DaveDeLang

One thing I see on even otherwise well-done targets I mean, armor models, is visible glue shine where the last details were added. That fault comes under the most basic of basic construction lists but I have seen it often enough for it to be pointed out. Another nit I see to pick too often is fabric not dead flat. For the most part, uniform fabric and tarps and what-not are dead flat with no sheen at all in the real world. Since they're often painted with oils or acrylics on models, they are frequently a semi-matt unless steps are taken. If that's not what you meant when asking for a basic list, feel free to ignore me.

Here's an observation someone on this board can probably address. Wouldn't the weight of the M2 .50 cal spin the turret down to the "bottom"? That's how it is in the photo. I think it would make the image more dramatic, too. Nice job, though.

That's not normally released until the current year's convention. oops, I mean it's announced at the convention two years prior. Sorry.

Note: the top "pitot" tube wasn't a pitot tube. It was an inlet for the "artificial feel" system and was the same diameter for its whole length. It wasn't "stepped" as the actual pitot tube was. It looks to me like you've left it a little short now. Also, the gray on those beasts didn't weather very much, at least not the paint they had on them when I was in. It was two part epoxy paint, much like DuPont Imron. It was tough as nails and tended to look brand new right up until the jet went back to depot.

If the base coat is enamel, try windex. Most liquid masks are latex based and the ammonia in Windex will soften it right up so you can scrub it out with a toothbrush. Windex won't affect an enamel base but it might wreck an acrylic one.

I like it!

Ed, I think these models deserve to be at a show. Maybe not on the contest table, but certainly on the display table along with the original Brownie photos. Do you still have the camera? That would really complete the display! p.s. I didn't know Starfix existed back in the late '50s!

My perennial wish list Angle deck USS Coral Sea - any scale(s). The 1/800 Midway that Kangam/Arii or whatever brand-o-the day isn't very close to her sister in looks. 1/12 Harley-Davidson VR1000 and Honda RC45. I'm honestly a little surprised that these two epic bikes have never been kitted.

107 modelers, 550 or so entrants. Car entries are hit or miss for a lot of shows, depends on whether there's a car-only show in the vicinity that weekend. Car clubs don't coordinate with the RCs. I don't know anything about the ties, there weren't any in the catagories I judged. The ties were almost all in the figure catagories. Maybe making sure there were a lot of points in the NorEastCon cup pool?

I have a spray bottle of Windex next to the spray booth. The ammonia in Windex cuts right through acrylics if they haven't cured hard. Make sure you clean out the ammonia well though, it will etch into the brass innards of an airbrush after a time. I always finish with a cup of acetone because it is mixable with water so it will clean out any residual moisture and then evaporate out leaving nothing behind. Labs used to use acetone for drying labware, they'd dip it in aceteone and it would air dry in moments. I bet OSHA doesn't allow that any more! It's also fun to throw plastic packing peanuts into a beaker of acetone. They vanish.

I did some wikipediaeing (is that a word?) after I posted my last post. Enamel is kind of a vague term that basically means "paint that dries with a hard surface". It doesn't really indicate any sort of chemical compostion. Acrylic does though, it is pigment that's carried (emulsified into) an acrylic binder and a carrier (water or petroleum based solvent) which hardens by polymerization and can have either a water base or a solvent base (acrylic laquers). Laquer is a paint with a xylene/tolulene solvent, it dries faster because the solvent evaporates faster than that used in regular oil-based enamels but the pigments and binders may be about the same. I think...

My understanding is that "polymerizing" or curing (a chemical reaction after the solvent evaporates that eventually turns the whole paint film into a single and hopefully tough molecule) is what defines an "enamel" type paint. What modelers call "acrylics" are technically "water-based enamels", and what modelers call "enamels" are "oil based enamels". "Acrylic" just identifies the material that forms the paint film. Note that across the pond the term "acrylic" sometimes refers to "acrylic lacquer" (automotive touch up paint) - which can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings on the web... I've heard, and seen it happen enough to believe, that adding thinner to a bottle of enamel can cause a mostly full bottle of paint to cure rapidly (a few days) even with the lid tightly sealed. I haven't been scientific enough to know if its all enamels and all types of thinners, but I try to avoid doing that on general principle (I mix the thinner and paint in a separate container). Don I believe you've got it backwards. My evidence is that you can remove enamel using enamel solvents but you can't remove acrylics with anything short of paint stripper once it cures. Try cleaning cured acrylic off of a paint brush. Enamels curing in the jar when you add solvent is more a case of solvent incompatibility. I've seen it much more in acrylics by the way. Put some isopropyl alchohol in Tamiya acrylics and it clots. Put it in Model Master and it's fine. Another possible issue with water based paints is that if they're contaminated, they can be spoiled by mold growth in the paint. Not a widespread problem, but it's possible.

