JMorgan

That's a sweet looking Skyhawk. I noticed you used MM Acryl paint. Did you have any trouble with masking? What masking material did you use? I've been a little concerned with using Acryl paint when masking a canopy, afraid of it lifting. -Jesse

Thanks for all of the kind replys. Much of the weathering and some of the coloring was washed out due to my lousy picture taking. I built this kit primarily as a test-run trying to learn some of the techniques of aircraft modeling. For instance, this was the first time I masked a canopy. Anyway, this kit has got me motivated to do some more aircraft. -Jesse

Hey all, I usually build armor but decided to give an airplane (sort of) a try. The last time I did an airplane was 20 years ago. I actually built this one in it's original release when I was 16. I did the kit out of the box except for the nacelles. I modified them to be slightly rotated forward as if in transition. The stripes on the blades were masked and spray painted versus using the decals. I know this model isn't upto current Marine Corps specifications, but I just wanted to try an aircraft. Thanks for looking and any comments are welcomed. -Jesse

Testors still have ELO for purchase on their website. Personally, I love the stuff. I've used it to remove lacquer, enamel and acrylic based paints without any adverse effects to the plastic. If anyone hasn't tried it, give it a shot. You'll like it. -Jesse

I'm curious about this techique using a liquid product. How do you keep straight lines along the canopy frame? I've only used Tamiya tape and BMF. Thanks, Jesse

Annealling is a good practice, but I've never done it on 1/700 PE. One important thing to remember when annelling: Let the part cool down on its own, don't immerse it in cold water. Model Expo is selling the Etchmate for $29.99: http://www.modelexpo-online.com/emails/EMA287.html -J

Awesome looking aircraft. Great work. I recently saw a show on the Military Channel about the 104 and I saw the one at the Air Space and Space Museum in DC. I might have to add one of these to my collection. -J

Very nice, I like it. Which technique did you use on the windows? -J

I did the same thing on my tracks. It works great. Just curious, did you get this hint from the FSM forum? I also stapled the ends of the tracks together for better strength. -J