MikeMoore

So I'm Mad now? Well, I suppose that's something a lot of people have know for a long time. And to further demonstrate my madness, what exactly was my half of the double dog challenge? Wasn't it something like you have to enter an airplane (and I'm supply the base) and I have to enter an armor piece? And wasn't there something about the cost of dinner if one of us doesn't get his entry done?

How about Ronin. One of the characters that helps out De Niro and Jean Reno's characters is building a magnificent scale model of a Japanese castle populated with tons of warring samurai and he's show painting several of the figures. Oh, Super 8 was one of my wife and I's favorite movies of the year. Mike And Gil...don't forget to lower the visor on that hat. We have newly developed technology that includes specialized lasers that can affect your thinking using the optic nerves as a pathway to your brain!

I typically use Nitrile gloves when I'm pouring molds or casting, and when working on a model with finicky paint, I use white cotton gloves. I got a BUNCH of them from a museum/archival supply website a number of years ago for what I remember to be a very reasonable price I suspect a Google search would turn up plenty of sources for the cotton gloves if one were interested. Mike

Hi Dennis, I've used it several times, and to me, it is by far the best grass effect out there. The only downside is that if you need a good amount of grass, or you want several tones in one project, the stuff does get a bit expensive. I've always ordered mine from Scenic Express, and had good service from them. http://www.sceneryex...s.asp?dept=1040 Here are a couple examples of what I've done with it: On this one, the tufts are Silflor and the other grass is Noch static grass: All the grass here is Silflor:

Hi Chris, I think he looks great. It's unusual and interesting to see a figure of that era portrayed in clean garb and waiting for battle to commence rather than all muddied and bloodied up after the fight! What did you use for the helmet? I think that looks really good. Mike

I'm pretty sure Verlinden did a set in 1/35, and I THINK CMK does one in 1/48. Mike

Operative word being of course..."almost".......

Famous last words! Mike

No, no, no Aldrich...I said I'd bring you a base for the P-40. You ain't gonna get one big enough for a B-17! At least not for free! And do tell Mrs. Treadhead congratulations...she done good. As for the True Details stuff, honestly, it's hit and miss these days. It's Squadron's house brand of resin sets for aircraft. They used to be great, and many of them were re-brands of molds Squadron had purchased, like KMC I believe. However, they went through a period where QC was iffy at best. I've heard they are getting better, but haven't seen anything cast recently. Mike

Hey Chris, I think it looks really nice. You know I'm not much of a figure guy, so take this with a grain of salt. One thing did pop out to me, and that is that every thing looks too clean. I first noticed it on the flag, which in many of the pictures looks pretty stark white. Then I took a closer look at the figures and it seems like all the clothes are pretty clean, as are the faces. It just seems like everything should be a bit grubbier. Like I said, I'm not a figure guy, so take that with a grain of salt, but otherwise, I really like it! Mike

Me???? Sarcastic???? Lt. Gray, what say you? Have you EVER known me to be sarcastic? Dennis, now I'm really hurt, just for that no beer for you from me in Omaha! Now excuse me while I go cry like...well, this is a family friendly organization (or so I hear)! Oh, Mark, seems to me we need an emoticon with an Aviator's helmet and goggles before a simple ground pounder's hat!

Dennis, It's Mike.....could we expect anything less???......babababump!!!! Hey...I've got feelings too. .

Oh Good Grief!!! Where is Dennis Tennant when you need him? Dennis, did you really let Lt. Gray register for the forums? Couldn't you at least checked with me first? Duck and cover boys, it's gonna get ugly. Well, not really, but since he took a gratuitous shot at me in his response to Gil, I felt it my duty as a fellow club member to return the favor. Not to mention Jeff would have thought I wasn't feeling well if I didn't take a shot. By the way Jeff, how's that garage coming? Getting enough space cleaned out so you can clean out your attic and start building? Hey, this is cool. Another way to give you crap! AWESOME! Dennis I changed my mind, it's just fine you let him register. And please, someone ask where the Lt. Gray came from. Mike

Ditto to both sentiments! Couldn't have said it any better. Mike

For me it would be the 1/72 Aki Blackburn Firebrand for aircraft and probably Tasca's Shermans for armor. The Aki kit simply has to be seen to be believed. I don't know what kind of black magic they have with resin, but you'd swear the kit were injected plastic if the sprues were grey. The pour gates are so small, that many of the parts fall off the sprues in transit. And as one person said, and having built the kit, I'd have to agree, you have to actively TRY to screw it up when putting it all together. And everyone knows about the Tasca Shermans, right? Mike

And I'll add my voice to the growing chorus of those who regularly spray acrylics with no issues. Since my return to modeling in about 2002 I've used acrylics almost exclusively. First Polly Scale or Polly S (WHATEVER the difference is/was) and now Tamiya. I tried MM Acryls and HATED them. They are the only ones I've used that peeled like (actually worse) the photo Mark originally posted. They were also much harder to clean up after. I started migrating away from Polly because of growing inconsistency from bottle to bottle. One bottle would spray fine, the next would be full of particles that needed to be strained, some would thin well with Windex, some clumped, and some weren't even compatible with their own thinner. I eventually ended up where today 95% of what I spray is Tamiya, which also means that 80% of what I spray is custom mixed colors. However, I've had very few issues with peeling when I was using Polly, and that has continued through my transition to Tamiya. I almost NEVER prime, I almost always thin well past 50%, usually with 70% alcohol, and frequently mask with Tamiya tape within an hour of spraying a color, often within 15 minutes. Oh, I also don't go to much trouble cleaning the plastic first. If I think the surface of the model might be pretty grimy for some reason, I'll wipe it down with alcohol, but that's rare as well. Perhaps like a couple others have said, I'm living right, but if I am, I sure wish it would pay off in other aspects of my life! Come on Lotto! My guess is that there is something with the plastic in the kit Mark, either that or something with that bottle of Polly. If you like the idea of acrylics, you might try Tamiya, but you'll be condemned to mixing colors if you find you like it. Mike

