up alot of my time,and have me hooked and addicted,lol. 1 1
BornToBattle Posted June 20 Posted June 20 (edited) On 6/18/2025 at 2:56 PM, JMax said: Looks really great! I am an N scale aficionado,but havent had a layout for a long while. Always ready to start building a layout,but then realize I have WAY too many hobbies I am into....🙂. And the model kits are starting to pile up since IL2 and DCS take up alot of my time,and have me hooked and addicted,lol. LOL…you sound like my clone! Yeah, unfortunately way “too many” hobbies/interests and way too little time - or lifespan really. Between being a plastic surgeon (building models), PC gaming of all sorts, board gaming, let alone trying to stay on top the the lawn care, gardening, the house in general, keeping the vehicles moving, etc., etc. my time is spread pretty thin, especially now that we’re in the summer months. I keep thinking “Oooo…I could really get into that” (like setting up the tons of model railroading stuff I’ve got, RC model planes, switching to N scale due to space, etc.) but reality kinda smacks me in the head and I realize my plate is already full with the few endeavors I’ve already undertaken and at my age you REALLY feel the clock ticking away, unfortunately. I’d really need about two or three lifetimes to explore and enjoy all the things I’d want to but even then - would it ever really be enough for us all? Good things we aren’t neighbors, huh? Edited June 20 by BornToBattle 2 4
Vishnu Posted June 20 Posted June 20 4 hours ago, BornToBattle said: LOL…you sound like my clone! Yeah, unfortunately way “too many” hobbies/interests and way too little time - or lifespan really. Between being a plastic surgeon (building models), PC gaming of all sorts, board gaming, let alone trying to stay on top the the lawn care, gardening, the house in general, keeping the vehicles moving, etc., etc. my time is spread pretty thin, especially now that we’re in the summer months. I keep thinking “Oooo…I could really get into that” (like setting up the tons of model railroading stuff I’ve got, RC model planes, switching to N scale due to space, etc.) but reality kinda smacks me in the head and I realize my plate is already full with the few endeavors I’ve already undertaken and at my age you REALLY feel the clock ticking away, unfortunately. I’d really need about two or three lifetimes to explore and enjoy all the things I’d want to but even then - would it ever really be enough for us all? Good things we aren’t neighbors, huh? Same for me, except throw in a nap here or there! 1 3
SARFlytitus Posted June 22 Posted June 22 (edited) I call it FINISHED ! This is simple and easy kit and definately a fun "old style" build without photoetched or resin parts... just little details added from scratch. I'm not a rivet counter but for me it looks like a Jug 😉 Edited June 22 by SARFlytitus 8
BornToBattle Posted June 26 Posted June 26 On 6/25/2025 at 7:16 AM, SARFlytitus said: WIP I’ve got the Hasegawa kit of this in 1/48 debating to start always had a soft spot for the P-40. 2
No_85_Gramps Posted June 29 Posted June 29 M577 Command Post APC, very early Tamiya mold. Completed for a friend, just needs a coat of clear flat. I actually drove one of these in Germany back in 73/74, but that is another story. 7
BornToBattle Posted June 30 Posted June 30 I can’t let Gramps hog all the glory here (very nice work BTW) lol… Just finished my little Messerschmitt P.1103. Kit by Brengun which to me puts it in the same playing field as Kinetic (argh). It looked deceptively simple coming out of the box but ended up taking the best of two weeks to finish (isn’t that always the way?). Anyways, the lowdown on this little scamp for anyone interested… This single seat WW2 German interceptor was proposed by Messerschmitt during the early summer of 1944 and was to be used against Allied bomber formations. The wings and vertical tail were adopted from the V-1 flying bomb and it was to feature a single MK 108 30mm cannon which was mounted beneath the pilot who was in a seated position. Top speed was figured to be at 435mph (700km/hr). Due to resource issues late in the war, it was to be constructed mostly of laminated wood. The model here is shown with a small transport dolly which sits underneath a retractable skid which was to be used for soft field landings after its mission.The project was later cancelled in favor of the Ba 349 Natter which was awarded the production contract. 7
