With 2010 rapidly drawing to a close, I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit the kits that have come off my bench since I returned to the hobby in July. Rather than follow the usual chronological order, I’ve decided to proceed from my favorite to least favorite kit. 1/48 Tamiya P-51B Mustang Tamiya’s superb…
Category: Lavochkin La-5
Zvezda La-5 – The Wheels Come Off
Things have gone downhill with the Zvezda since the last post. Adventures in Repainting It began with the White Ensign AMT Black. It’s proven a very temperamental paint that either goes down somewhat translucent, or somewhat gritty. Well, I got the somewhat gritty version, so I went to do a wet polishing sand, hoping to…
La-5 – Baby Steps into Scratchbuilding
As a kid, I never descended into the scrappy art of scratchbuilding. I was impatient enough as it was, and the idea of slowing down to play that game never entered my mind. These days, I’m a bit older, a bit more patient, and far more in tune with my inner perfectionist. I still don’t…
Zvezda La-5 – Painting
The Lavochkin La-5 is very similar to the British Spitfire in that, with the exception of a marking here or there, one plane looks more or less identical to every other plane. These weren’t the flashy P-47s and P-51s of the USAAF, with elaborate nose art and squadron markings. Late-war Soviet fighters gained a bit…
Soft Masks: Child’s Play
I hate masking. Of all the various aspects of modeling, it’s probably the task I enjoy least. Unfortunately, until model paints are replaced by nanotechnology and little pigment robots that can lay down exactly where you tell them with no hint of overspray, masking is a necessity. With the Eduard Yak-3 and Zvezda La-5, I’ve…
Zvezda La-5 – Cockpit and Main Assembly
When I was researching Zvezda’s La-5 prior to ordering, I kept coming across three broad areas of agreement. First, in terms of detail, the La-5 and La-5FN before it represented a huge leap forward for Zvezda and marked them as a kitmaker to watch. Second, in terms of engineering, the kit is…ambitious. Third, fit can…
The Next Build(s): Two Commie Bastards
REPOSTED FROM DAMNED IF YOU DOOGS. ORIGINAL POST DATES FROM OCTOBER 15, 2010. Some modelers have dozens of kits on the bench at any given time, all in various stages of completion. I’m not the sort who could ever really work like that, but due to some delays with the Wildcats, I did find myself in a…
Rapid Task-Switching
REPOSTED FROM DAMNED IF YOU DOOGS. ORIGINAL POST DATES FROM SEPTEMBER 24, 2010. I don’t multitask. Never have, probably never will. My brain just isn’t wired that way. Instead, I practice something I read about a few months back – rapid task-switching. It’s a practice that looks like multitasking from a distance, but it’s actually a way…
F4F-3 Build Report – Stuck
REPOSTED FROM DAMNED IF YOU DOOGS. ORIGINAL POST DATES FROM SEPTEMBER 12, 2010. These Hobbyboss Wildcats have been staggeringly inconsistent. Some of the pieces are just perfect. Detail and fit are spot on. Hell, the entire cockpit assembly can hold together without any sort of adhesive. But then you turn around and there’s this part that just…
Doogs Models 