DocRob

Do you have any hot light bulbs left, that's so 19xx . Belts and pit are looking great John. Cheers Rob

Gaz, I'm sure you have seen this: The Modelling News: Gustav’s Bazookas: Eduard Model Accessories WGr.21 rockets for the Bf 109G in Review Cheers Rob

You could also use copper tube, which is available here in Europe with a diameter of 8mm. You can solder brass and copper, but Aluminum is a different breed. Cheers Rob

Nice work on the masking Kai. I use a good mask too, when spraying and try to have a constant airstream in the room when doing so. After spraying lacquers, I leave the workshop for some minutes, when possible. I have a spray booth, but it proved to be to small for 1/32 planes, so I improved it, by adding a transparent plastic container, which is Duct-taped to the suction module. The transparent container was cut to fit and allows to worm some LED strips around for better lighting. It's not the best unit, money can buy, but it works for me. You see the problem Planning phase with the same kit. Done (Not the TA-152 ) Lastly, I moved the LED strips to the outside. Cleaning the box is much easier this way. Cheers Rob

Nice work on the rocket tubes, Gaz. I tried to look for correct placement angles on the pics, Eduard's manual and have to say, it's really hard to interpret it correctly. In the Eduard manual, it seems like the front rods are angled forwards, where the back rods are more or less 90 degrees angled. On their CAD pictures all struts seem aligned at 90 degrees. The photos don't make it easier, so in the end, I think you got it right and the most important aspect, the upward angle of the tube looks convincing. I love metal works in modelling, I just can not hide my metal engineer background . Cheers Rob

Hi John, I used HGW wet transfers on different builds and have very mixed feelings about them. Preparation is the key to success here and a shovel of luck too, I guess. The process of applying wet transfers is different from usual decals. You cut out the transfer, let it soak like a decal, place it on the model and after some hours of drying, there is the delicate part of removing the transparent carrier film, which adheres on top of the transfer. The transfers are very fragile and have to be handled absolutely carefully. You have to cut out every single transfer, as the carrier film, which later will be removed covers the whole sheet. That maybe is not a prob with a Corsair, but with millions of tiny stencils on a Jet, it is. A perfectly glossy and polished surface seems to better the adhesion. The benefit of the wet transfers is, they don't silver at all and there is no trace of carrier film to be seen, they are like tattooed on. I used them on my MIG-31 for one million of stencils and most of the transfers were intact after removing the carrier film. some were partly destroyed, but it didn't matter that much, because the MIG was relatively worn. With my recent 1/48 Hellcat build, I had not much luck with the HGW's. The national insignia went on beautifully, the cat mouth and eyes were partly damaged after removing the carrier film. I had a very hard time to remove the rest of the fangs and eyes and used the Cartograph kit decals instead. I have no idea what happened, the model was gloss coated, but not polished. The fangs and eyes were placed on slightly curved cowling surfaces and were cut to fit the openable cowlings. The application process was exactly done to the manual. What I found really strange, was the difference in adhesion only millimeters distanced, one part got lifted and another part had to be sanded away. We had discussions about wet transfers from HGW in various threads, and to me the verdict seems to be, it's not a reliable product. If they work, they are great, if not, be prepared for some extra work. I have some sets and will give them another try, in a way, against better knowledge . Last week, I saw a new product, which can be helpful, if you are considering spraying the markings with let's say Maketar masks. 1Man Army has released stencil kabuki masks, which may even be reusable for the addicted Corsair builder . F4U 1A/C/D CORSAIR | AK Interactive | The weathering #Brand (ak-interactive.com) Cheers Rob

Thank you for the comparison Peter. Quite a difference in approach and detail with these two. I'm eager to start my build and ordered a set of MK.1 exhaust nozzles for my Kai Phantom, as the kit supplied look a bit toyish to me. With a good paint job and some scribing, they might be usable, but the inner detail from the Tamiya's is on another level. Cheers Rob

Absolutely stunning as ever. The Mosca is a very strange and interesting little plane and you brought her to life with marvelous painting, decaling and weathering. I know of another Russian pilot figure made by Copper State. The pose is a bit boring for my taste. CSM : Russian WWI Pilot (copperstatemodels.com) Cheers Rob

I don't need a LHS to drive myself into poverty, quite the opposite, I have to add shipping and customs to all my goods . Cheers Rob

Looks perfect now, fixing the overspray payed off. Bring on the black and yellow, please. Cheers Rob

Nice and clean work Peter. Thanks for comparing the burner cans. Tamiya's solution reminds me of the Mosquito wheels. I would appreciate, if you could add a comparison pic of the burner can's plastic. For my ZM Kai Phantom, I will use Res Kit cans, when they are in stock again and also wait for some masks, because the canopy borders are not very prominent as a guide line for cutting my own.

