Disco58

I tend to waste paint, so a rather liberal guess would be about 7mL (about 1/4 oz.) to paint the P-47. There are plenty of guys here who do P-47's on a regular basis, and they could tell you down to the drop, but of course none have replied.... I would get a few bottles (or tins, however you buy it). It will save on shipping costs, and it's not like the stuff will go bad, so you might as well get some extra for future use and have it on hand. You must live where there are no hobby shops.

Interesting- It's been my thought that it doesn't set up quickly enough. I used to have issues with trying to get it into corners because of its natural viscosity, but using the eye end of a sewing needle and VERY gently prodding it into corners usually works. Thinning it even slightly with water or airbrush medium makes it flow into corners very quickly, but it also makes it so runny that it takes forever to set up, even using a hairdryer. This is supposed to be fun, and fighting with canopies took all the fun out of it. As much as I love aircraft, canopies are such a PITA that I have gone to other subjects so I don't have to deal with them.

I had an experience with decanting that has been the long-standing subject of humiliation within our club. Being a glutton for punishment is the only reason I can think of to regurgitate this memory for myself and others.... I would like to add (and subtract) from you measurements... To set the stage I'll mention I did my decanting in the middle of my kitchen, with an old style beer can opener (remember those?)... I had already inverted the can and pressed the button, but there was also an interval where the can warmed up and repressurized--not much, but apparently enough. Of the 100ml in question, none contacted either cat, thus saving 3ml to be added to the 65ml that went into the air, quickly settling onto the stove, counter, refrigerator, cabinets and ceramic floor tile. 30 ml went directly into my face/neck, and the remaining 2ml that actually stayed in the can ended up on the floor when I dropped the can. I then yelled for my wife to bring me a towel, after which I went out on the front porch to get some air and collect myself. Once out in the cool night air I thought a quick smoke would calm me down. I quickly decided against that as I struck my lighter, and realizing my head was wet with rather volatile paint, the image of Richard Pryor running down the street crossed my mind. Since that night, in the interest of my health and well-being, I have quit both smoking and attempting to decant spray cans.

Ok, I suppose I'll throw in my $.02 as well...'Fit' has been mentioned as a major factor factor in your potential purchase, and not a truer statement can be found. For those of us who write a lot, we generally have a favorite pen, or at least a favorite style/brand. It's comfortable to use initially and for the long term, because it fits. It's thickness and length are such that our fingers don't cramp up. Airbrushes are no different. Personally, I think the top of the trigger button is a major factor in this. I don't particularly care for Badgers because the trigger is too conical, and too slick, and that causes my finger to slip off occasionally, which creates major issues when trying to run long solid lines. However, the diameter and length I like reasonably well. My Paasche VL on the other hand has a flatter trigger that I never slip off of, can be used as a double action or turn an adjustment wheel and use it as a single action, but it's a bit fatter than I really like. The fix for the Badger could be simply a dab of silicone on the top of the trigger. I haven't tried that yet because I bought a Paasche VSR that I absolutely love, but... It's a gravity feed, and while it has detachable cups, the larger cup isn't big enough for larger projects where you'd need a conventional jar full of paint. But it does great detail work. The downside to all the airbrushes I own are that none have a cap for the open cups, and I have encountered spills that created rather intense PO'd moments. There are airbrushes out there with capped cups (Iwata I think), and that item alone is a real headache saver. One other brush I had was an Omni 5000, a double action, gravity feed that was great, and one of its' beautiful features was the lack of mutliple tips and needles. Just unscrew the tip, flip it over and screw it back on for a switch between superfine and coarse patterns. But its drawbacks were that it was also made by Badger (with the trigger issues I mentioned), and it didn't have a cup cap, creating a spill potential. The reality is that there are as many opinions on airbrushes as there are airbrushes. For every airbrush there are those who love it and those who hate it, and both camps have valid reasons for their opinion, based on the models they build, there hands/fingers, their environment and a hundred other factors. You would be well off if you could find someone who will let you borrow one for a bit to evaluate whether or not it works for you. You may hit the one you like on the first try, it may take a few. Remember what I said about the pen -- you're just writing with paint. As far as 'air' supplies I use both a compressor and CO2 or Nitrogen. The compressor is a Campbell-Hausfeld with a one gallon tank. It's noisy as hell, but it works great. I've had other CH compressors too, so I don't know what might have gone wrong with the other person's. The Co2/nitrogen is absolutely quiet, but ya gotta refill it once in awhile, and at about $20 a pop it can add up over time, offsetting the price of a compressor. There are quiet tankless compressors out there, but with a tankless you usually get pulsations in the airstream. The high end airbrush compressors may have something in them to combat that, but they are definitely pricey ($150-$300). So your answer is a multitude of almost answers that work great for some, not at all for others. Are we having fun yet?