SARFlytitus Posted July 2 Posted July 2 With some small interventions here and there I tried to correct some simplifications of the Hobbyboss kit. it’s not an Eduard P-40, i know , but in the end to me seems a (sort of ) 112 Sq. Kittyhawk. Anyway, yet another model to dust off the airbrush and refine some new techniques before starting on something more challenging 😉 10
No_85_Gramps Posted July 2 Posted July 2 4 hours ago, SARFlytitus said: With some small interventions here and there I tried to correct some simplifications of the Hobbyboss kit. it’s not an Eduard P-40, i know , but in the end to me seems a (sort of ) 112 Sq. Kittyhawk. Anyway, yet another model to dust off the airbrush and refine some new techniques before starting on something more challenging 😉 Looks great and the base is fantastic! 1 1
BornToBattle Posted July 3 Posted July 3 18 hours ago, SARFlytitus said: With some small interventions here and there I tried to correct some simplifications of the Hobbyboss kit. it’s not an Eduard P-40, i know , but in the end to me seems a (sort of ) 112 Sq. Kittyhawk. Anyway, yet another model to dust off the airbrush and refine some new techniques before starting on something more challenging 😉 Great cockpit masking job! Wish I could be that good. Still learning. Currently I’m using the thin strips of Tamiya masking tape cut to the frame size and then filling in the bulk with liquid mask. 2
SARFlytitus Posted July 3 Posted July 3 Canopy masking…aka : The Nemesis of a modeller ! i’m still experimenting every thng , Tamiya tape, self adesive aluminum foil, Maskol… i’ve seen every YouTube tutorials about canopy frames masking but I haven't found the definitive solution yet. in reality everything depends on the quality of the canopy print. if the relief of the frames is well marked I have obtained semi decent results using Parafilm with a new 11 blade and a lot of patience ,otherwise tiring multi session of masking-airbrushing give me best outcome painting a birdcage canopy . Anyway, i’m still learning. 😉 2 2
BornToBattle Posted July 4 Posted July 4 On 7/3/2025 at 3:17 AM, SARFlytitus said: Canopy masking…aka : The Nemesis of a modeller ! i’m still experimenting every thng , Tamiya tape, self adesive aluminum foil, Maskol… i’ve seen every YouTube tutorials about canopy frames masking but I haven't found the definitive solution yet. in reality everything depends on the quality of the canopy print. if the relief of the frames is well marked I have obtained semi decent results using Parafilm with a new 11 blade and a lot of patience ,otherwise tiring multi session of masking-airbrushing give me best outcome painting a birdcage canopy . Anyway, i’m still learning. 😉 For me, canopies are the scourge of building an aircraft much like tracks are for armor! For 1/350 scale subs it’s getting those tiny PE railings to sit just right. Always something… 1 1
voncrapenhauser Posted July 4 Author Posted July 4 (edited) Been away from The workbench a while. Mad Max update,wiring and transmission in place, X Wing almost finished, gotta get some friction washers for my base/stand. Cannot like all the other builds atm, problem with site.......but I am liking what I see Edited July 4 by voncrapenhauser added stuff 5
BornToBattle Posted July 7 Posted July 7 One of the more bizarre “wonder weapons” to come off the German blueprint boards during WW2 was the Triebflügel by Focke-Wulf. It was to be powered by 3 Pabst ramjet engines developing 2,000 pounds of thrust each. When taking off, the rotors would be angled to give lift in a similar manner to a helicopter. Once the aircraft had attained sufficient altitude the pilot would tilt it over into level flight. The rotors continued spinning in level flight, maintaining 220 rpm at the aircraft's maximum forward speed. To land, the craft had to slow its speed and pitch the fuselage until the craft was vertical. Power could then be reduced and it would descend until the landing gear rested on the ground. The Triebflügel made it to wind tunnel testing but that’s as far as it got. It was calculated out to have a forward speed of 621 mph and a service ceiling of 50,000 feet. I decided to have some fun and think “outside the box” and make mine appear as though it’s a war weary Triebflügel featuring the Luftwaffe light blue RLM76 as a base for the splinter camouflage. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler 11
