Plastic Models - Who still builds them? (5 Viewers)

Good grief, does this thread bring back memories. I had superhero model kits when i was a little kid (3 years old)-- my dad would put them together for me. A few years later, when the famous glow-in-the-dark Aurora monster kits came out, I started to put those together myself and paint them. I had an uncle who worked with the VA home in Biloxi; they had more military model kits than they knew what to do with, so he'd pass quite a few my way. I got better and better at doing them; I did monsters, superheroes, Shogun Warriors, Prehistoric Scenes (those Aurora snap-tite models), cars, tanks, ships, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and of course, planes galore. I had at least a dozen completed airplane and spaceship models hanging by thread from my bedroom ceiling. There was even a Goodyear blimp model with a working display light show built in, using an electric motor.... I think that the last model I assembled was when I was 15-- the Buck Rogers starfighter. After that I could drive and was more into girls and such.

The only thing missing from the blimp is "Ice Cube's a Pimp" . . .
 
All done save for a little touch up.
 

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All done save for a little touch up.

did you make that from clay?That's pretty kickbutt.I have a very old train set that was gifted to me..still in boxes (70's) ish..one day I will get a sweet set-up..get a cool name for my town.
 
This is one of the worst kits I've ever assembled and I am going the extra mile by adding lights/fiber optics. Round 2 Klingon Bird of Prey (AMT) 1;350 scale (not quite). Lots of flash, some ill fitting parts, some warped pieces, bad engineering on some critical connection points. However, when life hands you lemons (some of the pieces are beyond repair) you make lemonade (battle damage!).
 

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This is one of the worst kits I've ever assembled and I am going the extra mile by adding lights/fiber optics. Round 2 Klingon Bird of Prey (AMT) 1;350 scale (not quite). Lots of flash, some ill fitting parts, some warped pieces, bad engineering on some critical connection points. However, when life hands you lemons (some of the pieces are beyond repair) you make lemonade (battle damage!).

I built one of those many years ago (20+ for sure) and seem to recall issues with getting the top and bottom portions of the wings to match up. I managed to get everything together after a while, but it wasn't easy.
 
I was just admiring your dad's model and it got me thinking. I am a former aircraft mechanic, worked in the navy, for the navy, boeing, general dynamics and a couple others. I am intrigued by the exhaust nozzles and wondered if the model was not accurate. It is, and that got me thinking, the 101 is a plane built in a transition period for supersonic fighters. The nose, wings and especially intakes employ first generation designs. It still used the J-57 (I was thinking it had J-79s) which was widely used in the military and I think civilian aviation. One version of the KC-135 had J-57s (boeing 700).

Yeah in the 50s and 60s intake and nozzle design was a rapidly developing field, and saw a lot of different design strategies in a relatively short period of time. Today CAD/CAM allows for more complex intake and exhaust shapes, with much more confidence in the design even before going to actual hardware.

The KC-135A had non afterburning J57s that augmented thrust on takeoff by water injection. The purified distilled water, necessary to insure all minerals were removed as to not damage the engines, was more expensive than the JP-4 jet fuel. I flew that jet for about 60 hours before moving to other -135 versions.
 
Here is a work in progress: Ban Dai's 1:48 ST-ST. Still need to complete the paint, attach the fiddly bits, weather the machine and finish sculpting/painting Chewbacca.
 

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I finished up the 1:48 AT-ST
 

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I finally found the right stepper motors for the Bussards on the TOS Enterprise, so I'll be working on the electronics soon. It's a big kit, almost 3 feet long. I have also started a small diorama with the LIS Chariot from the 60's television show. It will have lights and I am 3D printing the figures. I may go so far as to light the (3" tall) robot.
 

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As I've said before, this is one of the worst kits I've ever built and it remains a work in progress. Painting and battle damage are far from complete. Lights and fiber are all in place.
 

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I packed the kit stash (I didn't count them, but there are several boxes of kits), supplies and built models to get ready for the move. I kept one kit (LIS Chariot) and certain supplies/tools in a separate box, in case I find time to pull it out and work on it while we're trying to get settled.

That was no small feat, but I wanted to make sure everything was tight and padded properly to cut down on issues when unpacking later.
 

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