Hit something of a hiatus on this build. Two terrorist attacks here in London, a horrible tragedy with a high rise tower fire, a family loss, and a holiday. Lots of stuff that tends to put a different context on building models. And somehow makes it more important.

David Sabo was a boiler tender on the CVL-23. He was aboard the USS Princeton when she was sunk. He received a medal for saving the American flag that flew aboard the Princeton before she went down and it has been reported that he actually went back on board to retrieve the flag. Today the flag is displayed in the chapel in Princeton University's chapel.

The photo below shows what an utter and complete hell the deck of the Princeton was before she went down.

So, on with the build. I've sprayed some future, applied some decals, and built some fly guys. Progress is slow and made so much harder by having other builds staring at me from the sidelines. We all know that feeling.

You are making some great progress on the 'Cats. The flag photo is a nice touch. Some really horrible things have been happening lately. Hang in there my friend. Model making is a great pass time to relieve stress. I also enjoy the research part of building too ...
Thanks for the updates.

Is there a prize for 'longest ever work in progress?' - if so, I think I may be a shoe-in at this rate. The flow chart below seems to capture where I'm stuck...

So, you can see what I'm going for in this dio (kind of, sort of)...

This afternoon my wife 'caught' me drooling over some diagrams of intercoolers and superchargers in an article about comparative advantages and disadvantages of radial and inline engines, and said, "You know, I wouldn't have been completely disappointed if it were porn you were looking at".

It's a strange hobby sometimes.

1 additional image. Click to enlarge.

Figures.

Where do I start? I know what I want to do, I think I have the skills, and I have the will to make these guys. But the paint won't take, the fit is terrible, my compressor blew, one pilot's head falls off even if I superglue it to death. I also lost an arm (part of the kit, I'm not that dedicated a modeler...) to the modeling gods when it fell off the bench onto a clean wooden floor - I've searched and searched but no sign of it - how is this possible? My wife says, "well, it has to be somewhere", which I may well quote on the divorce petition.

But are we not modelers? We persist, we have patience, we love our works, we are a bit unhinged (are you reading Jim Wasley?), and we don't give up. Well, except that 1/32 JU 88 last year that I'm still getting counselling for.

Onwards. We are men. We are modelers. We are plastic warriors.

iModeler - "it's cheaper then therapy"

So tonight I did a little more figure painting, probably my least favourite part of this great hobby. One of the best by-products of being a modeler is reaching that intense state of concentration where the 'real world' and all it's problems disappear; where you can connect with different times and places in history. Or that might just be the glue.

Anyway, I think I've been working on this build a bit too long; before I really knew what I was doing this evening I'd given this guy -

'This is Jonny at Naval Flight Prep School (thirteenth row, two in).

One of his souvenirs from Pre Flight...

His girl back home in South Carolina (real childhood sweetheart, still lives in the same road as Jonny's folks).

And this is him at Basic Flight Training at Pensacola (first on the left).'

I'll be ok after a good night's sleep.

IModeler - cheaper than therapy
iModeler - may contain nuts

Bernard, we may be on to something - any more ideas for those iModeler t-shirts we can send to Martin?

Superb workmanship, David...attention to detail is outstanding (wish I could figure paint as well as you do).

Thanks for keeping us posted David with your progress and adding some humor along the way. I like your style !

The diorama is looking sharp... maybe I can send you my figures for painting ? I'm horrible with this.

The last pilot figure you're holding in the picture looks like Lt. Commander Paul Buie from VF-16 in the color photo of him briefing his fellow pilots. You captured the look and his pose very nicely.

Keep up the great work. BTW, if this helps you any, I still have not found the propeller for my Grumman Wildcat. It's MIA and I have looked everywhere...