Jon-1296662

I used to make and rebuild fishing rods, and I used to get a similar problem, which was caused by a lot of moisture in the air, along with adding the varnish on too thickly, and these two things meant that moisture was trapped in the varnish, and the only way to deal with it, was to remove the damaged varnish, and start again. While I am not certain that this is your problem, I do believe that there’s a chance that it is, so I would suggest that you use a dehumidifier during the winter and wet weather, especially if you had this result in the winter or during wet weather in the summer. Jon.

Would you be kind enough to share your method of dealing with this problem? Because I would like to know if you can remove the decals without damaging the surface they’re on, or whether you have no choice but too scrape it off with a blade, or rub it off with a high grit wet & dry, or if there’s another method of removing them? with thanks, Jon.

Firstly, would you tell me what product you use for a primer? Secondly, have you ever tried keying the plastic, with something like a one thousand or an even finer grit polishing paper, or is there a reason why this won’t work(I know that a coarse grit especially with a hard backing paper/wet&dry, would destroy the fine details), but I do have some very fine polishing papers & some fairly soft foam pads, the first of which are very soft and the foam pads are fairly soft, for polishing silver to a very high shine, which may knock back and key the plastic. And I know I would have to wash the whole thing again, to ensure I’d removed any possible loose particles, so that the paint didn’t clump up, so do you think it is worth trying a gentle keying, or do you know that it won’t work(I don't want to risk ruining a model, unless there’s a real chance of success, especially if there’s a tried and tested method that can be used)? Lastly, does acrylic paint need to be fixed/varnished over to make it safe to handle, once the last coat has fully dried off, and if so, can you please suggest which product you have the best results with? With thanks in advance, Jon

As someone who has not made or painted a model for nearly fifty years, and who has had a bad experience with using acrylic paints a couple of months ago, I would really appreciate anyone who would be willing to share their experience and knowledge about the best way to use acrylic paints on these models, and especially, on how to make the paint adhere to the plastic firmly. And I would especially like to know, if it’s possible to use enamel and acrylic on the same model, or do I need to wait until I have the correct shades in one media? With thanks in advance.

Hi Hurricane boy, Firstly, I thank you for your reply, I meant as I said, I would like the chance to build an original Mustang, as was used by the RAF (before the USAAF got interested in them), whether it was powered by an Allison or a Roll Royce, but the idea of one of each would be even better. secondly, while you are correct that the RAF had thought of buy the Curtiss p-40, and that the people who were asked to do it did say that they could design and build something better, they were still working to the specifications given by the procurement offices needs, which was obviously exceeded, but the original designation was give as Mustang, which was given before the first plane was being built, and it was given in honour of the fact that it was being built in the US, which means that it should be recognised as the original title, shouldn’t it? Thirdly, I am fairly sure that your 1941 date is at least a year out, because, I am sure that the USAAF didn’t get interested until after the first conversions from the Allisons’s, to the Rolls Royce Merlin powered version, when the RAF made the Mustang X in mid to late 42, and while the USAAF were testing the Mustang X, it was the best part of a year, before they converted the B’s & C’s to use the Rolls Royce supercharged Merlin 66’s, which were then finally added to by the fully formed Mustang. Fourthly, while I don’t have the total numbers of planes used by the British and the US, I do know that the RAF alone had 18 squadrons compared to the US’ 20 in the UK, but then there’s all of the other British Empire forces that used them in the Far East too, which I think would mean that your use of the US being “the major user”, something that is a close run thing, although, if you have the exact numbers used by both forces(US & RAF’s) then I am happy to learn. And finally, I am grateful for your comprehensive reply, and I look forward to your response to my reply, especially if you are adding to my knowledge base, which is fairly limited, because I am not a scholar, I am just an avid reader, and watcher of documentaries.

I am truly grateful, for this concisely and patiently explained answer to my question (which will be looked upon as being silly by some, and they’re not necessarily wrong, if they are used to conversing with people who are current modellers) about the decals, which I posed as someone who is totally new to the Airfix club(it’s my first week), and who has not made a model for nearly fifty years. And I wrote it, because I am interested in making my models to look as good as I possibly can, so that I can be proud of them. Which is why I am so grateful for this concise and patient reply.

Because you said that you are never going to use the D-Day stripes decals ever again, I am taking it that you had a problem applying them, and/or you didn’t like the look of them, once they had been applied, so I am wondering if you would elucidate on this matter, because I am interested in your experience and thoughts on this matter, if you wouldn’t mind sharing them?

Would any other modellers out there, be interested in making an original Mustang in the original RAF markings? Because, I feel that everyone forgets (especially when it is constantly, and wrongly called a P-51 Mustang in films, documentaries and by historians, which is a about t, because it should be called and listed as the Mustang (P-51), for the simple reason that it was designated as the Mustang, by the procurement authorities, before the plans had been drawn up, because it was felt that the name should reflect where it was built) that the Mustang was originally an RAF plane, that just happened to be built in the US. And I for one, would love the opportunity to have a chance to build an original Mustang in RAF colours, there was 18 RAF squadrons (which is only two less than the USAAF had) to choose from. So I would obviously like to know, what the other modellers and the people at Airfix think about this idea!!!