SPA Modeler

Gentlemen!

Firstly, I apologize for falling off the face of the Earth and being MIA for so long. I went through a period during which I limited a lot of my social media interaction. That was half of it, the other half was that I experienced a bad case of “Builder’s Block”. It’s like Writer’s Block I guess, except for it involves models and not really being able to progress on any projects. My mojo was kind of gone... so instead of building stuff, I used my free time to teach myself how to play ukulele. I learned fast. I’m writing my own blues and jazz compositions, and my pal has a recording studio at his house, he’s gonna record me and I’m going to make a record. I’m pretty excited about it.

Here’s what I’m even more excited about though:




This is the third Corsair. My third attempt, this time it’s Tamiya’s Birdcage Corsair. This here is just test-fitting.

I lost steam on the last one, straight up. Maybe I’ll finish that one, one day. For now it’s safely boxed up.

Several days ago my wife and I were talking and she mentioned she missed me talking about my models. I told her I was feeling creatively constipated, and also that my confidence was shot after my last painting disaster... she said “Well when we talked before you said the Birdcage was the one you were really excited about so just start fresh on that one. So I did. Here’s some shots...

Cockpit walls, painted and weathered with washes and a kustom mix of pigments to simulate coral dust:


Gear bay for tail wheel, in beautiful salmon primer, with kustom coral dust pigment:


Here’s a reference I used for determining the look:


I believe I matched that color very well. I did it with a mix of Tamiya Red and White, heavily thinned and then cut with Hull Red.

Cockpit module test-fitted into the fuselage here:


I am very happy with the look of that.

And here’s the progress on the rear bulkhead and seat:


I believe this is an improvement over the last one. I like the color and chipping and wash much better.

Oh! And here’s one of the weathered gear bays I’ve been working on:



Okay, so a few things- aside from prepping the landing gear hardware and doing the wheels, there isn’t much else I can do until my PE parts arrive from Eduard. I sprung for the PE details set with the seatbelts, instrument panel, landing gear scale upgrades, and ignition wires. I figure if I’m coming back with this, I should go all in. But progress will slow until they arrive, that’s okay.

And for now, I’m just focusing on one model aircraft at a time. That’s not to say I can’t build other stuff while I’m waiting on my PE parts (I’ve got a Panzer IV I’m building here!), but for now, only one airplane at a time.

So that’s where we’re at!

And I’m happy to be back here, and back at the modeling.

First off Kenny, man we're glad to have you back in here building as you've definitely been missed.

Secondly, I can't get over the weathering on this build. Really really good stuff happenin' here.

Lastly, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving buddy. Hope to be seeing more of you here.

mustang1989 wrote:First off Kenny, man we're glad to have you back in here building as you've definitely been missed.

Secondly, I can't get over the weathering on this build. Really really good stuff happenin' here.

Lastly, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving buddy. Hope to be seeing more of you here.

Thank you! I missed you guys too, and I’m really glad to be back. I’m terms of social media, I’m just going to be here on this forum, and Facebook here and there. I debated leaving Facebook but that how my mom keeps in touch with me, and my dad, and Kaari and Bruce are on there too, plus my IGX friends... so I’m staying there too, but avoiding all the modeling groups save for Barracuda’s Ready Room.

And thanks for the kind words about the weathering. I’ve been putting a whole lot of work and thought into that.

Here’s another gear bay view. I washed it carefully, figuring there’d be fluid leaks around that plumbing from time to time:



Also- I’m going to be logging my tank builds on this site too! So yeah, there’ll be plenty of building!

Can't wait to see more Kenny. Good stuff man.

Dude, welcome back to the fellowship! Those photos tell the tale beautifully. As I, like Kari, have followed you over to Facebook, we have seen the beginnings of this project, but I now find it oh so much more impactful when presented here, instead of thrown into the mill of FB, in danger of being lost amongst wave after wave of other individual information. When presented here, there is clarity and revelation.

I have a slightly different take on model building burn out—I believe the process of leveling up our skills results in sacrifice, and I would much rather have it be the kit then my own engagement in developing my ideas. A portfolio will wait; I have my science fiction models to back me up on my own commitment to being a model builder and I feel like you that what we do here leads to a greater insight of how we see ourselves. I know we don’t venture into politics, but I do feel for me at any rate a sense of my spirit being lifted, or challenged. Quite like life.

Regarding your photography and interior work, I want to add to Mustang Joe: good stuff!!

Thank you, Bruce! For your candor and encouragement.

Indeed, FB is what it is. My friends on there “get it” in the sense that I do what I want and stuff, but my friends HERE, like you, really GET IT, know what I mean? I was hesitant to post pics here at first because of my recent failures at getting this thing done. I wanted to make absolutely sure I could pick up steam and keep it. And I’m certain that’s the case now. And I’m happy to show what I’ve done here, and talk about how I did it.

As to your second thought, that’s really insightful and it gives me a deeper level of this to ponder. I’m definitely on board with gaining insights into how we see ourselves, that’s 100% true, and a lot of it for me is I have this idea for each project, a firm direction I want to go in. And if I’m not 100% fulfilled in that, the project just doesn’t work for me, and I think a lot of my issue was I had a lot of good ideas which I tried to execute all at once. That was silly...

So for me, aircraft-wise, my plans are:

1. Finish the Corsair

2. Begin and finish the forthcoming Mustang

3. Begin and finish Galland’s Battle Of France Emil

4. Either finish my Stuka OR begin and finish my Zerstorer and then finish the Stka after that.

I can build all the armor I want in between, but one aircraft and one aircraft vision st a time. I think this will help.

Anyway, thank you again for being there. And for encouraging me. I’m really excited to see this one through to the happy shelf!

HAHAHAAA I LOVE THAY FUCKIN GIF.

Welcome back says the man who also just got back into modeling! I too just lost my desire to sit at the bench. For about six months. I kept busy doing other things (mostly fishing) and wondering if I was EVER going to want to model again. I would think about it at work but as soon as I got home, I'd flick the TV on and the evening would turn to night and it was off to bed.

I'm very glad to see you and your work back at SPAM. Your work on the Corsair is great and I'm looking forward to seeing the journey towards completion. The 1/32 Tamiya Corsair kit is on my shelf and I am no where near starting on that one...YET!

Welcome back Kenny.

Regards