SPA Modeler

Thank you Bruce! I miss seeing your posts on my Threads. Yeah, I live for Hobby Days myself especially on months where I have no other time to work on anything. This past weekend was a blast. It was our first "Official" opening; we had been meeting for several months before (since December actually)

I was using Tamiya tape for the stripes on the side of the Antonov. I kinda of had no choice patching the tape as the strips take a noticeable turn upward at the one point. They also thin down to a final point. My points won't be the same as the decals given the limitations of the masking tape. I'm using several thicknesses. Yeah, I was sweating it because this plane has constantly given me issues when it comes to the paint and finishing on this.

I did remove the tape and found almost no issues with bleed through; those issues I did find were easily fixed.I have now masked for the larger stripe above that one. Now to get that airbrushed next.

Stay tuned; I should have an update by the end of the week I hope.

And Bruce, the next Hobby Day is on July 9 and 10.

Duke Maddog wrote:Yeah, I live for Hobby Days myself especially on months where I have no other time to work on anything. This past weekend was a blast. It was our first "Official" opening; we had been meeting for several months before (since December actually)

You deplorable rebels, not adhering to his Lordship Gavin’s decrees…

Down with the tyrannical snake! Don't tread on me! Give me Liberty or give me Death!!!


Now that we got that out of the way, here's another tour of Maddog Manufacturing to show the additional ordinance that is under production to take him down!

With all the excessive heat happening out here, I figured it was time to stay indoors and work on some projects. I normally would wait but I'm pretty stoked at my progress this past few days. So, without further ado, feel free to board the trams for another short tour.


I'll start with the armor this time.


Remember those tiny ammo box holders I folded? Well, I filled them with the ammo boxes:





Later I got them attached to the machine guns:





Later on, when I pulled these down to touch up the paint and get ready to install them on the Nagmasho't; one ammo box disappeared into the Oblivion:





You can see the missing one on the left most gun. After two and a half hours of searching without even klnowing where to search, I found nothing so I resorted to a more simple solution. I removed one box from one of the other guns:





This time, second from right. Now I have two loaded and two unloaded guns. At least they are even. So now I installed the guns after weathering the model. I put the loaded guns in front, and the unloaded ones in the back:





If I ever find the missing box or a suitable rep[lacement, I'll put both back on. Now all there is to do is touch up the paint and fix the huge thumb print on the forward skirt!


While that was drying, I also painted my Centurion Sho't Meteor in my usual way: first coat of Green Drab followed by the Israeli Armor Sand. This time I tried a little more modulation:





After that I clearcoated that with my gloss for decals. That's when I noticed a few extra missing parts which I then added to the turret. I then gave this a black wash in the rear grilles and a brown wash overall as well:







And now going to aircraft...



Here is the unveiling of my An-124 during and after I painted the stripes on this. You recall I had taped and painted it already with the first thin stripe. Now I have removed that tape:








Next I taped up the sides to prepare for the larger upper stripe:








More paint was shot, again using my Sotar 20/20 as I get a lot less overspray out of that. Regardless, I still added a third strip of tape to top and bottom to be sure:








I went over that a lot to be sure I had a smooth even coat. by the way, I was using Humbrol gloss blue. It's not the correct shade, but it is the closest I could get to the decals on the sheet.


Finally, the unveiling! The bends are not lined up as well as I'd hoped and there are some touchups that will be needed, but now this bird is finally ready for additional decals:









Okay, that's all for now. Maybe I'll be able to post after this weekend again. I might even have a few more finished models.


I hope you enjoyed the short tour again.


Thanks all for looking in, comments are welcome.

Not enough tape, Mark... She’s a big one. How are you going to display her once finished?

LOL! Blacksheep, I almost agree, Still, I did have enough to finish striping this horse. I have a spot picked out on the ceiling to hang it; I've got an extra heavy duty ceiling hook to sink into a joist. I'll need it; that is one very heavy bird! If you're coming to the Nationals you might see this in person. I'm hoping, praying and working hard to have it done in time.

Yeah.... that trip to the west coast is a no go and too far for me to travel. I live on the east coast in New York State.

I am sorry to hear that. I remember my drive to Chattanooga; yeah, that was far! I can fully understand how far New York is!

No worries, Mark. If I could, I would but this year my son graduates from high school. Too much going on from preparations for grad party, his ceremony, and a family vacation in mid-July to Glouster and Salem, Massachusetts.

Whoa thats a big one Mark. As I recall you had been working on the 1000 wheels. Man, I thought my 1/144 747 was big. I also have an Airbus A380 in the same scale - ceiling is starting to sound interesting....

Blacksheep, enjoy your son's graduation and family trip. Family comes first always.

John, thanks! Yes, I've gone long past the 1000 wheels; this bird is now painted and ready for decals. Hopefully I can start applying some soon.