Those Thoma screens are mesh?
I built the old Shaingai Dragon PZ IV that had plastic screens that needed to be cut out of a sheet. That sucked.
I broke off the mounts probably 50 times during the whole build/ finishing process.
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@Petro Marc,
Yes, hear you on the breakage - I broke stuff or had PE pop off may times with Panzer IV/70 (A)
Yes, the Thomaâs are kit supplied mesh screen. Cutting them out wasnât fun as sometimes they unraveled.
The far right top corner wants unravel.
Basically a PE frame super glued to a nylon or plastic mesh. I think I put thin super glue on edge of mess but am not sure.
Definitely want the whole Thoma panel in PE next time around.
The model makes me sad these days as itâs a better 90âs DML kit and my skills at the time werenât quite up to the task.
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Unraveling mesh or how I did it.
Put a small puddle of CA on a hard & smooth surface (glass or porcelain works nicely)
I soak a small piece of the mesh, hold it up in front of me and blow air through it.
This removes the CA from the openings in the mesh while it leaves enough of it to glue the crossing strands together.
Only do this in a well ventilated area.
Have a sacrificial target behind the mesh since small drops of CA will fly all over the place
Work on small areas, finger nail sized at most
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Built around 1993, this 1/700 KM Admiral Hipper proved to be a very successful contest. I know youâre laughing out loud at that given whatâs pictured. However, 1/700 ships were massively out of favor with modelers in our Region in mid 90âs. When a sketchy model is the only model in its category contest after contest, it tends to do pretty well despite its obvious short comings and limitations.
This will conclude part 2 of the dig. Later in the year the remaining dusty dinosaurs 
will make their appearance.
Thank you.
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Well I live on the Hudson Bay coast in a Inuit community of about 500 people everything comes either by air or during the summer by sea lift on the cargo and fuel tankers.
So because thereâs only two stores in the community stuff is very limited. So I have to do most of my shopping for anything other than food on the internet. I found a hobby shop in New Brunswick that I deal with for the majority of my needs. He gets the first shop then if he is unable to get it I then turn to google to find what I am after. I am starting to deal with games workshop as my son likes that genre. He started 2 years ago didnât like the armour I do mostly so now we are looking for other sites that provide similar subjects.
Basically being here teaches patience as you are waiting a few weeks to months for orders to arrive so when starting a project you need to ensure you have what you need on hand. So I have multiple projects on the go at any one time. I just reorganized our space so now we have project shelves designated in amongst the stash shelves. So now Iâm sorting out my stuff to organize the stash so I only have things to build that I presently have display space for. I have to build more shelves for my figures and armour etc. Aircraft I hang from the ceiling so that frees up space that way. My extra kits will be stored in my sea container until I am ready for them. At this point I honestly have no idea how many I have.
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At present Iâve been working on a lot of large scale figures mostly 1/16 scale collections of various soldiers from across history. I do movie characters for my wife. I have never limited myself to a particular genre. If I had to pick I would say anything I can portray as Canadian military equipment whether actual or what I feel would be useful to them. Having been a member of a Canadian Infantry Regiment in my youth I have a particular fascination with making my own what if Canadian equipment. I have a number of 1/35 helicopters that will end up with Canadian markings until I run out of the ones I purchased prior to two of the suppliers in Canada shutting down for various reasons.
I guess really my favourite is whatever is catching my attention at the moment. Thereâs so much awesome stuff coming out these days I would need a bank account like guys like Musk and Bezoâs have or win a power ball lottery for $100 million or so. That way I could ensure the space to put everything and have the ultimate workshop spaces for all the different things I am tinkering in to keep myself challenged. Since Iâm now retired and I donât play the lottery those things will be dreams never realized. 
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Thatâs the best skill a modeler can be blessed with as it helps one stay stoked for the project 
A++
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Back like an another unwanted low budget B grade Hollywood horror movie:
More Tales from the Crypt - Storage Self Archaeological Dig
This cursed Tamiya M2A2 Bradley started as club meeting build that was only worked on at club meetings in ~1998. Finally the Out of the Box Build reached critical mass and was completed in 2003. The model was built because of a discussion about the kitâs stock muzzle brake. Folks said the kit part couldnât be drilled out so that the side vents were open.
The stars, the sun, the planets & moon all aligned one evening 
Iâm happy with the drilled out part.
