Knocking That Stash Down, Not So Tough, Iron Dogs in the Shop, Too Much to Ask?, and A Couple of Fantooms

A Trip to the Closet

Let's start this off by saying we're all a little short of a full load in the judgement department. We do goofy things, and we do them repetitively and with almost no thought. We spend money we don't need to spend, on things we don't actually need and may never do anything with. Ill-considered is a term that fits the phenomenon. Crazy is another.

I'm sure you've figured it out by now; I'm talking about The Monster in the Closet, the ruler of all scale modeling life, Moloch! Yes, I'm talking about...

YOUR STASH!

Before you get started with what can best be described as The Lame Excuses or, worse yet, define me as The Enemy, take a minute and consider that I'm one of you. I'm a member of the tribe. I am, in point of fact, a plankholder, one of the founders of the feast as it were. I counted the unbuilt 1/72nd scale airplane kits in my closet once upon a time, during a visit home from college way back in 1970. There were in excess of 1,200 boxed and unbuilt kits in there back then, a great many of which were still in shrink-wrap. The theory behind their purchase was fairly simple since I also worked part-time in a hobby shop: A new kit would come out and I would automatically buy three; one to build, one to convert to a different variant, and one to keep as a reference copy. OR, I would buy more than three. I've always liked P-40Es, for example, so there were 8 or 10 Revell kits of same in that closet, along with multiple F4Fs, LS Zeros, and on and on and on, ad infinitum/ad nauseum.

The maturation of our hobby, which in theory paralleled a similar phenomenon in myself, resulted in a change of scale, to 1/48th and 1/32nd (read bigger boxes here) and the onset of that boon/bane of the 21st Century scale modeler's life; aftermarket, to the mix, which ensured that we had lots and lots of stuff to acquire because a whole bunch of kits were of the short-run get-'em-while-you-can variety, and aftermarket (to include decals) has always belonged in the Here Today Gone Forever (except on eBay) category. The end result of all this seemingly inoccuous proliferation of Stuff is The Stash, which is sometimes manageable but often not. Another result is the monetary expense of that collection of unbuilt polystyrene, but that's drama for a different day!

It seems as though there's something new for us almost each and every day these days; a new kit, new decals, new resin or photo-etch, new something that we think we have to have. We buy all of it, or a lot of it, or at least some of it, and we put it in the stash because we aren't ready to build it or incorporate it into a model. No; we just want it, so we buy it and put it away. It's ours. We have it, and we're going to put it with all that other stuff.

I did some figuring a few months ago. I'm a Baby Boomer so I'm aging a bit, and I'm old enough that I've optimistically got 10, maybe 12 years of modeling time left before something happens to take me out of the hobby. A typical kit requires between two to six weeks of my time, so the honest truth is that I'm likely to run out of Phillip long before I run out of kits to build. The advent of the present global health crisis has only added fuel to that particular fire, and being on lockdown here at the Polystyrene Ranch has confirmed a concept for me: I really ought to get off my lazy rear end and start building some of those kits, and using up some of the decals and aftermarket too.

Tom Gaj, a long-time friend and fellow traveler in the world of scale plastic edifices, has recently begun building some of the older kits he's got hidden away. His current project is a Hawk F8F Bearcat, which I'm assured will be followed by a box-scale Revell X-3. Neither kit is new or even remotely state of the art, the F8F dating from the mid-60s and the Stilleto from the late 1950s. Both can be built into outstanding models but they require both a love of the subject and a liberal application of modeling skills to get to that particular end result. Tom has both, and I'm looking forward to seeing the end results of his efforts, but that isn't the point. No, the point is this: He's building from his stash rather than adding to it. On a more personal level, I'm finishing up a Special Hobby Wirraway I began some three years ago, after which I'm considering a Special Hobby Guardian, or maybe just finishing that still-born Monogram F-100.

My point is this: I've got enough unbuilt kits to last a very long time at my present build rate. I still buy them, but only those I know I'll build. I buy aftermarket when a project actually needs it, or if I want a special set of markings that I don't already have. I haven't completely stopped expending money on the hobby but I've certainly tapered off quite a bit, and I'm enjoying things as much if not more than I ever have. It's not such a bad way to do things.

