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MIG 1.5 Two Seat Fighter/Bomber by USAirfix 1/72 Scale.

First seen in action in 1951 in the NAK YAK offensive, the MIG 1.5 saw limited action due to its highly innovative but flawed design. The main problem was the high desertion rate among Fire Control Officers and the precise control needed on bombing runs, when the desertion rate sometimes neared 100%. This aircraft was built with donation from a manufacturing company and the inscription on the side reads:

"This aircraft was donated by patrotic employees of the Kim Chee Fling Flat Bicycle Tire Manufacturing Company to loyal and brave men of courageous Air Force to rid Fatherland skies of pesky insect foreign invaders so life can go as smooth as riding on Kim Chee Fling Flat Bicycle tires which come in all sizes and this are on sale for only $3. Hurry! Sale ends Saturday."

Warrior Bonnet Kit from the "Crazy Crow Trading Post", kit # 4803-103

When I was about 12, my parents bought me a book about the American Indian Tribes of the American plains. In the book was a section on how to make a war bonnet. I did not have the expertise or support to build it at the time, but the thought was always in the back of my mind.

Two years ago, I was visiting a friend who would have done very well in the frontier days. One of his prized possessions was a coyote hat that draped over his shoulders. This re-kindled the war bonnet desire and a search of book stores turned up the Crazy Crow Trading Post. From their catalog came the kit for a war bonnet. I was in my building craze of WW1 at this time and it went on the shelf for a couple of years. That was a mistake. My dear friend, Paul Howard, died of cancer just a few months ago at the age of 53. So he never got to see it or go to one his frontier days get togethers bedecked in our head pieces.

The kit is 100% complete but I added a few touches of my own. I added the rabbit fur on the crown, the side pieces and the major plume in the rear center. I ran out of horse hair but a client with five Arabian horses brushed the tails of the white ones to give me enough to complete the project. I figure it took me about 30 hours to complete the kit. This was an interesting change of pace and is dedicated to my friend, Paul Howard.

I purchased this case from a hobby shop that was going out of business about 12 years ago and it has moved with me from hobby shop to hobby shop as I have taught my class in basic plastic model building. It's present location is now at Hobbytown USA. In all of the time I've owned the case, it has been at my home for only three months. No model has ever been damaged and the models remain relatively dust free for years. At my present rate of building, I will run out of space in less than three years. Also, more people see my models in a day at Hobbytown than will see them in a year at my house, so I am happy to make its home at the store.

Using alligator clips, clothes hanger wire, epoxy and a block of wood, a very nice parts holder can be made for a small amount of money. It is not necessary to shape a piece of balsa wood in the shape of an Albatros wing, paint it purple and green and apply decals, including the radiator. But then again, a lot of things we do is not necessary. I filed the teeth off of the clips and filled in the interior of the clip with epoxy to minimize any damage to parts. Surgical tubing can be applied over the teeth to prevent damage also. The clips will also add variety as they will never be the same color for very long.

The main problem with taking pictures of World War One aircraft is the shadow caused by the upper wing. Through experimentation, I settle in on the two halogen lights at 45 degree angles at the rear, there is a double flourescent light above that is not shown in the photo and a halogen light in the adjustable lamp. The adjustable lamp is brought down to the model and positioned to eliminate the shadow between the wings. I also turn on the flash on my camera to add more light. The two rear lights are shop lights purchased at a hardware store. Caution: They are very hot. Do not leave the model under them for any length of time as the plastic will take on a very interesting shape. Oh, and the sewing machine? It's for stitching, what else?

"Before 1952, there were very few plastic model kits available with limited sales. Their existence wasn't widely known. In 1952 a company named Gowland & Gowland started producing the "Highway Pioneer" kits in Santa Barbara, Calif and had them marketed by Revell, Inc. They became instantly popular and a new hobby arose as the industry grew. During their peak years, from 1953, until about 1958, these models were truly sold by the millions through all kinds of stores all over the world.

By today's standards, the "Highway Pioneers" are too simple, lack detal and have far too few parts. Nevertheless, these earliest examples of mass-produced hobby kits were accurate and still the only history of miniature of the car all in a constant scale."

With that introduction, Minicraft Models, Inc re-released the entire "Highway Pioneers" series of kits four to a box. This was in the early 1990's. I snapped up the 16 early models and started building them in-between my airplanes and other kits. To date, (2003) I have completed nine of them. Some of the colors shown were never found on the original cars but I have taken the liberty to add my own colors. Also note that all of my figures that had multiple parts are friendly folks and are waving at you. Some are quite dapper in their "Sunday Go To Meetin'" attire. And other than removing some seams and adding the clear windows, they are built exactly as I built them in the 50's, straight out of the box.

TESTORS DC-3, 1/72 scale, Eastern Air Lines

The DC-3 revolutionized the airline industry. Larger than the Boeing Model 247, its competitor at the time, the DC-3 provided physical comfort for passengers never before realized. A number of the aircraft were fitted with sleeping accomodations on transcontinental flights. The craft was cost efficient, fares became within the reach of the average person and the airlines became a major transportation form in the world. From 1936 to 1940 the DC-3 became the principal U.S. airliner, flying over 90% of the U.S. passenger miles in 1939. The model depicted now hangs in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

As a boy growing up just north of New Orleans, Louisiana, I watched hundreds of DC-3's take off and land at Moussant Internation Airport. And one of my favorites was Easter Air Lines with that big red eagle on the tail. This is the Testor's kit built out of the box. The silver is SnJ Metal Spray highly buffed as planes of the fiftys were scrubed every night to keep them bright and shiny. The windows are white glue applied after the model was completed. The decals had yellowed with age but two days on the back window shelf of my car solved that problem.

