mark_75

this would look great in my cabinet! anybody got one they dont want? theyre as rare as hens teeth.

Very neat and tidy! I keep my tinlets in an old plastic forling toolbox my Dad gave me a while back, its very handy for that. I did make two simple racks for my paintbrushes and for my other tools just recently so i can keep my workspace tidy and clear. Just simple blocks of wood with 'oles drilled in them, but they do the job very effectively.

Academy P-47D Thunderbolt Bubbletop 1:72 I like Academy kits, i have built one (P-51B/C) but found it a rather pleasurable experience all in! Looking forward to making this one, though i might tease myself by building another kit before it! (just to keep myself interested), it looks like a very nice kit and the P-47 is a favourite of mine.

What is the description of the part? Often you can get a number of alternative parts for many models; i got better wheels for a 1:72 Curtis Helldiver recently and they look far better than the original kit part. Its also possible to make parts from scratch too, i have done this too. Just an idea.

acrylic doesnt stick to clear parts. it will go on but it will not stay on. it wont cover properly and it goes funny next to enamels.

I HAVE experimented and found that ANY acrylic paint for plastic modelling is no good. I wont go on clear parts, separates on non clear parts despite having the parts washed. Nobody seems to do decent enamel paints, and even less do them in enamel for kits of US Navy aircraft. I have aircraft models lying unfinished now because i cant get the colours in enamel.

I prefer enamels IF i can get decent quality stuff and NOT the rubbish that Humbrol pass onto modellers. Not even the acrylic is good; it wont stay on clear parts, cant be used next to enamls, the list goes on. I dont know what paints to use or where i can get them. Humbrol seem to think that they hold a monopoly on enamel paints, sorry, you dont! I will NOT buy another humbrol paint. enamel or acrylic, deffo NOT acrylic.

The vac-form will be a very interesting build; i did one years ago of TSR2 and although it took a long time it looked cracking! The Devastator is my last kit. I put away all my die cast aircraft this evening because my modelling will not be going any further now. I have nowhere to put the complete kits and the sight of the die cast ones was annoying me; i could either just go blind or just put them all away in their boxes. I chose the latter. Thats me folks, i'm outta here! Byeeeeeeee

One i bid on before i had to pack up (i just put a bid on it not really wondering if i would win on it); Airfix TBD Devastator. Its sitting in my pile of unmades waiting for the day that i ever get back to it (which depends on when i can get a decent cabinet for them - i'm looking but there is nothing available in my area).

I like the look of the F6F Hellcat one! That would be too much for me just now though, i'm still at fighters and single engined models in 1:72! 😀 (When i decide to get back to it; when i can get a cabinet to put them in! I'm not keen on models dotted about the house because the flick of a duster can catch a models aerial or anything sticking out, and having very liitle weight at all, they are likely to get whisked off from where they were standing! A glass cabinet is the answer. I have one but i need a second one, a larger one. That way all the aircraft i want to collect will have space) Sorry folks, slightly off-topic there (so i stopped early).

My latest acquisitions are a Revell A-20 Havoc and an F-82 (double mustang) but i wont be building them. I wont be continuing with modelling as i get no encouragement. I have also run out of places to put the finished 'efforts'., i was waiting for a large glass display cabinet but the seller let me down after trying to diddle me, he got no money from me and i sent him away with his tail between his legs. He tried to sell me a larger cabinet but turned up with a smaller one than i already have and wanted more money. Anyway, i cant make any more models if i have nowhere to keep them so thats me done. It was a short but sweet hobby. There is no encouragement for modellers these days and very few shops that sell them near me. wont be around much longer.

Actually its a 2011 one. I was surprised myself at it. I have the matchbox one but being older, it has some parts that cannot be used, i'll have a look at what parts i can merge between the two, failing that i'll look for an Academy kit, i built a P-51B of theirs recently and it was a pleasure to build up! I know it will be a tad more expensive that the Airfix one but it should be a good kit. Thanks for the gen' on the 'Shrike' i'll keep an eye open.

