The modeling underdog

As odd as it may seem, and being in front of the computer at 2.04 AM, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and hope that you´re spending a lovely night with the ones you love. To the ones that provide me support, love and friendship, I can only say a big THANK YOU for all you do for me and because of me: My dad and sister, Ducky (my own, personal, immortal beloved), Zeta (who's stylish Modelmod Blogspot is a haven of good taste), Gabriel and his never diminishing ability to make me rant about everything, Adrian "Oh, thy great master of masters", Gustavo "Ben Ali al Majadu" and his astonishing Arabic Air Forces, the Hrubisko dynamic duo (both Raul and Santiago are plain great guys and modelers), Martin Lucero (I owe you so many e-mails that starting to write to you would be an excercise of style itself!) and all of the modelers and everyday people who have to endure my most verbose and contradictory nature. Blame it on the genes!!! And since we´re t...

As some of you may be aware, my health has not been at its best these last weeks. May be as a result of multiple reasons that lurk in my head from time to time and the natural stress they put into this thick skull of mine, pushing my body around to fulfill the daily tasks is sometimes a bit of an annoyance. Worst of all, my dubious modeling skills have started to dwindle down the road to perdition. One of my last "secret" projects is at s standstill just because the thought of rigging a biplane sends shivers down my spine. Also, the paint job and decaling are some of the worst i've ever done in my not so humble point of view. The only upsides in my life this time around have been a series of fortunate events, first of all to buy a lovely little mandolin wich, as the model kits, is more the victim than the igniter of my keen interest in things. I tossed an old friend out of my life because there was too much crap going on beetween us and hipocracy or mistrust are things I ...

My dear friends, Taking into account that I've been working non stop for the last wo months, I came to realize that TMU had not been updated. For this, I apologize sincerely, since my train of thoughts is aiming somewhere else and very far from modeling. Also, my health has come to the fore with some unattended issues that, from now on, I'll have to take care of. This upcoming weekend there's a contest at the Quilmes IPMS Chapter. The last one of this 2008 that's leaving thru the back door, both in modeling and living. Hopefuly, and given my dubious health honors its owner (or is it the other way around?), I'll be attending it and taking some snapshots about its models, modelers and atmosphere. So, till our next installment, take care and good luck. The Modeling Underdog.

New fighters for a new era : When the Civil War in Russia ended in victory for the revolutionary forces, there were 2 things that were pretty much clear in russian aviation: most of the flying material was either reaching obsolesence or woefuly war weary. Among many other designers, Polikarpov was to start producing the ubiquitous reconnaisance biplane D.H.9A as the R-1, but he was also laying the foundation of what would earn him the nickname "King of fighters" during the 20s and 30s. Open to new technologies and production techniques, Polikarpov set to design a single seat fighter of mixed construction, designated IL-400 (this meaning fighter, Liberty, 400h.p.). The heavy, low compressed and powerful Liberty engine was chosen and mated to a fuselage of all wooden construction and very clean lines. Wings, stabilizators and rudder were built out wooden formers and fabric covered. The front end seemed to have been hastily attached there by means of cutting an R-1 nose an...

I've been busy with a few job offers that popped out unexpectedly and need me to pay a lot of attention, thus the low update rate we're having here at TMU. If I had a modeling oriented career, I'd be building model kits for a living. Having to live, I 've to work... No pun intended, really. On the ther hand, modeling came to a nice pace these days and at least 3 models are ready for paint. So, hopefuly tomorrow morning I'll start spraying colors like crazy. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt saying "Always wear a protective mask, you moron". So stay tuned, there's more F1M and some news from Eastern Europe to come... Take care and good luck, The Modeling Underdog

Fujimi's 1/72 F1M2 Observation Floatplane Tells the story that many moons ago in Japan, there was a very serious accident at the Fujimi production plant. While building one of the Ki-36 test shots, a modeler pressed so hard on the fuselage/wing joint that the latter went off flying accross the room and hit one of the mould makers in the head. It's said that while laying half-consciuos on the floor, the mould maker cast a curse on Fujimi for hiring such a reckless individual to carry on the test shots building. From that moment on, any modeler around the globe who cares enough to build a Fujimi kit, has to face a most enigmatic series of mishaps during the build. And so it seems that what was a sharp looking kit in the box, with finely recessed panel lines and a basic interior with lots of potential for detailing, turns into a Sphynx-faced piece of plastic that unveils a riddle one after the other as you proceed with it. A few years ago, I received from a friend a partiall...

