HubertB

To complete my answer. Since you have an old, yellowed, canopy, and need to vac-form a new one in PETG, you have two options: 1) Make a female mold around the old, yellowed canopy. This is the best option for vac-forming, whether the part is transparent or opaque. But it has some constraints, like needing a hole to suck the heated PETG in the female cavity. The diameter of this hole should be about 50% fo the thickness of the material formed to avoid any dimple. One way to get it is to drill a same diameter hole in the old part, insert a piece of monofilament in it, and pour the mold material around the part and the monofilament. When the model is set, remove the monofilament, et voilà, you have a hole for succion ! 2) Make a male mold by pouring your mold material in the old canopy, than vacform, or plug-form the heated PETG around this male mold. Whichever way you go, remember that PETG loves humidity, and will store it between its molecules. Thus, when you heat it, if you go above a certain limit (170° C), bubbles will appear within the plastic , created by water vapour. To avoid this, one way is dehydrate the PETG sheet for two hours at 50° C. Another way is to heat the PETG by plunging it in boiling oil (160° C). And Peter from Airscale seem to have been successful by plunging the sheet in boiling water. HTH Hubert

Hi Dale, I’m afraid you won’t like my answer : « Make new ones ! » Old vac-form canopies were made of PVC, which yellows and becomes brittle with age. This is due to ultra-violets, and there is not much you can do about it, but for keeping your models, including when finished, in the dark ... More recent vacs are made of PETG (one commercial name is « Vivak ») which is more tolerant of UVs, and does not seem to yellow with age (so far) Hubert

Apparently, they have reworked the CAD. That’s what Neil says anyway. The nose on the 3D renderings for the new 1/48 kit certainly looks flatter than the 1/32 kit... There are other issues however, like the outboard engine nacelles, which may not have been addressed, as most comments focused on the wrong nose shape. Hubert

Beautiful decals. Natural wood effects are becoming easier every day with this kind of products. Hubert

Sorry to hear about your parents, Ernie. Having lived through the ordeal of taking care of elderly, demented, parents, I know how tough this can be. And I had also to go through the sinuous, tortuous, mean, actions of a manipulative sister who did her utmost - and succeeded - to separate my parents from their two sons, even though I was the one mandated judicially to be the legal guardian of their interests. Both my parents are dead now, my father the last one. His funeral was the last time I saw my sister. She can rot in Hell for all I care. I refused any inheritance after his death. The family has been broken by the wrongdoings of this b#&%. Just another confirmation of the old adage that you choose your friends, but not your family ... Hubert

That’s it ! You inoculated the bug to me ! Now I have ordered a P-51 kit, to turn it into a racer, with some Draw Decals on it. I have ordered the SWS Mustang IV. Why The Zoukei Mura kit? Because : 1) it is cheaper in Europe than the Tamiya one. With my experiences of the Portuguese Post, I did not want to dare some more exotic countries of origin. 2) this version has the 3 different canopies, and the two different propellers, so my choices remain open for which racer I will do ( although I am leaning strongly towards « Voodoo ») You will take all the blame. Plus I will also order the California Fire Dpt decals for my OV-10 A kit. Will you send me food vouchers when I am poor, because of your bad influence ? Keep the great work coming ! Hubert

Indeed they did. But you know me. Boooooring camoed aircraft, roundels (even if these ones had "hooks" on them ) : not my cup-o'-tea ... The one below on the other hand (pic posted under Fair Use conditions) Hubert

You can always convert the newly released D into a C-87 ... no turret-seams issues, and as a bonus, you can even develop new, correct-diameter, cowlings for an early C-87. You’re « just » left with getting the Davis wing right ... Hubert

Very happy with Smugmug, even though I am not using all the functionalities my paying formula entitles me too. After the PB debacle, I swore never to believe anymore the claims of « free » image-hosting. There is no such thing as a free lunch, as they say ... And, btw, Flickr and SmugMug are now the same company, the latter having bought the former. Which may be another proof that a sound business model with paying - as opposed to « free » - services lasts longer and is more successfull. Hubert

I was sure I had seen a detail set, but when I checked, after my post, I found out Pontos did not have a set, nor did Ka-Models ... On the other hand, Shapeways seem full of detail sets for ship kits, including this one Hubert

