any pics, cookie? is there a site with your stuff? i would love to see more
of
your work. i think i've only seen a panther, some time back.

I've done a number of articles for both FSM and Military Modelling, as
well as the AMPS BORESIGHT and a few IPMS Updates and Journals. Plenty
of items out there in the ether...

Cookie Sewell
i was hoping you had a pic site. seems like a natural...if you can afford to

Have you ever been able to do it?

Have you ever started with one of the worst
damned dogs of a kit and ended up with a
masterpiece?

If so, what kit was it, what made it better,
how long did it take?

Please, don't say, "I started out with the
'08 Tami-Hase-Tale-Jimi kit and it's _ALL_
wrong because of the panel lines being
raised... blah blah blah." Tell us about
the Lindberg kit that Had solid plastic rail-
ings around the deck and you strung cat
hair between stretched sprue for eight
years.

Here's an example: Recently I took an
OLD Hasegawa 1/72 scale (God's OWN
scale!) F-102 and with an Airwaves
seat and PE set, some decals from an
older Matchbox kit, a ton of research
photos, weapons from Hasegawa weap-
ons kits, and a lot of patience I was able
to turn out a masterpiece. I had to cut
out the canopy railing from the fuselage,
add some bulkheads, and even filled in
the weapons doors so that it appeared to
have the 2.75" Mighty Mouse rockets.

It took me about a month of effort, but I
had a blast with it.

What's your silk purse story dudes?

On Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:59:38 -0500, William Banaszak





vze3z... at (no spam) verizon.net> wrote:
hill4... at (no spam) gmail.com wrote:
Have you ever been able to do it?

Have you ever started with one of the worst
damned dogs of a kit and ended up with a
masterpiece?

If so, what kit was it, what made it better,
how long did it take?

Please, don't say, "I started out with the
'08 Tami-Hase-Tale-Jimi kit and it's _ALL_
wrong because of the panel lines being
raised...  blah blah blah."  Tell us about
the Lindberg kit that Had solid plastic rail-
ings around the deck and you strung cat
hair between stretched sprue for eight
years.

Here's an example:  Recently I took an
OLD Hasegawa 1/72 scale (God's OWN
scale!) F-102 and with an Airwaves
seat and PE set, some decals from an
older Matchbox kit, a ton of research
photos, weapons from Hasegawa weap-
ons kits, and a lot of patience I was able
to turn out a masterpiece.  I had to cut
out the canopy railing from the fuselage,
add some bulkheads, and even filled in
the weapons doors so that it appeared to
have the 2.75" Mighty Mouse rockets.

It took me about a month of effort, but I
had a blast with it.

What's your silk purse story dudes?

   After some long thought, I'd guess it was the Yak-7 kit that was
leaking out of Eastern Europe back in the '90s.  I bought a couple over
time and had fun making a reasonable shelf model out of each.  Aviation
Usk sold them as 'the worst kit of all time' but with time and patience
they weren't half as bad as that.  There were extra parts in the kit to
make the 'razorback', bubble canopy and the -7V two-seat trainer.  The
decals were the worst part but I didn't use them as there was only
markings for one aircraft.  I picked my own markings from aftermarket
sheets and the spares box.
   While not a lousy kit per se, I did one car kitbash out of two kits,
strip styrene and some home cast parts.  I've wanted a '62 Dodge 880 for
years and had figured out to go about it back in the '60s.  The problem
then and for some time was the lack of a usable, obtainable '61 Dodge.
When JoHan re-released their old promos under the X-El name it became an
attainable goal.
   The model I had in mind required removing the front of the '61 Dodge
back to the leading edge of the doors and removing the front of the '63
Chrysler 300 to the same depth.  Oddly the Chrysler body was deeper than
the Dodge and some body sectioning was required.
   The '62 Dodge had a different trim strip on the bodyside and the
originals on both bodies were removed and a strip of Evergreen plastic
that had been rounded by sanding was glued on in the new position.
   The '62 had at least two obvious 'fratzogs' that had to be added..
Since I had an unbuilt '63 Polara I rubbed aluminium foil down on the
proudest example on that body.  I made sure to do that about four times
and then filled those with tube glue.  After they had cured I popped
them lose and painted them silver.  Taking my lens to check them I
picked the two best and attached them to the body and grille after
trimming the 'flash'.
   Since the car was not going to be 100% stock I left a couple items
off the model but now I have a Dodge that not everybody has.  It looks
good sitting in the cabinet with the other Dodges I have finished.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

