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TheRealMrEd

IPMS/USA Member
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Everything posted by TheRealMrEd

  1. Thanks guys! Some of these old "hangers-on" are worthy of completion -- we just gotta get up the gumption to get 'em done... Ed
  2. Number 3 for 2021 is a conversion I started right after the Emhar kit first came out, which then rested on the Shelf of Doom ever since. Here's one for the Gipper: For those who might be interested, the build thread is HERE I am posting the final pics of the model: This model was on the Shelf Of Doom since shortly after the kit came out (2004?), and I'm glad to have finally bitten the bullet, and now have it to add to the collection. I hope some of you out there will give one a try! Ed
  3. For those interested, the build thread is HERE Here are a few finished pictures, of a model that I've always wanted, built by kit-bashing a 1/72 Hasegawa F4B/N Phantom II kit, that eventually used NO aftermarket parts, NO resin parts, and NO vacuformed parts. I only used the parts in the Hasegawa box, some decals from the spares box, and of course, some decals printed on my inkjet printer at home. I should mention here that all the needed artwork is provided in the build thread, free for any NON-Commercial use, if you would care to try one yourself. The pictures: Give one a try -- you'll like it! Thanks for looking, Ed
  4. It comes up now and then, whether it is possible to duplicate vac-u-formed canopies. The answer is yes! I will show you how I do it. First off, the canopy you wish to replicate has to be closed at both ends. If it has already been cut out of it's plastic sheet, you are going to have to devise a way to make it hold a runny sort of product. One way might be to glue plastic pieces to the part that needs to be sealed off, using a glue such as G-S cement, which can later be dissolved with 91% rubbing alcohol, without harming the plastic. BEWARE -- THIS METHOD WILL NOT WORK ON ANY SORT OF "UNDERCUT" CANOPY!!! -- but then, I don't think the vacuform process would either! Next, I dip the canopy into a paper cup full of Future or Pledge or whatever it is now, wherever you are. I do this twice, dipping into the cup, holding the part with tweezers, and allowing to dry on a paper towel for an hour or so between coats. After each dip, I pour the left-over Future/Pledge back into the bottle, then place the now empty paper cup upside down over the canopy, while it dries, to deter any dust. The reason for the Future is twofold. First, to help make certain that the surface of the cast part will be smooth, and also because later on, if the casting doesn't want to come out of the canopy (mold), you can dissolve the Future with Windex with Ammonia D, as it is now called. Don't know why that call it that, but they do. You can also use plain or diluted ammonia, but it will smell really bad! Anyway, except for the Future and ammonia product, our needs are simple: The canopy we wish to copy, and a can of Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty. What it was used for originally, I don't know, but it works great for this. I got mine at Home Depot, you mileage may vary.. I just dump some of the Durham's fine powder into a plastic cup, then add a few drops of water, and stir with a cocktail stick. The stuff stirs much like Plaster of Paris, but dries harder (and yellow). You want to mix it until it has a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup, and pudding. That is, you don't want it too runny, as it will take forever to be dry (and be weak), but also, you don't want it to be so stiff that you have to scoop it into the mold (canopy). Fortunately, it's cheap enough to experiment with! Anyway, just make sure that your canopy will hold water, but your putty mix is more like pudding... Next, mix up the putty and pour it into the mold (canopy). Make certain that the canopy is level. I usually make sure to fill the canopy a bit above level, as the putty will shrink slightly as it settles. I also run a cocktail stick back and forth, to make sure that no bubbles are left against the canopy surface. Getting the right consistency will go a long way toward that goal. Here is what mine looks like, after drying, usually about two or three days: Usually, the Durham's will just pop out with a tiny bit of prying, preferably in an area that is not critical, as the stuff WILL scratch. If not, here is where the Windex D is your friend. Run a few drops along the edge between the canopy and the Durham's, and after a few seconds, you should be able to pop it right out. Lastly, the finished product: Note that any fine rough edges (arrow) can be sanded right off, and the bottom can be sanded flat, if need be. Note the perfectly smooth surface of the molded part, which is of course, a perfect copy from the inside of the canopy, so that after you vacuform it, should create a copy perfect to use -- plastic thickness being about the same as the original copy. If there is a little Durham's residue on the original canopy that you copied, again, the Windex D and a toothbrush will get it right off! Duck Soup, as they say... Now, where did I put that Vac-u-former? Ed
