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Monday, February 28, 2011

Enterprise B







Here are some images of AMT/ Round 2 model's 1/1000 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC - 1701 - B from Star Trek Generations.
From Wikipedia"
The first mission of the Enterprise-B is to take a number of reporters, Captains James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) and Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) on a ride around the solar system. The ship receives and responds to a distress call from ships caught in a mysterious "energy rift". After rescuing some of the ship's passengers, the Enterprise-B becomes trapped in the rift. Scott believes the ship's navigational deflector can be adapted to emit a blast that can free the ship. The reconfiguration requires manual adjustments, which Kirk performs. As the Enterprise-B moves free of the rift, an energy discharge strikes the ship near the deflector dish, shearing through several sections of the hull near where Kirk was working. Kirk goes missing and is presumed dead. According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, the Enterprise-B "was a key figure in the exploration of space beyond the Gourami Sector. This ship and her crew were responsible for mapping over 142 star systems, including first contact with seventeen civilizations." In the "Ship's Legacy" section of the licensed Enterprise-D cut-away poster by Christopher Cushman, Captain Thomas Johnson, Jr. is listed as a commanding officer. According to the Haynes USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual, the Enterprise-B was lost, and presumed destroyed, in deep space in 2329; its last transmission indicated that the crew may have been killed by a dangerous plague.
The Aztec decaling was downloaded on to decal sheet from Starship Modelers web site here.
The banding along the edge of the main saucer section was downloaded from the Enterprise C Aztec downloads at the same site. No resizing was necessary.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

F4U-4B







Here are some images of Hasegawa's 1/48 scale Chance Vaught F4U-4B Corsair.
From Wikpedia"

F4U-4: The last variant to be produced during World War II, the F4U-4 began entering service near the end of 1944. It fully equipped naval squadrons four months before the end of hostilities. It had the 2,100 hp (1,600 kW) dual-stage-supercharged -18W engine. When the cylinders were injected with the water/alcohol mixture, power was boosted to 2,450 hp (1,830 kW). The aircraft required an air scoop under the nose and the unarmored wing fuel tanks of 62 gal (234 l) capacities were removed for better maneuverability at the expense of maximum range. The propeller was changed to a four blade type. Maximum speed was increased to 448 miles per hour (721 km/h) and climb rate to over 3,800 ft/min (1,180 m/min) as opposed to the 2,900 ft/min (884 m/min) of the F4U-1A. The service ceiling also increased significantly from 37,000 feet (11,000 m) to 41,000 feet (12,000 m). The "4-Hog" retained the original armament and had all the external load (i.e., drop tanks, bombs) capabilities of the F4U-1D. The windscreen was now flat bullet-resistant glass to avoid optical warping, a change from the curved Plexiglas windscreens with the internal plate glass of the earlier Corsairs. Vought also tested the two F4U-4Xs (BuNos 49763 and 50301, prototypes for the new R2800) with fixed tiptanks (the Navy showed no interest) and an Aeroproducts six-blade contraprop (not accepted for production).F4U-4B: Designation for F4U-4s to be delivered to the British Fleet Air Arm, but were retained by the U.S. for its own use. The Fleet Air Arm received no F4U-4s.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Mercedes Benz SSK






Here are some images of Bburaggo's 1/24 scale 1928 Mercedes Benz SSK.
From Wikipedia"

The Mercedes-Benz SSK is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. Its name is an acronym of Super Sport Kurz, with the last word being the German for "short", a reference to the fact that the car was based on the earlier Mercedes-Benz S, but with 19 inches (480 mm) chopped from the chassis to make the car lighter and more agile for racing. It was the last car designed for the company by the engineer Ferdinand Porsche, before he left to pursue the foundation of his own company. The SSK's extreme performance—with a top speed of up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h), it was the fastest car of its day—and numerous competitive successes made it one of the most highly regarded sports cars of its era. The S/SS/SSK line was one of the nominees in the penultimate round of voting for the Car of the Century award in 1999, as chosen by a panel of 132 motoring journalists and a public internet vote.

