unclescott58

Look what came in today's mail. It's not an airplane kit. This is another one of those kits I've wanted to own for about 50 years, after seeing it as kid. And one I'm sure my mother would never have approved of. So I never got one until now. It's the Polar Lights repop of the Aurora Chamber of Horrors Guillotine. With both a normal and "glow in the dark" victim. Cool! I love it.

Nice. ??

"Grandma. I am seven months old today. Clayton"? Wow! That's incredible handwriting for a seven month old! ?

Yesterday I showed my latest acquisition, the Williams Bros. 1/32 scale Gee Bee R-1 Racer. I also showed one picture showing how it compared the Lindberg 1/32 scale Gee Bee R-1. If you go back a page or two, you will see that right around two weeks ago, I also acquired the Williams Bros. 1/32 scale Gee Bee "Z" Racer. I thought it might be interesting to see how the two Williams Bros. Gee Bees compare to each other. In real life the Gee Bee Z came first in 1931. The very similar Gee Bee R-1 and R-2 came along a year later. The big difference, other than paint colors, that stands out between the Z and the two Rs is the location of the cockpit. The R's cockpits sat right in front of the tail of plane. The Z's cockpit is a little forward of that. The difference between the R-1 and R-2? Basically the engine and engine cowling. R-1 raced under the number 11. R-2, 7. Beyond that, they are pretty close. The Williams Bros. R-1 kit comes with the parts and decals to build it as the R-2. As a side note. For those of you who love the Rocketeer movie, like I do. The plane that Howard Hughes gives Cliff at the end of the movie, is a replica of The Gee Bee Z. As dangerous as the Gee Bees could be to fly, neither the original Z, or either R racers still exist. All three being wrecked in accidents. They were very fast planes. But, tough to handle, and killed several of their pilots. And that goes for all Gee Bee models. My question, is why Howard didn't give Cliff a Hughes H-1 in the movie, rather than a Gee Bee built by someone else? Back to the Williams Bros. Gee Bee kits. The Gee Bee R-1 is the one molded in the white plastic. The Gee Bee Z, in gray. You can tell these are of for sure the same scale. They compare size wise, very close. The level of detail between the kits is fairly close too. Both easily beating Lindberg Gee Bee in size and detail. Though again, other than being too big for 1/32 scale, looks pretty good. One last thing. Last night I decided I needed to add the old Hawk, later Testors 1/48 scale Gee Bee R-1 to my collection. So I ordered one on eBay. If people are interested, I'm willing to show photos comparing that kit to the Williams Bros. and Lindberg R-1 kits, after I get it.

The recent airplane obsession continues. In today's mail I got the Williams Bros. 1/32 scale Gee Bee R-1 Racer. And also the book by Carroll V. Glines, Roscoe Turner, Aviation's Master Showman. A book that is part of the Smithsonian History of Aviation Series. The photos below show the Williams Bros. Gee Bee R-1 by itself. And then in comparison to Lindberg's model of the same subject, in supposably the same scale. Naturally the Williams Bros. kit is by far the better of the two. More accurate details. And more details in general. Mainly things like cockpit and engine. What surprises me, is comparing the two kits size wise. I knew the Lindberg kit was big for being 1/32 scale. But, it's really not that much bigger the 1/32 scale Williams Bros. kit. As you can see below. I'm not sure what to make of that?

Did not notice that. Still it doesn't look like a 4x4 to me. It sits way too low for a factory built 4x4. Plus does not have the correct front hubs, that 4x4 Fords would have come with back then. Without seeing more of the model, I question what's being hand written on an entry form. Maybe it is, but I'm questioning it.

Thanks for the look Tim. I can't wait to get my hands on this one.

How did you determine the truck shown in the first picture was a 4x4? It looks like it's 2-wheel drive to me.

Yea, I too have very fond memories of the Weekly Reader.

Good news Joe. Thanks for letting me know. There are at least two kits from what you've shown above that I want to add to my collection. The 1/24 scale Gemini. And the 1/96 scale Columbia and Eagle. In the case of the Columbia/Eagle kit, I want to build as shown on the box art of the original release back in 1967. Totally incorrect. But it was the first Apollo kit I built back then. The incorrect version shown on the original Revell '67 box has a simple charm I'd like to replicate. After all it represents the way we thought the real Apollo was going to look like, from reading kids books on the subject, and our Weekly Readers newspapers of the time. Plus, for a correct version of the Columbia and Eagle, I have Dragon Models 1/72 Apollo 11 "Lunar Landing" set.

This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. It's a shame that the above kit has not been brought back because of that. Or for that matter, the other great Apollo kits Revell should still have the dies to?

That is one of those rare bargains that can not be passed up. Very nice.

Another airplane model came in today's mail. This time it's Williams Bros. 1/32 scale Wendell-Williams Racer. It can be built one of three ways. Being a fan of Roscoe Turner, I plan on building it as his plane, #121 the "Gilmore Red Lion." I love those 1930's racing planes.

Sad. Not just his passing. But his life in general. If he hadn't gotten in his own way, he could have been a much bigger star. Another very talented person that drugs and alcohol destroyed.

The early second gen MPC promo model came with a vinyl roof. I don't think the kits ever did.

Stunning! I love it.

Amazing. Cool to see.

I was looking at styling. The looks are nice, but non anything really special. I expect more from Pininfarina in the looks department.

Very nice. But nothing really makes it stand from other cars of the type. Good. But not great.

I got a new sprue cutter I saw recommended by a model builder on YouTube. They're designed with a slightly narrower jaw to get closer to the parts on the tree. It looks better than my old Revell ProModeler sprue cutters. But not by much. The old Revell cutters still work well, but we'll see if these work any better? I've had such good luck with Tamiya products in the past, that I expect I'll be pleased with these.

Below is my just finished Lindberg 1/32 scale model of Roscoe Turner's 1938-'39 Thompson Trophy winning airplane. Simple model overall. Detail and fit is fair. It has some features I question a need for. The has movable ailerons, elevators, and rudder? They work okay, but I'm not sure how to use them for display purposes? The plane itself looks bigger than 1/32 scale. The pilot, Turner, looks way too small. Too small for the plane. And maybe too small even for 1/32 scale. The decals with one exception went down pretty well. The only problem was with the registration number on the underside of the left wing. And then it was very minor. All in all the kit turned okay. I'm pleased.

I've never meet Mrs. Snake, but she can't be all that bad that you have to sneak things into the house... On second thought, if they're like some of the women I've been with I the past. Good luck. ?

No need to shave off the fake spare, a.k.a. the toilet seat, on these kits. It's a separate piece, and an option on the Imperial Crown models in '59.

AMT's '57 Chrysler 300 from the 1990's maybe your best bet. Wheelbase is different by 3" on the real cars. But, engine and chassis will be much closer than what you would get AMT's Christine Plymouth kit.

Any photos? Even seeing the unopened boxes would be appreciated.