ladder4boy

Way to go Jamie.. Just kick the door in, toss a grenade, and wait for the nerd rage explosion! I personally break all the rules.. I'll spray enamels and acrylics AND lacquers.. Over top of each other.. With the same airbrush! On the same day! But I've found it only works on days that end in "y" when it's not a full moon and Pisces is in Venus. Or something to that effect.. Haven't really figured out the science yet. Honestly.. I'm with Kevin on this one.. Whatever it takes. As little time as I have for modeling anymore, most of my base paint jobs have a couple of weeks dry time on them so overcoating with other chemical compounds usually has no negative effects.. Cheers, Jerry

I've just started using their clears as they've become available at the hobby lobby near my house. I've sprayed their semi-gloss with their airbrush medium on a relatively humid day (85% humidity) and it layed down nicely with 2 light coats. I've been using it mostly as a brush on medium tho.. putting a drop in my instrument gauges to simulate glass.. and brushing their matt over seat belts after oil washes to dull them down. I've found that undiluted it goes on very nicely, dries very clear, and fast.. like 1/2 hour till the gloss is dry. Much faster than Future does. Haven't had the problems that Kev has had spraying them.. YET! I'm sure that's coming in the near future tho.. LOL

My son built a 1:48 blue angels kit a year or so ago and we used krylon on it straight from the can over tamiya primer and it layed down beautifully.. better than most of my airbrush work embarrassingly enough. We decanted some and used it for touch up work through the airbrush without thinning it and it worked lovely as well. Clear coated with the gloss lacquer out of the can as well and had no problems with the decals.. and he put it on pretty thick. I'd still do a test run over the decals you have as they may be thinner and not hold up as well. I'm planning on using it on my f-18 blue angel when I get around to it. We did polish his out with some 2000mgrit and micro-mesh before decaling.. it buffed out very nicely. Cheers, Jerry

Stanislav, You can count me in for at least 1... probably 2 as well! Do you have any time frame as to when these would be available? If you could manufacture new wheel bays, landing gear doors, and a correct LERX we'd have everything needed to fix this kit! Cheers, and good luck with the cockpit! Jerry

Outstanding job! Wish I had started painting mine earlier as I'm doing the exact same paint scheme! Hope mine turns out half as well. Beautiful work on the figures as well. Any chance of some more pics of the interior and maybe the underside? Cheers! Jerry

Dave, beautiful work on the prop! I'm getting ready to paint mine right now and I hope it comes out half as well. The filtering on the wing lozenge looks outstanding! Keep up the great work.. Can't wait to see the wings on this baby! Cheers, Jerry

Thanks Wolf! Your work and the work of the others in this GB sets such a high standard that it's pushing me to better my skill set on this one! It's been a fun build so far.. I just have so much going on at work that I haven't had a chance to get in the "zone" on this one and have a day to spend a couple hours focusing on it. Hopefully this weekend will give me a chance to get the fuse painted and start the final construction! Thanks for looking in Cheers, Jerry

Also managed to get the wings painted.. Tops.. Bottoms.. These pics are bad and will look much better when i get a flat or semi-gloss coat on them.. just wanted to prove i HAVE actually been workin' on this thing!. One problem i had with the decals tho.. gloss coated, used micro-set and sol.. didn't conform that well.. hit them with solva-set.. they shriveled and layed down pretty good.. second coat, same thing but i hit it with the hair dryer after about 15 minutes cuz i was getting impatient and a couple hunnard little bubbles appeared and would NOT go away. so i spent a good hour popping them all and re solva-setting them.. then had to touch up paint all the black. came out okay in the end.. just a learning experience. I'll have better pics of the wings when i get the fuselage painted and ready for final assembly. thanks for lookin' in guys! Cheers, Jerry

finally got some progress to report. managed to get all the stuff that goes on the inside painted and put in.. glued the fuse shut this evening so if you see something wrong, please don't tell me! Engine pics.. i realize the cap on the oil tank is missing.. carpet monster got it.. but you can't see it with the fuse closed at all.. mounted in the fuse.. cockpit piccies.. I wasn't super particular about the woodgraining on the interior.. used the Uschi plywood decals for the first time in there since i knew most of it would be hidden. This was more of an experiment to get a lighter wood-grain than i got on the Gotha and play with some colors and techniques. I'm not 100% happy with the way it turned out, but i think i've got it figured out a little better so i'll be ready when i build the Fee! sorry for the crappy pics with all the glare, but my camera and lighting skills are limited, and it was midnight when i took them so i wasn't in full on professional mode. I DID add the throttle lever in before i closed it up.. the paint was drying on it when i was snapping pics..

