Madoc.us: On The Bench

Airfix F-80C
Atomic Tank
BASF
B&V P.211
D.510
F8F Bearcat
Destroyer
P-65 X-Wing
Space Cruiser

My Models

Optimized for a 1024 x 768 screen width.
(You can get away with 800 x 600 but don't even try it at 640 x 480!)

Starting Back Up
On The Bench
The Flightline
IPMS Nats '07

On The Bench

Like most model kit builders, I've several kits going on at once. This reflects the fact that progress progresses differently for each kit. In some cases this is due to not having everything I need to assemble the kit, sometimes it's due to the time I've available to spend on a particular kit and the particular phase of assembly that kit is in, and sometimes it's due to some kits simply being more interesting for me to work on steadily.

This page is going to serve as place where I can post what's "on deck" on my Bench.

B&V P.211

This is the Special Hobby Blohm Und Voss P.211.02 kit. Small, simple, and thus something I couldn't just build straight out of the box. I've tried my hand at Alclad with this one and have had quite the adventure as a result. Couple this with going through two airbrushes in the process and learning how to use a new double action one with some rather finicky paints (Alclad is anything if it's not particular in its application) along with that pack-everything-up-and-move I did in October along with the Holidays and along with yet two new jobs, and I'm only now getting back at it. Progress there is the furthest of this bunch. So much so, in fact, that it now even has its own page!

Beaufighter

This is the Hasegawa Beaufighter Mk.1 "Nightfighter" kit. I made solid progress on this one right until I tried my hand at using superglue to fill in the seams along the wing roots. In and of itself that's not a bad idea. My application of it though, straight from the bottle, left something to be desired. In fact, it left large blobs of superglue all over the seams and precious little actually in them. So, I set it aside. Recently, late April of '07, I unpacked the kit and applied some CA Debonder to those blobs. A little bit of scraping with my new Mission Model Micro Chisel and I had the blobs easily removed. I did some more scrapping and such of the seams and then applied some silver paint to them so as to better see what shape they're in. Progress can now resume on this gem.

Mustang!

I've had this kit for a long while and have made significant progress working on it. This is the old Monogram P-51B kit. Simple, crisp, and basic. The kit is woefully lacking in details as compared to our modern standards and its markings are apparently quite spurious but it's still a good little kit to start working on. I originally picked up its bits well over a decade ago and then only started really working on them two years or so ago. The kit is far closer to being complete than these pictures indicate. I got the uppers appropriately colored and even got the decals on it and that's where I stopped. The decals really are crap. But, what could you expect from a set of decals almost as old as I am myself? So, the kit has sat unfinished in its box. Perhaps I'll get around to it this year. Perhaps not.

I finally got my airbrush up and running, using it to complete the finish on my Bearcat model. With that experience under my belt I decided to go a tad further and do a two tone finish with it. Thus the P-51B Mustang with its olive drab upper and neutral gray underside was perfect. I also wanted to try my hand at "preshading" the panel lines. Here's what resulted:

Preshaded Mustang

This is more than a bit blurry. I was aiming for the major panel lines and I missed somewhat. I was also hoping for a smaller width of spray.

Preshaded Mustang

I think I got a little bit crisper here.

Preshaded Mustang

We'll have to see how this comes out in the final painting.

Next up was spraying on the underside color. For this I used a rattle can of Neutral Gray.

Neutral gray underside

I thought it was interesting how the effect from spraying this on with a rattle can matched how the color demarcation line was on the real thing done by an airbrush.

Neutral gray underside

So much for the preshading here. Perhaps things'll show through better with the OD green on the uppers.

The New New Bench

Since I first put this section up I've moved again. And I've set up my model workbench again. It's almost exactly the same as it was back in the garage on Commonwealth Ave. Almost. More stuff clutters it though.

With the move to the new house in December of '05 has come a number of changes. Among these has been to my model bench. Instead of being parked in the front bedroom "office" as it was in my old house, my model bench is now out in the "bonus room" of our new place. That's the term the former owner used to describe how he had bisected the property's garage, turning half of it into a sort of rec room. This was what really sold the house to us. All of my stuff is out in the garage; my books, my tools, my workbench, my computer, my models and my model bench. I got my PC up and running as soon as we'd moved in. The model bench took longer. It's been no small thing getting it all in place but now that I have I'm much relieved.

Here it all is, finally!

That's my old computer desk top there on the left. What took so long here was getting the last bits in place.

Back at my old house I had my desk propped up with a two drawer file cabinet on the left and a brace of 2x4 bits on the right. That worked fine for where it was. The model bench was anchored to the wall using a shelving track held in place with toggle bolts into the wall. Here, I wanted to do better. So, I made a full-on 2x4 frame to hold up one side of both the desk and the model bench. Atop this is another 2x4 frame which supports the TV. It was getting all this made, painted and emplaced which took so damn long!

It's all here. Really. Within arms reach is my computer desk, my model bench and even a big ol television too! There's my PC under the desk. I ran all the cabling, network lines, cable modem, cable splitter, router, and power strip under the desk attaching it to the old 2x4 desk supports. I was rather pleased with that as I laid it all out, secured it, and then attached all the wires and cables before putting it into place under the bench. This, like I'd imagine wire harnesses get assembled on aircraft and such. Anyway, it's a neat and functional installation and this will allow me to get on with my hobby! The first new model to be built on this bench will the this one:

If you would like to know more about me, then ask me directly. Just click on my email address here:
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In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed your "stay" at this site. Check back again to see what new images I have added. Until then, stay well, play hard, play safe, and have fun!

Madoc

This page was last updated on: 06 May 2007

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs and images on this page are copyright protected property of Madoc Pope. If you would like to use any of my images you must contact me first before you do so.

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In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed your "stay" at this site. Check back again to see what new images I have added. Until then, stay well, play hard, play safe, and have fun!

Madoc