Maddog Manufacturing 2015 Factory is Open

[LyleW]

Oh, that's ok. Dave! Seriously, no problem. I got a laugh out of it! You are quite a guy.

[Duke Maddog]

LOL! Thanks Lyle! Glad you're okay with it. Still, it won't happen again.

Stay tuned, more to come...

[Duke Maddog]

After a couple more days, I finally have some decent progress to show, so here it is. I decided that since I have a bit of spare real estate on the bench, I'd go to my queue and pull out something that's been sitting awhile. I chose this monstrosity since the box was a mangled mess and pieces were threatening to get lost:



That 'mummified' beast above is the old Lindbergh 1/350 scale President Liner that I got for about three bucks. I cemented the hull together and then had to add the decks to the top in order to be able to tape the badly warped hull together so it would glue along the keel. I finally succeeded. I had also added some Mr. Surfacer 500 to select areas and did some sanding to other areas, but it wasn't worth shooting pics.

Moving along; I picked up another model that's been sitting for so long. I was looking for a simple model that I could relax a bit with. Enter the Huey Hog that I'd glued together some time ago. I filled and sanded this Huey down along the seam line:





Later on when I pulled out the airbrush to paint the C-46 and the Diamond T truck with OD, I painted up this little guy as well:




Speaking of my Diamond T Cargo Truck; this beastie was becoming quite a problem model. This time, several of the windows had come unglued so I had to pop open the cab again to repair them:





After getting those windows glued again, I closed this up, masked off the windows and sanded smooth a few rough spots:



While the masking was drying, I completed the chassis by painting the wheels. Now this part is finished and ready for weathering:



Later on, when the airbrush was out and the window masks were dry, I shot another coat of OD on the cab:



Let's hope those windows stay in place when it's time to pull the masks off. Now, some Fun with Dry Fitting:



I'm finally getting somewhere with this model. I might even be able to finish it by next week.


After all that, I wanted to do something different. My brother's Boss had given me a 1/25 scale VW Van from Revell back while I was visiting him during the Columbus Nationals. He recently sent me an E-mail saying his Boss wants to see the van done. What better excuse to pull it out now and get started on it:



First things first, I started on the chassis of course, I did the front suspension parts first:



Next I did the engine..... or whatever this representation is supposed to be:



Here's the "engine" dry-fit onto the rear of the chassis just to see how it fits:



It does fit surprisingly well. I went on to assemble the rear suspension parts here:





Once again, engine only dry-fit in place. I'll probably glue it into place later.

Next I started on the driver's cab. This brought back memories as we used to have a VW bus in my youth and I used to drive it around when my mom sent me out to drop off or pick up one of my brothers and/or sisters:



Here it is all dry-fit together so far. It is now ready for some preliminary painting:



Speaking of painting; I'm NOT going to be painting this in that sickly, ugly green that is on the box top. No way! I hate that color, and I hate it even more on these parts! The instructions call for a light blue interior with dark blue seats so I'll be painting the inside as called out in the instruction sheet. The outside will be a white roof over sapphire blue metallic sides. I'm not real certain I'll use the decals either, but we'll see how this goes first.

Okay, with all that fun accomplished, I was ready for more fun! Lyle's Stearman was calling to me, so I pulled it out and shot the interior green on the interior parts while I had the airbrush out:



Now the instructions called for a very bland interior, but I wanted to do more to it. That being said, I didn't go researching the interiors of Stearmans; instead I took a little 'artistic license' and painted it up with leather seats, field-drab colored seat belts with metallic buckles, and red and black knobs on the side. I also added black on the sticks and I dry-brushed a little steel on the rudder pedals and floor:





The instrument panels are decals too. I think this gives it a bit more visual interest.

