ClareWentzel

Wow John!! What a great theme for a group build and I love your interpretation - especially CDL.

Mark, the MEWSIG site seems to be either down or converted to another site. I might bring a MiG-21.

Gil's comments on seat belts are great. The only item I would add it to get some of the thin metal wine bottle sealing material and use it for the belt material. It will hold shape very well plus one side of it is usually painted a flat color so any added paint will adhere.

I'll apply for "Duke of Decals"

Naturally the three "Lord of the Sprue" candidates commented on this. :Smile_sceptic: Sounds like a fun idea.

That Snap-tite kit has been the most accurate shaped B-26 for quite a while. You did a great job on it. It looks like you have added cockpit and other interior details. I assume that you glued everything together and cleaned up the joints (the Alclad fuselage makes that very clear). Tell us more.

I feel in the end, the model has to please one person - me. When I add some detail that I found in a book, but not the kit, I am pleased with myself. On the other hand, I can be just as pleased with an OOB kit if it looks right to me. Paint is another area also. Over the life of an aircraft, the paint color can look to be many shades different due to wer, lighting etc. So who except one person cares that in 1943, a ship had a different color. Build for enjoyment and you will be a lot happier.

Impressive!! Thanks for posting.

Neat model. Thanks for sharing. Good idea for the grille. Show a close-up.

Welcome Bruce. You will find a good friendly group here. Lots of good hints and tips etc. Show us some photos of your models.

A good primer on paint chipping. Thanks. I have used salt a few times on planes and pretty much used a salt paste. I didn't apply any water to the model, just the paste. A comment, the first photo with the rings around the chips sure makes for a weathered looking model. Maybe you want to explore using that method again with more control.

I agree with dave and james. The skin tone looks perfect. I would believe that it is a photo of a person except for some teeth and hair features. The eyes also look real. Fantastic job.

I have a solution to the "water drop" problem. I used to use compressed CO2 to power my brush but when I moved, I can't find an easy source. So, I have the tank and all of the gauges etc. When I bought a small compressor to use, I attached it to feed into my CO2 tank. That is large enough for all moisture to drain out. Also, it makes the workshop quieter. The compressor runs till the tank is full. I use air out of the tank at a lower pressure so it takes a while before the compressor kicks on again. Kind of complicated and I didn't do this to avoid moisture but it works well and modelers always seem to have lots of interesting items about the workshop. :-)

Welcome Russel. You will find a friendly group here. As Mark said, show us some of your model so we can Ohhh and Ahhh. Also, this is a very knowledgable group. If you have any how-to questions, just ask (or check out past posts).

Come on guys and gals. Here is a chance to provide some input for future reference material.

Great job. If you had placed the model on a base and background, the photo could be mistaken for the real thing. Love the weathering and the little details.

Here is our chance to get that special item of reference material that you have needed. I had a recent communication with Osprey Publishing. I had advised them of recent reviews of their products that we had published on this web site. Osprey were very appreciative of our handling of their products and asked for our input on future publications from them. Here is their request; Quote So you’ve seen lots of our aircraft books, and New Vanguards too. Would you want a new Series, and if so, what direction should it take? I see model/RC reviewers usually comment on wanting more detail. Osprey has always been about introducing people to a subject. However, if we did a Series with more detail, what detail would you want…lots of markings for various specific models of planes, tanks, and ships? Or combat stories of the machines in a campaign…Whitman’s Tigers in Normandy, The Flying Tigers at Rangoon, etc.? Or some combo of the two? In other words, if you had your druthers, what would you like us to do next, and what would sell with the broadest appeal to both modellers and RC enthusiasts? Unquote From my standpoint, I love their "Aces" series because I love to make models of aces plus I love the history. I also have several other series of Osprey and am currently using their Iranian Tomcat book to finish an F-14 model. Lets hear from the group here. What changes or new series or new directions do we want from Osprey? Let's discuss it here and I will pass the info to Osprey. Thanks.

Looks good Rusty. Plus an interesting story.

Love the Egyption P-40.

Now, you can tell that you really wanted to build that model. Neat story, thanks.

Good looking job Steve. As Gil said, P-38s are usually tough. I have one in my collection from, I believe, Hasegawa and I swore at it while I was building it too. Gil just gave a good primer on primers and painting Alclad but I will add one additional item. If you used a gloss black primer or base coat, make sure it is completely dry. A few years ago, Alclad had a batch of primer that took forever to dry. I have an F-80 with lots of cracks in the finish. Gils comment about using different color primers or base coats is a good one. That will give the final finish some different tones on different panels. That avoids the monochromatic look.

Yes, Richard, I remember the XB-35 from sheet. Also, compared to the majority of other vacuforms, Rareplanes were a piece of cake. They were well engineered and Gordon always build a sample for photos etc. I was surprised to find out that he rarely added decals to the far side of the model to be photographed.

If I used the first, my wife would ask me how I knew..... I agree with the concept of never tell her how much you have invested even if you are dumb enough to do the calculation. A long time ago, I would stop at Squadron on my way home from work a few times a week. My purchases from those stops were always kept in the garage until I could being them in quietly.

Thanks Robin. At the time, I really wanted a model of the XF-88. I liked McD products and had finished a Rareplane vac of the XP-67. This particular product was pretty crude and I don't think that I would try it again knowing what a PITA it was. I would still jump at a Rareplane kit however and in fact I am slowly working on another XP-67.

Thanks John. A very good explanation. Now I understand the whole process better.