They'll need to retool it well before re-release, it lacks in interior detail too.

Has to be one of the most rubbish kits i've seen, ranking with the Condor and Brengun kits. I bought it because i though that (normally) Airfix kits are pretty good. I was quite wrong. This must have slipped past QC because not one of the openings are open, the cockpit area is all plastic where the clear parts would be, other parts like prpellers undercarriage are malformed. I didnt even get to build it because i felt it to be of such inferior quality. I kept parts i might use in the future but threw the rest away. Glad i didnt buy this brand new, it would have gone right back to the shop, not even worth the £5 i paid for it. Hasnt put me off modelling but i will be very wary of Airfix in future; i thought i could rely on them making a good kit. Hmm.

Most recent ones are an Airfix Curtis SB2C Helldiver in 1:72, and a Revell A-20 Havoc 1:72, just started on the Helldiver this evening and fell out with it already but i'll keep on going; i HAVE to go into more adventurous kits before i can do anything larger. I have a Matchbox Privateer which i will not touch until i am happy and comfortable, all my recents have been single engined and theyre getting better with each kit! Had a few things going on of late and not been able to get to my kits much in the past few days and i have the remaining decals on another P-51 to finish (i do the wings upper and lower first and the tail, i then varnish over them with Mattcote and do the fuselage the next day; saves me removing decals i just put on with my big clumsy fingers and shaky hands!).

As the title says, Happy 2020 folks! (when it arrives)!

😆 There's a few of us about. I was introduced to plastic kits when I was little and "helped" my Dad build things. My sister and I also shared a doll's house, and we both used to make things for it - with me preferring the mechanical things, of course! It can be an absorbing hobby, what with the multi-faceted research, history, understanding how and why something was made to do a specific job. I find things mechanical and technical endlessly fascinating, and I like to know how they work. I have now been a professional model maker for seven years, building model railway locos and coaches for clients around the world. Indeed it IS an absorbing hobby! It really absorbs the time in a day! I dont work now so i help with housekeeping and do my modelling once i have finished about the house but i've seen me sitting down "just to get this little job done for later..." but being there for an easy four hours! If you want a good kit/good build its always better to take as much time that is needed, plan ahead by pre-painting things like landing gear, cockpit area, insides etc before it all goes together! Researching is so much easier now with the readily available internet and the sheer volume of info that is available in it. For cockpit instalation i now build it up and THEN paint it, leaving 'paint-free' the areas that are to be glued; paint and glue just doesnt do! (not in the same place). I am steadily improving now, my kits are getting better and i'm learning and rediscovering tricks i used a few years back! Great hobby! 😀

Yayy! Its great to see a lady modeller, not many lady kit builders around! I did kits when i were nobut a lad! and then did them again in my 30's, 20 odd years back. I just restarted again in ealy November this year.

Good i'm glad you're okay but i know that wont be easy! Personally i suffer from stress, anxiety and depression, and have not worked since 2014, i am feeling a bit better but its kinda like a rollercoaster ride much of the time. If i am agitated or stressed, even tired, then i dont go near the room i do my kits. Some days i get tons done, other days i just have a few minutes and do something simple and easy; today i started building my latest P-51, and i started the decals on the one i have finished building; i'll do the ones on the fuselage tomorrow and then give those a coat of matt lacquer. I did the wing decals today and then matt coated it two or three hours later, i never do ALL the decals at one time because my big ol' clumsy hands can take them back off so i split the job into easier stages! I made the wings and the main part of the fuselage, painted all the interiors and the cockpit, i've left the fuselage pinned together with wooden pegs (the spring type) and croc clips while the glue cures. I also painted the wheels but they need some more tickling! Wont take long to do, the tail assembly needs to be painted inside and then put together and on the rest of the fuselage, and the tailwheel doors are already on the assembly in this kit (i'm glad cos they can be mighty fiddly!). This 'stang with have the larger drop tanks on and the Malcolm hood, and i'll leave the hood open! I've got my eyes on a P-82 Double Mustang too! 😆 I've still to make up my mind if it will be a paint job with or without invasion stripes, i bought 6mm masking tape today in case i do go for it. Still to get it completed yet! (all in good time, lol).