One of the good things about LSM is the fact that you can upload directly your photos to the site. However, some, like me still rely on hot-linking from a photo-hosting site. I moved (and how glad and happy I am for doing it) from Photobucket to Sugmug at the time of « The Great Photobucket Scam », some 2 1/2 years ago, when they tried to extort USD 400 per year for continuing to host and and hot-link their users’ pics. I certainly was not the only one doing so, and their business seemed hurt enough that they removed the CEO responsible for this debacle from office - served him right - and then allowed a return of the hot-linking, albeit with a - very often VERY obnoxious - big watermark ... And now, I noticed in the last two days they are again stabbing their users / customers in the back : hot-linked pics appear blurry, with just the watermark clear and sharp . You need to click on the pic to access a clear, in-focus picture. In short they have done it again : betray their users. Maybe one day, this will become case lesson in how to run a business in the wall ... Hubert

Great find Ernie. I understand there are some upgrade kits for this one. I am not even sure there is not a Pontos set Hubert

In fairness, I swore never to use the Vallejo black primer again after this experience (and the frustration of having to dig deep, looking for a basic information like what thinner to use with it). The reason I kept it was to remember not to use it, or not to buy it again ... Hubert

Me want one ... Hubert

Hear, Hear ! Yes, we need more civvies and utilities, and less bombs and guns Hubert

Well don Ernie and Tony, and sell-deserved wins ! (just a quickie, and it’s most certainly a photo-induced impression, but the left wing of the Lanc looks significantly higher above the ground than the right one ... ) Hubert

Agree that it is a « miracle product » in most instances (like Tamiya X-22 clear, for another purpose). Be aware though that, mixed with Vallejo acrylic black primer, it turned the mix into a gooey mess within minutes, in the airbrush cup, and around the airbrush nozzle and needle. It took me almost a day, and strong stuff like pure acetone, to clean and recover the airbrush, with a very narrow escape from the « vertical filer » for the AB. ONLY WATER will work to thin this Vallejo primer (but it’s not mentioned on the bottle, and only a long internet search produced this information ) Hubert

I’d say that, after an appropriate number of cocktails, whichever they are, you’ll get the colors you want ... Just my experience Hubert

Spam is in the same league as Marmite : awful, unedible stuff, the taste of which can only be acquired by people who have also been educated in British boys’ boarding schools And this definitive judgment is from a man with impeccable food tastes, which include eating frog legs, snails, living oysters, andouillette (a typical French sausage made of pork tripes), sweetbreads, tête de veau (literally veal-head), pig trotters, and steak tartare Hubert

Why, oh why, did you mention the Draw decals site ? I went there, and now I am tempted to get one or more Mustangs ! As if my stash needed more kits ! I am almost tempted to jinx your build, so that you do not tempt any more than now Hubert

I’d say the light still shows a bit of an uncanny bulge - à la Trumpeter F6-F - in the center of the area I have circled below ... Probably just my old eyes, sorry ... Hubert

Fantastic work (as always), Peter. However, can I raise a question ? The photo below leaves me with a strange feeling of a humpback impression ( in my circled area), not quite in line with the smooth flowing lines of the original. It may just be a parallax issue, or the eye being fooled by the change of alignment of the rivet lines, but the impression is bugging me ... Hubert

If HpH’s C-47 is already too expensive, then the De Agostini’s DC-3 is .... what ? Hubert

Hushhhhh ... don’t tell anyone else, but I have seen on Scalemates today that the Japanese guy behind « ONE MAN Models » has upscaled his 1/72 SaRo Princess to 1/48... Now, this is talking « huge and awesome » Hubert

The Wright engines are no big deal. There is a representation by Vector, which has only a "small" glitch, in that the crankcase has an uneven distribution of the cylinders, to make room for an inaccurate representation of the oil crankcase ... But I have designed an accurate center crankcase for the R-1820, and can 3D-print it. Ditto for the cowlings, which I would need to design, but that is an easy shape compared to a finned cylinder for a radial engine ... I could probably design and print internal seats for a civilian conversion as well - and then think about the waste of time and energy a civilian which hides the internal ribbing means for the HPH kit ... Just remains to find the "right" price. I have not had that chance so far ... Hubert