SkyKing

Mike, How can you question the wisdom and expertise of the federal government? They are protecting us. it is my understanding that the airlines, through their international trade association, are to blame for enamels no longer being shipped by air. And who regulates the airlines? In this case, themselves.

Mike, How can you question the wisdom and expertise of the federal government? They are protecting us. it is my understanding that the airlines, through their international trade association, are to blame for enamels no longer being shipped by air.

But why is it that some lacquers (I.e., Mr. Color, AKAN) are easier to get here in the US than some enamels (Xtracolor, White Ensign). Aren't lacquers more volatile and "nastier" than enamels?

Having attended many shows and contests in recent years, I have come to the conclusion that "subtlety" is not in the vocabulary of today's modelers and that most builders of model aircraft have never seen a real aircraft close-up.

According to a post on the Britmodeller forum, the following Humbrol colors have been discontinued, as confirmed by their deletion from the trade order forms: 36 Matt pastel green 42 Matt violet 44 Matt pastel blue 58 Matt magenta 111 Matt field grey 112 Matt field blue 156 Satin dark camouflage grey 157 Matt azure blue 167 Satin RAF Barley grey 168 Satin hemp 187 Matt dark stone 195 Satin dark green 225 Matt middle stone 230 Matt PRU blue 234 Matt dark flesh 237 Matt desert tan 239 Gloss British racing green 240 Matt RLM 02 grau 241 Matt RLM 70 schwartzgrun 242 Matt RLM 71 dunkelgrun 243 Matt RLM 72 grun 244 Matt RLM 73 grun 245 Matt RLM 74 graugrun 246 Matt RLM 75 grauviolett 247 Matt RLM 76 lichtblau 248 Matt RLM 78 himmelblau 249 Matt RLM 79 sandbraun 250 Matt desert sand 251 Matt RLM 81 dunkelbraun 252 Matt RLM 82 olivgrun 253 Matt RLM 83 dunkelgrun 1325 Clear green So get 'em while you can.

I was informed of the existence of this product, which has a needle thickness of only .36 mm (71 needles per inch), but it's not exactly cheap: http://g-jax.com/510/mko-5f.html

Scale modelers need a contour or profile gauge designed especially for the common scales we typically work in. Virtually all commercially available gauges are intended for woodworking or auto body repair, with needles that are too large to give fine measurements, like these: It seems to me that photoetch technology offers the means to create needles that would work in a small contour gauge that would be suitable for models in the more common scales, ranging from 1/144 to 1/24. Such a gauge could even be sold in a kit to be assembled by the modeler, like some biplane assembly jigs. So whadda ya think? If I knew how, I'd design and develop one myself. But here's an opportunity for an enterprising entrepreneur.

Cool! Texas Jack is a distant relative of mine; my mother's maiden name was Vermillion.

Why not share those details with the rest of us? I'm sure there are others besides me who would like to know.

Just use it with extreme caution:

Who remembers Mail-Call Models of Costa Mesa, CA? I just acquired a near-mint-condition (except for the now-yellowed polyethylene bag containing it) J&L vacform kit of the Douglas DC-7C complete with Northwest decals, scale 1/72. The instruction sheet states it was distributed by Mail-Call Models. I think the J&L line was picked up by Formaplane and distributed by Squadron back in the '70s. The molds eventually wound up with Aircraft in Miniature (AIM) in the UK. AIM was going to re-release the kit a few years ago, but discovered the mold was damaged. I vaguely remember the name "Mail-Call Models" and seeing ads for them but know nothing about the business itself.

I've been able to locate some of them on ebay by doing a lot of Google searching. But they will be the last items I buy from Testors/RPM EVER! Perhaps our Industry Liaison Person could contact Testors and find out the reason(s) for the discontinuance of these colors?

Read this: IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO APPLY A GLOSS COAT BEFORE APPLYING DECALS! I've been preaching this for years, but nobody seems to believe it's true. So i refer you to Paul Budzik's videos on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_-v7-Wp6no https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chCLz7xnnZQ

The body of the Atlas was basically a fuel tank - an aluminum balloon that had to be kept pressurized when empty lest it collapse. The extremely cold fuel and oxidizer caused ice to build up on the outside from condensation of the moisture in the atmosphere, and Cape Canaveral, being on the coast, had a lot of moisture in the atmosphere. At launch, all that ice broke off. I'm old enough to have seen every Mercury Atlas launch live on TV, and the first time I saw one I thought the Atlas had broken up, until the announcer explained what it was. The later Saturn launches featured even more ice due to the size of the booster, but that first Atlas launch was spectacular, and the box artist has captured it extremely well.

Woo hoo!

And why are new Forum posts and new Calendar items not shown?