The model did well with a 1st place at its first show immediately after being finished. Then it failed to place in several contests and was shelved.
I didnât quite understand what happened until 15 years later walking by the book shelf when this shiny artifact caught my eye.
There was a very shiney ring around most of the turret almost like some had leaked out. It wasnât there when the model was completed. I inspected and so did a couple of friends with mini-mag flashlights 
etc.
Slowly it came to meâŚafter finishing the model, recalled reinforcing something inside the turret with a generous amount of thin super glue. Apparently, I didnât get the accelerator applied to the right area and a puddle of super glue Slowly leaked out over the next couple of days 
As Alex might say in A Clockwork Orange ,âHorror Show, very horror show.â
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I have got to say that this has been the most entertaining thread Iâve read in years. I think we all can relate to the high expectations, nightmare contests and eventual satisfaction of placing or medaling.
You have described events perfectly and with great humor.
As a nice aside, we are able to see your progression from a teenage beginner to an accomplished, award winning model builder. Congratulations all the way around! I will gladly purchase any book you write on the subject
Cheers,
C.
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Really nice job drilling out the muzzle. I chickened out out and went after market.
Ken
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@creading Charles, thank you for the kind words. That means a lot knowing the thread is a fun read. Thereâs a couple more models to share
@tankerken Ken, thank you. That muzzle brake is easily the most tedious part Iâve drilled out. While I joked about the stars & planets alignment, I waited psychâd up to drill until the magic manic moment:)
Wade, this post of yours is a lot of fun. Brings up a lot of things that Iâll bet most of us can relate to. Terrible story about the fire in Shelby. I was just getting ready to graduate high school. Wife used to live in Shelby when she was in nursing school. Now we takes 74 to bypass Spartanburg.
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Man, you just nailed why I donât enter models in contests.
Why canât there be a show that models are shown, but not judged?
How about a modeling get together were we build models together? Get out of the basement and meet people?
I have a couple of model buddies and we get together a few times a year at a off site location for a weekend of modeling. Itâs a great time.
One is planned March 10th weekend and if anyone is in the Minnesota area, drop me a PM about it.
Nice looking model.
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We call that a club meeting 
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Yup - our monthly club night is a plastic-bashing version of a knitting circle! We used to fill the evening with boring club procedural stuff, but eventually we realised we didnât need any of it and brought kits to build instead. Even at shows we tend to sit behind the tables sticking parts together.
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Man after my own heart. We are exactly the same at my club.
Our club; we have the usual procedural stuff, but cut down only to what the members need to know. The rest of the âformalitiesâ is getting each person to comment on what they have brought for show and tell or are currently building at the meeting. What was the build like?, what mods or changes did you make? Any new technique or product you tried?, etc.
Once, we went to a show and set up a display. Three of us manning the tables were building a kit. A woman came swiftly around the corner from behind our table and pulled up short, then laughed. She looked at us all sanding down a part and said âOh, I saw you from behind and I thought you guys were filing or buffing your finger nails!â
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Big difference in my book.
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Here in the US there is no funding in it for shows vs contests from my experience.
In past contests we sometimes offer a show table for past winners.
We have a club meeting for club business talk, usually a class on techniques and then show and tell.
We have another meeting at the hobby shop that is all build and bs talk.
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I live in the US by the way.
I personally think its an old timer mindset about trying something new.
I guess it really doesnât matter as I think in about 10 years shows will be a thing of the past.
There maybe younger modelers out there, but I rarely seen one at a show.
Look how IPMS shows (donât know about AMPS) now have moved from major cities for the national shows to smaller cities. There is a reason why.
Times have changed and will keep on changing.
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I know Dan, I say US because other folks in other countries can run a show, even mega shows successfully. The mindset of the modelers over here different.
Itâs not old timers mindset, been thinking on this for at least 15 yrs, just cannot make the money work. Cost is at least $1000 for a building. Table rentals another $400-500. Probably missing a few other things, so letâs say $2000 for even money. Not saying it cannot be done but thatâs a lot to guess on with no bling to begin people in. I just donât see it happening in my neck of the woods and probably many other places. Even having a profitable or break even contest isnât guaranteed. We lost thousands years ago and have been guarded since to prevent making the same mistakes. For the record I donât like contest, I go to talk to others and not the bling. I usually donât enter anything. Only our show and AMPS Nationals the last two years. Only our show sometimes previous years.
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