HubertB

Now, where is mine 😩 ? I NEED my TBD fix 😥 ! Hubert

Sincere condolences, Ron. Hubert

I guess you are using PETG, Martin. it’s extremely sensitive to temperatures, and the bubbles you are seeing is water trapped in the PETG sheet, that turns into vapour with the temperature rise. PETG loves water, like plaster or a paper towel, btw. There are two solutions to that, that work best together : 1) pre-dry the PETG sheets in an oven, like 2 hours in the oven set at about 60° C 2) decrease the sheet temperature when molding it. It’ s a two-step process. 1) As you cannot modulate the heat coming from the overhead resistance, on these machines, increase the distance between the sheet and the resistance. 2) Spend just the right amount of time heating the sheet, and it’s literally a one-sor-two-seconds window : too little time, and the sheet won’t mold well, and two much time and the dreaded bubbles will grow like mushrooms. And both these steps are a function of trial-and-error, depending on the machine. A chronometer is useful to time the « right » time, but thank God, all smartphones have one function for that …As for the height, once you have determined it, a makeshift stop on one axis rod will help obtain consistent results. HTH Hubert

Well, my ex-wife had a few dozens pairs of shoes she never wore, and many pieces of garments with the shop price-tag still on … But she did not like my modelling anyway … Hubert

Just looking at that PE, and thinking about what it means in assembly, I am already crazy 🙃 Hubert

Me too Hubert

About right about the zillion. The issue is to find a combination of exterior pics, interior pics, registration number, etc. to produce a reasonably accurate replica… And I have found great-looking schemes which would be a nightmare to mask and / or airbrush, at least with my skills Hubert

Cool subject, Rob 👍 ! I guess it’s 1/72 ? Me, I just received my Jetmads Learjet ! Now, to find a cool, but doable, civilian scheme … Hubert

We know it does not take much to be banned from BM nowadays. Maybe just mentioning LSP was enough to displease the lord there 😂 ... Hubert

Quote from Heinz on Britmodeller, relayed on LSP on a thread about the Val ... Hubert

Well, it seems that HPH are throwing the towel on Infinity. The Kate is 50 % down the road, and the project is advertised for sale. That was a meteoritic passage in the modelling word … Hubert

Wouldn’t it be linked to the specific situation (and therefore the helo markings) you are depicting ? An Alaskan helo would justify a closed canopy more than a Hawaian one for instance, or a GB vs Spain one … Both look excellent anyway, and, situation notwithstanding, the open frame shows the cabin detailing much better. Just my Hubert

To give you an idea, it took me some 40 hours in total to print the parts for my Mystery Ship. Even with a larger and more professional machine, i guess the time would be divided by 3 at best. An IM process, once the molds are done, is about 30’’ to one minute. In the time it takes to print efficiently one kit, you can produce a few thousands IM kits. Just look at the time it took Jetmads to produce 500 kits : at least one year, if not 18 months. 3D printing is a great process for esoteric subjects that warrant only small volumes, but it’s going to take some time before it can replace injection molding.. Hubert

Convincing result 👍 ! Hubert

The answer is yes. I have successfully printed a (thin) clear windscreen for my Mystery Ship. Just needed a clear vanish coat to be perfectly clear. And, on LSP, Ben (Starfighter) has printed a full canopy for a 1/32 S3-A Viking. It needed some sanding and polishing to get rid of some print lines, but the end result was perfect. Hubert

Plus : Halberd Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk And …. (I thought I’d never write down this one ) … …. Trumpeter TBD Devastator ! Hubert

I too have fond memories of building the Gemini in my youth years 👍 ! Hubert

I am a great fan of Lukgraph kits, and have significantly contributed my share of decreasing their stocks, but the Wapiti is one that does not do anything for me … Hubert

Let’s put it this way. WnW kits are more expensive than any other manufacturer’s, especially as they are OOP. So the fear of making a mistake that will waste this money is greater than with a cheaper alternative. But, on the other hand, there is a reason why WnW were such a success: they are extremely well designed, go together well, with great instructions, and they have made many novices get hooked to WWI modelling. So your money may be better spent on a WnW kit if you want to go the WWI route Hubert

As I was reworking the ejection seat of my Cutlass, I found out that using a power-tool on a delicate assembly of resin, plastic, brass rods and brass sheet was a sure way of feeding my variety of carpet-monster (called woodenfloorus omnivorus)… I could swear I saw its gaping jaws jump at the flying parts on their ballistic trajectory to the Lagrange point … Dune’s sandworms have a much smaller mouth, I tell you … Anyway, back to some more (unwanted) scratchbuilding 🤪 ! Hubert

Finally, it does not take much to convert a beautiful airframe into a butt-ugly one … Hubert

Nice project. I quite like the NMF Bolivian bird myself. Plus it changes from the Stars-and-Bars 51s Hubert

Is it done yet 🤪 ? Hubert

You’ve not travelled economy lately, have you, Carl ? Otherwise you’d know that any airline will manage a three-seats row in that huuuuuuge width … Hubert

Love the Texaco fuel truck 👍 ! Hubert