Testors Messerschmitt Me 321 B-1 Gigant

And we’ll start with the glider!  The first kit built in this series was the Testors Messerschmitt Me 321 B-1 Gigant (Giant) Troop Carrying Glider.  It represented the gliders used on the Eastern Front of WWII in 1941-2. ​As I recall,  I bought it when we were on vacation at Newport Beach, when Bill and I went to Brookhurst Hobbies in Southern California during that vacation week.  ​

This was in the days where I had not yet learned to hoard models, building them as soon as I bought them.  Since it was also acquired before contest-modeling days, I built it quickly, as it was finished on August 30, 1983.   Another result of not worrying about contest building was output.  I did keep records of my production back then and finished 20 models in 1983! ​

​As I recall the Gigant was a fun project, albeit a very large model.  Simultaneously, I built the Testors He-111Z Zwilling since I bought it at the same time and finished it on September 18, 1983.  The color scheme was exactly the same as the Gigant glider, so it made sense to build them both together.  The Zwilling was also a fun project with its five engines.  Pictures of it will have to wait for another day.  Back then, I displayed my models in an unused room in my dental office and had both of them together on the same shelf.

Heller Lockheed L-749 Constellation

The first large airliner kit I built was the Heller Lockheed L-749 Constellation Airliner.  It was purchased for me at the late, great San Antonio Hobby shop in Mountain View, California in 1984, by a brother-in-law, and started almost immediately.  It also was built before I learned about competition modeling.

I was a faster builder in those days and started and finished the model within two months, beginning on October 9, 1984 and finishing on December 3, 1984. I still got a good result using Testors Model Master Paint and the Air France decals that came with the kit.  The scheme appealed to me since I lived in France for a year when I was young.          ​

Heller Douglas DC-6B Super Cloudmaster

Connie’s companion in my display case is the Heller Douglas DC-6B Super Cloudmaster as it appeared in 1953 with United Airlines markings made from Liveries Unlimited Decals. 

I purchased the DC-6 model at a NUSMA (Northern Utah Scale Modeler's Association) meeting in October 1988 and spent only $9.00 on it.  It took me a few years to finish it, starting in December 2010 and working on it on and off until I finally finished it in October 2013.

​By then, I was building for contests and unintentionally began hoarding models since they were being purchased faster than they could be built.  The DC-6 sat for a while and took a few years to finish once I began building.  I also added some details to the landing gear bays.  The model’s Achilles Heel is weak front landing gear with no tensile strength, but the result was good enough to place at the IPMS Nationals in Omaha in 2017.

I thought it would be fun to photograph both models together.  The Connie compares nicely to the DC-6 in the photos.  The decals really liven up both models.

Hasegawa Avro Lancaster B

This Avro Lancaster B is the 1/72 Hasegawa kit, which I bought at the erstwhile GreatModels (now Sprue Brothers) Webstore in August 2005 at a discount.  It cost $45.00, but the retail price soon went to over $60.00.  The RAF Heavy Bomber with its H2S Antenna fairing was built straight out of the box in 2009 using kit decals to represent a bomber from the No. 467 Squadron, Summer 1944.  This model took second place in its category at the IPMS Nationals in Phoenix in 2010.  Note the nice set of bombs that comes with the kit.

Monogram Convair B-36

Dick's first Monogram Convair B-36 is on the left.  Important Dem Brudders trivia fact:  When Dick was a practicing dentist, he hid his dental gold supply in the model's bomb bay!

Monogram Models' 1/48 B-29 was hailed as the biggest injection-molded kit available after its release in 1977.  In 1980, Monogram eclipsed the B-29 in the size department with the B-36, in the smaller scale of 1/72. 

I acquired my first B-36 not long after the kit came out.  I ordered it from the drug store closest to my office where I had an account back in the days when drug stores often had a good supply of model kits.  I did not keep a record of what I paid for it, but it was a lot less than what the kit retails for now!  I spent a lot of time at the end of 1982 working on it and finished in on January 14, 1983.  Of course it was an interesting project due to the sheer size of the model. 

My first B-36 was also built during my pre-contest period and thus had a few unfilled seams as the picture shows.  I used an early type of silver paint I bought at Douglas Models – I can’t remember the brand or name.  

I used a couple of silver shades and utilized a Sharpie pen to do the wing lines.  I used Testor’s flat clear paint as an overcoat and may have even resorted to a spray can due to the sheer size of the model. The kit decals represent  the 42nd Bomb Wing based at Loring AFB in Maine. 

I had to make a custom shelf to display the giant model, but it was always a major wish-list kit for me prior to its release and the extra efforts needed to provide its new home were worth it.   You don't see many of them on contest tables, and who knows; I may have been one of the first modelers to finish the kit after it was released!