Yeah..slippery slope there.. I HAVE bought from him before.. Won't do it again for several reasons. Not poisonous pen here..just order and shipping problems on top of the other stuff. wish MK1 would re-issue their exhausts! PM sent to ya Rob.

Beautifully done! Taking the time to do the paint on layers and filters like that adds so much depth to it..very nice effect and very hard to achieve, especially with a solid color. Just love the way the blue came out. Keep up the great work.. can't wait to see how this one turns out! Cheers, Jerry

Whatever it ends up being, I'm in for at least one.. Depending on what it is, maybe more. I just love their kits.. And the new toolings they're putting out are works of art in my opinion.

Coming along very nicely Wolf! the plugs and connectors look awesome! i've been running into the same issues with the plugs that you had.. i just drilled the holes in the engine a little bigger and sank the plugs down to the hex nut.. hope they stay in! Was wondering what you were using for the plug leads? i was planning on using .40 braided string that the wooden-ship modelers use for rigging, but i like the look of yours better. cheers, and keep the pictures coming! Jerry

as i've spent the past couple of years purchasing every available piece of aftermarket for my future trumpy corsair build, i'm gonna say that's what it'll be..

i know we have several resin Jedi Masters here, but i was wondering if anyone has any experience with pouring large items. I've tinkered with little stuff here and there, mostly with alumilite and such, but for a job i'm working on now we have to replace several corinthian column tops that were made around 1900 from horse hair and plaster. I managed to save 2 tops one is in perfect shape to make a mold from. They're around 12" square at the top and around 14" tall. My biggest concern is shrinkage (no laughs, please), but if it's uniform on all the pours, i'm cool with that. my basic plan is to clean up the top i plan to make the mold of, cut it in half so the top can be sandwiched around the top of the column after it's been installed. I would normally just order new ones, but the cost of pre-made ones is prohibitive (around $500 each) and i'd get a free vacuum chamber out of the deal. my main questions are... -What type of resin would be best to mold these from? they're not going to be load bearing... just decorative. the finished thickness of the part would be about 1/2" to around 2" thick at the corners. -What type of rubber would be best for making the mold? -Do i have to vacuum during the cast, or just the rubber for the mold? small air bubbles will not be a problem in the finished product. I've had a look at the "smooth-on" website and was planning on ordering materials from them, i'm just not sure which materials would be best. I have to make around 25 of these bad boys, but won't have to have them finished for a couple of months. Any information or help would be greatly appreciated! cheers, Jerry

I wouldn't mix Vallejo paints with other brands. Tried adding their white to both tamiya and mm paints and they turned jelly-ish in the airbrush. Don't know about gunze, but I'd test it with a brush first. HTH Jerry

I've built the CJ OOB and it was a fun build. The kit ordinance and decals are worth it and if you wanna buy all the AM for it it brings you right back to about retail price... This is the same logic that caused me to buy the F/A 18A a couple of weeks ago..

F-16 CG 40 for about half price.. $63 USD. Would love one but my paltry modeling funds are ear-marked for a d vii.

Shameless plug for ya.. just recieved the ton and a half of masks you cut for the Gotha hex camo , serials, and crosses, and they look exceptional! Will definately post pics on the WIP when i get a chance to paint next weekend. Thanks a ton Steve.. they look awesome! Cheers, Jerry

Thanks guys! Guy.. not sure yet. The alclad gunmetal does go over the metal beautifully, but it almost looks TOO good.. if ya know what i mean? almost too much like gun-blue for the scale effect? I may try to tone it down a tad with some drybrushing after and see how it goes. Maru.. i don't plan on giving this one up! Just waiting on my Taurus stuff to get here from hannants, and my PE guages to get here from Airscale, and i'll be alllll over this one! i got the wood grain decal in from Grant at Arrow Wolf the other day (awesome service BTW.. 5 days from the UK to my house) and i've been playing with it to see how to paint it and wash it afterwards to get the look right before i start covering up the inside of this baby. figured not much of it'll be seen after the fuse is closed up, so it'll be a great test-bed before i do the Fee, which is quite open and visible. thanks for lookin' in guys! Cheers, Jerry

Yeah.. I didn't even bother with that piece... I put it on a previous build I put it on, complete with chain and the "L" pin.. But without being 2" away with 4x magnification, you couldn't see it. Not worth the hour it takes to bend and affix it!

ah Wolf.. if i finish one of them, i'll be happy! just figured since i'll be painting woodgrain, i may as well paint all of it at the same time!

