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  #11  
Old 04-10-2021, 01:01 PM
Petestein Petestein is offline
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Originally Posted by YankeeBoy View Post
This brings back memories - I built this one in 1987 or 1988 during my lunch hours while working at Newport News Shipbuiding. It took a few months of lunch hours to get it done and it always drew a few fellow employees to check on my progress. It was followed by a model of another NNS product, the SS United States by Wilhelmshaven and that was just as challenging as the Forrestal (both were done without translations...)


The models were both designed before 3D computer modelling and were the height of the pre-computer designing art. I enjoyed them both (and the dosens of Wilhemshaven models that followed through the years.) I still have a dozen or so models in my stash but I fear my ancient body is not up to the task of cutting and gluing. Perhaps one of my grand-children will pick up the hobby.


Hae fun with the aircraft - They were little gems to construct and were probably the smallest paper models I ever built.
The WHM models are as old as GELI. Geli was born in 1954 and started with the first ever line of card model aircraft in 1/33 scale. WHM models are smaller and besides having ships, they also have a large number of aircraft, all in 1/50 scale. Some of these airplaner models are really small gems. They are extremely accurate. One has to admit that despite technology which allow easier designing, those old models are real very attractive. Thank God both WMH and Geli are still being printed.
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  #12  
Old 04-10-2021, 01:46 PM
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BigGiraffe BigGiraffe is offline
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Yes, I was so pleased to find out Geli was printing again!

You really have brought up a valid point about technology and models. It takes an artist (craftsman) to create a good replica of a full-sized subject. Technology does not do that -- You don't just punch a button on the computer and out comes a quality model design. Technology can be an aid but cannot replace the judgement and decisions needed to capture the essence of the ship/airplane/anything at a fraction of its size. These Geli and Wilhemshaven kits (and many other companies, happily!) are convincing replicas of their subject.

One thing that constantly annoys me about plastic model forums is that they tend to criticize models for being "old designs". Yet those "old designs" were clearly the airplane they meant to represent -- I built many of them, as a boy (and as an adult), and there was no question which airplane was which. Since it takes skilled designers to develop a good kit, and because the more accurate or complex models take many extra hours of design, the price of a good kit has to go up. But the same people who don't like the "old designs" complain about the price of high-quality new designs, or complain that they left off details (Probably because the budget for the project was used up).

Model design will always be an art, not a science.

Best regards,
Kurt
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  #13  
Old 04-10-2021, 03:12 PM
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herky herky is offline
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Originally Posted by BigGiraffe View Post
Good Evening,

I picked up this kit on ebay for a very good price a couple years ago. It's quite large and I've been putting it off. Now, I am ready to start on it.

This kit has an insert from Paper Model Company which gives instructions in English, saving me some translation time. They recommend pinning the hull to a 48 inch board during construction to prevent warping. Years ago, I made an N scale model railroad based on a book that suggested using foam core (seems to be called "foam board" these days?) for the base. It worked great, and I've used the concept for other things I've made, including a display stand for a very long plastic model. So I'll be using a foam board base for the Forrestal for both construction and as a permanent display stand.

It seemed anticlimactic to build a huge ship and then spend a long time doing airplanes for it, so I'm making the airplanes first. There are 8 different types, plus tractors and a crane. It appears you could buy a sheet of airplanes, once upon a time, from Paper Model Company. Since I could not find those, I have been scanning the airplane sheet and working to print the patterns in similar color and exact same size. To me, the aircraft carrier needs at least two of each airplane for overall appearance. More would be better, but the limiting factor on this is going to be endurance because these little airplanes have an amazing number of parts. I have a few of the airplanes built and will post them later.

Take care,
Kurt
this was the very first whm model i made, all in german and in the days when whm instructions were useless ,was a great challenge. great idea about doing smaller assemblys first , all my carriers are awaiting their aircraft and my liners are awaiting lifeboats as i lose interest when work gets repedative, i am also building nimitz from whm at this scale , excellent instructions with their newer models
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  #14  
Old 04-10-2021, 03:46 PM
Petestein Petestein is offline
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Originally Posted by BigGiraffe View Post
Yes, I was so pleased to find out Geli was printing again!