I'm doing a 'what-if', and I'm looking for a list of equipment manufacturers for F-14's. I need anything anyone can think of (been too long, and I don't remember much), and then the difficult part is a way to turn those into decals. There's obviously Grumman, General Electric, Westinghouse, Raytheon, Martin-Baker... but I also need trivial stuff too. Did the Navy use a dominant manufacturer for tires, and/or were the tires used on F-14's always Firestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Avon, whatever? Thanks

Worked for me with IE6, very cool. Thanks.

David -- As far as single-action airbrushes, you can do a few different things. One would be the Badger 200 as suggested, which a lot of people use, a Paasche H, which I have and like, and another that seems to be quite popular, or go with a Paasche VL, which is technically an internal mix double action. However, there is a knob on top that sets the trigger at a predetermined rearward position, essentially creating a single action brush. I also lack some of that control and coordination for the same reasons you do. Personally, I prefer Paasche over Badger mainly due to the trigger/button. I just don't like the way the Badger trigger feels, and my finger keeps slipping off it, which doesn't happen with any of the Paasche airbrushes I have (H, VL and VSR). I've been considering putting a blob of silicone on the Badger trigger and trying that, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. It may make me appreciate the Badger more, who knows. And for whatever it's worth, it has been my experience with Paasche that they are as generous with repair work.

In case anyone is interested - http://www.bobdivelymodels.com/4.htm

Ok, after I posted my message I sat here and thought.... then I grabbed my VL and tried it. Now I get it. You're absolutely right, the adjustmment does indeed set the minimum. I'd forgotten (or hadn't ever really noticed), but after I set the knob I actually push against the trigger, and that holds it against the stop, so the effect (at least for me) is that it limits the max spray. I guess I've learned something, and I may have to investigate the Iwata HP-CS. Thanks!

Dammitol Bruce, I was going to suggest the VL because you can turn it into a single action, but your mentioning the issues of the min/max limiting makes me wonder, but I'm still a bit unclear. In the words of one Ricky Ricardo, "Ju gonna ha' ta 'splain dat one to me Lucy, cauz I don' unnastan'". I've never claimed to be the brightest light in the drawer, so.... As I see it, and as I've used it, the knob in front of the trigger does set the max because wherever you set it is as far back as the trigger will pull, thus limiting paint flow. It's the first double-action I bought (12 yrs ago), and I still havent gotten the hang of it, so thats why I invariably use it as a single action. It may sound like a strange analogy, but using a double-action is too much like trying to learn to play a slide trombone.

My goal is 12 builds before I die, so let's see, I'm 51 now, don't smoke, drink in moderation, blood pressure is dead perfect, not terribly overweight, not a junk food junkie.... no way in hell.

For John DeRosia -- I was happy to see this review. I have the same kit in my stash that I picked up at the Butch O'Hare show about five years ago. I've been putting off starting on it for a myriad of reasons, but since you mention it being a pretty quick build, I just may tear into it. There's one mistake I noticed in your build though (sorry). The regulator on the tank is backwards; it should be facing the rear, not front. That's a US Divers single stage reg, and it's about 4 1/2 in. in diameter. It's supposed to be facing the rear so you're not constantly banging the back of your head on it. Since it's a single stage no one uses them anymore; they can be a little(?) difficult to breathe through if you get deep enough because the supply side hose has a nasty habit of collapsing from the water pressure. I have one that needs rebuilt, but US Divers won't touch it because they're afraid I'll use it (well duh, that's why I want it rebuilt!), so it sits in the dive shop in the display case with the other relics.