Yes, older kits can be troublesome too, and life does get in the way too (hope you're okay?), when i first got back to it i had three on the go and found it frustrating because my health was an issue and often i just had to go and lie down, or do something else for a while as my concentration isnt galways good, at those times its better to listen to what our body is telling us; it can be kinder for the model too! I just take my time; even with decals i tend to do the wings one day and matt-cote them, let them dry overnight and then do the fuselage decals the next day, saves my big clumsy fingers from removing them again! I take what time i need; its meant to be enjoyed although it does throw out a challenge at times!

Whats everybody doing? i have just finished building and painting my second P-51 Mustang 1A, with cannons and snout guns, yellow stripes above and below the wings; just needs its decals and its ready for the cabinet (after the Matt Cote)! My next build is, yes; another Mustang! 😮 This one is an Academy kit of a P-51B or C, it comes with the choice of the B version, closed and open canopy, and the Malcolm hood, much favoured by the RAF for better visiblity, it too has a choice of open or closed! Thats why i bought this kit; i'll make mine the Malcolm hood version. It comes with colourcharts/plans for three different P-51s, this one will be Ralf "Kid" Hofers P-51C, (334th FS, 4th FG) it will be silver, and olive drab! It should be a nice kit to build, certainly looks like being a good one and will finish my Mustang group for now until i can find a half decent A-36 Apache kit, that would fully complete the group. I'm getting a second larger glass cbinet in the new year, to display my aircraft in and my list is about 50 aircraft long! It will consist of die cast and kit built models, the die cast ones on their stands and the models all built with the landing gear down, my latest die cast is a Corgi SBD Dauntless in 1:72 making no. 12 in die cast USAAF and US Navy aircraft. Whats your recently started kit?

Yes, and on top of everything else; i.e. nothing on top of them! No crushing allowed!

Thanks Clive, i am picking up all sorts of ideas as i go along, and enjoying what i do very much now! I too prefer brush painting my models, i dont have the space for a spray booth and cannot be bothered with all the prep and clean up in spraying; no harm intended to anyone who does airbrush, its a preferrence that some use, some enjoy; i find the brushing is therapeutic! The last of my recent spate of buying models has arrived now so i have some good ones to do. I just take my time now; in my younger days i could knock out a Spitfire in a couple of hours, but now even a small fighter (all my models are in 1:72) will typically take me a week or two depending on whats being added or as time allows me (when i'm not doing housework or resting) but i do enjoy it!

What i do in a case like that (and even if there are locators) is clip the two halves together, holding them with pegs, croc clips, elastic bands, get the halves matched up, with small adjustments and then release and re-grip ech peg and clip, recheck and then i use liquid poly, i see it shooting along the join. This is a good way of bonding the two halves, its just a liquid form of the glue normally used, every bit as effective. I just leave it a while to allow the two parts to 'weld' together, because after all thats what modelling in plastics is; the glue melts the two parts together as the two parts are made of the same plastic; rather than just sticking one thing to something else. I only use superglue to attach resin parts and even then, carefully, sitting the part in place, hold it there with blu-tack or whatever and then apply the superglue with a cocktail stick at a few points around the join. You cant mess around adjusting with superglue, if you try and the part is bonded out of line it can mean lots of filing, sanding, filling etc. There are ways. 😉

What i meant was that there are no modelling clubs near me, and i dont get to go out much, so i am on my own at home building and painting. I do take your point about the various resources online though; the internet is a wonderfull thing and for things like this, it gets better and better all the time. I'm just continuing doing what i used to do years back, i'm not into anything like airbrushing or weathering; i like the aircraft to look as new. I am discovering new methods as i go along however. I'm more than happy with the three i have now completed; they can go into my cabinet today! 😎