Each member is invited to send in up to three photos of a model, and some text.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED !
Enjoy
Albatros D.III OAW
Roden Models 1:32 scale “Albatros D.III OAW”, flown by 5- victory German ace Joachim von Bertrab. Model was finished just before the Covid 19 lockdown.
Marc Racine
Hope & Courage - Australian Brushfire Relief vignette
Reaper Miniatures 01647 – Courage the Koala
Reaper Miniatures 01648 – Hope the Koala Druid, scale: 28mm (1/56)
Small vignette made using the Reaper Miniatures Australian Brushfire Relief charity models. The tree was sculpted with paper clips and brown stuff. All painting is done with acrylics. Groundwork was done with textured artist mediums mixed with paint. This was done on top of a cherry wood block which was given to me. Pink flowers were added to emphasize a theme of spring and renewal.
Brian Latour
COVID19OSAURUS
This is the stunningly bad Lindberg kit of a Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus dinosaur and a caveman (?!?!) in what is about 1:50 scale. Despite the fact that there is about 145 million years separating the two species, here they are in a single kit. Yes, that is biblical version of evolution for you from a US model kit company.
Right now I an stuck at home and am working on a lot of models, and working on models a lot. So this is my new COVID-19 model. Paint is all Vallejo acrylics, both airbrushed and hand painted. Moss is from Turkey via the dollar store.
I have entitled this one COVID19OSAURUS versus JUSTIN TRUDEAU, and it shows the COVID-19 dinosaur and the pathetic Canadian government response which is leaving the bulk of the population dangerously exposed with minimal assistance while pourings billions (and in the USA over $4 trillion) of dollars into bank and stock support.
John Clearwater
Jagd Doga
Bandai RE/100 Gyunei Guss’ Jagd Doga in 1:100 scale
The RE/100 line from Bandai are large 1:100 scale models. They are a step down from the more mainstream 1/100 Master Grade models, which are more expensive but have better detail and articulation. Kit went together quite nicely, as expected for Bandai. This particular kit has a lot of nicely curved surfaces in line with the Zeon aesthetic. I find I prefer the Zeon mobile suits over the Gundams, as they have a lot of curved surfaces which are fun to highlight with an airbrush.
It was a fun build, larger than just about anything else I’ve done. I didn’t include the shield because I couldn’t find a way to attach it in a way that I felt didn’t look awkward or detract from the pose. I also left off the beam sword and didn’t use the clear rods to represent missiles in flight because I’m not a big fan of these sort of clear parts – I find they tend to detract from the realism, and there isn’t much you can do with paint to make them look right. Also, just for fun, I tried to see if it could hold an airbrush and it can.
Brian Latour
Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien “flying swallow”
Freshly finished Tamiya 1:48 scale Ki-61 Hien (US name "Tony"), built pretty much out of the box save for some break lines on the main gear. The metal finish is done with Tamiya Spray Aluminum AS-12 while the green was just a mix a Tamiya acrylic. I painted on most of the markings (save for the numbers and tail fin design). To finish I gave the model a pinwash with a grey Mig Ammo wash. As for Covid lockdown, I am fortunate to have a job where I continue to work from home. My challenge has been to keep my little one entertained while I work. Some days are better than others. I have not had any issues getting model supplies as the Hobby Centre is offering curbside service. I have a build article about this Tony on my website:
https://modelairplanemaker.com/2020/05/04/1-48-tamiya-ki-61-hien-tony/
Chris W.
Mistel
Dragon Models 1:48 scale “TA 154 Mistel with FW190"
Purchased for $5 at our last swap meet (FW190 was missing from kit.) I purchased an simple 1:48 ARII kit to substitute. Model was finished just before the Covid 19 lockdown.
Marc Racine
(Wiki note: "One Ta 154 Mistel scheme, reportedly designated Mistel 7, envisaged a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 'mother aircraft' mounted on struts above an unmanned Bomb Moskito. Takeoff would be effected via a sturdy three-wheeled trolley jettisoned on takeoff. The Mistel 7would release the Bomb Moskito into a bomber formation to hopefully crash into a bomber with massively destructive effect.")
