Picture of the Day - Miscellaneous (6 Viewers)

[Viking1066]

I was thinking about something completely different: standing in front of a hobby store and looking at the models.
Where do you buy your models from and how many hobby stores (with plastic models, not for RC-fans) are there in your vicinity, let say in less than 10km/miles radius from your home?
I'm lucky - there are 2 bigger plastic models stores, approx. 15km from my home and I can visit both at the same time. I never buy from the one (because of what you mentioned above), but occasionally bring some older models from the second (they buy from modellers and sell to another with a profit, of course).
Those two are the typical "industrial units" (1-storey buildings with flat roof and steel structure) where you can have a lawyer, pet grooming or a Transylvanian clairvoyant as a neighbor. No window to look trough, no boys (older as well) standing in front of the store, no atmosphere. That's gone.

The Model Empire has a window front like that. They are about 45 minutes from here.

 

[WARSPITER]

The other option now is to get a reasonable 3D printer. The pics below are from a creality runout model I just got. This one is the plastic roll type so
small detail is more difficult sometimes compared to a resin printer. With the pricing now having both is also an option.

All the prints shown are free on the internet. There are literally thousands of items available. Purchased files can be had cheap and many are exceptional.

These ones are different scales for tests and for use in games.

The Jagdpanther with the paint on it is 1/100 scale.

The statue, Dalek, and Cyberman are 1/35 ish - dalek is not finished as I haven't glued it's eye stalk or plumbers plunger on yet.

The horse is no particular scale.

Oil drums 1/72 but they seem a bit big.

Romulan warbird is something or other scale.

The frigate is 1/1200th for Napoleonic ship gaming - print one, make a mould from window silicon, pour several more
using epoxy resin and it's done.

The trucks, Daimler Dingo and Matilda are 1/200 scale. I downloaded a few packs of vehicles that are in the Jagdpanther scale (1/100)
and scaled them down before printing. The packs I downloaded contain more than fifty WWII vehicles and variants - not bad for nothing.

Print costs are low and the speed of these newer ones is good - the Dingo was a 5 minute print.

The oil drums are the the type of thing that is the most interesting. Accessories are where the cost for a diorama can really bite. Tools,
boxes etc plus some figures adds a lot. These printers cut those costs dramatically and they are really easy to use.

Apologies for the pic quality - it's Sunday.

 

[Viking1066]

Mitsubishi J2M3 Model 21 Raiden of the 302nd Kōkūtai take off from Atsugi airbase to intercept B-29s, 1945 REDD

 

[Viking1066]

Nakajima built A6M2 Zero Model 21 of the 202 Kokutai during the 1943 New Year ceremony at a base in the southwest Pacific area (probably Timor or Celebes) FACB

 

[Zippythehog]

Mitsubishi J2M3 Model 21 Raiden of the 302nd Kōkūtai take off from Atsugi airbase to intercept B-29s, 1945 REDD
View attachment 849213

That left main doesn't look right. I wonder if the pilot has the gear selector up while relying on weight on wheels to keep them down until rotation.

 

[CATCH 22]

I have never seen a photo like this before (maybe because not too much interested in this particular a/c) but it's amazing! Has some retro-futuristic sci-fi appearance:

 

[GTX]

Good shot inside of a Wellington.

 

[Viking1066]

Kawanishi H6K 'Mavis' Type 97 Flying boat prepares to depart from Kwajalein Atoll for a patrol REDD

 

[Viking1066]

Japanese army Mitsubishi Ki-46-III of the 18th Sentai over China REDD

 

[Gnomey]

Good shots!

 

[Viking1066]

A6M5c Zero Model 52-Hei, tail code 'ヨD-131', of the 302 Kokutai at Atsugi airfield, September 1945 FACB

 

[Viking1066]

A second view of the previous Koshima Ku aircraft training for shipboard operations INHG

 

[CATCH 22]

A6M5c Zero Model 52-Hei, tail code 'ヨD-131', of the 302 Kokutai at Atsugi airfield, September 1945 FACB
View attachment 849472

There is a colorized version of this photo as well:

As per other sources this is an A6M7 Model 62.
It's hard for me to say if the cowling is really bigger than the one of model 52 but I think there is a bigger gap between the cowl and the fuselage. Check here for comparison.

 

[Viking1066]

A6M2 Zero Model 21 undergoing engine test aboard aircraft carrier Zuiho (瑞鳳), October 1942. FACB

 

[Viking1066]

IJN ace Saburo Sakai right after his near fatal mission to Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942. It took him 4 hours and 47 minutes to cover 560 nautical miles back to base FACB

 

[flypaper2222]

USS Arron Ward (DM) was hit by 6 Japanese Kamikazes and 2 bombs off the coast of Okinawa.

 

[Viking1066]

Painting out the national markings was not uncommon on Imperial Japanese Navy floatplanes during recon missions over enemy territory 1942 INHG

 

[Viking1066]

IJN Akagi 1939 CHIA

 

[Viking1066]

Shinichi Ishimaru was an ace pitcher for the Nagoya Team in Japan's professional baseball league from 1941 to 1943. On February 1944 he became a student naval pilot, joining the kamikaze corps a year later. On 11 May 1945 FACB

 

[Viking1066]

Tachikawa Ki-77 2nd long range experimental transport July 1943 downed over Indain Ocean REDD