I guess that says it all. Saw one of theose 'motivational' posters with a picture of Neytiri which said, "Admit it, you spent the whole movie looking for her nipples, right?" Ok, fine, but I enjoyed the rest too, so..... :P

Kevin -- Technically, I haven't been to the dragstrip since '82 when I quit racing and started wearing Navy blue. I say 'technically' because I worked at the Exelon nuke plant in Cordova for four years, and drove past the dragstrip everyday. During racing season I'd pull off to the side and watch a bit, but that's as far as it went. In the mid 80's my brother also gave up racing when his daughter arrived, and neither of us ever went back to it. I've never been good as a spectator. I still love to go fast, but now I prefer doing it in three dimensions, or maybe more appropriately, three axes. Orville and Wilbur, thank you, thank you! It's interesting I suppose that I lost any desire to build another dragster, but never gave a second thought to building a plane, hmmm. That's enough I think, don't want to steal this thread any more than I have, sorry Matt!

If you ever get up this way, drop into a meeting and teach some figure painting, ok? Excellent!

It didn't come with the bad paint job, I did that.... When I get some spare(?) time, I'll strip it and repaint it. I don't remember though what to use as stripper on resin...oven cleaner?

I have a 'figure' I'm trying to find the source of. It's a Santa, flat on his back, stuck in a mousetrap, eyes bulging and tongue stuck out, with a handful of chocolate chip cookies in his fist that were obviously the bait. It's about 5 inches long. Anyone ever seen this, heard of it before, have any idea who might have cast it? I've had it for about ten years, and I can't remember if I got it from a vendor from my first Butch O'Hare show, or at on of ours here in the Quad Cities. M. Vinson QCSMS

For "throwing it together" you did a fine job! I had turned 11 that June, and as usual, I was spending my summer vacation at my grandmother's. She and I sat welded to the TV, watching every grainy flicker, absorbing every word, and she said, "Michael, remember this day, this is important". Born in 1902, she had lived through a number of other "important" days, and she wanted to make sure this one got its deserved recognition and remembrance.

One of the stencils was crooked..... Hey, you said you wanted criticism...oh, constructive criticism, my mistake. Ummmm, can't come up with any, sorry. Applying that many stencils on a 1/32 bird would take its' toll on a man's sanity, and you did it on a 1/72 aircraft?! That's insane --you certainly have my respect.

One of our members brought a P-47 for show and tell last month, and it has four diagonal lines at varying degrees on the wings about mid-point. There was a great deal of speculation as to the purpose of these lines, as they're obviously not decorative. My speculation was for runway alignment so the pilot wouldn't have to do the weave when taking off in groups. I figured each line would correspond with a precalculated runway edge to wheel distance. I may be way off, but but I've flown a couple taildraggers (ya' either love 'em or hate 'em!) , and I've also spent time in the left seat of a big truck, and I've used various visual markers--like hood ornaments and hood corners--for keeping things lined up since you can't see the RF wheel.

Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment wherein a material is altered, causing changes in its properties such as strength and hardness. It is a process that produces conditions by heating to above the re-crystallization temperature and maintaining a suitable temperature, and then cooling. Annealing is used to induce ductility, soften material, relieve internal stresses, refine the structure by making it homogeneous, and improve cold working properties. In the cases of copper, steel, silver, and brass this process is performed by substantially heating the material (generally until glowing) for a while and allowing it to cool slowly. In this fashion the metal is softened and prepared for further work such as shaping, stamping, or forming. It also presents no problem with decarburization. Note the emphasis is on slow cooling, not quenching. Quenching will surface harden the material, and in the case of PE (of whaever material) because it's so thin, will harden it completely through. This can be a good thing, but not before you try to form it. It will be very brittle and will break before it bends.

Speak for yourself Jack! Oh wait, decals....nevermind.

Brian, I think you've answered your own question, because that's what good judges look for too. Hone the basic skills to a fine art--get the seams to disappear, the paint smooth and even, weathering (if applicable)--then worry about the minutae. A mediocre paint job, even on high dollar PE or resin, is still a mediocre paint job.

Mark c'mon, is that it, is that all you accomplished in an entire weekend?! Hmmph, that little bit would have only taken me, oh, three or four years....

Matt -- NIce job on the Candies & Hughes, and all the rest. I took a look at your page...wow. The pictures bring back some serious memories, thank you. I started racing with my brother in the mid 70's at Cordova Dragway in Cordova, IL, and I remember many of those being there. I really love the one of "Jungle Jim" sitting on the line, with 'Jungle Pam' down on one knee looking under the car...man are those shorts short! Oh yea, I loved the 70's!