Greetings from Nanjing, China. I distinctly remember the name of the barber shop that I visited while going to the universities in the United States years ago. The name of the barber shop was "A Cut Above".. That just popped into my mind while watching this channel. I thought it aptly describes what this channel is ... being "a cut above" ... Really enjoy the unique perspective and content.
thanks, i finally started to declutter my room. I saw an advice for people with ADHD( yeah, i struggle with cleaning a lot cause of it..), but i guess everyone can try it. Devide you space into a parts. Cupboard Bed Desk etc. If you find it it overwhelming, focus only on one shelf. Then start by working through it, and you get a feeling you are able to do it. Then repeat, i hope it helped someone : )
Paul, How right you are regarding our inspirations for modeling. We probably are the same age, as I too was into plastic models and HO trains in the 1950s, however, in 1953 when I was 6, I lived on the south shore of Long Island, New York where homes were built on canals that were dug out with drag line crawler cranes. During the summer that year when school was out, I would sit and watch a Bucyrus Erie model 22 dragline all day, each day that summer and subsequently developed a fascination for crawler mounted cranes. Fast forward to 1971 when I was employed by a large food manufacturing company as a machine design engineer, I started to use my spare time to research and design a 1/12th scale model of a P&H model 1015 crawler crane. Eventually, after retirement, I finally completed the detailed design and fabrication of this radio controlled model as can be seen in my first of several YT videos @cranemodelbuild3236. Actually during the build I used some of your recommendations, such as 50/50 soldering brass components. Thanks for ALL you do to promote modeling👍. Best Regards, Tom Garing, Rocklin, CA.
The P-38 may have an Art Deco vibe but it was not designed to have one. The early models certainly look more elegant but the later models with the enlarged chin intakes were installed performance went up. Greg's Planes and Automobiles has a good video on the P-38 and its induced and parasitic drag. The airframe was draggier than people think.
1/32 scale ( Revell 1970’s series ) seemed “too big” when I was 8 or 9, 1/48 scale ( Monogram aircraft series ) seemed like a logical approach and of course 1/72 scale ( all the Revell WWI “photograph box” series in the early 70’s ) held the real “charm” for a 9 year old - in Kresge’s or Woolworth’s ( across the street ) the Nieuport 28 and Sopwith Camel. The “photography” on the boxes was so good, you didn’t need “box art” anymore. Then came the Cox .049…… and the world changed again.
It is a lovely shape and gave the Germans fits....from wikipedia: "The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, which was the scourge of the Luftwaffe who's pilots respectfully called it the "Gabelschwanz Teufel" (Literately "Devil with the double tails") but more often just evened out to "Fork tail devil."
i'm 54 this month and i credit my elders with what my children call my very special ocd :) every thing has a place and a place for every thing. . . when you treat your tools well life returns the favor . . . everything in life is a resource. . . be it a person, place or thing it's your toolbox. . . .treat your tools well, use them as they were intended and they all will take care of you.
This is exactly why models are art-they are an expression of the builder, their interests, their tastes, style and skills, stories and messages and not those of somebody else. It does not matter whether it pleases somebody else and whether they like it or not. The moment you start trying to please somebody else (like a judge for example) you are not building for yourself anymore and you are designing (creative problem solving) for them.
I think ( IMO ) that the Republic aircraft of the same period exude the very similar “esthetic”, starting with the P-35 all the way through to the P-47N. I believe it has the same visual effect of the “shapes” of those classic Republic planes. Especially the harmony of the wingtips, and the tips of the horizontal & vertical stabilizer, that just look fantastic with the fuselage proportions. Well said. Keep your videos coming they are vert educational and inspiring.
The wings planform carried from the P-35 on through to the P-47. While R-2800 is a big radial it was not the engine that made the P-47 fuselage so large. It was the ducting for the supercharger (1) and intercooler. 1) Turbos are superchargers.
I wish kit makers use more valuable reference photos on box art images rather than inspiring but inaccurate drawings. Though I must admit I enjoy airbrushed boxarts by Akira Watanabe (Tamiya 1/24 supercars), his paintings are referential up to the smallest nuances.
