What's in your collection?

[Second Air Force]

Cozmo, that is a story in itself. I had wanted a Vac-U-Form machine since the seventies but never could seem to find one, not that I looked that hard. I found this one at an antique mall a few years ago looking like it had been used maybe for three or four pulls before someone burned themselves and put it all back in the box. I paid ten dollars for it, and it works like the day it was made. It'll come in really handy for the waist, upper, and lower blisters for my YB-17 project. I've pulled a couple of 1/72nd scale Emerson nose turret transparencies with it, and those are a b*tch to mold.

Scott

[wacoykc]

I have been collecting and building models for nearly 40 years. Have close to 1000 total with about 800 built...mostly 1/72 scale. Also have some others in various scales when they were not available in 1/72. All aircraft, very few jets and very few duplicates. Probably have about 150 on display in my hangar and maybe another 40 in my house. The rest are packed away in boxes in my hangar. Usually build them in the winter for something to do until flying season hits again.

[Steve Nelson]

I've got an old Mattel Vac-U-Form myself. I got it from a freind of mine who sold me all his hobby stuff about 15 years ago..he'd gotten it from his dad, who had gotten it new as a Christmas present. I've made many canopies with it over the years, although in recent years the availability of aftermarket vac canopies has made it less necessary. In fact, the old Mattel machine has been stored in the basement since we moved into our house a year and a half ago.

I've pulled a couple of 1/72nd scale Emerson nose turret transparencies with it, and those are a b*tch to mold.

I've tried the same thing..they always end up with the sides too thin to work with, and the plastic tends to wrinkle during the "pull." Fortunately, the new Hasegawa kits (although expensive) have the turrets molded so there's no inaccurate seam across the top!

SN

[bootlegger]

I have been modelling since I was around 10. Surprisingly I still have all the models I built (around 100) In glass cases in my family bedroom. Even though I dont live there anymore I still add to it there. Its just called the Model Room now.
Ive got a few hundred unbuilt kits and concentrate more now on building flying models when I get time.
Ive been asked to build a Grumman Tracker. I went to The Fleet Air Arm Museum at Nowra last weekend to photograph the one there.