USMC Herc

Peter 
I take some time off and this Mustang has her Fuselage covered.
Your covering this beautiful girl so fast. She will be ready to fly by the end of the year.
Keep making our jaws drop and enjoy the bruises as we read your post.
 
Jason

For WW2 aircraft I have no idea about removing manufacturer markings on aluminium in the field.
When working civilian aircraft we would remove the markings. Don't want the customer to think I did a $h!ty Job.
On USMC C-130s we scuffed for alodine and paint. Unless we where away from home and then we would let it ride.
 
Story: While deployed we took a fruit bat (basically a dachshund with wings) through the leading edge of the wing making a soccer ball sized hole with feet sticking out of it.
We where inspecting the damage when the Captain asked" how bad is it?".  Which I replied "Don't worry Sir it will buff out."     As he walked away, we maintainers started laughing.
We chunked the bat in the trash and started our repair. We made the leading edge repair from Aluminium and tons of rivets.   No paint or nothing on this panel, hung on a wing of a big huge C-130 painted in grey. You could see the repair from a mile away.

Acid Etching / Metal Conditioning to Paint Aluminium 
 
 
Introduction
Before primer and paint will adhere properly to a metal surface, it must be etched. Etching is a process that removes oxidation and microscopically roughens the surface. The accepted practice is to use a phosphoric acid etch. However, many commercial process use an alkaline etch on aluminum then follow up with an acid etch to de-smut the surface. The risk of using an alkaline etch is that the alkaline salts will be left behind causing corrosion sites to develop. In any case, the goal is to remove oxidation and roughen the surface.
Another conditioning step is often done on aircraft aluminum. This step is a chromate conversion coating often called Alodine, although this is a trade name. The conversion coating helps protect the aluminum from corrosion in the field, and it also helps with paint adhesion.
Etching
Acid etching is a fairly simple process. For aircraft aluminum, phosphoric acid is the normal chemical used. Phosphoric acid is fairly safe in the concentrations used for etching, although if any gets on your skin it will burn and should be rinsed off. By the way, phosphoric acid is what give Coke and Pepsi their acidic taste or bite.
You can purchase acid etch from various sources including Aircraft Spruce (Alumiprep), welding supply stores, and Home Depot and Lowes (a Jasco product that looks green). However, it is recommended to avoid the stuff from Jasco. It will work, but it does not list any surfactants in the ingredients list. Alumiprep and the stuff from welding supply stores contain surfactants, usually ethylene glycol and phosphates (typical ingredient in laundry detergent, at least it was typical). The surfactants are important to emulsify any remaining oil, dirt, and metal removed during etching process.
Although you can buy acid etch off-the-shelf, for doing an entire airplane you may need larger quantities. Local chemical supply stores will often sell you what you need - 75% phosphoric acid and ethylene glycol. Sometimes the minimum quantity is 5 gallons, which may be in excess of $300. Sell the left over (a lot) to your local aircraft mechanics. Alumiprep and other off-the-shelf etching compounds will also contain hydroflouric acid. While this will also act to etch aluminum, its probable main use is to act as a brightener. Because this acid is not as safe as phosphoric acid, if making your own brew it is not recommended you purchase this. The phosphoric acid and ethylene glycol will do just fine. Mix one part acid, one part glycol, and one part distilled water for a 30% etch solution. Add 2.3 parts water to 1 part 30% solution for a 10% solution. Alumiprep ships at 30%, and sometimes you may want 30% for the really tough stuff. 10% is sufficient for most work.
Don't try to etch everything at once. Pick a relatively small area and work that to completion. Spray or sponge on the etch, and lightly scrub with fine (green) or very fine (grey) Scotch Brite. It will take a little practice to realize when enough is enough, but the real test is when you rinse the etch off. The water should form a break-free surface if the metal is etched properly. Because acid is consumed during the etching, you will need to spray additional etch on occasionally as you scrub the surface.
Because etching exposes fresh aluminum with lots of microscopic surface area that is easily oxidized, it is best to immediately follow up with the next conditioning process.
Aluminum Conversion Coating
All aluminum parts should be conversion coated for corrosion protection and good paint adhesion.
The traditional conversion coat for aluminum is Alodine. Alodine is really just chromic acid. In powder form, it is an oxidizer and needs to be handled and stored carefully. Chromic acid uses the hexavalent form of chromium, which is known to be carcinogenic.
For this reason, safer trivalent forms have been developed. One such product is Aluminescent. This supposedly a drop-in replacement for Alodine and meets the same milspec. However, it is quite finicky. pH must be kept within a certain range using potassium hydroxide and sulfuric acid (both are nasty) and a supply of pH indicating strips, the temperature must be above 70F, and it is difficult to tell if the conversion coat has been formed since it is a clear, although iridescent, coating. The color of the iridescence depends on the alloy of aluminum. While this may be Ok in a controlled production environment, this simply is too much for a shop environment. For these reasons, many users that have tried Aluminescent have switched back to Alodine.
Alodine comes in either a liquid or powder form. For an entire airplane, buy the powder. You can mix it as strong as you like. Alodine can be sprayed, brushed, or sponged onto large surfaces. The surface must remain wet for several minutes or until a light to dark golden brown develops. Alodine should not be allowed to dry on the surface because of the salts it contains. If this happens, the surface should be re-wet with Alodine. Smaller pieces that can be immersed into a plastic tub of Alodine often take less time. After the conversion process is complete, the part needs to be thoroughly rinsed with water. It is often recommend that the parts be primed within 3 days of the conversion coating. However, the reason for this is uncertain.
 