Jim...I feel your pain. I've got more than one kit sitting on the shelf of doom despite the dreams. Mark, whoever built that B-29 is a better man than I. IF I ever get around to finishing the one I started, I'm pretty damn sure it will be a camo'ed bird! Mike

No problem Jim. I've responded to our PM, but in case anyone looks here for the answer, the Knoxville show is next Saturday, March 26th. Mike

Hi Jim, Some answers for you. As has already been confirmed, there should be a seam down the spine and underside of the aft fuselage. It's not exactly on the centerline, but I forget right now which side it's offset to, and I doubt anyone would do more than note the presence or lack of the seam, not to mention the fact that it's not actually a butt join, but an overlapped seam if my memory serves... As for Classic Airframes, they aren't technically out of business, rather in hibernation. When the economy went sour a couple years ago, Jules rolled up the rugs and is waiting things out. He may or may not be back, depends on weather or not he thinks he can make a living producing limited run quirky kits. Personally I hope he comes back, but only time will tell. And finally, I've got a 109 I can part with if the price is right. Shoot me a PM and make me an offer. It's not in my immediate "to do" stack, but given the availability I'm not likely to let 'er go for a song either. I'm in Chattanooga and if we were to come to terms, I could meet up with you at the Knoxville show in a couple weeks and hand deliver it to save postage. Mike

I've been using Tamyia acrylics almost exclusively for the last 5 years or so. I generally thin them with 70% Isopropyl Alcohol. I tried 90%, but found it dried too quickly. Even with 70% it is possible for them to "frost" over if you hit it with a blast of air from the airbrush, but once you get the hang of spraying them, I find that rarely happens to me. I also have very few problems with the paint drying on my needle, and I use a Harder & Steenbeck Infinity with the .015 needle a lot! Using the alcohol as a thinner, the paint dries quickly enough that I can mask over it in minutes after "baking" it a bit with a blow dryer. The alcohol will give you a dead flat finish, and as someone else noted, it will knock the gloss back on the gloss colors. The other disadvantage to using alcohol is that if you have to sand out an imperfection, it's really hard to sand the finish to a feather edge so the repair is invisible. I've also used Gunze Mr Thinner 400, and it works really well also, and doesn't give as flat a finish. And, I've used Tamyia's Lacquer Thinner as well. If you want a really satin smooth finish that can really be feathered out, it's the only way to fly. I've been able to sand out imperfections and re-spray with no sign of the old paint line. I really like what I can do with the lacquer thinner, but the down side is that I'm spraying lacquer thinner, which is more of a health hazard (a spray booth would of course solve that!). I haven't tried generic lacquer thinner, but I've seen plenty of posts from folks who say they do it with no issues. Whichever thinner you go with, and I'd suggest there are applications for each, one thing I'd say is to thin the paint more than you might expect. I shoot really thin paint and build it up slowly. I use a lot of alcohol (but it's cheap) but by spraying thin, fast drying coats, it's possible to see what the finished product will look like as you go. Hope that helps. Mike Mike

Hey All, Just a quick posting to let you know that I've put pictures from last weekend's AMFS (and AMPS) show up on the CSM website. It was, as it normally is, a phenomenal show. Here's the link to the pictures: AMFS & AMPS Atlanta pictures Mike Moore

Hands down, the best masking tape out there for modeling is Tamiya tape. It's more expensive than the blue painter's tape, but it's thinner, so it tends to leave less build up of paint on the masked edge; it's more flexible, so it follows curves better; it's slightly transparent, so it's very useful for masking transparencies (the current Eduard masks are made from the same type tape); and it's very low tack, do it doesn't damage paint finishes (or at least I've never harmed a paint finish with it). It comes in three widths, each with a reusable dispenser; and as re-fills. Many hobby shops stock it, as do most all of the Internet vendors. Mike

If you attended the Chattanooga Scale Modelers show last weekend, please take a moment to visit our site and read an important announcement regarding the awards. You will find it here: Chattanooga Model Show award announcement We've also posted results and will have photos up soon (and also sent to Mark Aldrich for inclusion here). Thanks Mike Moore Show Chairman

Add me to the list of those spammed by this guy. I got at least 5 unsolicited emails in the last 2 days, and as others have pointed out in other places, there is no where noted to "unsubscribe" or "opt out". All it's done is pretty much guarantee I won't be visiting or subscribing. Mike

I can think of 3 kits currently residing on the metaphorical shelf of shame. First, and longest resident, a 1/48 B-29. Got it completely rescribed, and the fuselage is together, and then lost interest. Probably been there for about 3 years. Second up is a 1/48 Hasegawa FG I Phantom. Don't really know quite what happened to this one. It's still on the bench, just can't quite get the mojo going to get'er done, which is very odd since it's very close to my favorite stage, painting. And third is a 1/48 Tamyia Hetzer. A disastrous first attempt at the "hairspray" method of winter white wash doomed this one (dropping ONE track link, and needing to buy a second kit (tamiya didn't have the sprue available) didn't help my mood either!). Mike