LSP_Ray

You can also get real wook veneer from a place like Home Depot or Lowes, or if you know someone who works in a cabinet shop. Also, Aeromaster offers 'wood' decals in three shades. I have also similated wood by painting an object in tan color, then drawing wood grain on with a dark brown colored pencil, then applying a wash of Tamiya Smoke. turned out nice!

617 Dambusters! Didn't you guys also used to fly on Warbirds?? ex-Royal Knights member OOOooo...~RK^

Really great work, Chris!! BTW, have you seen the latest Finescale Modeler yet?? Article on someone with a major cutaway of the Me109, based on the new Hasegawa 1/32nd kit. Definitely from your mold!

I didn't know TAC Scale Dynamics made a full-sized kit! Where the heck was I?!?

Won't load for me either. Too big?

I am in the minority, but I don't think the shape problems of the Trumpeter are that bad. They have been mostly exaggerated in the photos I have seen. The major problem in my eyes is the rudder hinge in at the wrong angle. If you correct this, it fits the drawings I have pretty darn close (Aero Detail on the P-51). The only shape that is really tough to correct is the canopy section, which bulges out at the sides when it shouldn't. This is a toughie, though not that noticable to most. The other problem is the panel lines around the the engine. But those just need to be filled and rescribed. The engine is not good, but you don't have to display it.

...And this is why I plan on learning and using Illustrator in the future! If I want to be able to trade art with people like Kim and Hobby Decal, I think Illustrator, and Adobe format, is the most universal of the vector programs. Just wish they hadn't made it such a bithc to use! Though typically with a advanced product like this, once you learn it, everything suddenly makes sense.

I use Micrografx Designer for vector graphics, and Micrografx Picture Publisher for photo image work. Problem: Micrografx was bought by Corel, and they have dropped the line.:-( I have a earlier version of Adobe Illustrator, but it is a bear to use. Adobe is the most mainstream program, but I will have to take a class to learn how to use it, it is not intuative by a long shot. I also have used TurboCAD, but it is pretty spendy now, and is getting almost as hard to learn as AutoCAD (Didn't use to be), and is overkill for what we are trying to do. I am intrigued by the Xarax product, I might have to try that. Does it do layers? That is one must have. I will try to get an article out one of these days. I will put it on the list with the other articles I need to write.

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The way I do decal artwork is the following, for the ALPS printer: Scan in artwork, enlarge to size needed. Import enlarged art into a vector-graphics program (for best quality output, vector-graphics doesn't depend on pixels). Alternatively, you typically need your artwork in a resolution twice that of your printer as a rule of thumb for pixel graphics programs. This artwork is placed in one layer of my program. I then re-draw the artwork on new layers, one layer for each color to be printed. The ALPS lets you print one color at a time in layers. This gives you the best looking decals as there are no dots. Finally, any color needing a white undercoat is redrawn on a new layer sized just slightly smaller than the final color. Note: no matter what the color, the layers actually end up as all in black as you specify the color you are going to print when you set up the printer. Then, after some test shots on normal paper with corresponding revisions to colors (or the sequence of color layers), you print the decals. And it seems to take an average of three printings to get the final good sheet no matter how careful I am in the previous steps!

I am with Chris: WOW!

Hmmm... all I see are the dreaded red x's.

Really looking good, Saso!

Did it just attack the paint? Nothing says you cant sand it down and repaint. Seems a shame to toss the whole model if it was just a clear coat problem.

Damn, Steve, looks nice! What did you use for a metalizer? Sure you want to get out of modeling???

LOL Chris!!! I wonder if they had duct tape in WWI....

I think what he is trying to say Chris is that some biplanes were rigged with what was really metal rod flattened to a symmetrical airfoil shape to reduce drag. In this case, the elastic thread wouldn't be as accurate, though I was thninking the same thing as you when I saw it. I gotta get me some of that stuff, I have been using threads pulled from old nylons, but it is sometimes difficult to get a good thread.

Isn't that always the way it works? Right after you complete it you find out new info! I would think you could airbrush over with the light blue on the lower half and dark green (or whatever color you used on the upper half) with the only masked part the blue and white checkers. As they probably pretty roughly sprayed those areas at the time, it shouldn't make any difference if there is some tonal varieties to the colors. Of course, then you would have to re-apply the MT numbers.

...and just to confuse you: Some birdcages started their careers as Blue Gray over Light Gray and after the new tricolor scheme came out in the field they sometimes updated the camo by just spraying the Sea Blue over the other colors in the required areas so you end up with a Sea Blue - Blue Gray - Light Gray plane!

Damn, looks nice Chris! I bet you will get some looks at the office with it!

A VERY sad notice! I was really looking forward to the Buccaneer and F3 Conversion. All the best in your new work! Maybe you will at least get a chance to do some of your own modeling!!!

I almost hate to even say this as it looks so nice as it is, but the growing consensus is that the outer wing panels were not actually red but green (probably replaced wing panels from another plane that was not white-washed). This is also per a recent interview with a Soviet MiG-3 pilot. Can't find the URL at the moment, will post it later. I think it is mentioned on the Modeling the VVS site, too. Apparently the red is solely from interpretation of photos by someone that has been oft copied. Not that it couldn't be in realm of possibilities if you want to keep it that way however!

I also would be very curious to know about these panels. Wouldn't surprise me that Tamiya actually knew what they were doing, then again there is all those raised panels on the F-4's...

Black Box as mentioned, as well as Cutting Edge, and I think Jaguar all made cockpits. Cutting Edge also makes other stuff such as the intake cone, and have promised us a new canopy for years, but still no joy. Falcon, through Squadron, is supposed to come out with a new canopy pretty soon.

Wheels are available, some other items planned, by Contact Resine in France.