These times are amazing times as always. So much joy and creativity that Mary and I enjoy every day. Sometimes I just have to mention it. Just being alive and being so fortunate is in of itself something to be eternally grateful for. Never take these precious moments of “right now” for granted. Make the most of them and create and bring joy into the world with every breath.
Yesterday I prepped the Talosian for painting today. I shipped orders and worked on my planes. Got a big day this Sunday with yet another maiden flight of a Kokker DVIII. There were many fine points to go over before she takes to the air.
I also worked on rocket kit parts and applied another coat of nitrate to the Heinkel 112 free flight model build.
I also worked on the 1985 Guillows F4U Corsair Model kit restoration and build. This kit was given to me by my friends at Smith Brothers Hobby Center in Reseda.
Original receipt found in the box And the card from the hobby shop long since closed.
https://www.smithbrothershobbycenter.com/ I have been going to their hobby store since 1978. This kit was brought in and given to them. It had been started years ago by a gentleman that had passed away. He never finished it and it was damaged. I removed the damaged parts and replaced them with new ones I made from scratch. I’m sure he would be happy to see this plane finished and flying in the sky. I hope he can see it. I thank him for the kit everytime I work on it.
I made this film last year. I wrote it before the news daily reports about the world’s climate crisis. Everywhere all over the planet nature is striking back and killing us off. Fires, floods, extreme weather increasing at breakneck speed. My Film warned about everything that is now coming true. That’s the nature of artists, science fiction writers, and filmmakers. It’s the only power we have.
All you have to do is listen and support the efforts of intelligent people trying to save the future of our children and grandchildren.
Greed, war, and hate will not. It’s all or nothing. All the other world problems are secondary if we don’t have a planet to live on in the first place.
If you watch the film remember the actual ending is after the credits.
The Golden Age Reproductions Heinkel 112 is coming along slowly. I did get the airframe doped with nitrate and it tightened up well but with the high humidity we are currently experiencing she’s sagging a bit.
Next step is to airbrush RLM green and camouflage . Then I’ll assemble the airframe and add the wing filets. I’m building this plane for the mass WW2 launch at the WestFACs event in October.
It’s amazing building this old Guillows Corsair. Looking through the box I found the original receipt and a card from the hobby shop it was purchased from in 1985 in Arizona.
The man that started the build did a good job but sadly he passed before he could finish it. It had been shoved away in a box with the built center section and fuselage. It sat for many years before it found its way to me. Thank you Smith Brothers Hobby Center for giving me this model!
There were a lot of broken parts in the center section. Thankfully the plans show all the parts to scale and I was able to cut new parts that fit perfectly.
There’s some about restoring and or completing work once done so that it will fly one day. I’m making this 4 channel, electric and fixed gear. I want to keep it very light. I hope wherever the gentleman is he can see this plane being finished and flown. Whoever you were, thank you kindly for this model. I’ll take good care of her.
One of the most important accomplishments of the human race and we still don’t have a holiday to celebrate it. We landed on the Moon this day in 1969. I was still in high school. I stayed home for the entire mission and watched every step of the way there and back.
Since that time we haven’t done enough with manned exploration of space because some people have their priorities all wrong. We should have had a base on the moon and been to Mars already.
Go Artemis. Go NASA. Take us there.
Today is a holiday to remember and dream about returning to the Moon and beyond. It’s Moon Landing Day. Make it so.
Yesterday I cast a Talosian and made up a X-15 Rocket Kit.
Tomorrow I’ll paint the Talosin mask and ship the rocket kit.
Today we are taking the day off in remembrance of this most important day.
It was an amazing weekend. From Kayaking, flying and visiting friends it was very full. I even got a little more time on the free flight airplane build.
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It was a great day at our local field Sunday. Everyone flew their stuff and had a great time. I flew my P-51 again. It was amazing to watch this Pony in the sky. I throttled back and just flew at scale speeds. I took pictures of this rather large Pit’s Special a guy was flying there.
I flew to other planes. My Silky Sky and an E powered glider I forgot I owned that was hanging at the studio.
My kit winder arrived in the mail this weekend. This will be used to pull light weight free flight gliders and small RC gliders up and into the air. Once released they fly on the lift.
Today we are back at the studio working on personal projects and one rocket kit order.
We are open for all orders from our store and this is a good time to order as we are caught up and you can expect a short turn around for your orders.