Information from Bondline.ORG

In this picture the cover is saying the aluminum Is treated with Alclad and type is 24S-T.  The 24S-T may be the Manufactures number for this sheet of aluminum.
 

 
 
 
In the Picture below the Aluminum Manufacturer is Reynolds Aluminum and it .O51 thick sheet. 
 

 
When I did sheet metal work we usually just used a green scotchbrite to remove these markings..
 
Jason

Peter this is brilliant. Your metal working skills are better than some journeyman airframers like myself. I have been catching up with this build (2 days reading and slobbering). You have an  airframers mentality......" Beat It To Fit....Paint It To Match" 
 
Outstanding work sir,
Jason

I was lucky enough to get this kit as a already started kit for $10 usd.
This will be gifted to a great friend who brought me back into the hobby.
I am so glad I have Chucks recent build to use as a reference. I am going to try my first metal finish so wish me luck. 
I will build her wheels up to look like the rocket she is. Will use a pilot from a Tamiya kit.
 

This is the box but does not have the Decals so i will be using aftermarket. 
 

I was lucky enough to get this kit as a already started kit for $10 usd.
This will be gifted to a great friend who brought me back into the hobby.
I am so glad I have Chucks recent build to use as a reference. I am going to try my first metal finish so wish me luck. 
I will build her wheels up to look like the rocket she is. Will use a pilot from a Tamiya kit.
 

This is the box but does not have the Decals so i will be using aftermarket. 
 

I was lucky enough to get this kit as a already started kit for $10 usd.
This will be gifted to a great friend who brought me back into the hobby.
I am so glad I have Chucks recent build to use as a reference. I am going to try my first metal finish so wish me luck. 
I will build her wheels up to look like the rocket she is. Will use a pilot from a Tamiya kit.
 

This is the box but does not have the Decals so i will be using aftermarket. 
 

I've never had much interest in USAF Vietnam-era F-4's.   Just too uniform and bland compared to Navy jets.   Cookie cutter SEA paint schemes really don't do much for me.   Then last night, having nothing better to do, I downloaded Fundekals Operation Bolo instructions and gave them a read.    https://www.hobbyzone.biz/fundekals/docs/fun_32011.pdf
 
What a fantastic selection of very non-uniform jets, all presented in amazing detail (plus a lot of general info on Vietnam F-4C's).      So much for these Phantoms being a bland, uniform, three color. 
 
 

 
So of course, I'm now short $90, having just hit my LHS to pick up the Tamiya kit.    Thanks Jennings!   BTW, my Minister of Finance (wife) says you're a bad influence and wishes to have a word with you.   I didn't have the heart to tell her that $90 is just going to be the tip of the iceberg.
 
John
 
 
 

thank you  mate, hope someday I get one also, sure you will do great mask, keep the good!
cheers
 
Thanks Jeff! but without Mathieu's help it would not have been  possible, cheers
 
Many Thanks Thomaz, I'm glad you bring that info, I corrected the cowling interior,  muchas gracias amigo!!! 
 

Hi Antonio I love planes with chess, as soon as I can I make one. This seems like a challenge to me, given the size even in 1/32. If I can give you some advice (which is the method I use), divide the pattern into several parts, use a transparent tape to transfer all the squares and then remove the ones that need to be painted, but before passing the Red, pass a clear coat that you will need as a sealant. Touching up the small squares would be a delirium.
in the meantime ........ 
 
Here my last one

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/jj121/heloman2008/20210525_162226.jpg

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/jj121/heloman2008/20210525_161704.jpg

My god it looks like little people in a miniature cockpit! The realism at scale is astounding Pete.

After what has been an insanely busy 2 months, I finally managed to slip in a few brief moments of shed time.
 