  5. Hello again, seems like only a few days ago that I was writing up last year's build log. Time flies! But, I was determined to make the best of this rather trying year... Anyway, here are this years completed models, although a couple were shelf queens from yesteryear. First up, the Lift Here Models Piper PA-58 -- last of the Mustangs: For those interested, the build thread is HERE Next up, the first Great Blue Whale, the XA3D-1 conversion of the Hasegawa A3B: XA3D-1 Build Thread HERE Next up, the Wingnuts Models XP-72 resin kit: XP-72 Build Thread HERE Next up, a more ambitious project, the kit-bash of the Academy P-47D Razorbaxk into the XP-47B prototype: XP-47B Build Thread HERE Next up, another resin kit, the LF Models Curtiss XP-42, a variation of the P-36/P-40 family: XP-42 Build Thread HERE Next, another LF Models resin kit, this time the Curtiss XP-31 Swift: More XP-31 Photos HERE XF-91 Build Thread HERE Another resin kit, this time the Anigrand Bell XP-83: XP-83 Build Thread HERE And last one for the year, a kit-bash of the Academy P-47D Razorback into an XP-47J Superbolt: XP-47J Build Thread HERE Not a lot of models this year, but some welcome additions to the collection. For those interested, the pertinent articles contain custom artwork that you are free to use for any non-commercial purpose. Thanks for looking, Ed Quote "Dispensing the Tribal Wisdom since before there WAS a Tribe!"
  6. Here's link to an article on casting clear resin canopies that might contain useful information HERE using pressure casting only. I built my pressure pot from an old paint pot for under $100.00, but I had the pressure guage and a couple other parts laying about. I built mine for either pressure and vacuum casting, but since pulling my first pressure cast out, I have never used vacuum again... The are videos on-line about how to convert these paint pots (or pressure cookers), or I can post a link to mine if anyone is interested. Ed
  7. Buy a pack of acupuncture needles on-line. They are fine enough that if you have a small enough drill bit, they will work fine in .5 mm plastic rod. I always start there tiny holes with the sharp pont of a #11 Exacto blade. Ed
  8. For those who might be interested, recently completed article and pics of scratch build/kit bash of Academy P-47D into an XP-47J Superbolt are HERE: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235084455-172-xp-47j-superbolt-kit-bash/&tab=comments#comment-3928384 Thanks for looking, Ed
  9. For many years, I hoped that some of the resin guru's would produce an XP-47B Prototype fore me. No one did, so I finally got off my hind parts and got 'er done... For those interested, the build thread is HERE for those who might want to give it a try. And last, a comparison: Thanks for looking, Ed
  10. I use a piece of hard plastic sprue, sanded to a chisel point, and I haven't hard to re-sharpen, as with toothpicks. ED
  11. Yeah Richard, I remember sitting around back then mixing 23 parts Testor's white to 1 part red to get a flesh tone to paint aircrew figures! As I said before, we will survive! However, does anyone know of a good paint source for sage green as in 50's USAF flight suits? Ed
  12. Plus bunches on the True North paint. Just received some more in the mail today, to back up some running-out-of MM bottles from the stash. I built models way before MM came about, (but not before the Testor's square bottles!) and did just fine. We will survive. What kills me is all the great American brands who were kings in their day, but who are fading fast or gone -- Sears, Penneys, Revell, Monogram, etc. all of whom forgot to dance with who brung 'em and tried to get too big for their britches. How the mighty have fallen! Ed
  13. Hi VonL, Not sure which F-100 kit you intend to use with the Obscureco "C" parts, but here's a link to my build of the Trumpeter "C" (heavily re-worked for accuracy) using those same parts. There's a lot of info on the "C" model there: Trumpeter F-100C Mod Build Ed