My two cents...

Short Run That Ain't Half-Bad

There was a time, not all that long ago, when mention of the kits offered by Special Hobby would cause a great many scale modelers to look the other way and change the subject. It wasn't for lack of trying on Special Hobby's part; their kit list was (and is) both extensive and fascinating, but the kits weren't for everybody, or even for anybody who wasn't fairly good at their craft. "Some modeling skills required" was a caveat with meaning.

Everything changes, though. I recently almost completed (that's my modeling life; I ALMOST complete things these days!) a Special Hobby CA-9 Wirraway, and here's the proof:

See what I mean? It's sortof finished but not really, since it's missing a little cleanup and weathering, plus a radio antenna and some more clutter around the wireless operator's free gun, but that's where it is right now. The kit was relatively painless to build and went together easily, with none of the assembly pitfalls I'd read about on other sites. I question the canopy, which is kind of squashed, and I really wish they'd provided a free gun (almost anything would be better than what I scratched up for this model!) and I really really wish they'd done a CA-1 instead of a CA-9, but I wanted a Wirraway for the collection and it definitely looks like one, in this case from 4 Sqdn RAAF out of Port Moresby ca. 1943.

A couple of quick notes for those of you wanting to build this one:

The reviews I read said that SH omitted the landing lights from their kit. They didn't do that; those lights are molded on one of the main sprues but are not identified in any other way. Look for two little round doo-hickies that have no apparent application to the kit and there you are!

The interior is allegedly inaccurate and I have to agree with that one, but I didn't correct anything on this model. It will never see a contest or, given the Covid Lockdown, any other living human being, so it's ok with me the way it is. The biggest issue in there, if you're building any sort of CA-9 used in or near a combat zone, is the lack of a free gun with the kit, but that's easy enough to deal with.

The engine doesn't fit the cowling according to several sources, but I had no issues whatsoever with mine. I trimmed the backside of the crankcase per the instructions and attached it to the airframe, slid the completed cowling it place over it, and attached the carburettor intake to the fuselage and cowling. The intake locked the cowling in place perfectly. (That intake is inaccurate as well, for whatever that's worth.) In a similar vein, the resin exhaust pipes aren't supposed to fit either, but mine fit perfectly without any sort of trimming.

The propeller is incorrect according to most of the reviews out there, and I whole-heartedly agree with that, but I didn't do anything about it on my model.

None of the reviews mentioned it, or at least I don't think they did, but the landing gear seems to be molded fully compressed, which causes the completed model to take on a somewhat squatty stance. The tailwheel is off a bit too, and poorly detailed on top of that, but it's also useable if you're building a placeholder, which I was.

That's my story, and so on and so forth...

Rode Hard and Put Away Wet

That's an old description that could apply to almost anything flown by the Army Air Forces in the Pacific during World War 2, but it's especially applicable to the aircraft that fought there in the early Bad Old Days. Bobby Rocker has offered a couple of images of the Bell P-39 undergoing depot-level repair in late '42 or early '43 for our consideration today, so let's get right to it:

The 29th Air Service Group had this 13th AF P-39D under repair in less than stellar circumstances late in May of 1942. Note the early national insignia, replete with red centers. We're guessing most of the visible wear and tear on that Airacobra came from extensive training and routine operational use since the date places it far too early for combat in the 13th's area of operations, but the photo is of considerable value since it illustrates how the SW Pacific environment abused airplanes. Of further interest are the sophisticated maintenance aids in use---the 29th was a first-rate outfit and those were their working conditions early in the war!   Rocker Collection

The 4th ADG was active in Australia supporting AAF activities in New Guinea. In this photo we see a pair of 8th PG Airacobras, a P-400 and a P-39D, somewhere in the depot-level maintenance cycle. The photo was taken at Mareeba, in Northern Queensland, in December of 1942, and you can bet those airplanes are in need of some serious maintenance. The camouflaged hangar tells a story of its own, reminding us just how tenuous things were during those terrible times.   Rocker Collection

Thanks as always to Bobby Rocker for sharing these photos with us.

All I Want is a Decent Kit!