One thing that constantly annoys me about plastic model forums is that they tend to criticize models for being "old designs". Yet those "old designs" were clearly the airplane they meant to represent -- I built many of them, as a boy (and as an adult), and there was no question which airplane was which. Since it takes skilled designers to develop a good kit, and because the more accurate or complex models take many extra hours of design, the price of a good kit has to go up. But the same people who don't like the "old designs" complain about the price of high-quality new designs, or complain that they left off details (Probably because the budget for the project was used up).

Model design will always be an art, not a science.

Best regards,
Kurt
Plastic models have indeed improved as compared to those Aurora, Lindberg and other companies producing the first plastic kits which were simple and not very accurate BUT affordable to anyone. They could be assembled in approximately a couple of hours and voila!! ready for hanging in my room's ceiling. No super expensive kits and aftermarket details, infinite number of parts that go inside and will never be observed. No doubt present companies like Round2, Glencoe and mostly, Atlantis have recovered many treasured old moulds and are once again making available those beautiful old models at reasonable prices. Yes, they are far from being museum replicas but they can be enjoyed as much as those $500.00 kits. It happens the same with card models. Geli and WHM and also Schreiber are popular because they are very well designed, easy to make and won't make any modeller go broke. Naturally, high detailed models like Halinski and others are works of art but not for everyone. Good luck with your Forrestal.
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  #15  
Old 04-10-2021, 05:15 PM
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peter taft peter taft is offline
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Wow. A definite patient tester. I totally agree with your build strategy. I look forward to seeing this all come together. Good on you for taking it by the balls.
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  #16  
Old 04-10-2021, 07:24 PM
mdesaxe mdesaxe is offline
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1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)

I first built this Wilhelmshaven model around 1980 because I had been seduced into building card models by several people I knew (Alex Campbell among them) who touted the (very substantial) edge they had over contemporary styrene models. I then built it again in brass, styrene, and perspex, using the paper parts as patterns - and was persuaded eventually to sell the finished model for what I then considered an insane amount of money. I recently found I have a slightly dogeared print of this in a cupboard and I'm really tempted to try it again after all this time.

Maurice
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  #17  
Old 04-11-2021, 09:09 AM
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BigGiraffe BigGiraffe is offline
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I'm really looking forward to starting on the ship. But I still think doing the airplanes first works best for me, making the ship like the "cheese at the end of the maze". It's like Herky said with lifeboats and their associated equipment on ocean liners (I really enjoy making ocean liners) -- I get to them and lose steam for awhile.

Enjoy!
Kurt
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  #18  
Old 04-11-2021, 12:57 PM
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BigGiraffe BigGiraffe is offline
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Hello,

The F9 Cougar tail has been a bit of a puzzle. The fin is part of the aft fuselage section. This section has a sharp taper, with the rear frame also including the spar for the fin.

First I was going to glue the front frame in place, starting with the lower half, so I did that (#1 in the photo).

After the lower half was dry, I decided it would work best to glue the lower side of the rear frame before finishing the front frame (#2 in the photo). Once that was dried, I glued the rest of both frames plus the leading edge of the fin, #3 in the photos.

(Lastly, I glued the back and bottom of the fin, including the triangular part included with the kit (#4).

One reason I'm writing all this down here is so I can look up how I did it when my other airplanes arrive and I build the second one of these......)

Take care,
Kurt
Attached Thumbnails
1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)-img_1538.jpg   1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)-img_1539n.jpg   1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)-img_1540n.jpg   1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)-img_1542n.jpg  
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  #19  
Old 04-11-2021, 04:04 PM
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herky herky is offline
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Originally Posted by BigGiraffe View Post
I'm really looking forward to starting on the ship. But I still think doing the airplanes first works best for me, making the ship like the "cheese at the end of the maze". It's like Herky said with lifeboats and their associated equipment on ocean liners (I really enjoy making ocean liners) -- I get to them and lose steam for awhile.

Enjoy!
Kurt
my current shipyard awaiting small parts
Attached Thumbnails
1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)-34343752_10156586722591600_1916754246762496000_o.jpg   1/250 USS Forrestal aircraft carrier (Wilhelmshaven)-70395914_10157788229896600_5735429366356115456_o.jpg  
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  #20  
Old 04-11-2021, 05:40 PM
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BigGiraffe BigGiraffe is offline
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Wow, that's quite an array of ships!
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