Next up of course, was closing this up inside the fuselage. First, here's a shot of the interior inside the one side of the fuselage:



Finally, she's all closed up. I even added the horizontal stabilizers:



Next I added the firewall details and then the engine mount before adding the sides of the cowl covering all this up:



Speaking of engines, I decided to detail out the engine with some extra paint to make it stand out a bit more:



That will be getting a wash of Oily Black on it before I'm finished with it. Now I added all the final cowl parts before it's time to add the engine. I also installed the lower wing:



Now this model poses a bit of a problem. The round facing of the cowl needs to be trapped between the propeller and the engine. So, I need to color match a red with the decal for this part before I can complete the engine and cowling assembly. A red decal would certainly never cover that part at all! I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. This little biplane is almost ready for paint.

Finally, after all that fun, I figured I needed to get back to something that was languishing on my bench for too long. I pulled out the two flat cars I had started earlier, starting with the shorter one. The instructions called for a metal rod to be bent and cemented into place underneath the body. I opted to use plastic rod instead for ease of assembly:



After that, it was only a matter of finishing off the top of this with the end pieces, bumper shafts and side rails. This little flatcar is ready for P/E parts:



I did the same with the longer one; adding the plastic rod on the suspension:



I'm not worried about those bad ejector pin marks on the side; they'll be covered by P/E sheeting

I then flipped this over and added the end pieces, bumper shafts and upper side rails. Once again, this one is ready for P/E parts:



I think they look pretty good together so far:




Okay, that's about all I have for now. Hopefully I'll get some more done soon. I know I'll make some pretty good progress this Hobby Day Friday and Saturday, so maybe I'll be able to get a few of these things closer to the finish line. Stay tuned for more, and remember; comments are welcome. Thanks for looking in.

[Stikpusher]

Man you are all over the place again! Does that VW Microbus come with a dime bag of weed? Molded in that color sure makes me think so...

[BlackSheep214]

I'm thinking two tone scheme of white with blue for the V-dub van....

[Duke Maddog]

Man you are all over the place again! Does that VW Microbus come with a dime bag of weed? Molded in that color sure makes me think so...

Hmm, I'll have to check under the seat. I'm thinking the same thing re: the color.

And yeah, I'm all over the place again. I am just trying to get a lot of long-sitting projects finished up. Today I'm going to be working more on my trains. I really want to get them finished.

I'm thinking two tone scheme of white with blue for the V-dub van....

Great minds think alike. I was going to do white on the roof and a metallic sapphire blue on the sides underneath. The interior will be a light blue with dark blue (vinyl) seats.

Now if I can only make the finish on that bus glossy! I have the worst luck and skill getting a smooth, glossy finish.

Thanks again for looking in and for the awesome comments. Stay tuned for more. Hobby Day is coming up and I'm going to (hopefully) get a ton of work done!

[Stikpusher]

[Duke Maddog]

That was a hilarious movie! Thanks Carlos!

[Duke Maddog]

This weekend I went to Hobby Day Friday and Saturday determined to get a lot more done on my two Russian armored trains among other models. I made some pretty good progress, especially on the trains. I also took Dora to get any repairs done on her that happened on the trip back home from Columbus.

First off, I decided to pull out all the flatcars and get the beds of them completed. Here's all the ones I was able to get done so far:



While those were drying, I pulled out the OB-3 train and assembled the engine and tender since I had already assembled both armored railcars that go with this train:



This is what was in the model box for this train. It is still not complete as it is supposed to have a couple flatcars on the front and back:



Later on, I pulled out all the flatcars and tried to get them all assembled to the P/E stage. I got about half of them done, due to extensive ejector pin marks that needed filling; and some missing parts that were most likely left at home. Here's as far as I got:





Next, I decided to start assembling a couple of the payloads for two of these flatcars. One flatcar is carrying an artillery piece and a truck that mounts a quad Maxim in the truck bed. I started on that truck and got as far as the chassis before I needed to move on:



After that, I started the second payload: a BT-5 light tank. I assembled the turret and hull first:



Next I added the roadwheels to be sure the suspension was sitting right:



This one will be finished with the tracks sitting on top of the fenders like the Russians did when transporting these tanks by rail. Here is how it will look:



Now these two trains are starting to take shape. The first one; the OB-3, will have the two short flatcars on the front and back of it. Only one is shown here as the other short flatcar wasn't completed yet:



The second train, the "Fascism Fighter", will have the long flatcar carrying the artillery piece and truck in the very front; followed by a long flatcar with an "AA tower". In back, it will have another long flatcar with an "AA tower". I'll possibly tack the flatcar with the BT-5 at the end of this train. Here it is with two of the long flatcars that will have the "AA towers" on them:




Finally, after all that, I decided to start a simple model; this one is for a campaign. I pulled out my Trumpeter 1/72 scale T-54B tank. First I added all the roadwheels and other detail parts to the lower hull; and then I glued the tracks together:



Next I added all the bits and bobs to the upper hull:



Finally, I finished up with assembling the turret:



Now, after 25 minutes of assembly, this tank is ready for paint:



I should be able to shoot something on this during this week.




In closing; as I mentioned, I brought my Dora Railgun in to fix whatever damage may have happened during the trip home. Since coming home from the Nationals in Columbus; I had not taken the time to open my box containing Dora until now. I didn't want to open it at home where I had no space to pull her out to repair anything that had broken, so I waited until I could get to a Hobby Day where I had a whole 4' x 8' table to work on. I'm glad I waited. What I found was heartbreaking:



A third of the railings were broken and the barrel was completely broken off along with the breech block. Three of her roadwheel cars were detached and a small platform had broken off.

The good news is that besides the interior railings that I could not access easily, if at all; everything else was eminently repairable, especially since I had all the pieces intact in the box. Dora has been rebuilt and is ready for fire missions again. You can see her in my "The Duke Completes Five More Armor" Thread. I posted a couple of comparison pics with her sitting next to her American cousin Annie. Feel free to check them out.


Okay, that's all I have for now. This coming week I may be too busy to get much done but I'll keep you posted once I do have some progress to show. Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

[Duke Maddog]

Okay, after having gotten a few more models I've decided it was time to get a move on and clear the bench to make room for them. I hadn't quite finished anything yet, but at least I'm a lot closer now.

To start with, I managed to get all the bits and bobs installed in the Be-6 Madge's interior. Now all I need to do is complete the bulkheads and get them glued in place; then I can start painting this before I close it up inside the fuselage:



It doesn't look like much, but there's at least four dozen little parts on that long deck.

After all that, I wanted to work with big pieces. I assembled the two main wings; sans flaps and engines so far:



Next I moved on to my USS New York. I assembled the upper hull to the lower hull; then added the stern plate. I opted to have the rear doors closed since this had no interior compartment to put inside:





Finally, after all that, the trains were calling me again; in particular, the flatcars. First off, I finished the second short flatcar so that I had both of them done and ready for P/E:





And here's a shot of the two of them side-by-side so you can see I did actually build two:



Next, since I had three long flatcars completed to the P/E stage, it was time to finish the rest of them. I did finish up two more, to make this five finished flatcars. Here's the first one:



And the second one:



I wanted to finish all six of these, but I couldn't find the sixth one. All it needs are the upper sidewalls and end pieces too. Oh well, here are the five of them all side-by-side so you can see them all:



Next, I decided that the truck chassis for the one flatcar needed to have the upper part completed so that I could finish the truck. I assembled most of the cab; only leaving the rest off until I can paint the interior of the cab and add the windows:



Next I built the bed of the truck:



Here's what I built all dry-fit together to see how it will look:



Finally, here's a shot of all the flatcars I got to the P/E stage:



Yeah, now it's time for adding the P/E to all these train cars and engines. That will take several days; I'll probably wait until Hobby Day to do this. Meanwhile, I can continue to build the truck, gun and tank for two of these flatcars.

After all of that, I needed a break from railroading. I finally started something I've been wanting to start for a while.

Here are the completed chassis of my two SCUD B missile launchers. One will be Russian, the other Iraqi:



Okay, that's all for now. I still have a little time today so I'll be working on some more stuff to post next week. Stay tuned! Thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.