Some of us, myself included, grew up with the Revell, Hawk, Aurora, Lindberg, and Monogram kits of the mid and late-1950s, and a lot of us also had access to the Colby books that defined the US Navy and Air Force to a generation of wide-eyed kids. Those books, and at least three of those kit manufacturers, offered us kits of Lockheed's F-94C Starfire, an exposure that never left most of us. There have been kits of that airplane since the fifties, most recently an offering by the folks at KittyHawk, but none of them have truly done the airplane justice.

Is this a good-looking airplane or what? The F-94C just screams "1950s American Jet Interceptor" and it's very much a seminal part of the era. It's also a necessity for any collection of models depicting The Silver Air Force, but that KittyHawk kit isn't a particularly easy date, and the 1/72nd scale offerings currently available aren't all that hot either. Opportunity knocks, guys!   Ron Picciani

You'll note that the Starfire photo shown above is heavily watermarked by its photographer, Ron Picciani. That's because Ron, like so many of us, has had his photography ripped off and distributed all over the internet without either attribution or permission. That sort of thing is why we regularly deface the images shown on this site: Some of the kids don't play nice so we do what we have to do to try to keep them honest. For the record, Ron granted permission for the use of this image, and we're extremely grateful to him for that. He, and all those like him, were recording the real airplanes that inspired the models we make, and they were doing it when few others even cared. They were, and are, a truly special breed, and we all owe then a debt we can never truly repay. Thanks, Ron, for all you've done for us, and for our hobby!

A Fistful of Deltas 

McDonnell Douglas' immortal F-4 Phantom II was a fixture in America's arsenal for several decades, and the memory of their roar on launch and their shrieking howl when recovering lives strongly in what remains of my memory. Here are a couple of photos to remind you of those days of glory for the mighty Bent-Winged Bugsucker:

Oklahoma's 507th TFS, operating out of Tinker AFB, had the F-4D on strength for quite a while and John Dienst walked their ramp, camera in hand, back in June of 1983. Although an AFRES unit, the 507th adopted the same placement for "nose" art as the 182nd TFS of the TXANG; inside the nose gear doors. 760 has artwork there, along with the name "OUTLAW", a fitting description for the Mighty Phantom!    John Dienst

And here's 762 of the 507th, named "SMOKIN OKIE", a highly-descriptive moniker for the early F-4s. Neat airplanes on a beautiful day; we truly envy John that shoot. It just doesn't get any better!   John Dienst

Another D-model, this is 737 of the 301st TFW (Carswell) the morning before an airshow at Randolph in May of 1987. She's carrying an inert AIM-9, which makes her distinctly interesting and well worth shooting.    Friddell

And phinally (I'm truly sorry but I had to do that!), here's the 111th FIS' 65-0666 sitting on the ramp at Laughlin in March of 1987. The airplane is well-worn, which was unusual for any of the 111th's airplanes, but she still looked every inch a fighter. The F-4D's tenure with the Houston ANG was relatively brief, bridging the gap between their F-101Bs and their F-16s, but the Phantoms were every bit as impressive as any of the others!   Friddell

There are many F-4s to come on these pages but today just isn't The Day, so stay tuned!

Happy Snaps

It's been a while since we've run an air-to-air by one of our readers so we're definitely due for another one!

(An exceptional shot) of a VC-8 TA-4 in the Puerto Rican op areas operating as missile simulators. Once the Navy got rid of VAQ-33, 34 and 35 the job really fell to the Reserves and I flew with VAQ-209 from 95-07 so flew a lot of fleet support!   Allen Epps

What a neat image (and quite remarkable, in spite of Allen's modesty), and he promises more to come. How much better could things get?

The Relief Tube

It had to happen! Sooner or later I had to duplicate a photo in this blog---I've done it before, but with several years between the first and last times I did it. This time was different, with only two issues separating the times we ran a B-25D named "Mexican Spitfire". See if you can find them; you won't have to scroll back very far. Good grief!

Anyway, there's no excuse for it other than my ever-advancing seniority on life, coupled with the fact that my memory has never been especially good, so apologies are in order and I'll try really hard to make sure it doesn't happen again unless, of course, I forget...

Regardless of whatever it was we were talking about it's time to put this issue to bed, so be good to your neighbor and we'll meet again soon!

phil