X-37b in 1/48 (with some additions)

[Paper Kosmonaut]

I started on Yogi's X-37b with the added tile structure and while I was looking at the parts I wanted to add some texture to the insulation blanket parts of the fuselage. So I kickstarted ye olde photoshoppe and did some magic tricks. When I began to assemble the parts I was a bit hasty and I got the hull twisted a bit. The second time around I wanted to avoid that so I did some thorough reinforcing. Maybe a bit too much, but anyway.
I opened up the gear doors and made small boxes to deepen the wheel wells. I also cut out the air brake.
Well, the rest of the pictures are quite clear, I guess. I tried to keep the leading edge of the wing a bit curved, by carefully rolling it over a 2,5mm knitting needle.
After finishing it will become a diorama of the landing.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

And here's the rest of the photos.

[umtutsut]

No joke: Now I wonder why I should even build the model. It's never going to look remotely as good as yours, PK. Not that I'd even try to match your craftsmanship; I just doubt I'd ever be satisfied with my own work. I've come to a similar conclusion about the Curiousity rover after seeing Merzo's build.

I guess I'll just always be in the card modeling minor leagues, not The Show (an American baseball analogy).

Sorry, just grumbling about my own *&^%$#@ skill level....

Les ("The Voice of Authority" -- Coming Soon)

[Bengt Fredén]

VERY nice, Paper Kosmonaut!

Amazing precision!

Kepp up the good work!
Bengt

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Come on, Les.
Please do me a favour. Don't drag yourself through the mud like that. Absolutely unnecessary. Everyone has their own skills and joys in making paper models.
I often find myself a very mediocre builder myself. I mess up a lot, I even often very much dislike my results, I mess with glue, get fingerprints on parts, I often am not able to cut straight, man, I got the fuselage of this model hugely twisted the first time round.


See?

The essence of this is not to be the best in something. It's not about winning the grand prize in the contest. It even is not about accuracy, the details or cleanliness of one's build. It's all about the fun you have making the kit. Learning about it, the joy of ending a build with a result that satisfies you (not others).
If you keep wanting to compare yourself to others in a non-competitive atmosphere like here on papermodelers, I feel the fun of all of the above will soon wane for you. Les, I enjoy the things you make. There are no leagues here. Just people enjoying cutting up paper.

And perhaps because I can never seem to leave well enough alone, always wanting to put more ad more detail in it, getting myself into troublesome builds, I often wish I could do a simple out-of-the-printer- build again. But that seems almost impossible.

Just keep on building and -most important- enjoying it!

[jimkrauzlis]

Wonderful work!

Where did you get the version with all the tiles printed up? Has Yogi released the updated version?

Cheers!
Jim

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Yogi's considering an update of the model with the tiles added. He very generously gave me the opportunity to do a well... erm.. testbuild. I got carried away.

[umtutsut]

Originally Posted by Paper Kosmonaut

The essence of this is not to be the best in something. It's not about winning the grand prize in the contest. It even is not about accuracy, the details or cleanliness of one's build. It's all about the fun you have making the kit. Learning about it, the joy of ending a build with a result that satisfies you (not others).

It's hard to explain. I'm not competing with the master builders in this group. I know I don't have that skill level. And quite honestly, I'm at the point in my modeling life where I really don't want to put that kind of time and effort into my models, even if my skills were up to it!

It's complicated.

Les

[Retired_for_now]

Silk purse ... sow's ear ... silk purse ... sow's ear. Simply beautiful job with the modifications - and the flexible blankets are beautiful.

Yogi (builder-yes; artist-no ...)

BTW - any mods planned for the mid-90s Chevy 4-door dual wheel pickup in the diorama?

[sparky00]

PK,

Fantastic build! I couldn't agree with you more. learning about the prototypes, the materials and the tools is a huge part of the fun for me. I've been doing this only few months, and I've learned more about paper than in the last 48 years-and still only scratched the surface. Trying new things, refining them, concentrating on things OTHER THAN WORK are much of the enjoyment. Of course, getting a somewhat acceptable end result is always nice too.

BTW, how did you make the nice chamfers on the yellow wing re-enforcements? Sanding? Matt Cutter? Really steady x-acto hand?

Thanks, erik