Ron Bell

Are you thinning paint with that Maker's Mark?

If I keep the plating on and fill, file or sand the seam and/or sprue attachment points smooth, the plating gets damaged and cannot be matched for a repair. If I remove all the plating I can treat these things normally. I primer it to blend the fix in with the plastic and then use a metalizing system like Alclad or the old Testers Metalizers. (There are almost too many to name nowadays.) This way the seam is hidden and all the metal finish matches. Usually the plating on kit parts will come off with just a soaking in household ammonia. Some parts take a day or so, but a quick scrub with an old toothbrush does the trick. Under that plating there could be a coat of clear lacquer. It's put on by the manufacturer to ensure a completely smooth surface for the plating. Don't worry about removing that. You're going to prime over it and then probably have to add some sort of base coat for the new metalizer anyway.

i usually strip the plating off the parts then treat the seams normally. Then I re-coat the parts with a suitable metalizer.

Any chance of getting the 1/48 decals and then scanning them and scaling them down to 1/72 and printing them? I couldn't do it as I am a computer Luddite, but I'm pretty sure it can be done.

This is one of the later (1957) entries into the Aurora 1/48 biplane series and is actually a pretty nice kit. This is a later release that supposedly has some "new parts" which I suspect are the cabane and interplane struts in the common "U" configuration as the box top says there is "new easier wing assembly" so maybe the original had individual struts which are fiddly to get in place in correct alignment. If you were a super-detailer it is a pretty good starting point. The kit freaked me out while I was building/painting it as nothing went wrong and everything fit. The guy in the pilot seat is an enigma. He's not really in flying gear as he has no helmet nor googles and I have no idea what he's waving at. Like all these kits, there was almost no interior so I "imagineered" some stuff just to fill the space. No windscreen is provided oddly, so I made one out of my spares box. Also, the real aircraft had thos long exhaust extensions and they are not provided in the kit, so I made them out of plastic tubing. Even the decals went on like a treat. However, after dull coating I noticed there was was some silvering which was not there beforehand. But, it's only bound for my shelf so that's ok. Normally these kits came with a little base and one or two figures as a sort of ground crew, but not in this case but I wanted something to set it off a bit so I scratched up a little cart with some mail bags and a satchel in it However, so some reason, even though it's not all that complicated, the rigging on this stressed me out a bit. But, it's done now and I'm moving on.

After getting the replacement parts I needed, I whipped this little gem together as it only has 19 parts and seven of those are the MGs. it's a very nice detailed printing, but like most 3D models I have encountered, has some fit problems. I put this down to very close tolerances that are possible by using computer renderings but limitations of the materials that may either very slightly expand and/or contract. The side track units did not fit over the raised locator rib on the center hull for one area and I had to "modify" the ribs accordingly, In addition, the gun shields did not fit in the sponson openings and needed to be filed down to fit and the 6pdr guns did not fit through the slots in the gun shields so those needed widening. None of this was major surgery, but when working on such kits make sure you test fit everything. As far as the subject itself, Its was a joint Allied effort with production to take place in both Britain and the US and was intended to be used in what was going to be the "last great offensive" of WWI in 1919, but the war ended before they could be used. In the end, very few were actually built. The British only built 31 total, 5 of which were sent to Bovington for testing and the rest were sent directly to the knackers yard. In the US they equipped the 67th Infantry Regiment (Tank). (A quirk in the law at that time said that all tanks had to be part of the infantry.) They were seen as unreliable and prejudiced a whole generation of US Army Officers against the use of heavy tanks. All were phased out by 1934 with some being sold to Canada at scrap value for training vehicles. Perhaps it's greatest success was as the inspiration for the tank in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", although that vehicle was actually a replica built from a modified excavator with a turret added on top. I have added a photo of the MkVIII next to the much used MkIV tank to illustrate the size of this beast.

When my Testers liquid cement is almost gone, I use the last bit, like a quarter inch or so, to really clean paint brushes. Even gets out dried acrylic paint. You can use it over and over.

Or, as a variant of the above if you don't want to risk damaging the surface of your model, spread a thin coat over a piece of scrap plastic and "float" your decal on it. Then remove the deal with tweezers, touch the end of it to a paper towel to whisk off the excess adhesive and then apply to the model. I use the same method with whatever J&J's Klear Liquid Wax is now called to prevent silvering in some instances. It provides an instant smooth surface under the decal and it acts as adhesive. Don't use too much, however, or it will build up on the edges of the decal when it dries and form a ridge.

The single tank is a US M-10 Tank Destroyer. In the first diorama, the tank in the back is a US M-5 Stuart and the one with the open top is an M-8 Gun Motor Carriage. The wheeled vehicle is a German Schwimmwagon amphibious jeep. The last diorama has a Russian T-34 tank, and a German 105mm gun being towed by what is known as a Ostschlepper.

