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John Adelmann

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  1. I would like to chat with James Hatch, a builder from the UK, whose wood decal work is featured on the USCHI wood decal web site. I am planning to tackle the 1/32 Meng Me-163 and replicate wood wings like he has done. Hatch's work is remarkable and I'd like to pick his brain for how to proceed underneath, because I can find no photos of the undersides of his model. i have already carefully scribed a few panel lines on the tops of the wings, but there are several bulging parts underneath that shield hinges and I need to learn how he aproached these puppies. Any help will be greatly appreciated. JA
  2. ALCLAD sells a clear "sealer," so i figured they expect their paint to be glossed over by some builders. That said, there are some who say that once you apply ANYTHING clear over metal paint that you ruin the finish and defeat the whole purpose of using stuff like ALCLAD in the first place. I don't buy that argument. i use good old Future floor polish shot at 8-10 psi straight from the bottle. Lay it on lightly at first, then add more. I have gotten excellent results, with many metal projects, including the 1/32 Tamiya P-41 and the 1/32 Hobby Boss F-84, and decals adhere with little or no solvent. If you think the metal is now too shiny, knock it down with a LIGHT mist of Future with the air brush held at a distance from the plane while you spray, or you can go right to the heavy stuff with Testors flat. You need to allow the Future to cure for a day or so, depending on humidity, before decaling so you don't wind up with finger prints. And, be very careful to apply any decal solvent over Future with great care. Do your best to confine the liquid to the decal itself, and NEVER put any on before you lay the decals down. Your clear finish will turn a cloudy white, and you'll have to re-shoot the section. JA
  3. I understand the idea of a brown wash instead of a heavy black. What I am concerned about is whether the rivet pattern on the wings and the fuselage would interfere with the wood decals. For instance, the guy who did the 1/48 Sturmovik patterned his planking on the fuselage on an angle, and did not follow what the rivet pattern and panel lines were. In essence, he applied a painted diagonal patttern over a vertical and horizontal rivet and panel line pattern. (I am assuming the 1/48 scale plane had no rivets/panel lines on the fuselage.) Would this not look a bit odd if the existing rivets were accentuated with a wash? After all, they would not follow what I would think would be a pattern for nails, which in this case would be on a diagonal. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and carefully fill in the rivets and apply the decals, period. JA
  4. Greetings fellow builders: Recently I saw some images of a 1/48 scale Sturmovik that had its outer wings, fuselage planking and rudder plywood that were painted to simulate wood. A super effort, and it really looks convincing. I build in 1/32 scale and immediately thought of doing something similar with the Hobby Boss's rendition of this USSR plane. The HB kit has many rivets, including on the wings and fuselage, and of course, the rudder. So here is the question: I'd like to use the USCHI decal sheets to simulate wood planking on these surfaces, but wonder if the recessed rivets will look dumb if I apply a wash to the surfaces after the decals are applied. That said, if the rivet patterns represent how the metal or even plywood sheets were attached to the plane's frame in the first place, wouldn't the washed rivets then look good against the wood decals? The guy who did the 1/48 scale "woodie" Sturmovik admitted his was a project with no basis in fact - that he just applied his creative artistry to his work, which included carefully painting and dry brushing the fuselage planking on a bias, sort of looking like a barber pole. I don't think that would look good with the Hobby Boss's vertical and horizontal panel lines and recessed rivets. USCHI actually has decals that simulate nails, but I didn't look at them on his web site. Maybe that would be a clue that putting the dark wash over the wood decals would be appropriate. Maybe not. So I am looking for some thoughtful advice from those who care to respond. Many thanks to those who do. JA
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