Well, it was just a matter of taking sometime off my daily occupations and fix all the faulty links. To cut it short, all images are working now and the next installment should either deal with the F1M Jap Floatplane or give a look to the workbench and what's on it... I'll keep you posted, till then, take care and good luck. The modeling underdog.

Due to an unexpected problem with my computer, most of the images were lost for good. It'll take a little time to fix and I hope to have TMU running again in a few more mouse scrolls and keyboard beatings. Take care, The Modeling Underdog

Don't worry, the Modeling Underdog has not left its blog unattended. Nor has he dropped dead on his workbench after confronting the curse that some mean japanese moulder working for Fujimi cast on its kits. He's not laying there bloated and decaying (alright,he does, but he's not dead). Though it would make things easier if you think about it, for him at least. There's a lot going on in my "full scale" life, so from time to time I might take sometime off this blog to set things straight and bury any evidence concerning the proceedings in some far-away abandoned factory. Just kidding, for God's sake. And by that I mean rice wine. Also and since it's two hobbies at the same time, writing and modeling, updates may take a little time to show up. Depends both on my building speed and inspiration. Wich both have miserably lacked in this last 7 months... Just to present you with a little update, let me tell you that the next kits to be finished are: Bulgarian...

The Nakajima Showa L2D2 Navy Transport Model 11. After overcoming my own stupidity and/or lack of technical skills, I managed to realise you can actually upload lots of pictures by just realising that a tiny little window has opened in your desktop. No comments, please... So, here are the close-up views as promissed. Please excuse some of them are out of focus, I'm sure you'll find of interest what's being focused instead of the subject of interest... Well, this is it for the moment. The Tabby saga is not over yet, for I have 2 more in the building process. Both of them in equally anarchic schemes that I hope will suit your gaudy and relentless spirits. In the meantime, I'll post some pictures of other models for you to consider building. Untill our next installment, take care and good luck, The modeling underdog

The Nakajima Showa L2D2 Navy Transport Model 11. As mentioned before, there are differences beetween a regular DC-3 and our subject of interest, the L2D. When doing the Model 11, those differences are not very difficult to reproduce. The Italeri kit is very simple in its fitting and most of the seams actually mimic part of the clad covering design so it was easy to fill and sand. With the conversin done and the model assembled I set for the painting process. Usually all of my cockpit and detail painting is done by brush, leaving the airbrush for the camo schemes and partial weathering. Painting the innards was done in several steps. The most important was to mix my own shade of interior blue/green since I was out of Tamiya's clear blue. I mixed Tamiya Blue (X-4 if I recall correctly) with H-191 Chrome Silver and gave the interior several layers until I was satisfied with it. Other colours used were black and silver for picking up dials, levers and general wear. Insignia yellow and...

The Nakajima Showa L2D2 Navy Transport Model 11. Even when the DC-3/C-47 family is famous by itself and its countless feats, I've always been fascinated by 2 of its most unlikely offsprings: the Lisunov Li-2 family (otherwise known as the PS-84 pre-1940) and the L2D series of japanese personnel/cargo transport planes. While the russian model is based on a rather heavy conversion involving changing engines, scoops, entry door/cargo hatch and several other items depending on what version you want to build, the japanese version is also a very involved conversion, but made easier based on the simplicity of changes. L2Ds were built in several versions, from the prewar L2D2 to the L2D4. All of them gave sterling service to the IJNAF, and with only some 485 built, their career spanned vast expanses of ocean in an effort to supply from air the IJN stations around the Pacific. Versions and specs of the L2D, coded "Tabby" by the Allies and called simply "Douglas" by its c...

When you talk about Junkers, it always comes to mind the rugged shape of the Ju-52 or the strange look of the Ju-87, the Stuka. Furthermore, some modelers focused on the "only aces" modeling stream will even look down on this little gem of early aviation engineering. The F.13 was the first practical, designed as such, passenger aircraft in the world. With its ruggedness, ease of flying, and closed passenger cabin, its career spanned all around the globe over 20 years and a bit more. Before and after the creation of Luft Hansa, it remained as the backbone of its fleet. While it outperformed most of the contemporary designs, it was also a bit small for the ever growing european routes both in passenger (4 seats) and mail or freight capacity, thus the G.23/24/F.24 and W.33/44 families were born. This family of planes, quite a common sight everywhere in Europe with its corrugated aluminum clad, culminated in the quite modern for the time G.31 and Ju-52. One of the least known and...