Porsche Diesel Junior 108
This is the 2017 Revell snap-tight 1:32 scale kit of the Porsche Diesel Junior 108 Farm Tractor (07820). I glued the parts and did extra body work and finishing, but can definitely recommend this kit for a family who want a nice weekend build with an assured good outcome. The kit even comes with stickers as well as water slide decals so it can be done by children. The tractor was manufactured by Porsche Diesel Morotenbau GmbH between 1952 (or 1956) to 1963 at the old Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen-Manzell, Germany. The tractor series was originally designed by Professor Dr. F. Porsche as a "people's tractor". Over 125 000 of the tractors were produced, with the Junior selling in the greatest numbers. It has a single cylinder diesel engine producing 14 British horsepower - the smallest of the Porsche tractor engines. I painted all parts and used glue and very little body putty to produce this version of the finished kit. Paint is mostly Tamiya gloss red acrylic (five coats), and Vallejo washes and powders.
John Clearwater
Sands of Time
Exceed Model Zaku Head (MS-06F) in 1:35 scale
These gundam head models come in a little ball which can be unfolded to make a bust; they are designed for gashapon machines. This was given to me by someone from the Gunpla Ottawa group about a year ago. It was started a while back, but finished up during the COVID-19. I have been trying to finish up projects that I had started during lockdown, and have cleared out a few things that have been on my workbench for a long time, such as this thing.
My concept for this model was that it had been abandoned in a post-apocalyptic Martian desert for a very long time. I made a box out of thick sheet styrene, filled it with clay, and then made the groundwork from a mixture of textured artist mediums. I painted it a reddish brown and did dry brushing, washes, etc. to show texture. On the model. I used salt chipping, oils, and dry pigments to add weathering. I chose not to include any figures or anything that would give away the scale, so that viewers can interpret it how they wish.
Brian Latour
RAF SE5
Roden Models 1:48 sca;e “RAF SE5", 60 squadron, August 1917, as flown by 72-victory Canadian ace William Avery "Billy" Bishop VC. Model was finished OOB last week.
Marc Racine
Stuka
Italeri Models 1:72 scale “Ju-87 B2 Stuka”. Model was finished OOB a few days ago.
(from Sturzkampfflugzeug, "dive bomber")
Marc Racine
Reisen (零戦, zero fighter)
Hello All! Here is the first of my six Japanese aircraft involved in the attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 during Operation Ai, known informally by the Japanese command as the “Hawaii Operation”. This is the excellent Tamiya 1:72 scale A6M2b Zero built out-of-the box. Excellent fit (except for the clear parts), great detail and 8 Pearl Harbor subjects on the decal sheet. Hand painted with Model Master paints, airbrushed with Tamiya clear coats. A really nice kit! Stay Safe! Stay Home! Build Models!
Terry Jones, IPMS Ottawa #27
(Mitsubishi [Three Diamonds] A6M2b flown by Masao sato, Carrier Division 5 - 2nd Strike Group from the carrier Zuikaku)
R35
Attached are photos of my first Covid build. The bottom half of this tank hunter is the new Tamiya R35 kit and the top half is the HobbyBoss kit. Full disclosure, I was building the R35 as a French tank when I accidentally stepped on the tiny turret, crushing it beyond repair. My first idea was to build a munitions schlepper as the Germans used the R35 sans turret as a tractor. But then I remembered the HobbyBoss self propelled gun kit in my stash. I had opened it and then quietly closed it back up several times due to it being seemingly over-engineered (just the gun traverse wheel is four parts) and intimidating. Some of the suspension required extensive and complicated PE bending which always turned me off of starting the kit. So long story short, I married the Tamiya chassis to the HobbyBoss top and mounted it on a small base meant to represent Normandy in 1944. The wall is a model railroad part and the figure is from Tamiya with a replacement Hornet head.
I am a respiratory therapist and was initially working full time when the pandemic started. However, since it hasn't reached the level feared in the Ottawa area I am now mostly on stand by and working only one or two days a week. I have been spending as much time as possible on the bench, primarily working on improving my painting skills. As well, I have been familiarizing myself with my new router to improve the quality of my wooden bases. I have also been listening to modeling podcasts and watching model reviews and tutorials on the internet..
Ian Macaulay
Spitfire Mk1
About a year ago Jamie gave me an Mk 1x Spit kit from ICM . I had originally planned to do the markings for the Y 2 K M K 304 Spit flown by a lady ferry pilot. After going through some other schemes i settled on an aircraft flown by O Smik from 312 Sqn. It was a Czech unit.