PYRO Deperdussin 1911 1/48th Injection mold

The Deperdussin of 1911 was a nicely designed aeroplane. It was entered in all of the racing and cross country competiotions, gaining popularity and proving the soundness of the design. The Deperdussin was used in flying schools in Belgium, France and England. This model is shown with the 50 hp rotary Gnome engine. One notable feature of the plane was the extremely shallow feselage, which was only 12" deep.

This kit is built "Out of the Box" without any reference material. It is one of six kits in the series produced by PYRO or LIFELIKE. It has the possibilities of major detailing for someone so inclined. This is my only section of 1/48th kits.

REVELL/MONOGRAM RED BARON Classic Show Rod, 1/24th Injection mold

This is the 1997 re-release of the RED BARON. It was limited to 12,500 kits in a metal "Lunch Box" and included a Fokker Triplane of an undetermined scale. I am unable to locate the instruction sheet to give any more details.

The kit was given to me by the owners of Hobbytown USA in Fresno and of course I had to add it to my collection. It is built completely out of the box with no more than 5 hours of construction time.

AMT/ERTL Praying Mantis Stock # 8389 Scale: Really Big 2/1+

Having raised praying mantises for years, you can imagine how excited I was in 1996 when AMT/ERTL re-released their "GIGANTICS" series of 1975-1976. The kit consists of all of 14 pieces and I would have had it built on the way home except for the fact I have a stick shift car and I could not build and shift at the same time.

The only changes I made to the kit was to change antenna with stretched sprue and to putty the mouth as on the kit the mouth is just a big hole. I made no attempt to accurately represent the mouth as a mantis mouth has about 20 working parts. The model was painted with Pactra Chartreuse and highlighted using Grumbacher Hyplar Acrylic paints. A tiny black dot represents the eye and future floor wax gives the eye its high gloss look. The model is mounted on a plaque with a stick and silk leaves. Total building time did not exceed three hours.

The model correctly represents the male mantis. The mantis on my finger is a female.

"Alliot Verdon Roe designed and built the first all British designed and built aircraft to fly in Britain on 8th July 1908 at Brooklands. The next year he built his first triplane which was constructed mainly of deal and covered in oiled paper. It weighed 250lbs. It had triplane wings and tailplane and was grossly underpowered by a 9hp JAP engine driving a 9ft, 4 blade propeller via a belt reduction. Its longest flight was 900ft at an average height of 10ft. The original aircraft is in the London Science Museum.

A.V. Roe designed and built several other versions of the triplane. The final version was a Triplane 4, completed in September 1910 powered by a 35hp, 4 cylinder, water cooled, Green engine. This was used almost exclusively for instructional work at the Avro flying School at Brooklands. It crashed many times. Howard Pixton crashed it twice into the sewage farm lake at the rear of the banked racing car circuit and became known as "The King of the Sewage Farm"." (Ian Turney-White)

Although from a sales viewpoint the triplane was not over popular, it did serve as a basis for his subsequent biplane designs, and was seen at many flying meetings, carrying paying passengers in the front seat.

First issued in 1966 by INPACT to tie in with the movie, "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines." There were six kits in the original release; all of which have been re-issued by PYRO while LIFELIKE and LINDBERG have re-issued a few. This kit is by LIFELIKE that I obtained a number of years ago.

This is the second of six pre-war kits in 1/48th scale that will be in my collection. The reference material is the reproduction kit at Shuttleworth and Mr. Turney-White's web site of his half scale flying model.

Again, an Out of the Box build with no modifications to the kit. One thing to be noted during the build. The plastic has become brittle and will snap if too much pressure is applied. Two of the wings have been repaired due to this problem. This is an easy kit to build and if you can get away from any AMS, it should build up in about 8 to 10 hours.

Eduard 1/48th Scale Sopwith Triplane (Kit # 8014)

The kit was given to me a few weeks ago and since the Sopwith Triplane has always been one of my favorite aircraft, I decided to build it for sale. The kit will mark my transition from oil based paints to acrylics. Upon the recommendation of a friend, I chose Gunze Sangyo thinned with 91% alcohol.

According to the PE fret, the kit was released around 1996. All construction was Out of the Box with no attempts to correct any problems, real or perceived. The PC12 color is Gunze "Dark Earth" and the CDL is their "Radome." I prefer a little more yellow but at this time I have not started mixing colors. The silver is SnJ and the struts and deck panel is Model Master Wood. Upon completion of all construction and rigging the entire model was over sprayed with a 10 to 1 alcohol to paint mix to help blend the colors and give the plane a more used look without destroying the "off the showroom floor" look that I prefer. The color for the over spray was "Sail Color".

The paint transition was flawless and I am stunned at how smooth the paint went on. Since the "Dark Earth" was semi gloss, the decals were applied without any gloss coating and there was no setting solution used to set the decals. The over spray blended colors and decals. I estimate 15 to 20 hours of building time.