tbell

If it's a standing pilot you want, Ultracast does a very nice one. Edit: Doh! I just re-read your post and noticed "seated". Never mind! Cheers, Tony

Slow progress since my last post - life just seems to be getting in the way of modelling these days! Anyway, I'm nearly finished the wings. I substituted the PCM canon blisters, not that I have any definitive proof, but it's simply because I like the look better. It took some shimming, sanding, bending and fitting to get them in there properly, but in the end they look OK. I used a jeweller's beading tool to reproduce the fastener detail. I've also buttoned up the fuselage. The fit was perfect. And just because I had the camera out, I snapped a few more cockpit shots. Cheers, Tony

I've used a blue-grey acrylic wash on NMF to good effect. I use Citadel acrylics thinned with distilled water plus a good dollop of dish detergent. The detergent makes the wash to flow better and allows the excess to be cleaned up with a damp paper towel. I always test my mix fist to make sure I've added enough soap. Not enough, and the excess won't come off. I've found that the blue-grey colour creates the illusion of shadow and enhances the metallic look of the NMF, while I rely on pigments and post shading to simulate dirt and grunge. Here's how it looks on the wing of my 1/48 Tamiya P-47: Cheers, Tony

Hi Guys, I just stumbled across this thread. Graham has indeed been in touch with me about this, and I am also pursuing nameplates from Fotocut, in addition to the ones that Graham has sourced. There should be plenty enough to go around. Graham, please PM me with a list of folks who are going to get them directly from you, and I'll make sure the remainder are taken care of. It might be cheaper for me to look after the guys in North America... Cheers, Tony

Hi All, Sorry I've been a bit quiet on this topic over the holidays! I've been in touch with the vendor and he will get back to me with a delivery date. I'll post it when I hear from him. The entire "production run" (such as it is) is now spoken for, and the following folks have their dibs in: tbell Av8fan Firecaptain Dave Pratt pappy1 Mustang137 Allok Monty Python James H is is windy yet? Kagemusha Rui Silva Out2gtcha alaninaustria LSP_Ray theseeker dennismcc mike in calif One-Oh-Four rafju PopPop crobinsonh Rivas tomstewart mgbooyv8 goran mhorina Pfuf James H Brad-M One-Oh-Four Wolf Buddee Hagar ScoobyDoo Wayne Kohlmann tasdev Cheers, Tony

Clearer, even... I had asked the exact same question of dmatusek in his build post. I did indeed attach the lower cockpit walls to the fuselage halves first. I've built up the centre section with the IP, seat, and frames as a single unit. It complicates a few things a little bit, like the black oxygen bottle on the starboard side, but nothing too dificult at all. I've also attached the gear lever quadrant to the IP frame with a piece of styrene strip so I can add four hydraulic lines.

Yeah... that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I wish I had that diagram before, Edgar! Oh well, if the triangle and pin are on the wrong sides I can live with it... I picked it up a a show, so I can't give you a source, unfortunately. You might want to try an electronics store (the kind with bins of capacitors & such), or online at McMaster-Carr.

Very solid. From the time I placed my order online to its arrival on my doorstep less than a week had passed. This from Ireland to Canada.

Just a quick update. Not a whole lot of time to be spent at the bench, between doing the social rounds and kids' hockey tournaments, however I did find enough time to put together the RB Productions harness. This is the first time I've tried Radu's belts, and they're great. The instructions suggest using Gator Glue or Pacer Formula 560, but I had neither. The instructions are also emphatic about not using superglue, so instead I used LePage contact cement, thinned with lacquer thinner and applied with a 0000 brush. The bonds are very strong, yet flexible. Perfect. The brass & steel photoetch bits are extremely fiddly and it's a miracle I didn't lose any. Working under a magnifying lamp with needle nose tweezers was a great help. To drape the belts I soaked them in diluted white glue and them positioned them while they were still soggy. Suffice to say that in the future I will be defaulting to Radu's product if the option is there! Cheers, Tony

Most likely, yes. I'm not exactly a quick builder, so don't hold your breath though!

Thanks, guys! This is one of those kits that you have to build with a hammer to screw up (sorta like Tamiya's 1/48 P-47D). Waldron can be found at Roll Models. As for the wash, I used MiG's "Dark Wash". It's a bit too thick out of the bottle, so I thinned it some more with mineral spirits. My process is as follows: Airbrush coat of interior green (homebrew Tamiya mix); airbrush light coat of future for a semigloss sheen; thinned MiG wash, let dry and the excess tidied up with a moist brush; a bit of airbrushed post shading with dark grey (1:10 paint to alcohol); drybrushing with slightly lighter shade of interior green mixed from artists' oils. I'm referring to the little rectangular doodad next to the yellow dial which I had assumed was an ammo counter. Any idea what it is? The instructions have you use only one of the three pieces. Presumably the other two are for future variants. Cheers & Merry Christmas (it's still the 25th here in Canada...), Tony