A list of discontinued Model Master bottled paints was recently posted on ARC; I have checked it against Testors' web site, and here are my findings. All have been discontinued except where noted: Armor Sand FS 30277 - available only as bottled acrylic Field Green FS 34097 Forest Green FS 34127 Pale Green FS 34227 Flat Sea Blue FS 35042 Gloss Gull Grey FS 16440 - available only as bottled acrylic & spray enamel Camouflage Grey FS 36622 - available only as bottled acrylic & spray enamel Panzer Grey FS 36076 - available only as spray enamel Light Earth FS 30140 - available only as spray enamel Africa Mustard FS 30266 - available only as spray enamel Modern Desert Sand FS 33637 Medium Field Green FS 34095 Navy Grey FS 16081 SAC Bomber Tan FS 34201 - available only as spray enamel SAC Bomber Green FS 34159 - available only as spray enamel Aggressor Gray FS 36251 - available only as spray enamel Canadian Voodoo Grey FS 16515 RAF Medium Slate Grey RAF PRU Blue Dunkelbraun RLM 61 Grun RLM 73 All WWII FRENCH COLORS Italian Blue Grey Imperial Japanese Army Green Russian Topside Grey Russian Underside Grey Russian Underside Blue Russian Earth Grey Russian Topside Blue Flanker Pale Blue Flanker Medium Blue Fulcrum Grey Fulcrum Grey/Green Another poster added the following: "The latest list I got from Testors still shows Insignia White still in production, but a number of colors are spray-only now: Camouflage Gray, Aggressor Gray, SAC Bomber Tan, SAC bomber Green, and Gloss Gull Gray. At least they still make the paint. A number of these other colors are also still in spray and were never in bottles, like Light Earth, Afrika Mustard, Modern Desert Sand, and Panzer Gray." I also discovered that some of the colors still available as enamel sprays cannot be found when using the Search function on the Testors website. However, they are still listed on the relevant product page.

The family has made the following statement: We are sorry to have to communicate the sad news that Gordon Stevens, ‘Mr Rareplanes’, passed away on 28th October at the age of 88, after a short illness. We know that Dad really enjoyed corresponding with all his vacform aircraft modelling friends which kept him in the present and in touch with the modelling world. After years of resisting the internet he eventually took the plunge and over the past 10 years has been quite taken aback to discover so many postings relating to Rareplanes Vacforms, not to mention the many emails of appreciation he has been sent from die-hard enthusiasts like all of you. We’d be grateful if you could please pass message this on to anyone whom you think would like to know and we would like to thank all of you for your friendship with him over the years which we know he has appreciated very much. With our warm regards His wife Janet, daughters Claire & Serena (the Rareplanes family)

For the FACTS about the GHS labeling system, see here: https://www.msdsonline.com/resources/ghs-answer-center/10-ghs-facts-in-60-seconds The anti-government/anti-regulation/new world order conspiracy theorists among us should note item 5: "The GHS is not a global law or regulation– a common misconception – it is a system. Think of it as a set of recommendations or collection of best practices. No country is obligated to adopt all or even any part of the GHS." Note also that OSHA is the lead agency, not EPA. No doubt Testors/Rustoleum has voluntarily adopted the GHS system because their products are sold internationally. And the solution to the small print is for them to put their products in larger, more economical bottles with bigger labels.

http://www.jfrteam-neufgrange.fr/pages/maquettes-fsc/fsc-dujin/liste-des-kits-fsc-dujin/dassault-falcon-10.html

The first model shop I remember was a little hole-in-the-wall shop in Abilene, Texas, close by and just north of the railroad tracks that still run east-west through the middle of town. I was probably about 1951-52. I was 5 years old and was with my father, who bought a Comet or Strombecker balsa Piper Cub kit and some Cub Yellow dope. The shop catered mainy to the balsa-and-tissue flying model enthusiast, and I recall a couple of large free-flight (or possibly even early radio control) models hanging from the ceiling. As an adolescent, most of the models I acquired were purchased at variety stores, notably T.G. & Y. and Neisner's. I spent most of my childhood allowance at the T.G. & Y. on Camp Bowie Blvd in Ft. Worth, which had a large assortment of kits; I especially favored Comet's Cessna 310, Piper Apache, and Aero Commander. We moved to Wichita Falls, TX, in early 1961. There was a "hobby shop" downtown, but it catered mainly to the arts-and-crafts crowd. But there was another hole-in-the-wall shop not far from where we lived that had stacks of Frog kits, of all things! I still haven't figured out how they came to be there.

You guys are all children! Except Marmo. And Wentzel. Guys like us are "elder statesmen" and should be shown proper respect! :-) IPMS # 1746.

That's one of the things Paul Budzik mentions in his video (posted above).

Jay was unique, a true character in addition to a consumate model builder, and his contributions to the hobby were many, in spite of the health issues which he suffered from. His book was then, and still is, is a valuable source of primary information for those interested in the subject of WW II US aircraft camouflage. Thanks for making it available again.

Yeah. I don't think the wife is gonna let me keep them all in the house!