I've got a pic posted on abms...

Look for the one titled "One Man's Obsession."

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

Here is one I didn't see :-)

-- Chuck Ryan Springfield OH

Your right...........a major obsession........nice work. This was not a weekend project was it (:>

i've seen rufus's work up close. he make eyeball distance miles. get as close as you want.....but don't poke your eyeball.

Does that qualify for the "World's Fastest Ostrich"? :)

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

No, and I really didn't keep tabs on how long it did take. I know some of those older Hasegawas were bought in an old hobby shop in Reading, Pa. back in the early '70s. He had stacks of them in the old AMT boxes.

When the Esci kit came out, I tried one and I thought they were great. I slowly replaced older Hasegawas with new-build Escis. I even scored one of the Hellers and built it as a two-seater. I wasn't too wild about the Matchbox kit but I went and bought one and found them to be better than I had expected. The Japanese, the Danish, both Germans and the what-if are Matchbox.

Most of the group, backed up with a photo of an XF-104, were my last exhibit at the local hobby show in the late '80s. I added and replaced a few since then. I was going to do an F-104F but the only exterior clue to it would have been the serials. IIRC, it was here where I learned that fact. I also toyed with converting a TF-104G into an F-104B or D (probably both!). Matchbox made that an easier project by converting their F-104G into a TF. By then Heller's kits had disappeared off the local market.

To carry it to extremes, I also had Revell's 1/32 kit, Monogram's 1/48, a built Aurora 1/64(?) and 1/100 and 1/144 kits. The large ones are gone, unbuilt but the little ones have been built.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

oops, my comment was about rufus kits.....not to knock bill's excellent work. i just got kernfused agin.

Which one(s)?..

really kernfused, i meant builds and all of them. been at practice? thought i heard louie louie coming from your direction. or was it caravan with a drum solo? (name that obscure reference.)

:-) I had toyed with the idea of doing it in 1/72 or 1/48, unless I find an old Revell 1/32 at one of the upcoming area IPMS shows.

-- Chuck Ryan Springfield OH

You got me there...I've been playing so much that I think I've opened a stress fracture in the index finger on my left hand. Hurts like hell...been laying off the axe for the week. I think we're supposed to play this weekend, though.

...but you should see what I'm doing with the deck on the U-boat...about got blisters from cutting the slots in the decking open. Got the foredeck done, about 1/3 done on the aft deck. Something to do while I'm waiting for the outer pressure hull kit I ordered to show up.

that's going to end up a $500 kit at this rate. more pics, soon?

oh, almost forgot, america drinks and goes home-zappa.

Yes - getting ready to post a few right now...stand by...

I think I'll have less than $100 into it - I think. I know I'm saving about $35 on etched parts by doing all this hand work.

Ah...that's obscure, alright.

as long as you have the time, why not?

if you ever need the early stuff, lmk.

Time and stamina...it really is taking a toll on my fingers. First time I've had to take serious breaks from a build in a long time. Probably the most extensive kit mod I've ever done without gluing anything...now I've got to hope my painting and weathering skills are up to what I've been up to...

Sure thing. Three new progress pics are up on ABMS, BTW.