  14. I've been so busy the last few months that I forgot to post the old 2019 build log. Not as many as some years, but I believe that some are interesting. First one last year was the Hasegawa F-100A Spectre, as the last aircraft of my Col. George E Lavin, Jr collection: Build Thread Here: Next, I bit off a pretty good chunk, the conversion of a Monogram 1/72 F-105D to the YF-105A: YF-105A Build Thread Next, another one that had been on the back burner for a long time a YRF-84F Thunderflash prototype conversion: YRF-84F Build Thread Next, what started out as a YB-40 conversion, but ended up as an XB-40 conversion, instead: XB-40 Build Thread Next,the XP-58 Chain Lightning: XP-58 Chain Lightning Build Thread Then, the Muroc Models F-8C conversion of the Academy F-8E Crusader: F-8C Build Thread Last, but not least, the Re-issued and re-mastered F-84F from PJ Productions: F-84F Thunderstreak Build Thread And that was all that got completed in 2019 by yours truly. Ed
  15. Thanks Mark- The real test will come on the nose.... Also, as they expand their line, I will certainly get from them any needed colors that MM drops. Ed
  16. I have a little to report on True North Paints. I recently bought some to try and save an old model that I had messed up -- or at least painted in the wrong color! To explain, many, many moons ago, I did a SAC version of the C-47D (or it may also have another designation?!). But, since I was working from just a small B&W photo, I got the colors wrong. After using the ol' Mk 1 A1 Eyeball, I decided that the bands of color should be yellow, as they were sort of mid-range color: Only after taking the then newly-finished model to a model contest, was I politely informed that the yellow color was mostly only used on rescue type aircraft, not on other types. Doh! (Oops -- just hit the wrong thing and posted the article before the end... guess I'm just full of errors...) Anyway, after slinking home from the contest, I hid the model for decades way in back on the bottom shelf of the display cabinet, thinking that perhaps one day, I could salvage it. The main problems were that the lettering and all the cheat lines came from old Stoppel silk-screened decals, and were no longer available. Plus, I did not have enough left in the stash to risk masking and raising them from the model, which is finished in Metalizer and Model Master paints, with either no topcoat or the thin Metalizer clear top coat. Also, I could not find any paint that I trusted enough to try hand-painting. Fast forward to present times, and here comes True North Paints. According to their mission statement type talk on their website, they reject any color that they cannot both hand brush and airbrush. Time to test them out! I ordered just the various reds and oranges of the conspicuity types for this project, as I didn't know which color I needed. After research (wish I'd had the internet 40 years ago!), I found that it depended upon the year, so I proceeded with a bottle of their Fluorescent Red, FS-28915, and a hairy stick: After one coat, above on the underside of the left wingtip, the paint covered pretty well. I was not trying for a single-coat finish, so put the paint on rather thin, and then after the first coat had dried, added a second coat: Although hard to tell from this picture, there are almost no brush strokes after the second coat had dried. You can however, still see a tiny bit of the yellow underneath, but certainly looks better than the bare yellow. Also, having yellow as a base coat, rather than the usual white, make the paint look not as fluorescent, but I'll settle! The whole thing has been done in two coats (a little third coat touch-up here and there), all except for the nose, where thankfully, if my hand brushing skills aren't good enough to save the decals, I still have enough from the stash for just that area: I'm sure you'll agree, it's starting to look a LOT better now -- if only I could do something about that old, yellowed white paint... I still don't know how it airbrushes, but as far as I'm concerned it hand brushes as good as ( maybe slightly better then) the old Humbrol tins. Ed
  17. Beautiful job! Well done! Ed
  18. Thanks folks, Yep, wwhen they were loading for bear, the MK7 nuke was pretty low to the ground. But --- they just had to h=get it airborne -- it wasn;t coming back... Ed
  19. For those interested, F-84F Build Thread is HERE I am posting up the pictures of the finished model, with a little embellishment to the kit: Thanks for looking in! Ed
  20. Hey Jim, Nice build! Your version looks about the same as mine, but the newer one has darker resin. Based on some pictures posted by another modeler over on my build thread, HERE: I was lead to believe that this was a re-tool. After seeing your pics, now I'm not so sure. Mine is coming along nicely so far, with few pitfalls. If you get a chance, please take a look in, and see whether it is the same as the one you built... Ed
  21. Oops, just found out that this is a re-tool, NOT a re-pop! Ed
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