BornToBattle Posted July 7 Posted July 7 Thanks to the moderator for hiding the swastikas…forgot about that. How do you “hide contents” on a particular pic when posting anyways because some I would need to hide and others not? Thanks though for doing that. And “thanks” in advance as well. 12 hours ago, SARFlytitus said: Great what if 1946 build ! love it ! Thanks SAR. Decided to go down the rabbit hole with the ‘46 theme this time. I have a bunch to do. Sometimes I just wanna go off-script once in a while. I’ve done it with armor several times already this is the first time for me getting my feet wet doing ‘46 with aviation. 1
1CGS LukeFF Posted July 7 1CGS Posted July 7 6 minutes ago, BornToBattle said: Thanks to the moderator for hiding the swastikas…forgot about that. How do you “hide contents” on a particular pic when posting anyways because some I would need to hide and others not? Thanks though for doing that. And “thanks” in advance as well. No worries. At the upper right-hand side of the text editor is an eyeball icon - that's for spoiler tags. Just highlight the images you want to be hidden and then click that icon. 1
BornToBattle Posted July 8 Posted July 8 (edited) 13 hours ago, LukeFF said: No worries. At the upper right-hand side of the text editor is an eyeball icon - that's for spoiler tags. Just highlight the images you want to be hidden and then click that icon. Thanks Luke!!! Now I’m smarter than I was just 5 minutes ago! Appreciate it. Now I know after all these years lol. Won’t happen again. Spoiler Hey…it works! Edited July 8 by BornToBattle 2
No_85_Gramps Posted July 8 Posted July 8 I was looking for a quick build, so I started on the Airfix 1/72 F4F-4. Couple of points to make. I wish I had checked the fit of the wing spars through the fuselage before building the cockpit and landing gear. The fit is extremely tight, so now I have to thin the spars some to get a better fit. The landing gear was quite finicky, got the parts off the sprue OK, but broke a couple pieces trying to clean them up. The gear parts were tricky, they use a tab and notch system and most of them required some sanding to get the parts to fit. The plan was to paint the assembly and inside fuselage halves today, but Ms Humidity is off the charts, so I will work on some other things today. Plenty of detail in the cockpit for a 1/72 scale model, but I will just paint it all black and be done with it, my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be. Rest of the build looks pretty straight forward, and I have the paint colors I need on hand. A couple of pics showing the cockpit/landing gear assembly. 3
BornToBattle Posted July 8 Posted July 8 (edited) Damn Gramps…your are a glutton for self punishment lol! I built two 1/72 aircraft in my life and wow…I admire those that still have dexterity to do so. Mt all-time fave Jet is the F -4 particularly the F-4E. Still is even to this day with all the latest Jet hot rods out there. Can’t wait to see it finished. Looks just as detailed as my bigger Wildcat F4F I made. Edited July 11 by BornToBattle 2
MiGCap Posted July 9 Posted July 9 On 7/7/2025 at 6:20 AM, BornToBattle said: One of the more bizarre “wonder weapons” to come off the German blueprint boards during WW2 was the Triebflügel by Focke-Wulf. It was to be powered by 3 Pabst ramjet engines developing 2,000 pounds of thrust each. When taking off, the rotors would be angled to give lift in a similar manner to a helicopter. Once the aircraft had attained sufficient altitude the pilot would tilt it over into level flight. The rotors continued spinning in level flight, maintaining 220 rpm at the aircraft's maximum forward speed. To land, the craft had to slow its speed and pitch the fuselage until the craft was vertical. Power could then be reduced and it would descend until the landing gear rested on the ground. The Triebflügel made it to wind tunnel testing but that’s as far as it got. It was calculated out to have a forward speed of 621 mph and a service ceiling of 50,000 feet. I decided to have some fun and think “outside the box” and make mine appear as though it’s a war weary Triebflügel featuring the Luftwaffe light blue RLM76 as a base for the splinter camouflage. Great! What scale it is?