Unfortunately, the answer is "it depends". I'm still using a jar of Pactra "Military Colors" interior green that's at least 35 years old. It's one of the big round jars with the mustard colored top. I'm sure there's not an atom of the original solvent left in it any more but as it thickens up, I just add a little solvent and it's good as new. If it's a solvent based paint, as long as it's not completly hardened you can usually add solvent (I ususally use laquer thinner) and stir it up. If it's water based, you're probably out of luck if it's hardened. Acrylics polymerize as they cure, not just dry like enamels and laquers. Once the molecules of acrylic link up, you can't thin it back down. I have seen Model Master enamels separate into a layer of pigment and a brown layer of what I guess is the binder and have the whole thing kind of gel. I just toss them at that point. I think a key to extending paint life is to clean the threads of the jar or the rim of the tin of paint before you close the container. Some folks store them upside down using the theory that it will keep air out. I've never heard of a can of spray paint going bad as long as it has a good valve and it has propelent.

Looks good. However, the wing insignia are swapped. The white segment should be outboard. The tail is correct. Is that alclad on the cowl and prop? Also, what kit? Heller?

How about covering the radome in Tamiya tape as smooth as you can get it. Draw the shark mouth on the tape. Remove the tape without disturbing the drawing Make the decal pattern from the drawing on the tape. You might have to slit it a little to get the compound curved surface to lay flat. You could draw only half of the shark mouth maybe and then flop it to get the other half. That way it would be symetrical.

IDF Fitter? Where's the Su-22 I was expecting!!! ;)

Are those the kit's spokes? If so, did you thin them at all? If not, how'd you do them? I've got that kit and like any tips you can offer. Thanks Dave

A friend of mine had one that he ordered from Ford just before he returned from Viet Nam. He drove it until Vermont winters killed it and he'd like a memento. It was a special version of the Galaxie.

Here's my latest completion, only four months in the making It's the oldish Italeri F-4S using the kit's VF-301 Heater Ferris markings. Cockpit is the kit's heavily modified and detailed. It's probably the weakest point on the kit. Inaccurate for a Navy Phantom and missing a lot of detail and basic structure. There's not even a bulkhead between the cockpits. The consoles are too short and don't reach either the front or the back of their respective cockpits. I fixed it all up as best I could with card, rod, foil... Seats are the kit's too, they're not sooooo bad stock but I fixed them up too. This picture is of how I used a cheap laser level to lay out the lines of the paint scheme. Since the lines are straight when viewed from above, they actually have to curve over the sides in order to look straight from above. The level worked really well, 20 bucks well spent. I may even use it to lay out some shelves or something in the house... Here are a couple of shots taken after painting and decaling but before final assembly. It shows the canopies before I pried them off to put the seats in and pose them open and the bottom showing the unbroken "false canopy" before I pulled the landing gear doors off. It also shows how well the landing gear doors fit. If you want to build a "wheels up" Phantom, this is probably the kit to use, They fit absolutely perfectly. And the final product:

I'm not trying to start an argument here, I am truly curious. Not knowing the technology of the time, is it "painted", some form of decal or even some form of silk screening? When you look at the image Bob posted here, you can see carrier film around the mule and bomb. I don't think it's carrier film. I think it's caused by the leather being compressed. It's probably a stamped design. Good eye on spotting that, I didn't notice it until you mentioned it and I looked again.

Since it's an R2800 in there, I posit the inside of a P-47's cowl is OIL COLORED!

Oops. Mental Auto-complete kicked in. Then, according to this picture: Image of M50 rear deck on "KitMaker" It's the one on the far left.

It's the one on the far right. The M51 "Isherman" had a diesel engine replacing the Sherman's (mostly) gasoline engines. You can google M51 and find pictures.

Yup, that's what I've gleaned from all the suggestions and references I've gotten from the good folks here and on ARC. That's how I painted it. The laser level worked great for laying out the lines. I'll post some pics in a bit. She's sitting on the shelf with the paint hadening off now so I don't get checking in the clear coat that you can see if you put acrylic clear over partially cured enamel.