Monogram 1/72 P6-E Hawk

 

not the original box, but an old one

       I have built this kit several times in my lifetime. In every attempt I let the simplicity and excellent parts-fit trick me into assembling the kit all in one go and then trying to paint/decal it after the fact. Needless to say those efforts turned into a bit of a mess. U.S. Air Corps paint jobs in the late 20's/early 30's were a celebration of the fact that we had no nearby enemies and were unlikely to acquire any soon. To be kind they were garish. They certainly made for a different-looking aircraft. The model is molded in the alarming bright yellow that the U.S. applied to all flying surfaces at the time. The decals are old, thick and annoyingly translucent. But, armed with a full array of Micro-Scale products, I resolved to push on with my "Straight Out Of The Box" rule.

       Assembly was a breeze, the fit of the parts was nearly perfect. This time through I managed to constraint my enthusiasm and stop along the assembly process to get vital painting and decal  work done before final assembly.

1/72 SMER Dewoitine D 510

 

 

once again I had to grab a photo from the internet as I lost my box

       I bought this kit simply ages ago and never got around to building it. It got dug out the the Plastic Mountain in The Vault and pushed to the front of the line largely because the landing gear. I just thought it looked cool. It was a straightforward build (the undercarriage was a bit tricky but tube cement and patience overcame that). I went with the all-silver paint job because I loved the "Grim Reaper" logo on the side, and it is a nice change from all that camouflage! This lead to the only real difficulty in the build as my primer (Rustoleum flat black) did not pair well with the Vallejo silver and a large spot on both sides of the left wing and a smaller area on the right wing and fuselage pucker and wrinkled up like Nancy Pelosi's neck! This had to be sanded out and repainted with the attendant loss of the fine surface detail in those areas. The decals were very thin and required careful handling. Overall (aside from the paint thing, which is my fault) this was a fun build and a neat model of an unusual aircraft. There is a Wiki that covers the entire D 500 series right here.

Gaming Update Saturday 20MAR21 7pm

        We will be gaming at my place this Saturday, 20MAR21 at 7pm.

 No certain plans as to the game but I'm open to suggestions.

As Always, Last Minute Notice.............Gaming Update My Place Saturday 13MAR2021 7pm

        We will be gaming at my place at 7pm 13MAR2021

         Be there or be mocked!

Keep This In Mind! 15MAY21

I got this email from Rod Cain.

Rodney Cain <flintgameconvention@gmail.com>

To:flntgameconvention@gmail.com

Bcc:daftrica89@yahoo.com

Mon, Feb 1 at 5:27 PM

By now hopefully you all are aware we had to move the date for flintcon and will not be able to hold it this Saturday Feb 6th.

We plan to try again in May so please look at your calendars and see if you can join us on Saturday, May 15th.  Same venue and format as always!

We hope by then to be back to some sense of normal and be able to host the convention safely with all the food and fun we usually have at flintcon.

I hope to see you there and we will keep you posted if things change.

For those that needed more time to prep that game, here you go!

• 
  

 

JUST LOOK AT THE PAIR OF THEM! Williams Brothers 1/72 Northrop Gamma

 

the new winner in the Biggest Spats contest, the Northrop Gamma

        The thirties saw a succession of achievements and advances that laid the groundwork for the vast air armadas of the Second World War. The advances in aerodynamics went from boxy wire-braced biplanes to sleek monoplane racers and airliners in the space of a decade. One of the leading lights is design and development was the Northrop Corporation (one of three aircraft builders founded by the prolific Jack Northrop). The Gamma represented the cutting edge of aircraft design at the time and was used for several record-setting flights. The Williams Bros. kit can be built as either the "Sky Chief" which was used to set a new coast-to-coast record or the "Polar Star" which was used in the first cross-Antarctica flight. I chose to build the Sky Chief. The kit  was straightforward to build but needed careful attention to the instructions and a significant amount of sanding and trimming to get a good fit. 

