Pentomic Jeeps

I did a black wash on the motor grills on the rear deck.

The vehicles were decalled too.

When faced with atomic war, camoflague was not important and so markings were important.

Here is a 1/72nd scale soldier on the passenger side of the vehicle.

One white star on front, back and sides and a US Army and serial number per side.

Several Projects

Wheels from my slush cast artillery.  Waiting for repainting while the guns are stripped of paint.

My staff car being painted in OD green.

Painting the red car, leaves ghost images on the painting surface.

The civilian car gets the third coat of red paint.

Test shots of paint colors for a space project.

Pentomic Jeep

Fletcher Flair 115 by Midge Toy upgraded.

I have stripped the paint, re-painted the seats, painted the headlights and the wheel hubs.

I did five of these and they are not done yet.

These were never purchased by the Army.

Five of them for the Pentomic Army.

What?

What is it?

The recon drone picks up a photo of something flying towards it.

It's getting closer!

It is so close now, but can it be identified?!

Bug!!!!

Recon drone line has discovered a flying bug!

The recon drones move along in a line to make sure nothing gets past them.

One recon drone broadcasts it's last report!

Spacemen

Once test fitting has insured a proper fit, the helmet is removed and a bit of gap filling CA is applied.  The helmet is pushed back onto the body.

A small group of troops with their new helmets.

It is an involved process and I use an assembly line technique.  Here a group waits for the remnants of their heads and necks to be trimmed off.

This next group is waiting for the pilot hole to be pressed into the neck.  The pilot hole is important because it insures proper placement for the drill bit.  On a space this small, proper placement is critical.

Holes drilled and ready for heads.  Sometimes the holes need the awl to enlarge the opening just a bit when there is a bit of a burr on the pin.

Four completed troops.

Spacemen

Using a sprue cutter I removed the head.

Using  a hobby knife I trimmed up the area around the neck and shoulders.

Using an awl I created a pilot hole for the insertion of the pin.

A small pin vise is just the tool for making the hole for the new helmet.

Place the new helmet on the head, inserting the pin into the hole, this is only a test fit.  Sometimes the hole has to be deeper and sometimes the pin must be shorter.

US Army Astro Rangers

I am making more space men for my 1/72nd scale Pentomic Army.

I use cheapo generic soldiers for the basic troops.

The map pin will become the helmet.

I need to use the heavy duty cutter to trim down the pin.  It's very tough steel.

I cut the pin down by about 60%.

Staff Car

This slush mold staff car had a lot of work done to it.  I stripped the paint, and cut out the front windows.

The good old Dremel tool was very helpful in cutting out the windows.

Both the staff car and the civilian car were stripped of paint and are now ready for priming.

I always prime the bottom first.

Then I started the top.  It will take a couple coats.  The staff car will be for my 1938 US Army.

A Question of Loyalty

A Question of Loyalty, Gen. Billy Mitchell and the Court-Martial That Gripped the Nation, by Douglas Waller, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., NY 2004

About all I knew about the court-martial of Billy Mitchell was the little I learned from watching the movie by the same name.  While the movie is about as inaccurate as most Hollywood movies, it did give me an overview of the trial and its' context.  This book goes into much greater depth and provides an excellent biography of Billy Mitchell.

The major focus is the trial and there are hundreds of footnotes indicating the massive research conducted by the author.  The author does an excellent job of placing the trial in context of the world the nation and the Army of the 1920's.  Unfortunately the US Government has a terrible record of cutting national defense in times when there is no obvious enemy and the 1920's was certainly such a time. I love the minute detail even discussing the soap and paper clips used during the trial.

I recommend this book to anyone who is an aviation buff or interested in the Inter-war period.

Pentomic "Jeep"

To paint these vehicles I wrapped the tires in aluminum foil to protect the rubbler wheels.

They have been painted a nice OD overall.

Then I gloss coated them, decals go on better with gloss coat and often in the 1950's vehicles were semi-gloss.

I painted the seats a lighter shade of flat green.