DMunne

Mike, PWMP made a set a while back. I wonder who might have a set laying around. Oh yeah, that would be me. I'll toss it in the box coming your way. Your Friend, David

Without a doubt, AIRES all the way. In detail alone the AIRES set is head and shoulders above Teknics, and WolfPack. Teknics are down right hard to find anymore, with the demise of Meteor Productions. WolfPack is notorious for serious shrinkage. I have not heard one single person that has a set say that their set hasn't shrunk to the point of being close to unusable. To be fair WolfPack is aware of the issue and may have taken steps to correct it already. A close second would be to order the 2 sets of the Tamiya F-16CJ nozzle parts from HLJ or Rainbow 10. Sincerely, David

Oh someone else did them. LINKY! I have a set. If interested $10 shipped as long as your in the U.S. A little more if outside the U.S. Sincerely, David

Sabre, First, you have to decide which variant or time frame you want to build. Do you have a particular set of markings in mind? Or maybe a timeframe? The Tomcat changed so much over time that their really isn't a typical Tomcat. I personally like the more modern ones, a F-14B or F-14D. Lots more weapon options as well as I think the gray jets are cool. Also Which boxing did you get? Original, 1994, or Black Knights. That also may come in to factor. Here's my recommendations: F-14A or F-14A+(Desert Storm'ish, later changed to F-14B) - AIRES all the way F-14A(Late, has a HUD) or F-14B(Late, with HUD)- Black Box F-14B cockpit F-14D- Black Box F-14D For the B & D you'll also need some engines- AIRES recommended. There are others though, WolfPack, Teknics, Order the sprues from the Tamiya F-16CJ kits. For what it's worth, Crash

If it is, I almost hate to say it out loud, for fear of jinxing it. But it does bear a striking resemblance to a Buccaneer S.2 nose gear leg. Sincerely, Crash

Dave, Don't ask me how, but I ended up with a spare Verlinden F4U-4 Cockpit and Gun Improvement set #2041. I will be more than happy to trade you for one of your upcoming Marine Corsair decal sheets. If interested just pm me your address. Sincerely, Crash

I'm in for a P-61. Always loved that plane. Time to start compiling reference. Sincerely, Crash

Lookin good so far. BTW just in case you didn't know, the seat with the big "bat ears" goes in the front cockpit, not the rear. LINKY! Sincerely, Crash

Very nice TBird! I can't seem to build while traveling, so kudo's to you. Judging from your name, i guess you don't get a lot of lost luggage. You can only upload 100K for each post to this site. If you use PhotoBucket or another web hosting site you can attach much bigger pics. LSP is perhaps the last site that will allow you to upload pics straight to here. You can aways add more posts (with more pics) to the thread. (Hint, Hint) Sincerely, Crash OH, and welcome to LSP!

Just . Sincerely, Crash

Thanks Dave, I am anxiously waiting. The UH-1N is on my short list. I was wondering if using two of the AH-1W kits, splicing them together, would get you to a good Whiskey. Just a thought. The kits are dirt cheap and easy enough to find. Sincerely, Crash

I use oils for washes. Specifically Winsor & Newton Artist oils thinned with turpenoid. They are a little expensive ($7-$10 per tube) but buy the smallest tubes you can find and they last for years. Some of my tubes are going on decades now. You can get some really neat effects with oils that would be hard to achieve with other mediums. If you apply the wash over a flat paint, the wash spreads out and takes on the appearance of a stain, while over a gloss, the wash will flow around raised details and into recesses. I use Future as a gloss coat and the oil wash thinned with turpenoid does not affect the underlying paint. I've also used the wash over flat Tamiya and Model Master Acrylic to achieve the stain affect with no issues. I don't know how the turpenoid would react with unprotected enamels. If you let the wash set overnight you might have to use a little straight turpenoid to get any extra wash off of where you don't want it. I usually just remove any slop as soon as its dry with either a Q Tip or an old T shirt. I've tried just about every wash out there. From home made brews, to Detail Master and Promodeler ready to use. I always come back to artist oils. There are tons of colors to chose from, but I mainly use these: Paynes Gray- General panel lines and over gray schemes. Less stark than black. Raw Umber- Mud, grime, dirt. Burnt Umber- Darker mud, grime and dirt. Raw Sienna- More red in color. good for light rust or fluids. Titanium White- Good for GSB or Black schemes, general tinting of other colors. Lamp Black- I think black is to harsh but you can mix it with white to come up with any gray you might need. I hope this helps. Any questions, just ask. Sincerely, Crash

Thanks Dave, At least all of the "gripes" so far can be fixed from my spares box. Perhaps we can find "some new resin" company to produce a set of LAU-7's for us! Looking forward to part II. Best of luck with your ankles, I'll keep you in my prayers. Sincerely, Crash

Daywalker, Love the F-16. We need some more kerosene burners represented here. I didn't know if you knew (?) that the ALQ-131 has it's own pylon. Ground clearance issues wont let it fit on the universal pylon. It's only about 2 inches high and is shorter than the universal pylon. Here is about the best pics I could find: PIC 1 PIC 2 HTH, Crash