Inspired by A2A Piper Cherokee

[heywooood]

Work has begun on the Hun

[heywooood]

work work work..

[heywooood]

and, work work work

[heywooood]

I had wanted to make the canopy operable...but it didn't work out this time.

cest la vie

[heywooood]

Paint and markings applied - more to do yet

[Daveroo]

very very nicely done

[MustangL2W]

A Wooden F-100..... Beautiful Job! Fantastic Airplane!

[heywooood]

thanks, Dave - I appreciate the encouragement.

the work progresses

[heywooood]

Just about finished..shown here with the Today's Hobbies F16 Viper in the Aggressor scheme..

[heywooood]

refueling probe created and installed..

[heywooood]

A Wooden F-100..... Beautiful Job! Fantastic Airplane!

thank you for the positive remarks, MustangL2W - much appreciated

I have ended my relationship with the plastic kits and have built now 11 of these balsa ones using the infil method and scratch building the details and it is far more rewarding and challenging.

[heywooood]

next project : Dumas Grumman Widgeon

[heywooood]

as indicated in the header of this post - many of these images are hosted by photocrooked.errrrr bucket and will probably be blocked soon.

The handful of them that are not hosted by that criminal enterprise are hosted by imgur and will remain...at least for a while.

that is all

[heywooood]

so some work has been done on the Widgeon. This is a terrific kit from Dumas, as all of them I have built thus far have been.

fuselage rear - sides complete


they need to match precisely -


..so you end up with this initial assembly of the rear fuselage


then you build the front half of the fuse..

[heywooood]

then the two halves are mated. The Dumas solution to the assembly of this major part of the aircraft is very well thought out. At this point the interior can be detailed and the structure is very strong as well as square and straight.

This will be a display model (more of a toy for my granddaughter who will be 5 shortly) so I plan to forgo the detailing for the most part and focus on making it as strong as I can. We'll probably just hang it in her room but I want her to be able to handle it if she wants to.

I will be building another one at some point for the hangar - that one will be detailed and painted in my preferred style.


work on the fuselage progresses..

[heywooood]

I have completed the Widgeon as requested by my little granddaughter. She has been watching with interest as I have been building these last few projects and finally asked me if I would build her a 'girl airplane'..

I asked her what would make an airplane a girl and she said it would be a girl if it was PINK.

So naturally - I have complied. Here is a Grumman G44 Widgeon resplendent in a beautiful 'Panther Pink' coat courtesy of the Testors corp.
first a couple of build progress shots..then the final product. The pilot was also selected by my number one customer

[heywooood]

and the final Widgeon - in Pink

[wombat666]

What a great thread!

And how refreshing to see the "Old School" techniques for scratch building being used in this day of "Shake 'n Bake" model kits.
Out-Bloody-Standing!

[heywooood]

What a great thread!

And how refreshing to see the "Old School" techniques for scratch building being used in this day of "Shake 'n Bake" model kits.
Out-Bloody-Standing!

well Thank You, I appreciate your kind encouragement Very Much!

I am currently working on restoring the images that were lost to photocrooked in order to keep this thread more or less intact.
There are so many great balsa kit mfgs today and all are making very fine examples of a wide array of iconic aircraft - it has never been easier to find great subjects on which to expand and explore one's artistic license.

To see other examples of some outstanding scale balsa models please visit the http://www.virtualaerodrome.com/
some very talented artists post regularly there - of both flying and of display models - that are incredible.

[heywooood]

the final photo's - the plane has been hung in her room on permanent patrol..

[heywooood]

next up : Dumas kit # 301 Stinson Reliant SR-10
it will be mounted on floats...I'm still looking at paint schemes for it. I want something PNW-ish and I'm leaning toward a green accent over white, with black piping
but if anyone has a suggestion - we have lots of time before we get to the painting stage..

[heywooood]

might have to do this Stinson as an ode to Golden Age Simulations...they have been very good to me and the rest of us too, creating as they do these vintage aeroplane replicas for us to enjoy in FSX.



I'll probably use one of their release paint schemes for it rather than this one - but it will be on floats

[heywooood]

the fuselage is framed up..

[musterpilot]

I have to ask
Do you get any time to sleep
The quality of you workmanship is outstanding
Having built many r/c models myself over the years I find your work is amazing

[heywooood]

I have to ask
Do you get any time to sleep
The quality of you workmanship is outstanding
Having built many r/c models myself over the years I find your work is amazing

lol - yes I sleep
I appreciate your encouragement too - thank you.
I left my job of 26 years not too long ago to focus on a family health crisis - thankfully, that situation has passed for the most part, but I have had some difficulty reentering the workforce.
Suffice to say I seem to be past my prime in the eyes of the many interviewers I have encountered over the past year or so.
I started back into building these models as a way to keep focused on tasks and problem solving of a nature that I COULD resolve. One has to maintain ones confidence in the face of so much discouragement.
Also because I was inspired by some of the artists and their works that I had seen on the internet.
Working on these models is a passion for me - I have always loved aviation and the machines that have been built to fly. I try to put that love into every one of them, that inspiration I have always gotten from them.
Posting them and seeing that they are appreciated for what they are and for the effort I have made gives me a much needed sense of gratitude. I am grateful to you who have taken the time to express words of encouragement - and I am grateful for the hobby that is saving my sanity if not my life at the moment. By taking pictures of the work and the results, I find a way of thanking you all.
Thank You All