Out2gtcha

VERY good point Edgar. The key to foiling weather painting over it, graining it or sticking it to the airframe is just like painting. Its ALL in the prep. Clean, clean, clean. Ive found even 91% alcohol works as well. Plus it gets rid of any films or desbris that get deposited by material being used to grain the foil. Cheers, Brian

Yes, they are correct from every piece of documentation I can find on the subject. If there is a difference its not clearly stated or seen in any of the walk-arounds I have. The main outward diffs between the F8F-1 and 2 were the exhaust stacks, exhaust shrouds, vertical fin, and slight difference in the canopy config (cross bar re-enforcement) and the rollover bar. Although the rollover bar was retrofitted and appeared on early F8F-1s as well. There are other more minor diffs but they would not be noticeable outwardly. Word of warning/advice on the aries stuff for the B-Cats.....typical Aires........best resin molding and relief molding in the biz............but fit............thats another subject; especially on the wheel wells. The F8F Aires wheel wells have the same issue my SU-30 Aires ones did; WAY too much height to fit into the wing halves. They look AWESOME in the model when done, but be prepared to do quite a substantial amount of cutting/sanding on the top of the wheel wells to get them to fit into the Bearcat wings. Well worth the work, but it will be some effort. HTH, Brian

I think part of the problem here is we are all interchanging different kit manufacturers, and interchanging bubble top canopies with razorback ones. Because the Trump bubble top is known to have canopy issues............as WELL as the Revell razorback having canopy issues. I have never been aware of anyone at anytime having any accuracy issues with the Has bubble top canopy. If comparing a Has kit to any others it would have to be compared to another bubble top.........however I thought this discussion was more about the razorback. For me the only thing that looks accurate to me on the Trump razor is the canopy. Again each to their own but I had the kit and sold it the very next day. For me, after doing a LOT of research on the process, cutting off the spine and grafting it to the has bubble top as Larry did is the way to go and is not going to require a single thing out of the scope of any good modeler IMHO. I just realized I have the squadron razorback vac canopy, so Im good to go for the Revellagawa conversion. There are no other options for me, unless Hasagawa comes out with a razorback, as IMHO the Trumpy razor is a very big no go. Brian

Bout DERN time!!!!

LoL..............you said:

Man! That is SO cool looking! Im sure Sam has to be pleased as punch! Im sure DAD is.............. B

That is exactly what I am planning. Ive done some research and it does not appear to be NEARLY as much work to cut the spine off the Revell kit, cut a similarly sized opening in the trumpy bubbletop and mate the two. For some the Trumpy kit is great...........and I am in no way a Trumpy basher (Im working on a Trumpy kit right now), but for me, the spine...........cowl.........and overall shape were definitely deal breakers..........and I am in NO way a rivet counter. Im just very picky about what looks right. The trumpy razorback just did not look right IMHO. After looking things over in the "Revellagawa" hybrid razorback, the spine will obviously only need sanding and a tad filling and shaping. The cowl from my perspective can be left as is, as i looks the part to me. The only REAL issue on the Revellagawa, would be the windscreen. The Revell windscreen is TOTAL crap. Period. I hate vac too. Ironically enough, the one thing shapewise from my perspective Trumpy DID get right is the windscreen. Awefully expensive kit to use just the windscreen, but I am going to look into aquireing a Trumpy razorback windscreen from one of the Sprue services around...............somehow, hopefully. Otherwise I may have to go vac, even though I dont really want to. This option is the one that works for me, as I dont believe it will be near the work it is made out to be, and for me the Trumpy razorback is just simply not an option. Been there, not doing that. Brian

Thanks guys, hope it helps in some way, and as Ken and I always say, hope it gets more people into the joys of foiling! It really does have some great properties.....like NOT being silver paint for one..........and being able to wipe any and everything off of it if your not happy with whatever you put on it. Its also (with proper cleaning and graining) easy to paint over without using primer either. Thanks Peter. is a short vid of the ol girl starting up.....she does sound magical even on the ground...................I do miss her. Probably why Ive got a hankering to start a Tam 51! Brian

