China unrest

Latest news here.

F4F at the finish line

Here it is.  Not much left to do.

F4F-3

 I hope to have this done for Omaha.

China gets agressive

As we in the US become more preoccupied with matters at home, China is taking advantage to expand its influence and flex its muscles.  An example is here.

Seller beware

In my business, I see sellers who have unwisely extended credit.  Mostly, this is from a failure to do some basic credit checks.  However, there is a growing industry that makes it harder for even the dilligent credit executive to make good decisions.  Read about it here.

Jim Bates models even more.

Jim Bates is shaming me by his current modeling binge.  Here is a Spit he is working on.

Spit cockpit.

 Spit with wings.

Spitfire with wings

 

Modeling DVD review: Realistic WWII Aircraft Finishing Techniques

DVD

Realistic WWII Aircraft Finishing Techniques by Geoff Illsley.

I got this DVD a couple of years ago at an IPMS/USA Nats.  I think it was Va. Beach, VA in 2006.  That year in the vendors area were a lot of modeling DVDs.  Frankly it appeared to be an up and coming area of the hobby.  It didn’t exactly develop that way.  The internet and mobile devices seem to have occupied some of the “space” that I though DVDs might fill in the hobby.

In any event, this is a DVD, as the title implies, that covers finishing techniques for WWII aircraft.  The DVD covers the basics of painting, preshading, decals, weathering as well as bare metal finishes.  It isn’t a bad DVD, though I suspect that anyone who has been modeling a few years knows most of the techniques.  I enjoyed the DVD and it does make for a nice presentation at a club meeting.  If you know a beginning modeler, you could give this to them and it would help them out.  For a more experienced modeler, it does serve as a nice refresher, though I doubt the more experienced modeler will pick up anything meaningful.

More proof that the Chinese are not our friends

I wonder how many of these types of things we haven’t caught.

E-publishing

I’ve had a couple of posts on this subject.  Now, someone has become the first to publish an ebook that sold a million copies.  Story here. 

More Jim Bates modeling

Jim works on a Swordfish.  Where oh where is the Hurricane.

Swordfish

Lightbulbs

I’ve commented before on the stupid upcoming federal lightbulb ban.  Now, this story indicates that the Congress may be close to enacting a repeal.  I’ll believe it when I see it.