Fewer than 40 SSKs were built during its production span, of which about half were sold as Rennwagen (racing cars). Fitted with a supercharged 7-litre straight-6 engine producing 200–300 metric horsepower (150–220 kW) and over 500 lb·ft (680 N·m) of torque (depending on the state of tune), it was driven to victory in numerous races, including in 1929 the 500 Miles of Argentina, the 1929 and 1930 Cordoba Grands Prix, the 1931 Argentine Grand Prix, and, in the hands of legendary Grand Prix racing driver Rudolf Caracciola, the 1929 British Tourist Trophy race, the 1930 Irish Grand Prix, the 1931 German Grand Prix, and the 1931 Mille Miglia.

Many were crashed while racing and subsequently cannibalised for parts, and as a result there are now almost 100 replicas using components donated from original vehicles. Only four or five entirely original models remain, and their scarcity and rich heritage make them among the most sought after cars in the world; a 1929 model was auctioned at Bonhams in Chichester in September 2004 for £4.17 million (US$7.4 million), making it the second most expensive automobile ever sold at that time. Perhaps the best known SSK (shown here), a streamlined, British-bodied version was originally built to the specifications of notable Italian nobleman and racing personality, Carlo Felice Trossi is owned and restored by fashion designer Ralph Lauren, Annette Grant, The New York Times, March 6, 2005 has won best of show at both the 1993 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the 2007 Concorso D’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

Friday, February 25, 2011

F-16


Here is a Minicraft 1/32 scale F-16 built by Saskatoon modeler Joey Stebanuik. Joey completed the kit almost out of the box and used a variety of metallizer paints the get the effects on the engine.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

STuTZ Racer Re Post






Here are some images of Lindberg Models 1/16 scale 1914 Stutz Racer. The one thing about model cars is that they should always be shiny and sparkling cl... Ahh to heck with it hand me that mud stick forth with!

From Wikipedia"

The STuTZ Motor Company was founded as the Ideal Motor Car Company in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1911. Ideal entered a car in the Indianapolis 500 that year and placed 11th, earning it the slogan, "the car that made good in a day". The next year, the founder, Harry C. Stutz, renamed the company Stutz Motor Company and began selling high-performance roadsters like the famous Stutz Bearcat. The Bearcat featured a brawny 4-cylinder T-head engine with four valves per cylinder, one of the earliest multi-valve engines. Stutz has also been credited with the development of "the under-slung chassis", an invention that greatly enhanced the safety and cornering of motor vehicles and one that is still in use today.

Stutz was forced to raise money to fund his automobile production, eventually selling the company in 1919 after a falling out with the company's major stockholders, Allen Ryan, who then went bankrupt. In 1922, three Stutz investors, one of whom was Charles M. Schwab, gained control of the company. The new owners brought in Frederick Ewan Moskowics, formerly of Daimler, Marmon, and Franklin, in 1923. Moskowics quickly refocused the company as a developer of safety cars, a recurring theme in the auto industry. In the case of Stutz, the car featured safety glass, a low center of gravity for better handling, and a hill-holding transmission called "Noback". One notable advance was the 1931 DOHC 32-valve in-line 8 (designed by Fred Duesenberg), called the "DV32" (DV for 'dual valve'). This was during the so-called "cylinders race" of the early 1930s, when makers of expensive cars were rushing to produce multi-cylinder engines. While Stutz did not have the resources to design and tool a new engine, the DV32 was produced in larger numbers than any of its competitors, who were advertising 12- and 16-cylinder engines in their own cars.

In 1927, a Stutz set a world record for speed, averaging 68 mph (109.5 km/h) for 24 hours. The following year, a 4.9 litre (300ci) Stutz (entered and owned by French coachbuilder Charles Weymann) in the hands of by Robert Bloch and Edouard Brisson finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (losing to the 4.5 litre {275ci} Bentley of Rubin and Barnato, despite losing top gear 90 minutes from the flag), the best result for an American car until 1966. That same year, development engineer and racing driver Frank Lockhart used a pair of supercharged 91ci (1.5 liter) DOHC engines in his Stutz Black Hawk Special streamliner LSR car, while Stutz set another speed record at Daytona, reaching 106.53 mph (171.3 km/h) in the hands of Gil Anderson. In 1929, three Stutzes, with bodies designed by Gordon Buehrig, built by Weymann's U.S. subsidiary, and powered by a 155hp (115kW) 322ci (5.3 liter) supercharged straight 8 ran at Le Mans, piloted by Edouard Brisson, George Eyston (of land speed racing fame), and co-drivers Philippe de Rothschild and Guy Bouriat; de Rothschild and Bouriat placed fifth after the other two cars fell out with split fuel tanks.