BornToBattle Posted July 9 Posted July 9 9 hours ago, MiGCap said: Great! What scale it is? Oh, sorry…1/48. It’s the Amusing Hobby kit. I have several of their “paper tiger” kits to make. Sometimes I like to just have fun using my own techniques and all for camo jobs! 2
BornToBattle Posted July 11 Posted July 11 On 7/8/2025 at 8:56 AM, No_85_Gramps said: I was looking for a quick build, so I started on the Airfix 1/72 F4F-4. Couple of points to make. I wish I had checked the fit of the wing spars through the fuselage before building the cockpit and landing gear. The fit is extremely tight, so now I have to thin the spars some to get a better fit. The landing gear was quite finicky, got the parts off the sprue OK, but broke a couple pieces trying to clean them up. The gear parts were tricky, they use a tab and notch system and most of them required some sanding to get the parts to fit. The plan was to paint the assembly and inside fuselage halves today, but Ms Humidity is off the charts, so I will work on some other things today. Plenty of detail in the cockpit for a 1/72 scale model, but I will just paint it all black and be done with it, my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be. Rest of the build looks pretty straight forward, and I have the paint colors I need on hand. A couple of pics showing the cockpit/landing gear assembly. Have you made the Tamiya version of this? I was wondering how the Tamiya and Airfix stack up against each other when comparing kits/scale to kits of the exact same subject matter. I made this but with the older Tamiya kit. I’ve always steered away from Airfix but I hear the later kits are “spot-on” now (Jaguar comes to mind in 1/48). I always thought of Airfix as using softer plastic and not having crisp toolings like other kit manufactures. What’s your experience? I’ve been eyeballing that recent 1/48 Jaguar kit by Airfix. Now if somebody would just come out with a new tooling of the Helldiver in 1/48 scale I’d be a happy camper. Thanks for your input!
No_85_Gramps Posted July 11 Posted July 11 I haven't built the Tamiya version. I will say that the newer Airfix kits are far superior to their older kits. This one has excellent detail, minimum flash (just a little around the cylinder heads), landing gear, while finicky to assemble, is very strong. It's not without minor fit problems, mainly getting the cockpit/landing gear into the fuselage. I hoping to get some painting done today and then get the fuselage together. Two part wings fit was excellent, and the rudder and tailplanes are molded really well. I have the newer Airfix Mosquito that I may do next.
BladeMeister Posted July 11 Posted July 11 10 minutes ago, No_85_Gramps said: I have the newer Airfix Mosquito that I may do next. 😉 S!Blade<>< 2
BornToBattle Posted July 14 Posted July 14 (edited) Spoiler Finally got around to finishing Tamiya’s 1/48 Heinkel He219 Uhu night fighter.done in acrylics, oils and VMS pigments. All I added were brake lines, antenna wires and seatbelts (made from lead) with buckles. Airbrushed two white stripes on the tires (although you can’t see them) to signify they are capable of grounding the aircraft due to its extensive electronic equipment. Fit was typical Tamiya, of course. Spoiler Edited July 14 by BornToBattle 12 1
Hoots Posted July 15 Posted July 15 The Uhu is one of my favourite planes and that it a fantastically well built model. Lovely
No_85_Gramps Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Looks fantastic, camo and weathering make this one stand out! 1
No_85_Gramps Posted July 15 Posted July 15 My quick build of the F4F-4 is turning into a slow build. The humidity in this neck of the woods has been really bad, not to mention the amount of rain that has fallen over the last couple of weeks. Managed to get the fuselage closed up, wings, tailplane, and rudder in place. Just need to do a little clean up around the gun ports, and then some primer, probably tomorrow when it dries out around here. I posted a photo of the parts for the folded wing version just so you can see the detail molded in, pretty good for 1/72d scale. 7
BornToBattle Posted July 16 Posted July 16 Looking good Gramps! Humidity as been bad up here too. Worst summer yet nd we’ve been here 8 years now. First time I’ve ever seen literal water drops in my inline Iwata humidity condensing jar. 1
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