Greg Baker You're right, Erik. I replaced almost the entire upper canopy framing with polystyrene and wire. I had to add some windows to this kit and wanted some consistency in the thickness of the frame. It was tricky to get everything glued in place, but I got it done more or less to my satisfaction. I'm hesitant to add the u/c elements because they seem rather fragile, but you're also right that it being in-flight will help a lot.
18 April, 14:09
Greg Baker I'm intrigued by the opposite spinning propellor idea. I can see where that might make things easier. Hmmmm...
Greg Baker This one is likely to be a quick little build. It's basically the companion piece to the Puss Moth, so I felt like I couldn't really build one without the other. Erik is right though, the kit is of an impressive vintage. It is indeed a few years older than I am, and has the flash to prove it. 🙂
Anyway, thanks for joining, there's plenty of seats available, so no shoving. 😉
Matthew A If your anything like me you will still be finding little pink bits of paper all over the house when hovering for weeks to come dispite not having put the prop to work
Here’s a question. On a Spitfire, can the little door under the canopy be opened during flight if the canopy is still closed? Or did the canopy have to be open to open the door? I’m planning a little project and wondering if I can just leave that door open, or if I have to leave the whole canopy open.
Greg Baker Yeah. They all look MUCH better with figures. With these latest two (the canoe and the German police motorbike w/ sidecar) I'm now down to my last previously finished project in need of an upgrade - the DHC Chipmunk. Since I got an updated kit (arguably better than the ancient Airfix one) I wanted to give that one another go right from the spures.
Greg Baker Y'know Alex, because I had that extra 2CV base sitting on the bench, I accidentally glued the grass/train tracks to it because I wasn't paying attention. Luckily I was able to peel it off before the glue set and re-apply it to the actual Model-T base. Whew!
Greg Baker Thanks guys. Much appreciated! I've got another Tintin boat on the bench... hopefully I'll find time to finish it soon. Been busy at work and what little spare time I've had seems to have been sucked up by Canada's World Cup Qualifying campaign... 😉
Lode Schildermans Me, an disapproving look? I never thought you would notice it 😉 lol. You're a perfectionist which is the reason to adapt the build. Tricky to do, but the result is there. Congrats
12 March, 06:47
Greg Baker I'm hardly a prefectionist... but my collector instincts would drive me crazy every time I saw an oversized Tinitin on my shelf. I've actually spent quite a bit of time trying to determine the perfect 1/72 scale size of Tintin and his friends. It took a bit of trial and error, but I've more or less settled on it now. The trick to making sure all the figures are more or less the same is done by comparing the relative size of his egg-shaped head~
I'm going back and making some improvements to my Tintin projects, so there's plenty more to come.
25 April 2023, 16:56
Greg Baker In case anyone is interested, I uploaded my 3D files for the armoured car to cults3d.com (cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/armoured-car). There's a small fee to download, but it gets even smaller if you visit my blog and find the 50% off coupon code. 🙂
Greg Baker Thanks guys! I don't want to spam Scalemates TOO badly, so I'll dole out my rescued/refurbished/upgraded build in a few batches. As for this one... I really did like my scratchbuilt first attempt, but after building a 3D model off the same plans and then printing it... well, now I REALLY love it. 🙂
3 March, 20:59
Greg Baker In case anyone is interested, I uploaded my 3D files for the Udet Flamingo to cults3d.com (cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/udet-u12-flamingo). There's a small fee, but it gets even smaller if you visit my blog and find the 50% off coupon code. 🙂
Martin Oostrom Perhaps roughing them up with coarse sandpaper or a burr helps?
10 March 2018, 08:16
John Thomas Greg and Martin, I think it's the kind of plastic the lids are made of were stuff wont stick to it. I think it's some kind of Nylon. May be use a metal lids from small glass jars may work better.
Daniel Klink How could i miss this! Never saw this before done!
Very cool Greg👍
8 June 2021, 23:24
Greg Baker Hah! Thanks Daniel! I just snuck that little project in. I've been busy at work (comes with a promotion usually I think), but I'm hoping to get back to the bench soon. Your projects keep inspiring me.
Greg Baker Thanks guys! I'm very happy that people are following along. I started getting so many little Tintin builds I decided to up my game a bit on the bases... including labeling them so I don't forget! Once I upgrade all the bases, I'll take a "family picture" of them al together.