Production ended in 1935 after 35,000 cars had been manufactured. The former Indianapolis factory is today known as the Stutz Business Center and is home to more than eighty artists, sculptors, photographers, designers, architects, and craftsmen.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

XK 120






Here are some images of Bburrago's 1/24 scale Jaguar XK 120
From Wikipedia"

The XK120 was launched in roadster form at the 1948 London Motor Show as a testbed and show car for the new Jaguar XK engine. It caused a sensation, which persuaded Jaguar founder and design boss William Lyons to put it into production.

The "120" in its name referred to its 120 mph (193 km/h) top speed (faster with the windscreen removed), which made the XK120 the world's fastest standard production car at the time of its launch.

It was available in two 'open' versions — first as the roadster (designated OTS, for open two-seater, in America), then, also as a drophead coupé, DHC, from 1953 — and as a closed, or "fixed-head" coupé (FHC) from 1951. The DHC was a more deluxe open model, featuring the beautiful wood dashboard and wood accent veneers on the interior as found on the FHC.

The roadster version was successful in racing.

The first 242 cars, all roadsters hand-built between late 1948 and early 1950, had aluminium bodies on ash frames. To meet demand it was necessary for the mass-production versions, beginning with the 1950 model year, to have pressed-steel bodies. They retained aluminium doors, bonnet, and boot lid.

With alloy cylinder head and twin side-draft SU carburetors, the dual overhead-cam 3.4 L straight-6 XK engine was comparatively advanced for a mass-produced unit of the time. With standard 8:1 compression ratio it developed 160 bhp (119 kW). A 7:1 low compression version was also available to cope with low quality fuel. This same basic design of the XK engine, later modified into 3.8L and 4.2L versions, survived into the late 1980s.

All XK120s had independent torsion bar front suspension, semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear, recirculating-ball steering, telescopically adjustable steering column, and all-round drum brakes that were prone to fade. Some cars were fitted with Alfin brake drums to help overcome this brake fade.

The roadster's lightweight canvas top and detachable sidescreens stowed out of sight behind the seats, and its barchetta-style doors had no external handles; instead there was an interior pull-cord which was accessible through a flap in the sidescreens when the weather equipment was in place. The windscreen could be removed for aeroscreens to be fitted.

The drophead coupé [DHC] offered a padded, lined canvas top, which folded onto the rear deck behind the seats when retracted, and roll-up windows with opening quarter-lites. The flat glass two-piece windscreen was integral as a body-colored steel frame. Dashboards and door-caps in both the closed steel top coupe' [fixed-head, FHC] and DHC were wood-veneered, whereas the spartan roadster's were leather-trimmed. All models had removable spats ("fender skirts" in America) covering the rear wheel arches, which enhanced the streamlined look. On cars fitted with optional centre-lock wire wheels (available from 1951), the spats were omitted as they gave insufficient clearance for the two-eared Rudge-Whitworth chromed knockoff hubs.

In addition to wire wheels, upgrades on the Special Equipment, or SE, version (called the M version in the United States) included increased power, stiffer suspension and dual exhaust system.

All models of these early Jaguars are highly sought by collectors around the globe.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Flying Sub






Here are some images of Monograms (Aurora molds) 1/60 scale Flying Sub from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
From Wikipedia"
Between the TV version's first and second seasons, the Seaview miniatures were extensively revised. Dated May 1965 the drawings penned by William Creber (who also designed the Flying Sub itself) stated "modifications to be applied to all miniatures." The number of bow windows was reduced from eight on two levels of four each to a single row of four (actually two with a dividing girder.) This then matched the interior set with the exterior miniatures but with the added detrimental affects of a more bulbous frontal appearance and a reduction in apparent overall size of the vessel. The Control Room, previously located on an upper level, was moved forward on a lower level ahead of the conning tower, to connect directly with the Observation Room, and a large hangar bay was added to the bow, beneath the Observation Room/Control Room combination. This hangar held the 36 foot wide and long, flying submersible, aptly called the "Flying Sub" or "FS-1", implying that there were several more back at the base, which would have to be the case since several Flying Subs were lost to mishaps or combat during the run of the show. (Promotional materials published between the first and second seasons referred to it as the Flying Fish, but the name was evidently dropped prior to the start of filming and was never used in the show.) It was deployed through bomb-bay like doors. As it broke the surface, its engines could generate enough thrust for the vehicle to take off and fly at supersonic speeds. The Flying Sub was also nuclear powered.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Atlantique








