SPA Modeler

BlackSheep214 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 08, 2025 9:15 am Damn, Bruce... you're a wild man on this one. Bravo!

Thanks so much, Tom!

Following your footsteps a bit! Let’s see what the night brings when I can work on this again. I have the prop and cowling ready to paint. There’s no rain in the forecast tonight. Let’s see.

Fun N Games

Le weekend edition—locating the Vickers guns

Man those guns look rough.

Medicman71 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 08, 2025 9:44 pm Man those guns look rough.

Yesir they are rough as all get out! I have an aftermarket set of guns in 1/28 from ye olde Copper State Models (before they were bought and sold and became CSM overseas) that will be used. I'm just using the kit pair for position.

Great stuff Bruce!

With the after market parts, the guns will look really great!

- Kari

Thanks so much, Kari.

I spent an hour 3:30-4:30 AM, painting touch ups on both cowling and propeller only to discover by using white primer that the propeller’s plastic sink holes will need slightly more filler. I should probably always go white primer on this project due to seam lines and sink holes to save time when it comes to color coats. Since the propeller is an area of “high visual interest,” I’ll bust out the ‘Put later tonight to give the sink holes another lick. I hope then to redo the primer and move forward to building those tasty highly detailed Vickers replacements on Monday. A snail’s progress, yes, but still progress.

Reference photos for the cowling paint job. I'm going to paint a red circle around the cowling. I keep seeing this as a special paint job to go along with the red nose. Let's see. Here are some reference photos of other Sopwiths showing similar mods.

I will take photos tonight after work. I am developing the red nose and red cowling idea. Moving forward I think this looks like the kind of paint job a post crash Sopwith Camel should have received following a remotor. It’s a little bit more jazzy than your standard issue job but not by much and the photos I posted earlier show all kinds of different ideas going on with the cowlings and propeller sets. Since this is Barker’s second version of his aircraft I have taken to calling it his “Post Wreck” Camel. He used the same aircraft until the end of his military service. He kept his Camel up to date with all of the latest developments in the field—speed and firing accuracy being top priorities.

Your work is fantastic. But! I think your narratives and pictures are great, too! Ke.ep ‘em coming.

Thanks so much, Lyle!

Sometimes—last night, actually—I wonder if anyone reads anymore, but I know I do. I feel a written narrative is important. I don’t know precisely when the Pioneer Auto you built was molded, but I can count on my fingers how many published builds are available online as reference. That is why I have always gravitated to model builders on SPAM; they build the oldies and goldies as well. I still would like to do that kind of group build here (I know we don’t need another group build at the moment) where I send every participant a Monogram P-40 for free as long as they build it with tube glue and bottle paint. And I know beyond a doubt that those projects would be terrific fun as well as important reference for anyone looking to build a classic kit. I’m not sure if it was a Ford Trimotor you built but I know you built a lot of civilian aircraft from old kits and all of those projects are solid gold to have online. So thank you and thank everyone who writes about the trials of building a vintage plastic kit model. You’re all aces!