STOP THE PRESSES - HERE COMES ... "KONG UP TOP 3.0" aka CIPRIANO KONG **2025 UPDATE**!!

[bucketfoot-al]

Glad to see you got some time to make progress !

Thanks! I'm trying to get a few minutes in here and there. Newest customization idea will be to leave the hangar doors open on the airship, since she is launching planes. Just need to whittle away some flashing around the opening that should not be there ... BTW, here is an AMAZING photo of the Macon I found just last night, in which you can see the open hangar doors and a Sparrowhawk that is on the crane and being lowered for launching outside the airship. Click on the photo for the full size image, it will be a fascinating look at a long-gone chapter of US Naval aviation history ...

[Trekkriffic]

The Macon is really going to be the frosting on the cake I think. Good work so far. Silvery grey sounds like the perfect color.

[Trekkriffic]

Yahoo! Closing in on…

200,O00 !!!

[bucketfoot-al]

Yahoo! Closing in on…

200,O00 !!!

I AM? Better check quick!!!

[bucketfoot-al]

Today ... is "DECAL DAY" .... or, more accurately, "Struggling with Decals Day"

I got the Macon to the "Decal Point" (engines and tail elevator struts to be affixed AFTER decals are on) ... and ... promptly hit a snag.

See the tri-color tail fin markings bundled up in a bunch over on the left? Yeah - NO. They are a bit too big (or I didn't know what I was doing) so they ... didn't go on well ... I removed them and ordered another set (thank you Warbird Decals - again! )

On the plus side, I DID manage to get the starboard side decals on, along with the gondola windows and all 3 star markings ... tonight I will do the other side decals, then start assembling the engines and tail elevator struts, to have them "pre-positioned" for affixing to the ship after the tail decals arrive and are affixed - following a scissors TRIMMING - to avoid what happened earlier happening again ...


... anyway ... "CARPE DIEM!" Onwards and Upwards!!!

[barad_dur]

Wow - that airship is looking great !
Keep after it !

[bucketfoot-al]

Wow - that airship is looking great !
Keep after it !

Thank you! I would have messed the decals up much worse had I not been following Trekkriffic's "how to"!!!!!

I also ripped off the rear fin additional exterior strut supports (they looked way too thick at this scale), which weren't even installed til the very end of her life (part of a hull strengthening that was never fully finished which directly caused the mishap when she was lost - the damaged interior girders holding up the top tail fin failed when the ship was hit by an unexpected gust of wind above the Pacific off the CA coast. Ironically this was the very last repair to be made but was judged not dangerous enough to abort the mission. Idiots!) In any event, none of the photos of the Macon show these supports because they were on for such a short time - and they just ruin the "flow" of the airship's lines.

I also glued on the hangar doors, then, upon positioning the ship in the alcove, realized they should remain open to emphasize the fact that the Sparrowhawk doing battle with Kong came FROM IN THERE.

All in all, my first airship kit in 4 1/2 DECADES (I built a Hindenburg back in 1975-76). You can't make this stuff up ...

[barad_dur]

Yeah, thank goodness Trekriffic is always willing to share his expertise
Yet another reason why I like the clubhouse site way better than the various FB sites…

[tay666]

[Trekkriffic]

Yeah, thank goodness Trekriffic is always willing to share his expertise
Yet another reason why I like the clubhouse site way better than the various FB sites…

Thanks Joe!



Hey Vlad, did I forget to mention decals should go on over a glossy finish? And once dry you should seal the decals with the same gloss you used underneath the decals? just checking.

[bucketfoot-al]

Yeah, thank goodness Trekriffic is always willing to share his expertise
Yet another reason why I like the clubhouse site way better than the various FB sites…

Thanks Joe!



Hey Vlad, did I forget to mention decals should go on over a glossy finish? And once dry you should seal the decals with the same gloss you used underneath the decals? just checking.

Yes, you did - but I decided to paint the Macon with simple acrylic paints - not the usual airplane enamel. I do put the curing solution on the area before applying the decal, then more curing solution over the decal once in place. It is what it is. Its gonna be "flying" way above the scene, so no one will ever be taking a close look.

[Trekkriffic]

You can always apply a quick spray of Dullcote over acrylic paint you know. You want a sealing coat on the decals. Just sayin’.

[bucketfoot-al]

You can always apply a quick spray of Dullcote over acrylic paint you know. You want a sealing coat on the decals. Just sayin’.

Thanks! Come to think of it I remember doing that exact same thing on the plane for my last Kong build last year. It'll have to wait till everything on the ship is completed, which will hopefully happen next weekend.

[bucketfoot-al]

Big weekend coming up! My wife will be away - so I get to play! But only for a day and a half. She's going up to North Texas and bringing back down her dad, who will be living about 5 minutes away from us.

So, this is my weekend for the big paint up. No, not the kit. This is the weekend that I will repaint the entire display alcove in our hallway. I have already taped off the edges, and have a professionally mixed can of sky blue paint. This will be the background to the Giant Kong up top 3.0 kit.

After the blue paint dries, I will paint a couple of clouds on it. And, there is the prospect of being able to finish the Macon airship too, because I expect that the additional decals should be arriving within the next couple of days.

I will post updates as circumstances warrant. Stay tuned.

[barad_dur]

Wow…this should be epic

[bucketfoot-al]

Alcove painting is ... IN PROGRESS!!!!

[bucketfoot-al]

To get myself going (first coat is done - now to do a little work while it dries), I turned on the Elton John Central Park Concert from 1980 on youtube and CRANKED IT!! And then ... just for you ... I did a few screen grabs from "Philadelphia Freedom" ... during which you can see ME in the crowd, clapping with my arms up over my head, wearing a white baseball jersey with blue sleeves and a white baseball cap - on which I had put about a half dozen Elton John buttons ... I had SLEPT overnight in Central Park on the grass - with a few hundred other fans - just so I could be "up front" for this half-a-million person concert ... BTW the arrows are pointing to MOI in the screen grabs below ... you can't make this stuff up ... click on the pics to enlarge ... (the things I do just for you guys ...) and here you thought I was only crazy about 'bashes, eh?

[Trekkriffic]

So what does the missus get for letting you take over a whole alcove with all this business?

Lovely shade of blue by the way.

[bucketfoot-al]

So what does the missus get for letting you take over a whole alcove with all this business?

Lovely shade of blue by the way.

She and her son get to bring her dad to his new home, that's what. He's an 85-year old retired Army LTC Vietnam combat vet. He became widowed last year and has lived since then with his younger brother in Littleton, TX. Now he'll be close to us and right in big ole San Antone where there's stuff to do.

Like going to the rotating restaurant atop the Tower of the Americas - which we are doing Sunday.

Anyhow ... back to the alcove I go ... to touch up the missed spots ... and then, fingers-crossed, start painting a couple of clouds ...

[barad_dur]

Hah, thats amazing that you found yourself in pics from that madhouse

It’s great having a wife that fully supports your hobby !

Good luck with the painting