Rui Silva

Hi Ade, I'm at the moment building a Tamiya 1/32 Spit Mk VIII in MSG/PRU Blue scheme, I bought Xtracrylics paint for the PRU Blue but I find these paints not very airbrush friendly, I use distilled water but the ratio of dilution seems always to change and the airbrush gets clogged quite quickly (I have an Iwata Revolution CR). One month ago I bought a few Humbrol "new" enamel paints, namely #230 "Matt PRU Blue" and I was very pleasantly surprised, using 30% Humbrol enamel thinner the paint covers very well at 20 PSI and dries very quickly after airbrushing, about 10 minutes and it's dry, of course I let the parts alone for a few hours just to be safe. Surface detail remains excellent and the odor is not bad. I use cellulose thinner to clean the airbrush. Color accuracy of this paint seems spot on, unfortunately I also bought two tinlets of "Azure Blue" and it looks to me something far off, with a strange violet hue. Happy Modelling, Rui Silva

Hi Kagemusha, I've already bought the Relish Prop & Spinner set and ordered the turret and corrected nose. It seems that Vargas' pin-ups, like The Lady, were widely used and the picture we saw of the left side is of another P-61, I will stick to the scheme depicted in Zotz forthcoming decal set. Profimodeller also has an antenna set but I don't know exactly what it intends to be, any ideas? Thanks for your help, Rui

Thanks Dave for your helpful reply. The P-61 was one of my father's favourite aircraft and I will certainly have a go at the HB kit. Happy modelling, Rui

Hi all, I would like to model P-61B "Lady in the dark" but I'm a bit "in the dark" about some points: Did it have a fixed gun barbette or a movable turrett? I suppose as it was a late B a movable turret is correct. If it was fixed did it have gunsights for the gunner or radar operator? How common were the machine gun flash supressors, are they specific to the barbette, to the turret, A or B model or theatre of operations? Profimodeller has both options. I've seen several pictures of the Lady pin-up on the right side but only one on the left side, Zotz only supplies one Lady, is this correct? Thanks for your help, Rui

Big and spooky: Phantom II of course!

Whatever the kit's faults you've made an excellent model.

Excellent choices, I will certainly order 32D009 as I have fancied B3+AM since I saw it illustrated in Kagero's Monograph 13 "Ju 88 vol. I", front cover and centerfold pages. Keep up the good work!

I ordered 2 sets of turnbuckles type A from GasPatch on the 30th December and received them today; in addition I received a very nice Xmas card in Portuguese and a Salmson 2A2 badge, GasPatch certainly sets new standards in customer service. The turnbuckles look excellent and the eyelets are really minute. Recommended!

Great news, although I have a suspicion that Zoukei-Mura's British model will be a Tempest! If SH is a decent model I will certainly buy it, I read so many times Clostermann's book about his exploits in JF-E "Le Grand Charles".

Nice models! I also have these models to make plus a Revell Cub to tow them. Rui

Hi Mirek, Being a sailplane pilot and 1/32 scale modeller I will certainly order your SG38 and Grunau Baby to make company to the more modern Revell 1/32 gliders. I suppose the next sailplane in the series could be another classic, what about a Minimoa, a Sperber or a mighty Fafnir? Thanks for your work and the attention you give to your customers by sharing your thoughts with us. I hope your business prospers. Best regards, Rui

Hi Harold, This time it all went well, I ordered as soon as I received an e-mail from SB: yesterday one B-25 prop set and two F-4 vari ramp sets arrived to my doorstep without paying customs duty tax. Thanks for your work, Rui

Thanks Thierry and Harold for your answers. I'll wait for the e-mail from SB, lets see if I can get your sets this time. Speedy recovery for your knee, Harold. Rui

Hi Harold, Could you please give us more details about the F-4 intake ramp set, for instance photos and what does it correct? The only photo at the Sprue Brothers website is useless. And please increase your production rate, I've been waiting for months for your B-25 correction set, it's always out of stock and when I get an e-mail from SB it's I am either sleeping or at work! Thanks for your work, Rui

Hi all, First of all and from an European point of view, I find it very difficult to justify buying a very well detailed €240 (including Custom taxes) Z-M He 219 plus the cost of all the Z-M add-ons (about €130 again including tax) versus an "accurate outline only" €50 Revell Uhu. Even if I spend €80 in add-ons on the Revell kit (Eduard PE, Aires resin cockpit, etc) it will balance €370 vs €130! No way I am going to spend that kind of money if I have a decent alternative. Of course this bring us to what do we want in a 1/32 scale model, a nice accurate "curbside" model with a good paintjob or an "all panels opened" "look-through" engineering masterpiece? I intend to model my Z-M Shinden "opened" as it can show the innovative concept and I have 2 Z-M Ta 152Hs precisely to be modelled one each way. Considering what I paid for one Z-M Skyraider I don't think I will buy another Z-M single seater version. I would like to buy a Z-M Mustang and show it "naked" alongside my 2 Tamiya "curbside" models. Bottom line: it's really a golden age of (1/32 scale) modelling when we are spoiled for choice of esoteric subjects like the He 219! Thank you Z-M, Revell, Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fisher, Special Hobby, PCM, Silver wings, etc etc. Happy modelling, Rui