Here are some images of Bburago's 1/24 scale Bugatti type 57 Atlantique.
Bburago kits are some of the easiest assembly kits around. They come with a painted body and coloured plastic parts and no glue or paint required. However to build these kits properly means painting the plastic parts their appropriate colours, adding plenty of wash and minor weathering on chromed parts as well as panel lines and in many cases removing mold seam lines from the main body which means a complete repaint of the body if you want a decent looking model.
From Wikipedia"

Considered by some to be the most beautiful pre-war car, the Atlantic body Type 57S featured flowing coupe lines with a pronounced dorsal seam running front to back. It was based on the "Aérolithe" concept car of 1935. Like the Type 59 Grand Prix car, the Aérolithe used Elektron (a magnesium alloy) or Duralumin (an aluminium alloy) for its body panels. Therefore, the body panels were riveted externally, creating the signature seam.

The production Atlantics (just four were made) used plain aluminium, however. But the dorsal seams were retained for style, and have led to the car's present fame.

Only two of the cars survive. One is in the collection of Ralph Lauren, the second was owned by Dr. Peter Williamson, and won the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Williamson's car (#57374) was sold for between $30 and $40 million at an auction in May 2010 to the Mullin Automotive Museum located in Oxnard, California.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Deep Submergence Pick-Up





Here are some images of Monograms 1/32 scale Deep Submergence Pick-Up from SeaQuest DSV.
The Conostoga Wagon of the new marine frontier is the Deep Submergence Pick-Up, used for utility work in mining, construction, and as a general runabout. Like the present day pick-up truck the DSP has a large cargo bed, used to haul anything that will fit inside it.

I have to say that out of all the ships on DSV this one is the most legit looking.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Abandoned Parts Queen X Wing






Here are some images of my 1/48 scale Abandoned Parts Queen (thanx Pat) X Wing Starfighter. This model was built from MPC's 1/48 scale X Wing.
The interiors were built from parts from my spares box.
There is an upcoming diorama for this model in the future so stay tuned.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Mr. Bean


This 1/25 scale Austin Mini was built by Leith James. This car was featured in the British comedy “Mr. Bean”. Have a look at the padlock on the door.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sturmvogel






Here are some images of Monogram's 1/48 scale ME 262 A-2a Sturmvogel.
From Wikipedia"

The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe ("Swallow") was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft.Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status until mid-1944. Compared with Allied fighters of its day, including the jet-powered Gloster Meteor, it was much faster and better armed.

In combat, when properly flown, it proved difficult to counter due to its speed. Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 509 Allied kills (although higher claims are sometimes made) against the loss of about 100 Me 262s. The design was pressed into a variety of roles, including light bomber, reconnaissance and even experimental night fighter versions.

The Me 262 is considered to have been the most advanced German aviation design in operational use during World War II. The Allies countered its potential effectiveness in the air by relentlessly attacking the aircraft on the ground, or while they were taking off or landing. Maintenance during the deteriorating war situation and a lack of fuel also reduced the effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war due to its late introduction and the small numbers that were deployed in operational service.

The Me 262 influenced the designs of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 and Boeing B-47.

Me 262 A-2a "Sturmvogel"
Definitive bomber version retaining only the two lower 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108s.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

U.S.S. Adams






Here are some images of my kit bash of my 1/537 scale U.S.S. Adams.
See if you can guess who I named it after.
To build this kitbash I used parts from AMT's original Enterprise kit, the Enterprise cut away kit, the Excelsior kit and parts from my spares box.
The font I used for the decals was Gil Sans.