Officially this month of July, is SNG Studio’s 9th Anniversary. We’ve been in Ventura nearly a decade. (Yes, we are planning a Ten Year Anniversary Party for next year)
So many things have been made at our studio from the Enterprise to the Captain’s chair,the space station from 2001: a space odyssey , Moon Watcher, the Star child, and numerous models and masks. Even a replica of my famous Laserblast gun.
We have had many famous visitors such as D.C. Fontana who wrote some of the best TOS Star Trek episodes ever, Gary Lockwood. Dan Richter, Doug Drexler, John Savage, Ve Neill, and countless others.
Me with the great writer of Star Trek DC Fontana.
Here’s Dan Richter wearing the re-creation of his famous mask from the movie 2001: a space odyssey .
Dan Richter(moonwatcher) me and Gary Lockwood.Me, Adam Nimoy and Mary
We even had the writer that wrote Inner Light.
Morgan Gendel. People from NASA and others from aerospace have graced us with their presence. So many I can’t name them all. The studio has been a magnet for amazing people.
And I have made amazing things for fellow makers such as my friend, Adam Savage. To say we have been blessed would be an understatement. I can’t think of many studios like ours that have remained in one place and their doors open so long.
We made movies and used the bay of our studio as a sound stage.
Presently, we are in a summer slump. The last two weeks have been pretty quiet for us. It’s not unusual as summer often brings a lull for us. Then it picks up again around September. During this time we are cleaning up the place and making changes and adding shelves for masks and so on. A matter of fact, anyone who was to place an order for something would get it lightning fast because it would be the only thing on the order and idea board.
Last Saturday we were at Channel View Park near the Rudder Room painting En Plein Air.
Mary finished a 10 inch round weaving this week, a Garden.
I’ve been building some new RC and free flight airplanes.
I’ve nearly finished The WW1 Fokker DVIII. Lovely little 30 inch span plane is nearly finished and will fly next Sunday.
I’ve been sifting through non-RC model kits that I have and plan to start a new build. It all started with kit builds so I’m building one for old times sake. Steve Neill’s Garage was named by Doug Drexler 12 years ago when I started building models for hire and documented it on video. That old YouTube channel had over a million subscribers. I posted daily. To see what they were like you can go to this link where I uploaded 47 videos of me building the very first original series Star Trek Enterprise that started it all: https://vimeo.com/showcase/6042148 The scratch build of the Enterprise was started during some rather rough times for me. My late wife, Gilly, was fighting cancer and money was tight. Doug Drexler came over one day to see my progress on the large model and asked why I wasn’t getting more done on it. When I explained my situation, Doug asked me how much I needed to complete the project. He then got out his checkbook and wrote me a check. He gave it to me with no strings attached or expectations other than seeing the model finished. That’s the kind of man and friend Doug is and a day doesn’t go by when I don’t look at that model in my office and thank him for it.
And then there is you. You who have supported the studio in your friendship and contributions. Yes, we are truly blessed because of your friendship.
SNG Aero – Rockets by Steve Neill …and Mary on the web As always, feel free let us know if you want to be removed from our newsletter by emailing us. Share with friends if you think they would be interested in what we do. Comments and suggestions are encouraged. We love hearing from you!
“We were told that we would see America come and go. In a sense, America is dying, from within, because they forgot the instructions of how to live on earth. It’s the Hopi belief, it’s our belief, that if you are not spiritually connected to the earth, and understand the spiritual reality of how to live on earth, it’s likely that you will not make it.
Everything is spiritual, everything has a spirit, everything was brought here by the creator, the one creator. Some people call him God, some people call him Buddha, some people call him Allah, some people call him other names. We call him Tunkaschila… Grandfather.
We are here on earth only a few winters, then we go to the spirit world. The spirit world is more real than most of us believe.
The spirit world is everything. Over 95% of our body is water. In order to stay healthy, you’ve got to drink good water. … Water is sacred, the air is sacred.
Our DNA is made out of the same DNA as the tree, the tree breaths what we exhale, we need what the tree exhales. So we have a common destiny with the tree.
We are all from the earth, and when the earth, the water, the atmosphere is corrupted, then it will create its own reaction. The mother is reacting.
In the Hopi prophecy, they say the storms and floods will become greater. To me, it’s not a negative thing to know that there will be great changes. It’s not negative, it’s evolution. When you look at it as evolution, it’s time, nothing stays the same. You should learn how to plant something. That is the first connection.
You should treat all things as spirit, realize that we are one family. It’s never something like the end. It’s like life, there is no end to life.”
