1952

June 24, 2022

P61

by Alan Greenstadt

Sure the P61 was an important plane, probably the first to really use radar as an effective bad weather/night tool. But is that the reason we all want to build it?

Nope.

We want to build it because it’s different and sexy. Gloss black outfit, lots of glass and a twin boom tail…sounds like something out of a Gentlemen’s Club.

The original design grew from a British initiative to use the radar they were developing. Northrup picked up the ball and delivered a platform that could handle the fledgling electronics and some healthy firepower.

Dorsal guns were 50 caliber. The model shows four of them but most production types had two. They were operated remotely via radio signal. Ventral were twenty mm cannons sighted close in.

I decided to build this one right out of the box, and things went well except for fitting the wings, which required filling and shaping. The cockpit and crew compartments were lightened from the usual green to accent the detail. Several washes brought it down to spec but still keep a bit of the glowing aspect the lit compartments must have had.

One thing was over looked, and you might want to consider weighting the nose to avoid using the prop under the fuselage to keep the nose wheels down.

The radar compartment has decent detail; but if I were to do it again I’d jack up the detail in the crew compartment and cockpit. There is a great deal of reference on the Internet.

Photo by Alan Greendstadt

June 9, 2022

1972 Ford F100

Not only did Brad Breville put together this model, he created a back story for it.

We’ll let him tell the story:

“I thought I would make a back story with this one. Freddy and Claude just started a small construction company. They soon got tired of using their own personal trucks to transport tools and materials to and from different jobs. They found this old clunker in a barn. The body was in great shape except for the faded paint. The interior was rotted out. So they had a friend that couldn’t pay his bill for some work that was done.

Luckily, he was a great restoration guy. He made the interior look like new for them, which covered the cost of the construction job. The engine was seized too. They happened to find an 80’s model Mustang that had a good 302 engine. So they rebuilt the engine and cleaned it up really well. Claude and Freddy both have teenage sons that didn’t have a vehicle.

So the two owners let the teenagers use it as long as they keep it clean and help out at some of the construction jobs. Freddy and Claude invested a total of 1,500 dollars on their first company truck. The only thing left was to put their company logo on the doors and get to work!”

Rosebud

In October 2020 Hub Hobby’s old building on Broad St was demolished. Word of it being torn down spread like wildfire.

One of our customers, Jim Letten, was emailed by his friend Martin about the demolition of their childhood hang-out.

The subject line was: ROSEBUD

“Rosebud” was the dying word spoken by Orsen Welles in the movie Citizen Kane: a reference to his childhood sled – the symbol of memories of youthful innocence.

I’ve known Jim for at least 40 years and he has given us permission to publish his reply to his friends email.

Read it here