GAKEITH

The woodworkers standard adjustable circle cutters work well IF you put them in a drill press. Otherwise it will be wondering all over the place.

I was considering ordering some Xtracrylic paints from England. I have some in the bottle that are maybe 30 years old and still good. It is great stuff. I was wondering if anyone has considered that ordering acrylics from Europe in the dead of winter may not be a good idea? Here in WI, where it may sit in the mailbox overnight, it has been below 0 for a while. I asked one mail-order vendor if they had had any issues with frozen paint, and they seemed to have never given it a thought! What say, wait till spring to order paints?

I think I answered my own question with a little more research. The bottled primers are pure lacquer and not compatible with the acrylic retarder. I will try thinning it more with Tamiya lacquer thinner only. I wish Tamiya would title and label their products a bit better to avoid confusion.

Is the Tamiya white primer in the small bottle, not the spray can which is lovely, compatable with the tamiya paint retarder, or is it strictly for the acrylic paint. I tried it today with Tamiya lacquer thinner and about 10% retarder or less. The results, as usual for me were awful, with either gravel or silly string coming out of the airbrush. It doesn't seem to matter how much I thin it or lowering the pressure. Any experience? I didn't even know they made the white primer in jars, or the acrylic retarder till this week.

I know the Tamiya 1/32 F16 is considered the most perfect kit ever made, but I am having some problems with it. It may be my own ineptness, but after spending a lot of time on the engine and the maintenance stand, I can't for the live of me figure out how to put the engine on the stand. Those little clips are somehow suppose to be put into place while putting the engine with all its detail on at the same time? Most of the sub assembles go together beautifully, but putting the intake parts together is a mess. Half the little screws have gotten left out because they either wont go in correctly or serve no purpose I can see with cement. Not to mention the myriad of sprue ejection pin marks in visible places. My biggest problem now is step 22 where the forward intake is suppose to glue into the lower fuselage. Something is keeping it from fitting and all the sanding and filing and pushing in the world wont let it go into place. Has anyone else had this problem? I intend to keep slugging at it until done so rant over.

Anybody heard what this means for squadron publications? Will In Action and WalkARounds cease to exist?

I thought after watching reviews on youtube that the HGW rivet sets would be the perfect answer to riveting. I have tried the access panel sets and had no luck at all. The reviews seem to be confused about leaving the paper oversheet on or peeling it off before soaking. I peeled it off as I cant see through it to trim or position them. The first set went on fine but letting it dry overnight when I peeled the "foil" ,which looks like film to me, half the rivets stayed on it and half on the model. The surface was Tamiya fine white primer and quite smooth. The second set I tried, again removing the paper overcoat, dissolved in the water with the rivets floating off. Am I missing something in these glowing reviews?

Speaking of "hard" thinners, does anyone know what the Testors "Dried acrylic paint solvent" is? It is about the only thing that will remove dried acrylic. Is it run of the mill lacquer thinner or something else?

I would have to agree with the old Williams brothers kits. I built the Sparrowhawk kit (being from Macon, I had to!) Despite some reports of it being hard to build I don't remember having any problems, especially for my first bi-plane. Only problem it now the stupid decals have turned orange!

Has anyone had problems with the plastic dental brushes melting in lacquer type thinners? I just wonder if it could leave a residue.

I haven't seen it addressed anywhere so I thought I'd ask here. Has anyone decided that Scalemaster decals are junk. They look great at first, but every model painted white that I used them on several years ago have turned orange. It's not the Tamiya white paint or overcoat, as many have suggested, but the decals themselves, or I think, the adhesive. Some sheets have turned orange in the box. Makes me wary of using the old minicraft-hasegawa kits from the 80s that had them, such as the TA-4J and even roll-out F16. Is there any way to improve them, such as rinsing off most of the adhesive, or how about the old bleaching them in the sun trick? Or should I just chuck them?

Lucky, I have one stashed but I want to get another one (VA-86 and VA-72 off the Nimitz) I can't help wonder how hard it can be to get someone to vacuform the canopies if you have the master. Is it some strange undercut that no body can get right?

I just wash mine under running water with a soft 1" paint brush and mild soap. Rinse and let air dry. Properly sealed decals should not wash off, though I have had a few come off. Be sure to put a stopper in the drain for the occasional wheel or antennae you knock off. Cured acrylic paint will not be affected by the water.

I'd love a RA-5C along with an EA6B to complete my Nimitz 1976 air wing in 1/32. Oh yeah, and a Seaking. Now if we can only get some aftermarket VA 35 decals for the A6E! I want hold out for a E2B, I wouldn't have anyplace to put it anyway.

While I agree with some of the problems with magazines, I have to wonder, and often ask the "youngsters" who brag about getting everything for "free" on the internet; "Where do you plan to earn a living?" The death of another industry is the loss of many careers for future generations. I still don't see how the internet is going to support everybody. Oh, I forgot, they are all going to start the next Facebook, then sell it for a trillion dollars and retire.