I've been chipping away at the Tamiya Spitfire for the past month & a bit (OK, so I'm slow!). Instead of doing it OOB, I've decided to add a few simple details, including the sea cushion from epoxy putty, some plumbing from fine solder and an oxygen hose from a guitar string. I wrapped fine wire around the grip and added the wires. I have a few more details to paint on the panel (e.g. ammo counter, blank instrument): The colour balance is a bit off in the pictures; the seat is much more brown in person. Placards are from the venerable Waldron set: I've detailed most of the starboard side, but have yet to do the port. Nor have I done the throttle quadrant: My references show cat hair by the gear quadrant, so I've tried to reproduce it as accurately as possible: No pics yet, but today I tackled Radu Brinzan's amazing paper and photoetch Sutton harness which was easier than I thought it would be. Questions and criticism welcome! Cheers, Tony

I'm in Canada, and PayPal will be just great. It probably won't be until after the holidays that I know the final price and how many folks want to go in on it. I am talking to someone about doing a resin master, but I'm going to see how the PE goes first. I actually did the artwork up based on a high res version of the photo in my top post. It's in a raster format (a Photoshop .psd file), but it's very clean and very high res. It's also enormous. I'll drop you an email to get the vector file since it might be a little less unwieldy!

I'm having some custom photoetched brass done to duplicate the missing "Rolls-Royce" on the Tamiya Spit's rocker covers: It doesn't come cheap, so I was hoping to get some folks to help spread the cost out a bit. Anywhere up to six folks would cost about $10 per person, any more than that would drive the price down. I would pay for the up front costs and would only ask for money after I'm happy that they turned out OK. Send me a PM if you're interested! Cheers, Tony

Hi Kev, I add both Future and thinner before airbrushing. I'll mix the shade I want and then add about 1/4 to 1/3 Future. I'll then thin this mix with pure rubbing alcohol at about a 60/40 ratio of thinner to paint. This usually gives a nice eggshell sheen that will still need a further coat of Future before decals. The advantage of adding the Future to the colour mix is that it eliminates the dead flat, chalky effect that you sometimes get with Tamiya paints, and it makes the finish more durable. I've never had any issues with the Future reacting badly with the paint, but then again I haven't tried it with any other acrylics apart from Tamiya and Gunze. Cheers, Tony

Ron, I've had the same issue with Blu Tac when I've used it on dead matte finishes. I've found that Future, either added to the paint beforehand (I use Tamiya) or applied afterwards (but before masking with Blu Tac) eliminated the residue problem. Great looking model. Always nice to see Canadian subjects, too. Cheers, Tony

They are indeed (this from a source close to Hobbycraft Canada). If they're smart about it they'll make sure it's basic but accurate, with good surface detail at a price point of $50 or less. That way it would occupy a different enough market niche so as not to be threatened by the Tamiya kit. Cheers, Tony

I can take it off your hands for the canopy mechanism, if nothing else. I'm planning to pick up one of Harold's 'pits, but would like to replace the bits under the sliding canopy. PM me with your price if you really do want to let it go. Cheers, Tony

...and here's Brett Green's written review: F-80C Shooting Star Review The pics that Brett posted make the plastic look even better than the preview pics that were floating around earlier. Very Classic Airframes-ish. Cheers, Tony

The canopy looks like it's more representative of the P-80A/B with the pointy tail end. The F-80C had a slightly extended bit at the aft end of the canopy: Should be a dead easy fix, though. I've got mine on order from Rollmodels and can't wait to get it! Cheers, Tony

Hi Brad, The trickiest part is getting the side walls positioned properly. Work from back to front and use the photoetch turtledeck as your starting point. Position it first, then position the resin deck/hatch piece and use it to determine the position of the tub and finally the side walls. For added fun, you'll want to attach everything temporarily at first to figure out all the positioning. That said, the pieces all fit quite well provided you thin the fuselage sides sufficiently (as indicated in the instructions). HTH, Tony

It's not like a scaled up AM kit, it is a scaled up AM kit. The parts breakdown of the test shot I built was identical, and I could even make out the pantograph lines. I wasn't given any instructions at the time so I used the ones from the AM kit I had sitting in the stash. That said, it's good news. The AM kit is basically sound, with only minor issues to deal with, the wheel well being the biggest. Also, to my eye the wheels are too square in cross section and the vertical stab needs some minor reshaping. Aside from that, I was quite pleased with the kit. Cheers, Tony

A simple, straightforward alternative is Floquil enamel "Bright Silver". Thinned with lacquer thinner and airbrushed on, it looks great. Yet another alternative is Krylon "Chrome." It's best decanted from the spray bomb, thinned with a bit of lacquer thinner and airbrushed. Straight out of the spray bomb it goes on too heavy and will craze the plastic.

Hi Chris, I've been following you P-40 thread and I've got to say it's turned out very well, especially considering how quickly you've done it. I particularly like your airbrush work and the way you've subtly broken up the solid colours without it looking obviously "post-shaded". One thing I noticed about the national insignia is that there is a distinct white edge visible around the circumference. I've encountered the same problem when I've painted my markings and found a straightforward solution. I make a rough, secondary mask of the insignia's outline, about 1mm smaller. I use Blu-Tak to hold it about 1-2mm above the primary mask and spray the white. I then remove the secondary mask and proceed as normal, masking the star and spraying the blue. This prevents the white from building up against the edges of the primary mask and showing up when the mask is removed. Anyhoo, I hope you don't think I'm being critical (I'm not!), I just thought I'd offer a quick solution to a minor issue... Cheers, Tony