Yes... But... Sometimes I have to add very minute details to a model to make it look aesthetical enough otherwise I feel something is missing. It can be hair thin black trim around blinker lights on trucks, or green tinted border around HUD glass in cockpit. Looks like we modellers are obsessed with details we first saw on prototype so the image got imprinted and later we use that as imaginary reference while modelling.
You scared me a little bit, as you said, you looked around. Because everything you said about how it looks, sounded like you was in my hobbyroom. 😅 Too many projects, far to little time.
I once built a P-38 model by carving it in basswood. It is a beautiful shape as a tactile as well as visual experience. Great fun getting the shapes and grain and sharp cutting tools in harmony.
I have often had to stop, spend 30 minutes cleaning my bench and putting things back in order - it's the only way to feel good and calm about a build. Building or painting in a clean, orderly workspace is just so much nicer!
This certainly chimes with me Paul. I've come to realise that I want my models to tell a story - even if it is only a simple story, and that the research and preparation that goes with that is as pleasurable as the build itself. Right now my problem is that I'm an 'incompetent perfectionist'; so I have to be careful when looking at a finished project to focus on how well I've done given my lack of experience, rather how short I've fallen against my aspiration.
Cool series of thought, especially the first one. Re: WW2 era planes, we're fortunate to have a group of flyers out of Burbank we call "The boys". I can always identify them in flight from their sound, and sometimes race to a window to get a glimpse. One of the planes looks to be a P38. Also, when flying a group of fighters, they always take on the missing man formation. Inspiring and emotional. Thanks for tying the streamline modern aesthetic applied to planes, never quite thought of it that way. Love that aesthetic as well, unfortunately short lived in our history. Still see a bit today, though. See the railroad engine in the latest Oz iteration. Unfortunate so many model kits are based on war. As a would-be conscientious objector, I refuse to model anything designed to kill. Still looking for a 1920s or 1930s motor yacht kit in wood and brass...
For me, building/having a model was always about getting closer to a shape/form that was functional and pleasing to the eye. Details and weathering was always less important to me.
I'd never thought of the P-38 in terms of an Art Deco aesthetic but you are spot on, it absolutely oozes it. Now I shall have to devise a paint scheme that makes it look like a 1920's racer or speed record breaker!
I currently have 8 projects sitting on my desk and I find it hard to get motivated to get any of them done. I always seem to cleaning and clearing my desk even if I'm doing anything on my projects thinking that will get me motivated but that hasn't worked. lol Thanks
Like a trip back through my early modeling days in the mid 1960s. I scoured William Green’s “Fighters of the Second World War” series. Built the Revell, Lindberg, Airfix kits, trying to visualize those references. Saw my first airshow in ‘67… Mustangs, Bearcat, in the flesh. Just more patient and method driven now.
The hobby we have is serendipitous and so there should be no sense of loss in an unfinished model, but there is an aesthetic pleasure in a clean workbench, and the imminent arrival of a new kit.
Great analysis. I think we modelers get so hidebound with detail, then every now and again we just keep it simple, build for beauty's sake, and rekindle the passion that got us into modelling in the first place.
You are so very right. When my model shop is in chaos it is a signal to me (and others) that other things aren’t in order. It’s amazing how that works.
I like to watch this as soon as I see it on my phone and then play it again on my tv as a relaxing background. Love these videos and am delighted to see a new one
This speaks to me on many levels Paul, I thankyou for taking the time to share this with us all! On the one hand, I wish the boxart for aircraft models remains as evocative and spellbinding as I've always found it - inflight - but in others, I wish for more truth in advertising, because approx. 0.5% of all new aircraft kits can actually be built in that configuration out of the box. But that's a long running problem that I don't think will resolve anytime soon. I do wonder though, if model manufacturers were forced to do wheels down only displays if they would sell as many kits? Cheers, Chris
I always light up when I see an installment from my favorite modeler! And I know, much like myself , that we all get older and I only wished I could meet you!
