SPA Modeler

jeaton01 wrote:And he's gonna do that 50 or 60 times!

By then, he'll become a functioning alcoholic...

Oh hell no.... that's is nuts. I'll go blind doing that many times.

The PE is easy, the tough part is grinding and filling out those interiors without breaking the little parts into bits.

"The PE is easy" he says...

"tough part is grinding and filling out those interiors.... " he says

But wait.... "without breaking the little parts to bits" he says

Yeah, you're gonna be a functioning alcoholic by the time you do this 50 - 60 times.

Let's not forget the red meatballs decals on the wings.... top AND bottom.

I don't know how you do it; but me? I be like...

BlackSheep214 wrote: I don't know how you do it; but me? I be like...

One at a time sir, one at a time.

Yeah.. any day now. LOLOLOLOL!!! Seriously, I am so looking forward to seeing this one in completion. You are a madman.

I'm almost done with the Carrier (I really can't believe it). I finished installing the safety nets and ordered another set of 25mm AA gun PE so I can finish the last four. One more coat of varnish and glue on the Chrysanthemum and she's done except for her crew and cargo. I'm going to make a cover for the base out of plexiglass tonight to keep the dust out and protect it from incidental damage. Once shes done, I'll take a couple of pictures but will wait for the money shot until all he AC and crew are on.
I keep thinking I'm missing something.

I applied the last coat of the acrylic varnish last night and am waiting the the AA PE set to come in (probably in the next couple days) so I can finish the last of the 4 25mm guns, add the chrysanthemum and spray some future to give some areas, hull mostly, a wet look.

I made the cover for it last night then worked on about nine of the aircraft. I ground off the canopies and started removing the material in the middle. The bit slipped and one Zero I melted beyond repair (now I have 4 spares). Tonight I'll grind out some more before working with the file for more precise control. Eventually I'll have them where I can drop in the PE interior. That's the toughest part of the process, the rest is just attaching the exterior pieces IE. stabs and wings, and PE to the plane such as the landing gear, wheels, gear doors wire canopy and the like. I'll most likely have one of the maintenance crew in each plane monitoring the gages as they're idling

I'll have one more picture session before going dark. I want the final reveal with the planes and crew on the deck.

I can not wait to see this finished and honestly you got this done super fast considering all the PE and extras you threw at it.

Thanks Floki,
I've working on it almost nonstop since early May 2020 last year. By the time I get the last piece on it will probably have taken me 14 months and well over 1500 hours. Quite frankly, I'm going to miss it and really don't know how to top it. I won't ever spent that much on a single kit again and certainly won't impose a time crunch on myself with such a large project again either.
The only other kit I have that would match is the 1/98 Corel HMS Victory. All wood and at 41.5 inches long and 28.5 inches high, it should make an impressive display. Now that would require a well built handmade case! You know, I may just dabble on that thing next year I told my wife I can't die until it's complete but I can get everything done except one line.

I have no higher goal, model building wise, than this kit.



In the meantime, I have lots of stuff in the stash to work on.

I was able to fill and sand some on the Heller SBC-3. Of course during the process I'm unintentionally removing most of the raised detail along the wing root, dorsal and ventral surfaces. I guess I'll try to replace them to keep uniformity. No pics but it's moving right along.

Wow, you want to tackle the HMS Victory? Oh man, that is one frightening looking model!