Blog Restructuring and Updates

I have decided to simplify my build blog.  Before, I had it set up with a different blog page for each project.  Frankly, with so many projects going on (like about 10), that I had difficulty making adequate progress on any one.  I am going to pare down to only about 3 or 4 projects, and combine photos and narrative onto this one page.

So lets get started with some updates....

First up is the long running Airfix 1/144 Boeing 737.

Next is an update on a NewWare 1/144 scale Mercury-Redstone.  This is Alan Shepard's Friendship 7.  This rocket is quite small in this scale, at about five inches tall.  A Saturn V is an absolute monster in comparison.

I stupidly cut off some outside trim fins on the stabilizers thinking they were flash.  Now I have to rebuild the fins and add the trim tabs back on later.

   

Jolly Rogers SuperHornet.  1/72 kit from Revell of Germany.  This was originally going to be a catapult launch diorama, but the canopy did not fit very well enough to close properly.  I will now finish it with open canopy.

Lastly, 1/144 Seawolf submarine.  The Seawolf is a big boat, and is a couple of feet long even in this scale.  This kit retails for about $30, but I got it for five bucks from one of our club members who had picked it up at an estate sale. The hull pieces (three sections split three ways) were "tack glued"together.  I had to reglue all of the joints to make them more secure.  The three section hull is a little tricky, as the plastic is VERY thin and flexible.  With most post WWII subs, the build is fairly easy, and the action is in the painting.

This is the USS Texas, Seawolf's sister ship.  Notice how the flat black finish of the lower hull makes it look dark gray.  The kit instructions call for a red hull bottom half, but I could not find a single picture of a Seawolf or Virginia class sub with a red bottom.