Rando Greg I just have to say what you do is really unique and amazing, I looked through your planned treatment for Area 88 and it'll be really cool to see how that turns out.
Rando - Thanks. Yeah, I've neglected the Area 88 plans for a little while, but I seem to naturally bounce back and forth between them... usually when I get a bit frustrated by one for a while. 😉
Lode Schildermans It looks so easy when you see the final result. But scrolling through the album gives a good idea of all the modifications and scratch build needed to transform regular kits to a Tin Tin cartoon tank. And the result would have made Hergé proud. Thanks for sharing the journey to the moon with us, Greg. Outstanding as usual
8 August 2022, 21:14
Greg Baker Thanks Lode. After I finished the tank, I was kind of wondering why I bothered to start with a kit… by the end there was almost nothing left of the original kit. I'm happy with the result though, and it is kinda about the journey, right? 🙂
Greg Baker It's amazing how much easier a well-printed part is to work with. The first time I did this there were gaps and holes and other errors, but this time the parts are all stable and the seams are easy enough to close.
Choppa Nutta Ah just one of those things hey, and it was a long time ago but thanks for your good wishes anyway.
Sorry for the downer, anyhow, to brighten the mood a little it is a beautiful place though and I like whisky too ...... and Tintin of course !!😉
14 July 2020, 01:09
Matthew A You could make another one in black and white with Johnny Walkers on it
Thomas Bischoff ... you do go the extra mile! The car is really gorgeous
9 November 2017, 15:31
Greg Baker Heh. Thanks! I have to admit though, having to tear it off was a lot easier than suddenly finding out at the end that I should've built two. In that case I would just leave the "good side" showing.😉
An OoB build, so only minimal reconstruction around the air intakes and engines. I got some new Tamiya lacquer paint I want to test, so this seemed like a good test kit.
John Thomas Greg, Nice work. Your tools are bigger than the Jet.
16 August 2018, 00:32
BC NRA I bought one of these online as an extra item to get me over the purchase threshold to qualify for free shipping. The kit only cost $2.60. Seemed like cheap fun.
Gary Kitchen thanks for the heads up Greg. Loved your F-5A finish. The colours looks amazing. I see what up mean about scaling. I'll have to plan some sort of forced perspective thing when the Boeing hoves into view for photos.
8 July 2023, 16:50
Greg Baker Thanks Gary. I'll tune it to see if you can manage the forced perspective... it would be nice for this kit to have something to contribute. I should be kinder and not let my hatred for off-scale kits get the best of me... it's just when they lie about their size that I can't stand it. 😉
Meanwhile... we have some grey paint over decals... it's an experiment.
Greg Baker Stage one complete - carefully mask decals and paint over them... only time will tell if the tape will pull the decals off. I'm hopeful that so long as the tape doesn't go over the edge of the decal, some careful removal will do the trick.
I had a dream last night that I purchased two actual P-51 Mustangs… despite not having a pilot’s license. I was pestering a car mechanic I know to help me take a look at the engine and then I was super excited about posting up a new 1:1 scale model project on Scalemates. 🙂
Luckily I woke up just as I was trying to figure out where I was going to store the planes… and before I had to explain any of it to my wife. 😉
3 6 July 2023, 13:37
Spanjaard LOL, That probably would have been complicated 😄
7 July 2023, 19:53
Greg Baker I was busy trying to figure out if a) I could safely remove the wings in a way that they could be re-attached properly later, and b) If I could park one of them (sans wings) in my driveway... 😄
You can even tell I got the prop spinning the right way because of the wind on the smoke cloud! 😉
4 July 2023, 18:58
Greg Baker I've also updated my blog with this project... if anyone is interested in reading the Leiji Matsumoto chapter from "The Cockpit" that this project is based on - strobez.ca/wp/index...-part-1-the-cockpit/
Greg Baker
Matthew A
LucLuke B
Lode Schildermans
![1:76 LWB Land Rover and Trailer [Hard Top] (Airfix A02324)](/products/img/8/0/9/181809-26441-90-t180.jpg)
John Thomas
Heinrich R Dick
Rando
Torsten
Choppa Nutta
Roden 1:72
BC NRA
Gary Kitchen
Ben M