There are a couple of schools of thought on this............. I too tried to tried the initial brushing method and had hit or miss with it. The key either way is to lay down a film as thin as you can, let it dry and move on to another layer if needed after the first is dry. Its also of note to cut out the smallest piece of foil to work with you can initially, as the foil glue is SUPER sticky and attracts mad dust and particulates that contribute to the lumpiness. Kev, if you can, its really handy to have a large piece of ceramic tile to work on (as in pics). Not sure in AU how it works, but round here they are fairly cheap at any home shop or tile shop. Get as large a one as you can stand or have room for. (tiz also handy for working on other things that need a SUPER flat surface as well). Here are a couple of quick and dirty hints to get you started. (BTW Kev if there is anything here you'd like more help with or hints on, or something Im not covering please feel free and PM me ) - Get that tile piece as it makes life foiling MUCHO easier. Reasons for that seen in coming pics - - First take that tile piece and make sure the tile is 100% clean and bump free, or this too will translate BIG TIME into lumps and bumps in the finished foil. The cool thing about the tile, is its already confirmed true flat and level from the factory. I recommend going over the tile with a flat razor, then hitting it with some fine wet/dry sand paper. This does not degrade the ceramic tile at all really, it just makes sure you have a 100% lump free surface to start with - - Now you can cut out your foil piece (again making it as small as you can work with) and using just your fingers, dip them in a bit of water and get the tile generally wet...about the sized area of the foil piece your working with - - You can now place the previously cut section of foil on the wet tile, making sure to lay down the foil section on the BACK side AKA -opposite side you want showing- this is to hold the foil piece down while applying glue. Smooth it out flat on the tile using a filler spreader (more on this in a sec). - - I found that using a brush......no matter how good quality.....eventually leaves streaks and sometimes bristles behind. I experimented a LOT with this and for me at least, found a better way. Take that same piece of foil now flat and stuck on the tile by the film of water, and use a syringe filled with the Microscale glue and run a bead of it along the edge of the foil - - I found that the "bondo" or automotive filler spreader like this one work awesome for this - (image removed) For me, these spreaders work way better for this process. I would HIGHLY recommend that when cutting your individual foil pieces, that you dont ever cut any sections wider than your spreader. AKA cut the foil section so its about 1/2 inch shy of the length of the spreader on each side; basically so the foil part is overall 1 inch or so in total length less than however wide your spreader is. This will ensure you get even coverage on the WHOLE foil piece. - Now take that spreader and pull (at approx about a 45 angle) the bead of glue across the foil. Dont worry about over lap or the glue going off the edges of the piece - - Let that dry till the filmy look goes away - - After this is dry, you can repeat as needed OVER that first dry layer of foil glue, to acheive the amount of "stick" you need. This WILL TAKE SOME PRACTICE TO GET RIGHT! Dont be discouraged if you get streaks with the spreader initially. So did I. Just like riding a bike mate.........just takes practice to get down the technique right. Just make sure the spreader is ultra clean as ANY little debris or chink out of the edge of the spreader will translate to a steak or bump in the foil glue. Get yourself a foil test bed, like my 48th A-7 to experiment with (this foil piece here is WAY too big to work with as one piece, and im just did this for experimentation reasons) I would HIGHLY recommend for any compound curves or areas that you may paint over foil, using the thickest, strongest foil you can on these areas. Sounds bass-ackwards to what you would think, but the thinker, stronger foil actually will "stretch" around those areas, as well as take to sanding out wrinkles well. The thinner weaker stuff just tends to rip and look like crap in these areas. Like I said, this is just the beginning of the foiling stuff. Its definitely not for everyone but I learned from the best; Ken AKA foiler, and picked up and made some of my own techniques along the way, to come up with my own processes that work for me. I think if you just practice and experiment Kev you can come up with some of your own as well. By the by, if you plan on graining the foil at all with say, steel wool, sand paper, toothpaste, ect, ect, it is recommended to do this step prior to laying the foil on the tile for glueing. Much harder to accomplish after being glued to the airframe. Again Kev, anything more you want tips on that I didnt cover, or anything you want me to detail further, I can go over here or you can send me a PM. HTH, and cheers, Brian

Phils Daughter Sam's Ulimited Racer

NOICE man!! I know Sam is lovin this!! As I think we all are............quite liberating and refreshing to be able to actually do anything you want in any way you want; as long as its what SAM wants! Love the Hello Kitties........ As Matt pointed out, should be a SUPER winner at show-n-tell! B

Good stuff Kev! After switching my model room from carpet to tile floor I had a couple of those "magic" PE moments where I would actually FIND the part that leaped off the bench. Really like the weathering man, especially on the wings, good show. Cheers, Brian

CANNOT beat the Has bubbletop for fit, ease of assembly, and accuracy. Everyone raves about the Trumpy razorback. I bought one on E-Bay........measured the cowl area and front fuse with my documentation as well as the Has kit. Just looked WAY too funky for me. Cowl is very hoarse-coller shaped. Sold it the very next day. Im going to splice together an old Revell Razorback and a Has bubble top since the Has kit goes together so beautifully (with the exception of the fiddly 4 piece cowl). Id recommend the Has kit by leaps and bounds.................the Has razorback.....well.......... Youll have to judge that one for yourself but its definitely NOT for me personally. Brian

SUPER nice work mate. Love the paint work! Cheers, Brian

Its 1/35th: 1/35th Verlinden bathroom set Brian

Same same for me. Although my first will likely be closed up as I want to foil her, and I know those ultra thin cowl pieces will not lend themselves to foil well at all. Brian

Mr Shigeta did state at the US NATs it would be the end of Sept at the earliest...........and maybe even October. HTH Brian

Nice work man...........I didnt realize you were goin for some of the colored up Alclads! B

Mmmmmmm Must haves!!!!!

Nice stuff Karl...........you da man! Chris's pylons are great. I got the full set for my SU as well, but have not had the privilege of using them yet. Cheers and keep up the good work! Brian

Yes, PE attached directly to the plastic............exactly as was the plan. I was planning on doing my usual cut out and embed the PE and recess it in...........until I saw pics of all these panels on the real bird. They are all raised on the real thing as well: Hard to see the panels up close in this shot but the small access hatches are in fact raised a bit A lot of fuse access hatches and the full canon blast shield also are raised: Made it hella easier to apply the PE!

NOICE!!!!

Id love to have a walk around of the SB.com girls butt, but sadly I didnt take enough shots of here posterior. They were kinda dark shots anyway.

Oh yeah Ron, thats why I snapped em! Ill organize the major walk-around type pics i have (ones with a lot of pics from different angles) and send them out to you guys, probably in a .zip. The other pics I have, that are not walk around type or that I have less of Ill probably post here. Cheers, Brian

Thanks Peter! The Jug is turning out awesome and although I dont use it very often with my affliction/affection with/for foil, the Alclad is looking stunning! That is really a great kit. I wish Has would put out a Razorback as I purchased a Trumpy razorback and sold it the next day after measuring it up against known pics and the Has kit. Cowl was way too hoarsecoller shaped, and the area behind the cowl had issues to my eyes as well. Oh well, looks like im still on with my "Revellagawa" razorback! Thanks for peakin in on me and the kind words. And yes the re-scribe is mandatory but with this beast I found I just have about double the amount of panels to re-scribe that I normally do. Brian