Commission Build for Bruce Cooper

[Stikpusher]

[speedgraflex]

Well, okay, Duke. I’ll look for those guns online!

[BlackSheep214]

Man...I wish I could be there for these Hobby Days and Spruefest. Sadly, there are no LHS in my area that runs these types of events.

[Duke Maddog]

Carlos, thanks for the laugh! That cat is hilarious and perfect for that meme. All he needs now is a Darth Vader helmet!

And no, it ain't the cat. I have the guns put away somewhere so they wouldn't get lost and then promptly forgot where they were placed. For all I know, they are with my missing 1/32 scale F-5E Tiger II canopy which has been missing for 7 years now! I put that away to keep it from getting lost too, and it's still no where to be found.

Thanks Bruce! This time I will be sure to keep them from getting lost. You can deduct the cost from my commission if you like; it's only fair. I'll tape them to the edge of the shelf just above my workbench to be sure I don't lose them!

Blacksheep, if you are ever gonna be in Southern California on the weekend (Friday and Saturday) of the second Saturday of any month, let me know. You'll be able to attend a Hobby Day then. Hey, I might even have an extra model for you to work on too!

[speedgraflex]

I ordered the replacements, Mark. I am not worried. Since I am building in 1/72 again, my vigilance has increased. I am keeping all small parts in a ziplock baggie inside a cardboard box. I know the photo etch is gonna be tricky once it is cut loose. I also have MG-15s to paint and I don’t know how. If you have any ideas, just drop them on the thread. No pressure.

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks Bruce. I usually would paint the photo-etch with a primer first to let the paint adhere better to the metal. As for doing the machine guns, I'll have to let you know about that when they come.

Meanwhile, I'll get back to this and get the decals added on.

[Duke Maddog]

As promised, I got the decals done on the F-6 Hellcat. The decals are wrinkled due to Solvaset, I haven't checked them lately to see if they smoothed out yet:



I'm not sure why these decals silvered in the first place; I had a glass-smooth coat of gloss on this. Still, they silvered so I applied the Solvaset.

Then I found the engine that had fallen down and disappeared briefly. During that time, all the exhaust pipes had broken off and disappeared:



Man, if it ain't one thing it's another with this kit!

I can try to re-scratch build new pipes, but they won't look the same and even with paint; will probably look very amateurish. Bruce, looks like you'll need to get another kit to replace the engine again. I'm so sorry. This started out going great. Then I got to the paint stage and I've done nothing but screw up by the numbers ever since then! I think you threw away your money on this commission Bruce. It doesn't look like it's gonna turn out nearly as good as it should! Only God can turn this one around!



Oh well, I'll keep going and see what else I can do to bring this closer to the finish while waiting for new parts. Stay tuned, for whatever it's worth.....

[speedgraflex]

No worries, Mark. I have the brass weapons set. Do you mind if I wait for the kit before I send this to you? Do you think building wings down is better for construction? I apologize for the run of bad luck here! Do you still wanna build this or should we just let this one go into the box?

[Duke Maddog]

No worries, Mark. I have the brass weapons set. Do you mind if I wait for the kit before I send this to you? Do you think building wings down is better for construction? I apologize for the run of bad luck here! Do you still wanna build this or should we just let this one go into the box?

My apologies for not answering sooner. Been working and couldnb't get back to this. I don't mind you waiting for5 the kit to come in before sending everything. And building the wings out or folded doesn't affect the kit so much. It is just a lot of crap happening, causing the box to fall and parts to spill, and then stuff breaking and getting lost. No need to apologize yourself; you aren't causing this run. I will continue to try and finish this. It might not be up to the standard I was trying to achieve, but it will be done. That being said, I;ll be taking a break from this until everything else comes in, unless I think I can get more done without screwing things up again...

Stay tuned.

[speedgraflex]

TGIF. I ordered the kit. Delivery next week.