1to1scale

Nice, you were able to really beat this one into shape.

Finally done! I’ll take a few better photos outside tomorrow when the ran stops.

Middle Tennessee IPMS chapter is proud to sponsor its annual IPMS rules model competition and swap meet this Saturday 11/14/20 from 9:00am to 4:00pm, judging starts at 12:00. As of yesterday we have 55 vendor tables reserved and about as many display and contests tables, and the model tables are on 18” risers to make them easy to view. The show has been given the green light yesterday and will happen as scheduled. The flyer below lists the basics. Please see the website for more details including categories. Come join us for what is one of the very few shows to actually happen, we only ask that you follow city mandates and wear a mask. http://www.ipmsmiddletennessee.com The fee schedule for entries are as follows: $15 for the first three entries/ $1 for each additional entry. There will be a $2 discount available to everyone who pre-registers and an additional $2 discount for IPMS National members. Example: An IPMS member who pre-registers will have a cost of $11 for his first three entries. Junior entries (under 16) $5 for up to ten entries Download Entry Form

Finished this Mig-15 today, after a paint disaster after the wash, I tried to hide the damage with Noch snow, it sat like that for 8 months, but I never liked it, so I stripped the clear coat off, resprayed the top weathering using a few shades of tamiya green over chipping medium, and weathered a bit more with green and smoke pastels. This weathering is actually based on a photo i saw of an abandoned Mig-15/17/19’s. I still have to varnish the walnut base, and place a few leaves on the ground, but this one is done.

John, check out the Fundekals instructions, they point out a few minor differences, and to convert the tips, you just saw off the ends. I saw what you did with the P-63, this is a 30 minute mod for your skills. https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/4/1/3/1184413-16-instructions.pdf

I have never seen any in 1/32, but you might want to check out Trumpeter kits, you might be able to adopt if they had some.

This is one of the reasons I stopped using Vallejo, I think they got a lot of colors just wrong. You are correct, the dark green should be more green, and the black green should be almost black. There was an article someone wrote about a pilot in Germany in ww2 that had built some wooden models and used actual Luftwaffe paint on them, they were well preserved to this day and he compared them to what was available in model paint now, as I remember it, he came to the conclusion that early war colors and BoB were more green and quite dark. My personal belief is that MRP got the colors right, and Hataka is pretty close, and tamiya also has a few that are very close, but they are not labeled as RLM colors. http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2002/11/stuff_eng_profile_luftwaffe_bomber_camo.htm I also remember that this picture seemed to be pretty close.

Awesome! Congrats, I didn’t realize time went by that fast. But you will soon find out that time goes by real fast when you have kids.

I’m close to finishing the Marder III I started on 23 months ago! Fixed the broken post by drilling and pinning, you can tell where it broke in three pieces by the paint colors.

How long til the baby arrives?

Looking good Gaz! I think we need to rename the site 1/48 and larger!

Wingnut wings kits...good as any country’s currency.

Yes, I apologize, I have been making spelling mistakes all day. I own the F-15B/D as I was wanting to build one of these birds. I have also wanted to get an AMK F-14, but they have been hard to get for the last few months.

Sorry, Mig-25 by ICM is the one I have.

If the subject interests you, the Great Wall Hobby kits like the Su-35, F-14, Mig-29 are amazing detail and build quality, they give Tamiya a run for the money. Also, the new Tamiya F-14 is amazing build quality too. Also, AMK Russian Mig-25/31’s are really good.

I had the same issue with Cartograph decals silvering when I did my AH-1Z, I used Microset, MicroSol, and then I tried Solvaset, however, when I tried Mr Mark Softer, they melted into the paint beautifully. I have had significant decal issues the last few builds, and have traced it down to certain colors have the worst silvering, and certain decal solutions do nothing. All have been reputable decals, I now have taken a new approach and started spraying a test piece of plastic with the colors, and trying the decals with different solutions. I even took the drastic step of ordering decal adhesive from Japan, made by Tamiya. Don’t be discouraged, it’s all about learning what works. For me, the game changer has been switching to lacquer paints since this summer, while it does not affect decals and differently, I do find that the overall surface finish is significantly smoother and thinner, and the use of leveling thinners makes a real improvement to that finish. I have taken the approach of learning something new on every model, I try a new method, paint, weathering, etc. I feel my last three models have been the best ever. I know a lot of modelers, that always do the same thing, but don’t grow and learn. Just knowing what you did didn’t work and why is half the battle, we learn from mistakes , not success. Get back on the horse And build another jet right away, but make a vow to try something different on the paint that didn’t turn out right, and you might surprise yourself. And your phantom looks great, most people would look at it and say “wow”. We tend to be our own worst critics, I give it two thumbs up!

Looks fantastic! I’m just getting started on mine, hope it turned out as good as yours.

This is an excellent idea.

From the wrinkling effect, it looks like the solvent of the paint underneath caused the top layer to lift and swell

Some of the pictures I was referencing, to me, something changed when they switched colors from hi-viz to lo-viz.

I did some spray out cards today and matched grays to the decals, I think the Lt Gull Gray looks too yellow and more like Older phantoms, I agree the S’s had a cooler tone to them. I tested the Ghost Gray colors and they didn’t match either. I found the MRP pre-1942 Gray to be a better match to the decals, which look like the pictures. I also found that the Medium Gunship Gray was the closest match to the anti-skid, anti-glare, and tail, so I am going to use both Instead of what instructions say. MRP040 MRP/Mr Paint - Gunship Grey FS36118 MRP134 MRP/Mr Paint - WW2 Light Grey M-495

Good looking phantom! All the sources call for Light Gull Gray, but I was thinking maybe ghost gray is a better match to the photos. Since you completed one, what do you think?

I took a major step toward doing the ugly part, and did it early before it sucked away my enthusiasm. All the parts Are there such as extended strut, downward stabs, and flaps In launch configuration, which few kits have. I praise old man Zoukei-Mura for giving the option of putting the stabilators in launch mode, but then I curse him for not giving any cutting guides on the inside fuselage. Today I ripped off the bandage and started carving away plastic, and then decided to apply a bandage, as I did make a nice little slice in my index finger. After about 4 hours of careful carving, sanding, filing, and fitting, I was ready to glue the pieces in. I took extra care because there was so much small irreplaceable detail, I figured it’s better to spend the time now and not sanding filler later. In the end, it came out OK, it could have been a little cleaner, but overall, It came out better than I thought, requiring very little filler.

Here is my next project, as many recent completions have been commission work for others, I decided to do one for myself. As a teen, I wanted nothing more than to fly F-4’s, but that never worked out, however I have still been a lifelong fan. I was always a fan of the last F-4S, but never knew there was a kit out there. Recently I came across the ZM phantoms, and when I found this one, I knew I wanted to do a cat launch, nose up, tail down. I have for my build ZM-1/48 F-4S CAM Decals VF-161 (kit decals are close, but not what I wanted) Aerobonus Pilot, RIO, and Seats Skunkmodels Carrier Launch Kit.