Freddy Bear

A graphic artist friend is big into early Cold War and early post war civilian a/c. He asked if I could find a C-124 without the radome nose. Roden makes a 1/144 scale one, but the quality is VERY POOR. This will take a lot of fudging, and sanding of seams. The engraved panel lines are very shallow - appropriate I suppose for the scale, but sanding will remove a lot. So along with the sanding, I'm rescribing almost all of the lines. A couple of years ago I met the airport director for Willow Run Airport near Detroit. Turns out he is a model builder and flew F-18s for the Marines in the late 90s - early 2000s. He told me Academy made a 1/72 scale model of his very a/c. It's out of production, but I found one, and also obtained Edurd's BIG ED accessories for the kit. So I'm underway with that, too. 1/72 is a bear of a scale - can't wait to get back to 1/32!

Thank you all - very helpful.

Thanks, Jim, Erik, and Cees. I was afraid the toothbrush was too coarse and would scratch the plastic. I had not considered the alcohol but will try that too. I assume rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, which I do use for cleaning.

What's the best technique for removing dust from engraved panel lines and engraved rivets after sanding seams/joints/flaws, prior to painting? Washing with water has been inconsistent for me. Thanks.