Not a masterpiece but I have recently finished a Kitech DH Vampire
after buying it reluctantly (I am not keen on counterfeiters but could
not find the Hobbycraft original).
It came out not too bad and the dreaded anhedral wing was not present
so Kitech must have corrected the original mould error. I guess that
makes it a derative, not a true pirate copy. It got finished as the
Gate Guardian at RNZAF Ohakea with the aid of lasertrans decals. It
shares a shelf with an Ocidental Harvard and an MPM P-51D, both in
RNZAF markings.

Worst kit I have built was a Russian 1:48 scale Yak 3 that I picked up
locally on auction. No cockpit or undercart (a stand like the old
Airfix 1:72s), raised decal guides and a canopy that was only
approximately the shape of the fuselage recess. The wing needed work
with a fine wood rasp to shape it something near correct. It looks
like a Yak 3 in dim light from a distance. A friend in Moscow tells me
it was made back in the 80s and a local source has said that quite a
few of them came in on chartered Russian fishing boats to generate
some pocket money for the crew.

Tony
Chch NZ- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

hill4448 at (no spam) gmail.com wrote:
Have you ever been able to do it?

Have you ever started with one of the worst
damned dogs of a kit and ended up with a
masterpiece?

If so, what kit was it, what made it better,
how long did it take?

Please, don't say, "I started out with the
'08 Tami-Hase-Tale-Jimi kit and it's _ALL_
wrong because of the panel lines being
raised... blah blah blah." Tell us about
the Lindberg kit that Had solid plastic rail-
ings around the deck and you strung cat
hair between stretched sprue for eight
years.

Here's an example: Recently I took an
OLD Hasegawa 1/72 scale (God's OWN
scale!) F-102 and with an Airwaves
seat and PE set, some decals from an
older Matchbox kit, a ton of research
photos, weapons from Hasegawa weap-
ons kits, and a lot of patience I was able
to turn out a masterpiece. I had to cut
out the canopy railing from the fuselage,
add some bulkheads, and even filled in
the weapons doors so that it appeared to
have the 2.75" Mighty Mouse rockets.

It took me about a month of effort, but I
had a blast with it.

What's your silk purse story dudes?


After some long thought, I'd guess it was the Yak-7 kit that was
leaking out of Eastern Europe back in the '90s. I bought a couple over
time and had fun making a reasonable shelf model out of each. Aviation
Usk sold them as 'the worst kit of all time' but with time and patience
they weren't half as bad as that. There were extra parts in the kit to
make the 'razorback', bubble canopy and the -7V two-seat trainer. The
decals were the worst part but I didn't use them as there was only
markings for one aircraft. I picked my own markings from aftermarket
sheets and the spares box.
While not a lousy kit per se, I did one car kitbash out of two kits,
strip styrene and some home cast parts. I've wanted a '62 Dodge 880 for
years and had figured out to go about it back in the '60s. The problem
then and for some time was the lack of a usable, obtainable '61 Dodge.
When JoHan re-released their old promos under the X-El name it became an
attainable goal.
The model I had in mind required removing the front of the '61 Dodge
back to the leading edge of the doors and removing the front of the '63
Chrysler 300 to the same depth. Oddly the Chrysler body was deeper than
the Dodge and some body sectioning was required.
The '62 Dodge had a different trim strip on the bodyside and the
originals on both bodies were removed and a strip of Evergreen plastic
that had been rounded by sanding was glued on in the new position.
The '62 had at least two obvious 'fratzogs' that had to be added.
Since I had an unbuilt '63 Polara I rubbed aluminium foil down on the
proudest example on that body. I made sure to do that about four times
and then filled those with tube glue. After they had cured I popped
them lose and painted them silver. Taking my lens to check them I
picked the two best and attached them to the body and grille after
trimming the 'flash'.
Since the car was not going to be 100% stock I left a couple items
off the model but now I have a Dodge that not everybody has. It looks
good sitting in the cabinet with the other Dodges I have finished.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.