Hey Dave, While looking at a link from a totally different subject I stumbled on this: UH-1N Iroquois Fujimi 1/144 1/114-11
SWEET!! Are Fujimi kits still good quality? I used to build plastic models when I was a kid and Fujimi's were always very nice. Have you ever dealt with this on-line vendor?
I carved a master and cast all the CH-46 Sea Knights on my N scale Marine helicopter carrier. I'll see if I can get a picture posted of them tonight.
Bill, Your casts look a little long in the nose... but for a hand made mold it looks great. I see you've even got MCAS Miramar's Ridgerunner "Evil Eyes" on them. I cant remember if they detatch to the ship for the MEU or if they're a "dirt det" squadron like ours at pendleton. Your YT tail codes on them are a little wrong as that's actually the Tail code for HMM-164 Knight Riders which happens to be my squadron. Am I getting into the weeds? I apologize. I do like your molds especially your bladefold, well done. Would you be interested in molding some copies for me? If so how much?? thanks a million dave
CH46 Christmas tree ornaments - I love it! Only a Marine (I'm an ex Navy NFO...) Bill, some of those Fujimi 1/144 UH-1N's would look good on your excellent looking LHA.
Those are beautiful castings, Bill, and wonderful models! You are raising the bar yet again. I think I'll never try something that complicated, but then again . . .
Seriously Bill, I know it's after the holdays now, but I am definately interested in some copies of your hand made 46s.
i'd love to have a cessna 337 in 1:160. this is probably the most beautiful small aircraft ever built
Hi Dave: I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, with the holidays and mine and my wife's work schedule it's been rather hectic. The 46's I cast do require considerable cleanup and you have to scratch build the landing gear, and rotor assemblies. Decals are also a problem, as I had to scrounge the Marine markings for mine, out of my decal bag of old model airplanes. The mold I used for mine got torn, so I need to make a new one when I get time. I still need to cast 4 more 46's for my USS Okinawa model. Hopefully I will find time to get to this soon. How many of them do you think you would want? Cheers Bill
Hey thanks for getting back to me! How many I'd want really depends on how much you'd want per copy. Definately 10 copies maybe more. You definately have a monopoly on 1/144 phrog castings so I am considerably flexible to your scheme of maneuver. I'm not so worried about landing gear and rotor blades, the beef of the project is in the mold. Maybe you can tell me what materials you used for gear and blades and i will follow in trail. Dave
Hi Dave: Let me think about what to charge for them. I've never sold any of my castings before, so this will be something new to me. In regards to the landing gear and rotors. If I remember right I used .020 plastic rod for the gear struts and slices of 1/8" plastic tube for the wheels. The 46's are small enough that when you glue the slices on the struts, the glue will fill in where the rim will be. I believe I used .015 X .1875 plastic strip for the rotors. It's been about 3 months since I made any so this is all from memory I also used a sharp pencil dipped in black paint to add all the cockpit windows and portholes. I started to scribe all the lines on the master, but it was a real pain on something that small so I gave up. They are a little crude but for the effect I wanted of a full air group on my LPH, they work out fine. The only other 46 available in this scale are resin kits from eastern Europe I believe. The cost about 30.00 a piece if you can find them. The are truly gorgeous, but when you need 12+, it's a little too pricey, hence the that's how I came up with the master. It was my first attempt at a home cast resin N scale aircraft. Cheers: Bill