Still plodding away slowly with the elevators, so not much more in the way of new material to show there. Both are pretty much done now until I get my decal film to simulate the rib tape (techniques shamelessly stolen from Peter  ).
 
I've been pondering for ages about the best way to do the main gear legs. As many of you know, the HK kit's strut extension is way too long, which makes the model look like it's standing on tip toes. Most B-17's have hardly any chrome showing at all, so that's the look I wanted. I had considered making a whole new strut from scratch, but I'm not sure the effort would have really produced anything better than what was already there, with a bit of tweaking of course.......
 
Firstly, the strut was chucked in the lathe so I could drill an alignment hole with reasonable accuracy....
 

 
As a precaution, I wrapped the chuck fingers in aluminium tape to avoid them marking the plastic. It took a while to get it set as central as possible, then very carefully drilled it out to accept a 1.5mm brass rod.
 
I also wanted metal for the chrome part, so I polished up some aluminium rod and once centre drilled, cut a 2.1mm section to insert once all the other strut work has been completed. 

 
I thought it was worthwhile including a comparison shot to illustrate just how much I took out to make it look convincing!
 
Other things which take a long time but don't illustrate a whole amount of progress are the C model cowls that I 3D printed a while ago. For some reason, and I have no idea why, no matter what orientation I print them in, they always ended up with a concave section on the front. You can see it outlined in black. Super annoying, but the only thing to do was fill and sand....
 

 
And another photo of the corrective work.
 
No matter how many times I printed it I couldn't get it perfect. This surface was swept between the rails too, and was created using a single cross section, so there's no explanation for what it did. Many hours of filing and sanding have gone into these, but I feel I'm almost at the point of covering them with aluminium. Wish me luck!!!
 
Cheers,
 
Craig
 
 

Little update...
First section of stowage coming along. All of this with Vallejo paints-

 
Cheers
Pete

I see the pilots are still mad at each other!!!
 
Great work on the equipment Pete. They look awesome all crammed in the back. Gives the back that busy ready for a mission look!
 
Tim

Hey all-
...and here’s where all that stuff goes-



 
and my normal, human-sized fingers give you an idea of just how “little” the Little Bird is in 35th scale-

 
cheers for now-
Pete

Received this email.
 
Hello fellow modelers!    We are excited to announce that squadron.com will be returning, under new ownership and management! Squadron will be back!!!   As most of you know, MMD-Squadron Holdings, LLC (The parent company of squadron.com and Military Model Distributors) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier this year. After 53 years of providing a place for modelers around the world to purchase their new and most favorite models and supplies, the end looked like it was upon us. This was a travesty we could not let happen!   Knot Models is a hobby merchandiser founded in 2016 that primarily does business in the Amazon Marketplace. Knot Models was founded by Chris Decker, a 20 year industry veteran who has built up and sold both hobby retailers and manufacturing companies over the years. Some of you might be familiar with Trident Hobbies, which became FreeTimeHobbies.com, and the model lines, Midship Models and Yankee Modelworks. Chris founded or was instrumental in bringing these lines to the marketplace.    In April of 2021, Knot Models purchased the business assets of MMD-Squadron holdings from the bankruptcy court in Texas. We have been working tirelessly since then to rebuild and replace the systems that squadron.com needs to operate. We have also been working to source inventory from manufacturers and distributors around the world. Our goal is to relaunch squadron.com in early June of 2021 with over 15,000 products available for you to purchase!   As we get closer to our launch date and have more details, we will be sending out more information. We are excited and eager to join you in this new chapter of Squadron.com!

Hello!
 
Here's the new one 1/32 scale release:
 
1/32 F-14A 3D-Printed & coloured Interior on decal paper (for Tamiya kit)
Article: QD32032
Price: 38€
Available to buy:
https://quinta-studio.com/en/product/312/
https://www.ebay.com/itm/164882628304
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1011127924    

Thanks Ray! That’s so cool!
much appreciated!!
 
cheers,
Pete

Hey all,
little update here-
The Killer Eggs carry “Robbie” tanks in the aft cabin. There are at least two types of tanks. One version has a unique “pebbled” texture that I thought would be fun to replicate. 
The Kitty Hawk kit has the “other” style tank; but their shape/size are similar. All of the raised tank supports were sanded off of the kit tank, and the slight shape changes were made with Apoxie Clay (vs. Apoxie Sculpt) and sheet stock-
the pebbled texture was stippled on with Mr. Surfacer 1000 grey applied with a stiff brush-

the blank areas were masked off- these are non-textured areas of the tank where placards are located-

 
Cheers for now-
Pete

It would explain so much!

...I might....