I believe those are: A German Gepard Anti-Aircraft tank (modern) A Soviet IS-2 Stalin tank (WW II) A Soviet SU-100 self propelled anti-tank gun. Although without being able to accurately gauge the length of the gun barrel, it may be a SU-85 (WW II) A German Marder armored personnel carrier (Modern)

This is the other half of the Revell Tactical Missile set, the Dart anti-tank missile. In the early 50's a replacement was sought for the aging WW II era Bazzooka. The French had developed the SS 10 wire guided missile and, of course, since it was not invented here (NIH in military parlance), we had to spend lots of money to try to reinvent the wheel so to speak. Enter the SSM-A-23 Dart. It had a troubled development and as can be seen in the photos, was not exactly easy to deploy due to its bulk. After much wrangling, adjustments and expenditure, the Army cancelled the project and adopted the French SS-10 and 11 missiles, which were smaller, easier to deploy, more accurate and more dependable. Your tax dollars at work once again. The Revell kit gives you four missiles, probably because they are so small in this scale, three on maintenance racks and one on a static launcher. There are three Frankensteinian figures provided (and poorly painted I might add by me), one seated at what is probably a part of the guidance system. Two of the figures have smooth bases as does the launcher, indicating they were on a paved surface while the guidance guy's base simulated undulating ground for some reason. Since the missile was never operational, it appeared in a whole host of color schemes depending on which round of testing it was being used for. I selected several from photos on the internet just to make it more interesting. It's a primitive kit with lots of flash, mold seams and iffy fit, but then it does date from 1958. Any decals used were from my spares as the kit ones were long gone.

The first one is a hybrid built in France for Egypt. It's an AMX-13 turret mounted on an Sherman M4A2 hull. It was used in the Arab-Israeli wars. The next one is a Japanese Type 97, or Chi Ha. The last one is a US M-24 Chaffee. It was in use at the end of WW II, in Korea, was used by many smaller armies around the world and perhaps most notably against Godzilla and a whole host of other monsters that attacked Japan. And by the way, they are all very well done.

This is the Little John missile and launcher from the 1958 Revell Tactical Missile set. Also included were four Dart wire guided anti-tank missiles. The Little John launcher depicted must be from a test site as the ones actually deployed had two wheels at the rear and that thing hanging down from the front of the launch ramp also had one. The Little John could carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and was inertially guided. It was deployed to Europe and the last ones were only phased out in the 70's. The kit is very basic and full of mold seams and ejection pin marks, but cleaned up and with careful assembly is a good representation of this weapon. The decals were completely gone, so I cobbled together some markings from my spares.

Excellent workmanship and imagination. However, you might want to edit the title to "lawnmower" not "lawnmore"

And I think it is very good of them to do that. Good customer relations. Like this...

As a follow-up to my follow up, Vargas did finally contact me and instead of sending just the replacement parts, sent me a new, complete kit very promptly. I've thanked him in an email, but thank him again publicly here.

Very interesting. I might suggest that in the case where you have sanded the resin and it has a dull finish, instead of more resin, might a quick coat of Klear (or whatever it's called now) do the trick as well? Just a thought.

As Aris Pappas used to say at the judges' meeting, all judging is, by definition, subjective, whether using numbers, rankings or personal opinion. If this committee can come up with something that actually quantifies judging with NO personal opinions possible, we need to copyright/patent it and sell it to the world 'cause' we'll make a pile of dough. But as a personal plea, let's not penalize Madison for any of this as they had no role in it. If you don't like how the contest was run, then don't enter. Just enjoy the seminars, tours, venders' rooms and fellowship. But don't penalize the hosts. You can send the same message to the powers that be that you want by staying away from the contest but enjoying the convention. I haven't entered in years and I don't have any interest really in who wins what, but that has not reduced my enjoyment of the convention experience one jot.

Just didn't know when the change actually took effect as the letter was written after the convention. Like I said, I wanted to be clear on who was speaking.

Just to be clear, was that letter from Mark Persichetti? You don't mention his name and the last name was not given in the 'signature'. Wasn't he stepping down as Head Judge anyway to be replaced by Phil Perry? I just want to ascribe things to the correct people as we wade through this drek.

The original Renwal kit had a mechanism where the range finders/radars turned in synch with the main gun and terrier launcher, but it was deleted from this re-release. The ship is depicted in one of its early refits with the terrier launcher but retained the twin 40mm forward. The kit had planking ribbing on the main and second deck, but these ships did not have wooden decks, so I had to remove all that, which was a messy pain. It also had molded in railings on the main deck and in some places on the second deck. I removed all these. I substituted generic railings on the main deck and in places on the second one but did not do it all as I just didn't want to put in the effort at this point. And after seeing the photos, I realize I didn't replace the molded in anchor chain on the bow, so I'll take care of that now. However, despite her age, she turned out surprising well and makes a nice display model.

How 'bout the appearance of Japanese kits in the US market? Or when you could get Hawk, Renwal or Adams kits without paying stupid collectors' prices? Or when Strombecker made some interesting kits? Or you bought your kits at the local hardware/pet store/Five and Dime and hobby stores per se didn't even exist as far as plastic models went? Or when half the kit was "pre carved" balsa wood parts with plastic "detail" parts? God, I'm old!

This is a Crusader Mk III marked as a vehicle of the 17/21st Lancers of the 26th Armoured Bgd of the 6th Armoured Division in Tunisia in 1943. They went to North Africa with some of their vehicles still in UK camoflage, thus the overall green color. Right after Kasserine, they turned them in for Shermans. Nice kit. Rubicon has done something with this one that the "big boy kits" should copy. They have their normal one piece headlight/guards pieces, however, they provide separate headlights and a form to make the guards out of wire if you want. It greatly improves their appearance and it was simple to do. I added the fuel line from the auxiliary tank at the rear and the antennae. I also noticed in the photos that I have forgotten to paint the searchlight. I'll take care of that. The decals were a bit brittle and care needed to be taken to get them in place without damaging them, which I did in a couple places, and getting them to settle with no silvering was problematic, as can be seen in the photos. I've never had that issue with other Rubicon decals, so I don't know what the deal is. These are great kits for those who don't want to stress out about exacting details, PE parts and miniscule detail parts.

I've got a set of the 2023 decals you can have, one modeler to another. PM me your address and I'll put them in the mail.