        Most importantly the aircraft embodied the art-deco esthetic of the mid thirties; clean lines, HUGE spats and simple but noticeable paint schemes. Of course, what sold me was the enormous spats on the landing gear. Probably unnecessary in their size they could have been considerably smaller and still done the job of easing the airflow over the landing gear struts the massive fairings made a statement of style far beyond their  impact on airflow.

Wargames Atlantic 28mm Eisenkern Stormtroopers

       I don't know of Mike Mondragon or Iron Core but I do know a good looking sci-fi stormtrooper when I see one (and maybe, just maybe, these guys can actually hit something they are shooting at; unlike their white-clad Imperial namesakes!). Wargames Atlantic has released this set of twenty minis; molded in a hard medium gray plastic these reflect a very high degree of detail but exhibit no flash or noticeable mold-lines. The surface detail on the weapons and armor (which might even stop a random blaster shot?) is very good. The minis come with fully enclosed helmets (for folks like me who hate painting faces) of a choice of some characterful faces. The proportions and posing of the minis is good and there is room for modification of the poses. An interesting and affordable option in comparison to the "other Stormtrooper" models currently on the market.

Wargames Atlantic 28mm Napoleonic British 95th Rifles

       I have never been shy about my enthusiasm for plastic figures. They are cheaper, lighter, and can be better detailed and more accurately sculpted than metal miniatures. In addition they are more easily modified or repaired. Over the past few years the quality of the plastic soldier industry has gone from strength to strength, with this latest issue from Wargames Atlantic it may be approaching it's apogee, they are simply superb. Cast in a medium gray firm plastic and showing excellent detail, no flash and only the faintest of mold-lines these castings represent the state of the art in modern polystyrene molding. In addition the detail is spot-on and posing of the miniatures is natural and dynamic. Move over Perry boys, Wargames Atlantic has arrived in the big league!

Gaming Update March 6th, 2021 7pm

        There will be a game this Saturday, 6MAR21 at 7pm at my place.

Be there, or be reviled!

A Little Something I Threw Together

        A while back I built some U.S. aircraft for my buddy Rich who is ding the Korean war, he didn't have any opposition aircraft so I rummaged around in The Vault until I found these two; an IL-2 (pretending to be an IL-10) and a Mig-15. A quick build and paint-job and they were off to provide some unfriendly skies for the Skyraider and Panther.

 

both were pretty terrible kits; an ancient KP Mig-15 and an even older Airfix IL-2

 

but for wargaming they certainly look the part

Road Trip, National Air Force Museum Part V other U.S. WW2 Bombers

 

B-24s over Ploesti

        Following on to the post about the Memphis Belle I have the rest of the U.S. bomber forces. The U.S. built the only bombers with a chance of survival in a daylight scenario and aggressively used them to attack the enemy at every opportunity. There is a decent argument that the daylight bombing of Germany (and the Browning M-2 .50cal HMG) broke the back of the Luftwaffe by forcing it to fight on a daily basis when the German training program could not produce enough new pilots to replace losses. The brave young men who flew in the face of a relentless and determined enemy rode these famous beasts of war into the firestorm of combat on a daily basis and were instrumental in defeating the Nazi war machine.

Wargames Atlantic 28mm Partisans

 

 

the front of the box, a nicely done illustration and some beautifully painted minis

       I have to confess that I have been bugging my local Brick & Mortar about this set since I first heard it was slated for production. As soon as they said it was in I ran by and picked it up. I am a huge fan of Wargames Atlantic and their growing line of products but don't let that make you think that I didn't look at these figures with a careful eye. To say the least I am very pleased with what I found inside!

       You will find eight identical sprues of hard gray plastic minis. These are finely molded with no trace of flash and scarcely a mold-line to be found. The detail is delicate and crisply rendered, the proportion and posing of the figures is realistic and convincing, and the weapons are in-scale and accurately detailed.