Anyway, that night one our members who was familiar with this kit advised me keep the engine out if I planned to use the cowling. But being the great listener that i am i put the engine in and consequently added weeks of work building up one side of the cowling. So i guess you could say that this ICM kit has both; the engine and the cowling.
Overall, it was not an easy build. Wings to fuselage esp the underside needed putty work which i don't mind. The nose needed to be tapered. Some was due to my own mistakes but i knew i could adjust accordingly. The seat belts are scratch built . I took screen shots from some other sites. That helped a lot. the Decals were also a challenge but i was able to find the right ones from my IPMS Canada stash. Overall I can say that I was glad to have completed this kit.
Jim
MiG-15bis / J-2
This is the 1:72 Hobbycraft Mig-15 kit, a definite blast from the past. It went together quite easily over the course of about 6 days, completed in April 2020. I purchased this kit fifteen years ago and it has been sitting under my bench (or in my cabinet) while following me around various cities in North America beckoning to be built since. Just goes to show that it is never too late.
Finish is Vallejo Acrylic Metal Color "Aluminum" over Stynlyrize (grey) primer. The red colour is a mix of Modelmaster Acryl Insignia Red and Black. Clearcoat is Vallejo "Water-Based Metal Varnish" over the aluminum and Model Master Acryl Flat clear over the painted parts. This model was another tail-sitter that I corrected with a felt-covered base.
Wayne
(editors note: This is a generic Chinese PLAAF MiG-15bis called a J-2 (Jianjiji - fighter) as it sports the PLAAF markings with the Chinese characters 1 and 8 inside the red star meaning 01 August 1927, the date of the formation of the Chinese air force. All Chinese J-2 fighters were built in the USSR.)
Academy 1:72 scale OV-10A Bronco. I built this for a friend who has a 1:4 scale R/C model of this aircraft. I would not normally build a model like this, modern jets and WWII "heavy metal" are more to my liking. As a testament to my procrastination skills, I started this before Christmas and finished it in April. Most of the time was spend avoiding the glass, of which Rube Goldberg would be proud.
Overall a nice kit EXCEPT for the canopy and windows, which came in four pieces and presented more like a puzzle than a model kit. This was very difficult to install with no gaps but after a few hours of frustration and a few months of avoidance it came together. Model is a tail-sitter which I dealt with using a simple felt-covered foam base that I fastened the tires to. Paints are all Model Master with a Synlryze primer undercoat. Kit-supplied decals were fine but the nose (sharks-mouth) demanded about 3 coats of softener to lay down. Very little weathering was conducted, just a pinwash and some mild touch-ups with pastels.
Wayne
Dassault Mirage III
Here is the Academy 1:48 scale (1:50 actually) Dassault Mirage III kit. It was purchased from a local hobbyshop using curbside pickup here in Ottawa due to COVID-19 restrictions. It was purchased specifically for a Blitz-build over the Easter long-weekend with IPMS Ottawa's sister club, ACTSMS, which is located in Australia. Although I failed to make to the 4-day Blitz deadline in the construction of this kit, I did manage to complete it within a week, which was a new record for me at the time.
Finish includes Model Master Acryl paints over Stynylryze primer. It was a real challenge getting the correct colours due to a bit of conflicting data on the internet and no FS colour numbers in the kit instructions. Seems to have turned out fairly close after some trial and error. Camo pattern was initially attempted freehand and met with utter failure; model was re-done using blue-tack and masks with general success. Kit-supplied decals were thick and disappointing due to clear carrier film being visible even under gloss clearcoat and a final matte clearcoat. Weathering was completed using a simple pinwash. Photos of the paint process can be seen on the IPMS Ottawa Facebook page and more detailed build photos are shown at the ACTSMS Facebook page.
Wayne
(editors note: The French Commandement des Forces Aériennes Stratégiques (CFAS) operated The Mirage III as a prestrategic nuclear bomber carrying the AN-52 nuclear weapon in squadrons EC 1/4 and EC 2/4 from 1973-1988. One of these aircraft dropped a live AN-52 bomb in a nuclear test in 1973.)
Santa Maria - La Gallega
This is the rather old (1966) Lindberg Line kit of the SANTA MARIA boat used by Colombus as his flagship on the sponsored voyage to find the western route to India. The real ship had two names: the Santa Maria (Saint Mary), and La Gallega (Galicia), as was common to Spanish ships of that era. The first (and only exploration) voyage of the Santa Maria/Gallega began in Spain on 03 August 1492; then departed the Canary islands on 06 September; and was successful when the ships reached land at either Turks and Caicos, or Bahamas, on 12 October 1492.
