HubertB

If you use AK’S black base, be aware that it dilutes and cleans with water. On the other hand, if you like spending an afternoon - after all we have plenty of time in these lockdown times - cleaning goo in the tiniest spots of an airbrush, you can use my goto thinner for airbrushing, i.e. Mr Levelling Thinner. Trust me when I say it’s a 100% result ... I have yet to try the MRP metal colors. Hubert

Jaw-dropping stuff ... Hubert

Feeling pretty smug about an experiment I just ran with my EPAX 3D printer. I taxed its capacities to the limit, but it worked, with an incredibly smooth surface. The fin tip is broken because of my clumsy attempt to straighten it, but that’s a nothing. One area on the fuse got pretty thin, but I think it’s more to do with my design. And finally the transparent blue color is just the resin I had available. Some grey one is on its way. That means I can resume a stalled project that was sitting on my (virtual, as it was in the computer only) SOD ... Hubert

Just got this beauty 1/32 haven is coming from Central Europe nowadays (and not from Shizuoka ) Hubert

Agreed. This head has a Frankenstein dimension to it . If it’s already a Frankenstein creature, then you can just as well start chopping it ... Hubert

20 pages ... at least , plus a number of expletives and snarky personal attacks Hubert

Now, THIS is the MEGA can-o-worms question ! IIRC the Mustang wings were puttied, and then painted. But the putty and paint were not applied on the whole wing (guns/ammo servicing panels are an obvious area where putty was useless, for instance). The idea was to maintain a smooth airflow and delay the onset of turbulences on the upper wing skin. Ergo the wings were puttied from roughly the LE to the main spar. Then there is the issue of in-service maintenance, wear and tear, etc. which made keeping a smooth wing for the laminar flow even more complicated ... Btw, whilst the P-51 laminar flow wing was an important factor in its performance, I remember reading that the radiator design and exhaust were a greater factor in its speed achievement. And to conclude, very nice work, Phil ! Hubert

You’ll get a thinner, and more consistent layer with a spray can. Hence my suggestion of Future for a brush application (it’s also dirt cheap compared to hobby paints) If you use a spray can, some tips: 1) put it in a warm water container beforehand, and any time you pause. You’ll thus get a more consistent result across its use. The progressive decompression of the propelling gas will make the can colder and colder, and the pressure will fall faster, with risk of splutter in the end. 2) start spraying before the model, and stop after the model. This will ensure you do not have paint build-up on the kit when starting spraying. Hubert

Hi Pintar, The process you describe sounds sound. "Silvering" happens when the decal carrier film shows though around the decal motif. This happens when setting decals on a matte surface, because the surface is slightly grainy (at a microscopic level), and microscopic air bubbles remain trapped between the decal film and the model surface. By spraying gloss varnish, you produce a smooth surface that is less likely to have these micro-irregularities, and the carrier film will thus optically disappear. Now, to make things even surer, I would advise you trim away the carrier film by cutting the decal as close as possible to the actual motif. When everything is settled, spraying a coat a matte varnish is the right thing to do if you want a matt finish for your kit. Rob's recommendations are all sound, especially testing. We use a lot chemicals in our kits, and very often overlook the possible interactions between some and others, like paints. Finally, I have read that you have only access to Revell varnishes. I confess it's a long time I have used these. Plus you do not say if you spray (my assumption) or brush the varnish. If you can there are some worthy alternatives to go hunting for : -Tamiya X-22 gloss varnish or TS-13 in a rattle can, - Future (according to countries it can also be called Pledge or Klear) is a floor protection product. It is astounding in its results when applied to kits. And it works great applied with a brush. - You can also look for in art stores for oil painting varnishes. A number of my buddies use them with success. - Finally, there are plenty of other "brews" for varnishing kits, but I confess I have no knowledge of how most work. HTH Hubert

Yeah, what Harv and Gaz said ... Hubert

Looks like the SH Westland Whirlwind (the one with wings, not an egg-beater above) is (at last ) announced for this spring (and in case you are wondering, yes I have already spotted a civilian scheme for it ) Hubert

IMHO, the whole would not be any less impressive, and would probably look more « business-like » if it lost a few « yards » of truck chassis frame. Hubert

No, Ernie, it was definitely silver paint. Very much like English « Speed Silver ». In the early 60s, Look-Alike was put in place to harmonise to the same standard all the F-105s. As operations in Europe had shown that the ‘chiefs were susceptible to weather corrosion (have you seen the rain when it’s falling on Bitburg ? ), it was decided to paint the F-105s in silver. Then, when deployed in Vietnam, they were camouflaged in the SE-Asia scheme. Thus, at one time between 1964 and 1967, you had NMF, silver-paint, and camoed F-105s, although the NMF birds were disappearing fast... There were even some « D » in NMF in the early Vietnam deployments. But, if European rain was bad, imagine what it was like in Thailand or Vietnam ... My assumption is that, besides the prototypes, the « F » were delivered in silver paint, given the timing. Hubert

It’s probably only me, but IMHO the Thud is only good-looking in silver paint finish (silver paint, because when the -F entered service, Operation Look-Alike had had the NMF F-105s repainted in corrosion-protection paint) Hubert

Extremely neat scratchbuilding ! That really makes for a looooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng road train ! Hubert

Welcome to the dark side of the force ... Powerful this side is ! Hubert

VERY good ! Hubert

Well, I do not know who the « some » are, but definitely not me . Although I am working hard at improving my relation with PE. As popular wisdom goes, you can be a good craftsman, but with bad tools, you’ll not go very far; you’ll go nowhere if you are a bad craftsman with bad tools; and you will maybe produce acceptable results if you are a poor craftsman but have good tools. Which is what I am trying to do . So I can say that, after I got the Toolz and Barracuda PE benders and a more powerful soldering iron, I am getting better at producing average results with PE, ... and soldering. As for you, Mike, you are in the fourth subgroup: a master craftsman with obviously good tools Hubert

Thirded ! Hubert

Jeff, as far as I have seen and read until now, the « fake news « media, and the public persona pushing these « fake news » claims are precisely the bunch who have persistently tried to minimise or negate the existence and impact of the pandemic ... Stopping there before treading any further on the thin ice of politics ... Hubert just my

FWIW, Tamiya’s white primer, whether in rattle cans or small glass jars, makes a very good and dense (read with excellent coverage qualities) white. It then can be covered with a gloss varnish like X-22. This is what I did with my Nieuport Sesquiplan record plane. Hubert.

Because this first tank kit (a Tiger, nazi stuff of course ...) was designed to fit a box size (as was the norm at the time - Frog were the first to advertise « contant scale » ). They then computed that the scale was close - not exactly - to 1/35 scale. They sold enough to carry on with the next releases in this « scale », and the other manufacturers followed suit. Had the box been 10% bigger, or the mold frame, we would not have this discussion ... Hubert

Well, the 109 and Stuka are the first in 1/35 scale ... Hubert

Now for my dream list. But then I have found a site where you can buy 3D designs, in .obj or .stl format. Which the first step for getting the 3D printers started... And I found : - a TBD - a Grumman J2F-6 - a CF-100 - a CF-105 - an OV-1 D - a Northrop Delta - a Martin B-10 just to name a few Hubert

Then, imagine it’s done by the « C team » in Trumpeter. You start with Gazz, and end up with something that looks like Pamela Anderson... Eahhh ... wait .... Hubert