Well, just one of these crazy-big Monogram B-36 kits was not enough for me.  Friend and neighbor Tom Gurell came to the rescue with another new kit for my birthday in 1993 when I turned 40.  This gift means a lot to me, as Tom, an accomplished figure modeler, died of cancer in 2005.  I did not get geared up to build it until more recently.  I had been enjoying my Testors Metalizer paints and decided it was time for a good challenge, so I pulled the kit out in 2010 and decided to add a few extra details, which I don’t usually do.  It was painted according to the various reference materials I accrued. ​

It took several months with the interior details I added and photographed, and it has at least six different Metalizer paints on it from non-buffing aluminum, to magnesium, and gun metal.   I used Warbird Decals which had the wing-walk markings and represented a USAF SAC Heavy Bomber of the 11th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, Carswell AFB, Texas, in 1953.  

The extensive project really slowed down my model building!  It was basically the only model I worked on in 2011 and was the only “new” model I finished in 2012, as I spent the rest of the time rebuilding or refurbishing some previously built models.  I finally finished the project on January 1, 2012!

A lot of things can go wrong with large models and any problems are magnified when perused by contest judges.   The model placed at the IPMS Nationals in Colorado in 2013.  However, I got more attention for my DC-3 as part of Dem Brudders infamous 24-hour contest build back then.  More on that in the future.  Transporting a 1/72 scale B-36 model is no picnic, either, as I basically had to custom build a box to fit it in!

​The pictures show how the ungainly models did not fit well on my photography set-up and it was hard to even get good photos of one of them at a time. And how many people do you know that built two of them!?!  The photos show the various shades of Metalizer in the newer version and both models look pretty decent when photographed together.  The one wide angle view shows one of my display cases as a bonus for you!

Displaying these large B-36 models in a display case is also tricky.  Bill got the big case for me that I keep them in, but even as big as it is, I had to take the back sliding doors off and hung a paper drape-backing as the tails and wings stick out the back.  Ultimately I am going to need to get a wider, bigger case that I can put more of my larger 1/72 models into that hopefully will solve the problem.  So I have to dust the beasts every now and then.

Revell hypothetical Northrop B-2 Bomber

Now, it is time for jets only (the B-36 is a hybrid!).  The Revell hypothetical Northrop B-2 Bomber kit was given to me for Christmas by my wife (!) in Christmas 1987.  This kit was released about a year or so before the actual B-2 was revealed to the press on November 22, 1988.

I began work on it in May 1988, but got bogged down after I learned about the extra vigilance needed for contest building.  I was foolish enough to try to finish it as a contest model, and did not get it done until November 1991 (a three-year build!). 

The major construction snafu is that following the instructions causes you fits as you assemble right and left wings separately, and the fuselage center separately.  It is when you try to glue these three assemblies together that you'll discover a nasty fit discrepancy.  If anyone out there still wants to build one, assemble the top fuselage portions first, then the bottom portions, and glue the triangles together and you will have a far easier time!

But who is going to build one now anyway.  Any kits left are in a collection hoarder’s pile waiting for the value to go up to put them on e-bay.  I just saw one advertised – built – for $50.00.  We wonder if this one will ever see a re-release since it became obsolete once the real B-2 showed up.

The pictures show some of the interesting curves and nuances.  I shot a view of the bottom where Revell molded the landing gear from their B-1 kit along with the cruise missiles seen in the bomb bay for that kit.  The model has never placed at Nationals but won a first place at a local contest in 1993 and placed at a Regional so what the heck!  And wait until I try to build the Model Technologies vacuform B-2 hypothetical!

Airfix Avro Vulcan

The Airfix Avro Vulcan was the next big jet I worked on in my quest to get good at building large aircraft models.  It has an interesting history, as it was refurbished.  I bought the MPC/Airfix kit from the local pharmacy I mentioned in August 1982 for all of $13.00.   But then, I set it aside for a few years and did not get it finished until 1986.  I had started to learn the rudiments of usual contest standards so I did a good enough job on it that it won First Place in two local contests in 1988 and 1990.

But then in 2002, I decided it would be fun to re-finish it to represent the Vulcan flown in 1982 during the Falklands War and Operation Black Buck, where it flew nonstop from England to The Falklands Islands to bomb the Port Stanley Airport runway.  I bought a C-Scale Shrike Missile Weapons Set and found decals to represent the 101st Squadron, Aircraft XM 597. 

I had to fix up a few things including a repaint of the underside with the darker gray color it had on the bottom for the war per references I had.  The Shrike missiles had an interesting scheme as well and I took a close-up of them for your enjoyment.  Alas, the model has never placed at IPMS Nationals but so, what!  I have acquired a couple more kits for cents on the dollar and plan to build one in the all-white scheme as it would look super cool!

Matchbox Handley Page Victor

I had to follow-up the Vulcan with the last British V-Bomber, the Handley Page Victor.  I bought the Matchbox kit at the San Antonio Hobby Shop in April 1985.  It also had to wait a few years to get built and I had a major disaster, being foolish.

