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elkhart

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Posts posted by elkhart

  1. For an airplane, I suggest the 1/48 scale Curtiss P-40B. The exterior colors are just olive drab and neutral gray, and spray can paint will give him an excellent finish. Craft paints can be used for interior colors if needed. 

    Humbrol tube glue will work, but Tamiya extra thin will make life so much easier!

    Also consider a tank, in the 1/35 scale. One can of olive drab spray paint will be about all he'll need.

  2. My biggest gripe with the starter kit pots is that I'm constantly spilling them! 

    As a side note, this drawing is a nice reference showing the various finishes on a Mustang. I've mixed silver in with light gray (about 6 parts light gray, 4 parts silver) and got a nice effect on the wings. Rattle can silver for the bare metal. 

    /media/tinymce_upload/4c5961a71e755ef1ddb12720ca1f653c.png

  3. I've found the best material for rigging is Lycra type thread. You don't have to be precise about the cut length, indeed it's best to cut it deliberately short and stretch it into place. Use superglue, a drop on the anchor point, a tiny dab of accelerator on the end of the thread and the bond is near instant. The stretch in the thread takes up any slack. When I did my Revell EIII I drilled the wings all the way through and ran lines from the top pylon, through the wing and back to the lower pylon. In this case I used EZ Line, but since then I bought a couple of spools of Uschi van der Rosten thread (it comes in different thicknesses), which is finer and more scalish. I've also got some Prym knitting in invisible elastic thread (do an ebay search). The latter comes on a 200m spool, so it will last a lifetime or two. The only issue I have is I'm not keen on it being quite transparent (your mileage may vary), but I'm advised it's possible to colour it using a food dye solution. When using stretchy threads it's always best to drill pilot holes as a receptacle for the glue.

     

    Paul, you mentioned using lycra and accelerator. I tried accelerator on EZ line, which I think is lycra, and it would curl up the end of the line. Did you run into that? 

    I was also trying to attach the line to a dab of super glue on the model surface, which did not work. Ended up with a lump of super glue at the attachment point. Would you recommend drilling a partial hole to pool the super glue, or drill all the way through the wing and run the line?

    Joe

     

  4. Ratch, she's looking great! 

    I'm no MiG expert, have only built three of them, but they required the builder to bend the landing gear covers. I'm glad to see Airfix has taken care of this, I was never sure if the angle and placement was correct. 

  5. Nice write up, thanks!

    Looks like a quality kit, standard Airfix. I know you plan on building it in flight, but how does the landing gear look? Does it have solid attachments, do you have to bend wheel covers? I couldn't enlarge the instructions enough to see the details. 

     

    Is there an option for an open canopy?

    Looking forward to your progress!

  6. I'm not buying anymore kits until I reduce the stash, but this one is the exception. Just finishing up the Dragaon double boxing of the Ji-2 and Ji-5, esentially Chinese versions of the MiG 15 and 17. The Ji-2 has problems. Istarted it but it's not worth the time and materials to finish. Major warpage, looks like it was in a rivet epidemic, very lacking in detail. 

    The Ji-5 is ok, nothing to write home about. The new Airfix kit will be so much better. I'd like to finish the Airfix kit with the decals from the Dragon kit. A North Vietnamese Ji-5, the camo is eyecatching. "Eyecatching camo", hmmm, that doesn't sound right. 

    I think Zvesda is re-popping the Dragon MiG-17/Ji-5. Save your money, wait for the Airfix offering!

    Looking forward to more Soviet and Russian aircraft from Airfix, good affordable kits in that genre are lacking out there.

  7. Looks great!

    The new tool Airfix Spitfires are fantastic kits. As you mentioned, the panel lines are a bit on the heavy side. I diluted some water soluble putty (Perfect Putty) and filled them in a bit. A light sanding and they look better. I've heard of others using typing correction fluid as filler, but have never tried that. 

    Looking forward to the finished pictures, thanks for posting. 

    Joe

  8. I've seen many pictures of allied pilots in the Mediteranean theater wearing shorts. Always wondered if they were flying very low operations or would put on warmer flight gear just prior to boarding. 

  9. Not a stupid question. I usually prime, and regret it when I don't! I'm working on a Tamiya Super Sabre and out of laziness airbrushed a layer of Valejo tan on bare plastic-  aqueous acrylic on bare plastic scenario mentioned by Paul Brown. It didn't work, could scratch it off with my fingernail. Thought about stripping it off, but on a whim coated it with two coats of Future. After a couple days to cure, the paint seems ok. 

    Tamiya makes a very good primer in a rattle can. Rustoleum American Accents Primer also works very well. Both provide a very thin tough base for your topcoat. I don't care for water based primer, but I've only tried the Model Master version. Seemed like thick paint that didn't adhere well. 

    And hang on to your "disasters". As Ratch mentioned, you can fix the Typhoon. 

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