204 articles · 13.7K karma · 36 friends · active 1 day, 4 hours ago

Retired US Navy Senior Chief working as a production supervisor in Seattle.

PTO builds you say?

I'm in with my classic Monogram SBD, built as close to intended by the gang in Morton Grove as I could, then my Monogram TBD, with some scratchbuilt details, and my Tamiya 1/32 Corsair! I actually think the SBD is my favorite, brought [...]

So you want to be a Naval Aviator?

I haven't posted in a bit as I continue on with my Trumpeter A-1H build. I decided I wanted a pilot in the cockpit, but my choices in 1/32 were pretty much...nadda. The ZM pilot is hard to find, and not all that great. Aerobonus does [...]

Skyraider R3350-Duplex Cyclone Engine, jigsaw puzzle from Trumpeter!

So, I hope the rest of the instructions are better than the engine instructions! Some trial and error and leaving out a part that can't be seen that interfered with the whole works and I got her together. Thankfully there are lots of [...]

Next up

BIG it's SO BIG! Started on the engine.

Atlantis/Revell NB-52A 0003 with X-15

What can I say, if you want an exacting replica of the NB-52A in small scale, you CAN get there, but man it would be a lot of work. Me I decided to get a clean build, add some of the camera ports and windows and build it like a desk top [...]

Model building time capsule from 1969 Revell X-3!

I have been searching for one of these in the shrink wrap for a while. I remember buying this kit at a small store above our local market. It was the 88 cent store, which was not like the modern 99 cent store, but more like an [...]

A Monogram classic straight out of the box

A 1970s white box release of the venerable Monogram Dauntless. Before Accurate Miniatures and Hasegawa came in the the game, this was the only 1/48 scale SBD available. It was originally released in the early 60s and as was the trend [...]

Time for some nostalgia

Monogram's venerable four star "plastikit" SBD Dauntless was originally released in 1960. It was until the Accurate Miniatures and Hasegawa SBDs the only game in town in 1/48. Over the years some very impressive models have [...]

My "Squadron" Stuart is done!

So, for those that missed the beginning of the story, I have loved this kit since I was a kid when it came out in 1974. Recently I decided to see if I could find an original release, 1974 boxing and did at Skyway Models here in Seattle. [...]

A classic.....then disaster!

Picked up this gem at Skyway here in Seattle, original 1974 M3 Stuart kit everything in it including the little tube of glue! Everything in Kanji! I had been looking for a good first issue of this kit for a long time. You can find them [...]