Woah, an outburst of pure frustration and understandable, given what this kit throws at you. In my brain cinema, I will always see the Blues Brothers sing Beulen, Beulen, Beulen,... from now on . Said Beulen look good now, I think. Bummer with the needed surgery on the wings. It's not a short gap and on both sides, holy cow. Cheers Rob

Great looking camo Kai, so many beautiful and different types of Mirages here at the moment, should I ....? Nooooo, I sit and watch how well you guys perform. Cheers Rob

What a beautiful and vibrant paintjob. Cheers Rob

Oh, I found out myself. All Eduard decals since September 2019 ar produced with the new technology. The corresponding article starts at page 52. info-eduard-2021-05-enrr.pdf Cheers Rob

Indeed, very interesting, is there a way to find out wich are the new and which are the old Eduard decals? Cheers Rob

I never liked kardan driven bikes like BMW's, a bike has to have a chain or at least a belt. Model wise, I will stay with what Tamiya provided. It's not too bad and will keep me sane. BTW: Nice chain on your bike, with even some more links, being a hillclimber, I guess. Cheers Rob

I see things sometimes, with or without glasses.... Cheers Rob

I know about these sets Carl ,but I definitely will not build a chain from PE-parts, but still consider the Top Studio set, with PE brake discs and other parts. Cheers Rob

No problem Mike, the new P-51 decals are printed by Eduard too. Can't say anything about the quality, but I think Eduard wrote something about their new decals in the downloadable 'Info Eduard'. They even claimed, it is possible to remove the carrier film, if I remember it right. Cheers Rob

Hi recon, the question is not very specific. There are not many kits from Eduard in 1/32, so I guess you ask about decals for the Me BF-109 E. I have an older boxing called 'Bf 109E over the Balkan Peninsula' which includes decals made by Eduard in the Czech Republic, definitely not by Cartograph. A new boxing has Eduard decals as well included. I have not used these decals, but others printed by Eduard for their 1/48 SSW. They were very fragile, thin and brittle and very hard to adjust on the plane, without destroying them. Where I got them on properly, they looked very good, but to work with them was a pain. Cheers Rob

Hi Wolf, burnishing brass has it's difficulties, that's true. The parts have to be fat free and CA-free. I soak the parts only for some 20 seconds in the bath and move them with a tweezer, because of the developing gas bubbles, there could arise non blackened areas, if not moved properly. I stop the process with dipping the parts in clear water. I really like the very matte, brownish-black effect scale wise and carefully use some steel pigments from Uschi van der Rosten for a bit of highlighting. Cheers Rob

Very flashy and stylish. she's a beauty. If it wouldn't have been a model of an old plane, I would call the look positively 'retro' . Cheers Rob

I do the same, not only because I have no patience. I don't like to have masks or masking materials longer on the kit than necessary. Who knows, which thinner reacts with blue tack, kabuki glue or liquid mask. I also have the feeling, that the risk of damaging masked areas is lesser, when the color has dried, but not totally cured. Finish line in sight, with your great paintjob, Kai. Hey! Ho!, let's go! Cheers Rob

We have a heat wave in the moment, so I spend a lot of time surfing and swimming in the morning and watering our jungle in the afternoon and have not much time for modelling. I started a bit on the Ducati Panigale. I drilled out a million holes in the braking discs, which was a real pain, because the silver grey plastic is super soft and needs dozens rounds of cleanup. I'm not sure about the result and may opt for PE braking disks. The transparent dome glass is very distorted, so I will buy an aftermarket pre-cut, vac-formed one, as it's very prominent. The bad quality of this relatively simple shaped part surprises me a bit, being a Tamiya kit. I received the extra metal fork kit, which seems to be very well made, with the anodized parts. Cheers Rob