1/72 "SWORD" P-80 Shooting Star
This model was built right "out-of-the-box" back in December, 2010. I added some "b-b's" in the nose so that it would not be a tail dragger. I applied a light black paint wash to the model which was sanded off with 600 grit wet/dry 3M sandpaper. This method taught me how to find any messed up panel lines and missing rivets. I learned to keep all my different grades of sandpaper in clean water for at lease 72 to 100 hours; (3-4 days) before I used it. By that time in water the paper backing would be very soft and you could wrap it around any round, flat, oval sanding tools. I used Tamiya paints and some kit decals.
The two real P-80 magazine photos came from my WW-II scrapbook as I have 1,107 printed photos in it. Several years ago I scanned all my scrapbook photo's and put them on a DVD. So anytime I want an old WW-II,I just pop in my DVD into this new Apple computer of ours.
THAT's IT...ENJOY! RJW
Excellent work, Rodney!
I liked the sandpaper "wetting" trick.
Thanks!
The "wet-sandpaper" trick came from another modeler who was a "chemical engineer" at one of the local Silicon Valley/San Jose, CA companies. They developed sandpaper that had 10,000/20,000 grit on the plastic paper. It was used to polish different computer parts.
What a great place to live when you are learning to build models.
Excellent Shooting Star!
Smashing livery - looks so cool 😎
Tommy: Read my reply to Walt. Thanks for your comment!
Beautiful paint work.
Nicely done!
Well-done in capturing the 1x1 in fit and finish.
A very nice looking Star, Rodney.
Make sure you have a backup of this DVD.
Yeah...I got 700+ DVD back-up's of all my photos, including about 20,000 of them are of the Samoan Island, including my sojourns to Mexico,Tahiti, and many islands in Micronesia when I was there in1974.
I think I'll post all my WW-II photos what the "Japs" left on the island of Saipan. I still use the word "JAPS" when I talk about WW-II. I was a local paper-boy during WW-II and that was the only word that the newspaper company used when they talked about the Pacific Islands.
RJW
TO EVERYONE:
THANKS FOR THE NICE COMMENTS.
Now...as I look at my photos, I notice that the left gear door is closer to the table top, (see photo with the writing on it). I wonder if I made a mistake while I attached the gear doors? I have another P-80, so I'll go look at it and get it ready to post. Maybe there is a difference between the two models, especially since they are from different companies and of course I'm not a prefect modeler. RJW.
Nicely done! A good-looking P-80.
Thanks Greg! My next model is another P-80, but the name is changed to F-80 and its' all "BM" (bare metal).
A small Gem! Great looking P-80!
Hi Walt.
All of my models rate a 9 to 9.5 on a scale of one to ten; (1 to 10).
The only ten, (10) that I know of is GOD, who created everything. When people started offering "big" money for a model with lots of items scratch-built into it, I made a price list and sent the list to them and requested a 20% downpayment with the order including they furnished me with two kits. I made over USD$120,000.00.
I would like to sell 280 models of mine. Museum's will take some free if I pay the shipping. The story can go on for a long time. Thanks for writing! Rodney.