GusMac

Good grief, rather you than me! However, you're right Rob that only the PE will accurately give that beaten and battered look that so many half-tracks had, especially in North Africa.

Bit more progress with this build. First two colours are on and I'm hoping to get the final Earth brown down tomorrow night. Photos with and without flash but to be honest there isn't much difference. Really have to get better at the photography at some point but the fun for me is in the build and painting, not the photos. Have to say the Ammo paints are very impressive - thin well, spray nicely and good coverage. The ball bearing stirrers are a nice touch as well, saves searching for cocktail sticks and lots of tedious stirring. Hopefully will have some more pictures after the weekend.

I wonder if it's related but the positioning of the text in the header frame which tells you when things were posted also seems to have gone awry. It now sits too low so half is lost against the white background of the message body.

Yep, PE fills me with dread every time. It always seems especially useless for seatbelts and no-one seems to make fabric ones for modern(ish) jets, so you're stuck with it.

Wow, very nice Michael. Looks amazingly life-like.

Love the burnt effects, especially on the fuel tank.

Nice Barry. It might sound sacrilege to some but I think I prefer the OD finish to the NMF on the Mustang.

Thanks guys. Rich, that confirms my kind of plan to start with the Sand as the lightest colour, so I'm going to go for that and see how I go. Rob, yes that is the Mr Hobby mask. I've only used it to cover any gaps between the kabuki tape so hopefully there shouldn't be too much in any direct contact with the clear parts. The tape parts that Tamiya supply have good overlaps so this should just be a bit of overkill. I did something similar with my F15 and I don't recall any issues and I'm also pretty slow. Fingers crossed anyway. Gus

Just a quick update after some work on the F16 itself. Have to say I'm loving using these Ammo paints. The colour looks a little 'blue' in these with the flash and the mottling isn't as apparent to the naked eye but they give a very smooth satin finish. Second one is without flash just to try and show the difference and this next one is to try and show the nice finish. Anyway, I'm happy with what I've got so far. Next it's on to the top colours and this is where I get a bit confused. Not sure whether it's best to start with the darkest or lightest colour - I've seen both approaches in other people's work and I'm not sure of the pros and cons of each. My inclination is to start with the lightest as it has the largest surface area and work from there but if anyone has suggestions as to a better approach I'm open for ideas. Cheers, Gus

Nice problem Cees. Anytime I try to go on Netflix one of the kids has always got there first! Still, the elder one will be off to Uni soon. Haven't told her but I might turn her bedroom into a modelling space.

Great work on the winch Rich, how much did you have to contribute to the swear box doing that? Does seem a pity to cover up so much of that great work but you'll always know it's there.

Nice start with the TERs

Well had the first run with the Ammo paints tonight and I am seriously impressed. Found they tended to 'bead' slightly with their own thinner but lightly thinned with Mr Levelling they,went down like silk. However the beading may have been down to the glossy surface on the paint mule. Pigment is very fine and they can be highly thinned and give a very nice satin finish. Think I will definitely use these again. Will start on the F16 tomorrow, pictures to follow.

That sounds like an unusual but very exciting project Danny. Would be great to see some pictures when the time comes. Your picture with Shiva still makes me smile. Our two Jack Russells are like that, comatose, until someone opens something edible. I swear they can hear a packet of crisps opening from 5 km away!

Wow, that's some seriously impressive scratch work!

Well worth the effort Rob, looks great.

Thanks for your efforts guys. Ah, the joys of the upgrade! Our IT people took our entire hospital (1000+ beds) offline for almost a day recently when they attempted a system upgrade. Thankfully they do a full system restore each evening so they could get it back.

No pre-shading on the Schlepper?!

Good to hear everything is settling down and we'll see some more of your outstanding work. Worrying that PB seem to be screwing over even those with 'premium' accounts. So the the $400 or whatever really is extortion!

BACK IN BLACK! Well, sorted out the camera issues and using the hosting on here rather than PB, so here's the progress. Everything primed up using Mr Surfacer 1500 thinned with Mr Levelling. Load out will be Sidewinders, Python 4, JDAMs and wing and centre-line tanks. Decided to close everything up, so unfortunately no decent pictures of the cockpit. Next step is to give the whole airframe a buff up with some fine grit so it's ready for the first colour. Going to use the Mig Ammo IDF colours which will be a new adventure so I'll probably drag out the old paint mule to try some thinning ratios, etc. Have the Mig thinner but I'm tempted to see how it goes using the Mr Levelling as it just always seems to work. Any comments on that thought would be welcome.

Worth all the hassle Danny as that is a very nice finish and a nice display.

Yep, same here in soggy Scotland!

That good Rick?

Very sorry to hear that Rick but luckily your family are ok. Sad about the dog though.

Nice. The helmet seems familiar!