I started this Victor in late 1988, and at that time, I built models at home on my kitchen table and painted them at my office where I had a central large compressor for my air-driven handpiece (the name dentists use for the infamous drill).  I had cleverly figured out how to hook it up to my airbrush.  One cold February morning, I had transported the model in my Honda Civic Wagon with the intention of bringing it inside, but I had my hands full and left it in the car.  I got distracted, and it sat in the car all day.  Well, the sun came out!  Even though it was February, it beat down through the car window and as you guessed, warped the starboard wing.  I discovered my indiscretion in the late afternoon when I finally had time to go out and get the model.  Crap!  I took it home and tried to straighten the wing out to no avail. 

I went ahead and finished the model as a tanker from Squadron 57, RAF Marham on October 21, 1989 and from the view in the photos it does not look bad, especially in my display case next to the Vulcan, but it won’t win any contests.  Oh, well!

ESCI Tupolev Tu-22 "Blinder"

The Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder was another jet aircraft model that had me licking my chops with anticipation when ESCI released it.  I ordered it from Squadron and started it in August 1993 and had it finished in a little over six months on March 9, 1994. 

This was the first model I painted with Testors Metalizer.  I used two shades of aluminum/steel, and it turned out well with a lot of sanding and polishing required.  The model garnered an Out-of-Box award at the IMPS Nationals in 1998 at Santa Clara, CA.

I used kit decals to represent a Soviet Air Force bomber based in Irkutsk in 1962. 

It scared the wits out of the US Air Force brass when it was first observed, but turned out to be a gas guzzler that Soviet pilots hated.  It had a downward ejection system, was called the flying awl, and was derogatorily labeled the “Flying Coffin, Varnish Guaranteed!”  But it has always gotten a lot of attention for being a sleek, impressive looking jet.

AMTech Boeing EC-135N ARIA 

Another Jet I pulled out that will soon to grace this website with more detail is the AMTech kit of the Boeing EC-135N ARIA (Apollo Range Instrumental Aircraft). I could not resist buying it from Douglas Models for $40.48 when I saw it there in March 2003 as I had seen one flying around Wright-Patterson AFB museum when I was there in fall 1980. 

The EC-135 N had an ALOTS pod (Airborne Light Optical Tracking System and was use to photograph and track the Apollo Moon launches and recoveries in the early 1970s.  The AMTech model took a while to build as I started it in January 2007, and did not finish it until March 25, 2008.  I used kit decals representing the 4556th Test Group, A.F. East Test Range at Patrick AFB, FL.

Heller C-135FR

Featured in the current January/February 2020 issue of the IPMS Journal is my Heller C-135FR.  If you haven't yet joined the IPMS/USA, why not sign up today!  The Heller C-135FR was given to me for my birthday in 2015.  I started it in October 2017, and finished it on July 30, 2018.  I used kit decals to make a French Armee de L’air Tanker at ERV 00.093 at Bretagne.  Sorry, but I did not pull it out of my display case for photos as it is not easy to get out without breaking something off!  It won an award at the 2018 IPMS Nationals in Phoenix.  So you will have to see it basking in all its glory, barely fitting along with the EC-135N in its display case.

Minicraft KC-135A/E/R (1/144 Scale)

Excuse us while we cheat a little in this 1/72 gallery by throwing in some 1/144 scale stuff.  While I was taking pictures of the C-135FR in my display case I thought I would shoot my three 1/144 scale Minicraft KC-135 models, which are also to be covered elsewhere in this website.  If you count them, the C-135 is the most well represented subject in my collection with five variants, two in /72 scale and three in 1/144.  Second place are four Mig-15's, all in 1/72 scale.

Lockheed HC-130H (Italeri, Conversion)

Bonus Content:  Finally, as I was leaving, I thought I should at least photograph three more large 1/72 scale aircraft I have in my collection, different versions of the C-130, from outside their display case.  The most recent one I built was a HC-130H that I finished in 2017.  The model had been given to me by longtime friend of Dem Brudders, Master Modeler John Tate of NM, who started the Italeri kit but left a lot of work to do.  I added a Fulton Recovery system from a vacuform and white metal set given to me by the late Mike Smith, and painted it as it appeared based in Viet Nam in 1969. 

Testors C-130E

The next one is a Testors C-130E I originally built in the early 1980s, but refurbished to contest standards and finished in December 1989 just in time to enter a NUSMA mini contest.  This model won a first place at one of those hard-to-win mini contests so this model always has a warm place in my heart.  I had tried and tried, but never even placed in one of those mini contests before!  It also represents one of the Entebbe raiders that rescued Israeli hostages from the clutches of Idi Amin in 1976.

Testors EC-130E

The final model in the set is a Testors EC-130E that I built for a display at Hill Air Force Base in the commander’s building.  It was a big model, and they decided it was too big for their display area, so I got it back.  I decided to scratch build an ABCCC AN/USC Capsule which slid into the back cargo gate on the aircraft based on pictures I had in the C-130 Squadron/Signal publication.  The airplane had antennae and wires all over it and it was completed in April 1999 in markings appropriate for the 388th TFW at Hill.  It placed at IPMS Nationals in Phoenix in 2010.

So, that it is for now as far as big models that are generally not easy to fit in a display case!