Update time. Worked on the master barrels for the guns tonight. started soldering my PE about a year ago after a friend of mine showed me his way of doing it and i thought i'd share with you guys cuz i find it WAY easier and stronger than super-glue. If you don't wanna know, sorry.. i'm a giver.. First, give up on the soldering iron. I've got 3 of them from tiny to a 1/2" tip and i can't get fast enough heat transfer to keep from either moving the part i'm trying to solder or getting a good solder joint. second, tools.. sanding sticks, needle files, a micro brush, LIQUID flux and solder (radio shack has this as a set), exacto knives, and a mini-torch. the trick is called pre-tinning the part. i take the exacto knife and shave a tiny sliver off the solder... as small as you can get. then use the micro-brush to put a little flux on the part. take the sliver and using the tip of your exacto, place it ever so gently on the edge you want to join. then, take the torch and fire it up and slowly move it close to the part. do NOT point it directly at the part or you will blow the solder off. hold it close to the part and let the indirect heat melt the solder. then, put some flux on the other side of the joint.. hold the 2 together (with tweezers please, not your fingers)... indirect heat again until you see the solder bubble and run. Presto.. your done. if you didn't get a good joint, a quick swipe with a piece of 800 grit sandpaper, a little more flux, hold together and try again. if it's a big joint, i'll basically spot-weld with tiny pieces of solder along the joint making sure it's lined up along the way, then put flux over the whole joint and add some more slivers of solder and re-heat doing a little bit at a time. now for a little trick i learned. don't cut your PE tabs so close to the part and use them as little tabs to keep things aligned. on this barrel end, i left the tabs attached and bent them a little less than 90 degrees then placed on the pre-tinned 1 piece cooling jacket (worth the price if you've ever tried to roll a cooling jacket) and hit with the indirect heat.. looks pretty crappy, but after a quick swipe with a polishing stick, looks like this.. slide the barrel into place and solder from the back side to avoid boogerin' up all that nice detail at the front.. add the small bottom attatchment piece, using the tweezers as a back stop. it's tempting here to put a big piece of solder in the middle and let it get the whole thing, but it works better if you use a small piece on either side to join.. indrect heat will keep the torch from blowing it out of position. polish it up, super glue it onto the gun body, and super glue the sight on.. i gave up trying to solder that sucker.. practice on some scrap PE for an hour or so and it'll change your mind about soldering. sorry if the pics a touch blurry.. i don't own a tripod... yet hope i didn't bore ya too much.. cheers, Jerry

teeny update, but it might show what artists call "my process". started doing this because i work at 3 separate locations.. home in the kitchen, in the garage "shop", and at work.. and it makes it easier for me to transport and keep up with stuff. I've also found it makes it easier to keep from breaking stuff off the sprues after i've opened the plastic. Starting with step one of the manual, i cut off all the pertinant parts for that step, clean them up, and glue up what i can into sub-assemblies if they're to be airbrushed the same color. Then i place them in the baggie (they sell these 100 for a dollar at hobby lobby), numbered with that step. then onto the next step.. and i continue till all the parts are in they're own little organized resting place.. all clean and ready for paint. then i take the remaining sprues and put them in a safe place in case i missed any parts. so, after about a day and a half of work, we've taken the first picture and reduced it to this.... next thing will be to open up baggie #1 and 2 and start painting all the relative parts, then assemble. works well for me on wingnut kits cuz most of the parts fit only 1 way so you don't have to come up with a method of labeling strut 10 from strut 19. and i'm done sanding seam lines and ejector pin marks! cheers Jerry

Wolf.. Is that the decal stuff from Uschi van der Rosten? I just got some in from Grant at Arrow Wolf today and can't wait to try it out if it looks that good. Also.. you didn't mention what color you used for the green on the tubing and interior stuff.. I like that shade a lot. The interior looks amazing thus far