Nick Filippone

Use Detailer. It comes in a variety of colours and is water based so it's harmless. You don't like the effect or there is too much? Just wash it off with water and start over. Nick

One can mask many curves with regular Tamiya (or other ) masking tape by simply incorporating a curve as you cut along the long axis of the strip of tape. This will allow it to conform to the curved surface without kinks, bends or pinches. I, personally, would not describe Tamiya as " low tack." My understanding of low tack tape is, for example, low tack Scotch or cellophane tape. It is so low tack as to have very limited use in our hobby. The only time I have found it useful was in doing natural metal finishes when I wanted to protect adjacent panels while polishing a particular panel. It did not mar the surface because it does not stick to it very well. I would never attempt to use it to protect a painted section of model from a subsequent colour. The new colour will leak under the edges. Gil is correct. Tamiya masking or other kibuki-type ( have I spelled kibuki correctly?) such as in Eduard and Pee Wit pre-cut masks are your best bet. Nick

Sky, Keep me posted on your book on the T-50. It has always been one of my favorite aircraft -a perfectly proportioned low wing twin engine monoplane. Nick

The hero of "Skyking" always flew a twin-engined aircraft in the series. Nicknamed "Songbird," in the early episodes of the series, he flew a Cessna T-50 Bobcat. Later, he flew.a Cssna 310B. I preferred the Bobcat and around age 8, I scratch built one out of cardboard that came in my Dad's shirts from the dry -cleaners. It was not exactly "Best in Show!" Nick

Gil, Very nice model. I just tried Alclad for the first time. I applied it over Alclad primer. I let it dry 2-3 days. I used Tamiya masking tape. When I removed it a few minutes after applying the tape, the tape damaged the finish. Any ideas? Thanks. Nick

Bryan, Mark is correct. Assuming your club meant by "detailing" the embellishment of a kit above and beyond basic assembly and painting (which is what is commonly understood to be "detailing), much of your script sounds more like a talk on those basics. Nick.

May I assume that the black in the wheel wells is pre-shading? Nick

Keith, Corrct me if I am wrong, bit I think the original had engraved insignia. I think I recall painting the engraved markings a la a paint by the numbers set!

Well said! Ray, don't assume the manufacturer in s wrong. Start with those instructions and see if it works for you. Then, modify to taste. P.S. Keith, don't disparrage that old Hawk SBD/ A-24. I built three or four of them in high school! I have fond memories of that kit!

418 I would think. This is where, in the past, such entries, whether civil or military, have gone. I do not think it is commercial ship. It is definitely not a miscellaneous entry. Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge

The larger the denominator, the smaller the quotient!

John, You and I both made the same mistake. There is a drawing of the HP 43 in the Barnes book, but it is BEFORE the drawing of the HP 42! A colleague on Britmodeler pointed it out to me. So, thank you, John and Ron. Regards, Nick.

Ron, Funny you should suggest that. I registered with Britmodeler last night and will try that source. Thanks. Nick

John, Thanks. I have those books too. But I appreciate your efforts. Regards, Nick.

Can anyone suggest a source for or does anyone have in their archives a 3-view or plans for the Handley Page HP-43? Not the HP-42 airliner, but the bomber prototype HP-43. This was a 3 engined biplane derived from a 3 engined version ( never built) of the HP 42. I have several photos, but no plans in the Handley Page and British bomber standard references and my on-line search yields no drawings. Thank you. Nick Filippone

If you click on the "IPMS/USA Home Page" at the top of this page ( upper left), you will see the page with the big square show logo: "Going Downtown." Just above it in blue is the link. It has been there for months!

They are really big! It is a lot of plastic!

Why not simply pick one basic easily obtainable dedicated hobby paint with an established reputation and stick with it? It could be Testors, Humbol, Vallejo or Alclad. Use that brand's gloss and flat coats. Don't mix brands. Get some familiarity with it on several projects. By your own admission, you are new to all this. You need to crawl before you walk and run. There is a lot to be said for crawling. Nick Filippone

The problem, clearly, is that just like the leadership of IPMS, we are not paying the Reviewer Corps and Eric enough money. Hence, the lousy service. Oh! That's right! These folks are all volunteers. The time the spend providing these services is time they cannot spend building models! My bad! The service this organization!s leadership provides, all generously donated is, of course, outstanding. These same critics would read a text message with no vowels, no capitalization, and no punctuation and never give it a thought! Nick Filippone. IPMS #969 P.S. What is wrong with the way Yoda talks? Have you also got some beef about Star Wars?

Bring the compressor and the hose to a hardware store. Rummage through the fittings in the compressor supply section until you find something that has one end that will connect to the Sears compressor and another end that will fit to your airbrush hose. The do not have to be quick release. How often are you going to disconnect the hose from your only compressor? Do not leave the store until you have accomplished this. If you cannot find such a fitting it only supports the situation to which Gil alluded. Namely, you are trying to mate up two devices - a more or less commercial level compressor and a hobby level airbrush - that were never intended to have to be connected to each other. If you are going to be serious about this hobby, there are many affordable hobby level airbrush compressors out there. I recommend making the investment. Nick Filippone

Tamiya White Putty is an excellent basic filler. But as with any putty, it has to be carefully sanded as smooth as possible with higher, finer grades of "grit." That means, perhaps starting at 320, then moving to 400 and then at least continuing with 600. These higher grades will work better if applied with a wet sanding technique. This helps to remove the sanded residue and makes the process more efficient. But now you are only just getting started. Now you must apply a finer filler. This could be Mr. Surfacer as Gil suggested. I also like Mr. Dissolved Putty, depending on the size and depth of the defects. Tamiya also makes a White Primer that works well for this second stage. At this stage, I would not start lower than 400 grit and then move on to 600 or higher. When this stage is completed, most modelers would prime the surface with a grey primer- the Alclad Grey Primer is very good. Not only does this provide "teeth" to grip the subsequent paint when applied, but will also expose remaining defects- at which point you take one or two steps backward and address each defect using the above steps, until they are gone. This, to me, is the most tedious and dispiriting tasks in modeling, but it is usually the difference between a mediocre and a good model! I might add a piece of advice given to me by one of my fellow chapter members. Don't expect heavy gross applications of putty to make up for poor basic assembly of components. Careful adjust of fit and alignment of parts where they meet will minimize the amount of filling needed-especially in a well molded kit! Nick Filippone

This is obviously an info-mercial for an industrial level chroming process. It would appear that to do it yourself, you would need to invest a few hundred thousand dollars in a commercial facility-not to mention the spray equipment and the legal wranglings with the Environmental Protecton Agency and OSHA. Probably more than one would want to invest in a 1/72 P-51 no matter how good they look in natural metal! I suppose you could bring the model to one of their facilities, but even then the set-up costs and materials would still likely be prohibitive. Gil's solution seems to be the more attractive one- the lack of the nice babe notwithstanding. Nick Filippone

You know-sometimes the best way to learn is just to start trimming, cleaning, glueing, filling, sanding, painting and decaling. You will soon find out, as we all have, what works best for you! You learn more from mistakes than what you do right. Nick Filippone

You simply have to get the size of the male connector on the airbrush to match the female connector on the hose from the compressor. They may already match. Otherwise, adapters can be bought with appropriate sized connectors. Your compressor or airbrush dealer probably sell them. Just figure the size you need for each end to step up or down the size. And they do not need to be quick release.Simple threaded connectors work fine and are probably cheaper.

I' m confused. What do you mean by a " cleaning pot? " Nick Filippone