The model is largely out-of-box, but with a lot of painting and rigging added. I replaced the plastic vacuform sails with cloth and stitching, and replaced the black rubber ratlines. The 54 year old decals worked surprisingly well. The tender (or lifeboat) was rebuilt with provisions, oars, a sail, a mast, and tie-downs. The rear mast had to be replaced in total with a metal pole. The real ship had about 6 anchors, but only two are moulded here. I built and added all deck railings and stair railings. Paint is all Vallejo acrylics, mostly airbrushed. The rungs on the ratlines are solid string which is made by rubbing cyanoacrylate glue along regular string which is stretch tight. Then the rods of string are glued horizontally onto the upright lines.
John Clearwater
Winning Fumina mobile suit
It is a Bandai 1:144 scale Winning Fumina mobile suit, built completely out of the box. Paints are all from the Vallejo airbrush line. The quality of these kits, for moulding and assembly, is truly amazing.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided me with the opportunity to catch up on work. During this time, I have been able to clean my work area, organize my paints and decant paint cans, and get work done on several projects. I haven’t had any big issues with supplies yet, though I did have a package from HLJ returned due to mail stoppage. Since I have no idea when I will be returning to work, my goal is to get as many simple builds finished as possible. I hope everyone is staying safe, and I look forward to returning to normal meetings.
Ken N.
(editor's note: how normal are our meetings?)
Bristol Blenheim
This is the second instalment in my “Blenheim VC’s” series. It is the aircraft captained by Squadron Leader Arthur Stewart King “Pongo” Scarf of 62 Squadron RAF. At 1700 hours, in their second attack of the day, he was to lead a combined force of 62 and 34 Squadrons from Tengah, Malaya, on the Japanese held airfield at Singora. Scarf took off first, but a Japanese raid destroyed the rest of the force before they could become airborne. Scarf continued alone to the target. Although taking continual damage, the crew fought their way through 20 miles (32 km) of Japanese held territory and fighter attacks by flying at treetop level to successfully attack Singora, but on the way back were set upon by a more Japanese interceptors. Eventually the toll on machine and men, especially Scarf, was too much. With a shattered arm and losing far too much blood, Scarf, held in his seat by his crewmates, managed to belly land the Blenheim in a rice paddy near Alor Star airfield just inside British lines. Taken to the hospital there, despite blood transfusions (including one from his wife, Sally, an army nurse) he died. Due to loss of records in the retreat to Singapore, his bravery was not recognized until after the war, when he was awarded the Victoria Cross on 21 June 1946.
This model is the original Frog kit, and if not the oldest kit in my stash, it was certainly my first mail order ever (while I was in high school), costing me US$2.89 from Squadron. The decals are from the Airfix kit (for which I have other plans). There is a discrepancy here. My copy of “Aeroplane Icons: Blenheim” gives the codes as PTF. Airfix agrees with the serial L1134 but has codes FX F. Since Airfix researched this airplane specifically for the kit, and probably did it more recently than Aeroplane's original article, I decided to go with Airfix.
I would like to thank my daughter for taking the photographs. Perhaps my own photos would have better hidden my equally deficient modeling skills!
John Greenhorn
This is my newly-finished (still smells of paint) model: a Hasegawa 1:8 scale Le Rhone 110HP, a French air-cooled rotary engine used in WWI aircraft. This is my second completed model of this series - the first being a Clerget 9B 130HP - and I got this most recent kit from another club member (Ken N. ... thank you!). These kits are rare and hard to find, but I hope to build more in the future. Being large 1:8 scale, the model is roughly 5" (125 mm) diameter, detail is fairly good, and construction relatively straightforward. The only departure from being OOB are the spring-loaded sparkplug leads and textured intake tubes. I used a variety of different mediums to obtain the metallic finishes: Alclad 2 lacquers, AK True Metal waxes, and Uschi van der Rosten polishing powders. Unfortunately, I found it is very difficult to photograph metalics well, so I apologize for the terrible pictures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been working from home and am very glad to have modelling to help keep my sanity. I hope all of my clubmates are keeping well and safe - I miss seeing them.
Glenn Cauley
(Editor's note: Thank you to Fearless Leader, and we miss you, too.)
