Zactoman

Buzz-kill... I forgot to add: Wood dust can be bad too! And in some cases can cause cancer: http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/#chart Use a mask! Cheers, Chris

Though I didn't read through the entire thread (lacking time!), here are some points I'd make: Your basic polyurethane casting resin dust is not toxic but can be an irritant and can cause some people allergic reactions. Having talked with several tech reps through the years, cured resin is not toxic but don't cast yourself a fancy beer stein to drink out of. Particularly don't cast yourself a custom coffee cup (I prototyped several coffee mugs years ago. Hot liquid will draw out more of the nasty juices than cold liquid) (On a side note, food safe resins do exist (soy-based IIRC) but don't hold up well to heat) California regulations are ridiculous. MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) list the UNCURED properties of the separate components of the resin. AFAIK, MSDS are not available for the cured product. (None that I've ever seen). Separate parts A and B are toxic. Don't drink them! You will at least get very sick. likely have long term health problems and might even die. Un-mixed resins tend to have a low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) rating. Meaning that they don't evaporate quickly and overwhelm you with fumes. They do give off toxic fumes though so use good ventilation while casting. Mixed resin, while still liquid, is VERY toxic. Don't drink it! I heard a tale of a guy that mistakenly took a big swig of the stuff and died within minutes (don't know if it's true, but I wouldn't doubt the consequences). Sanding resin, no problem (use a dust mask for safety). Burning resin, BAD! Toxic gasses are given off including Hydrogen Cyanide (Very bad!). If you are using a high speed cutter, go slowly. If you are creating smoke, not dust, you are burning the stuff and creating a hazard. Use a respirator if you have any doubts. +100 Cheers, Chris

Sorry, but I'm going to be the bad apple in the crowd and express my disappointment A build this stunning should have included about 10 times more pictures than you posted!!! For those who haven't seen the in-progress, here's the link: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=32822 Now I'm going to go change my drool stained shirt... Cheers, Chris

These are now available! http://www.zactomodels.com/ Thanks for the replies and support guys! Cheers!

Now available! http://www.zactomodels.com/ Lately I've been busy working on a wrong scale project (http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=268873) and haven't had time to make any new patterns. I did take the time to adapt my Tomcat fuel tank pylons (from my Trump intake set) to fit the Tamiya kit. You will need to drill locator holes and remove the existing locator pins on the intake parts. Tamiya got these in the wrong location. Cheers, Chris

First, I have compiled a big list of walkarounds and reference sites for the MiG-29: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=229830 (see post #3) AFAIK, only the Iraqi 9-12 were retro-fitted for wing drop tanks, and then not all of them. Externally there were large humps added on the fuselage to cover some plumbing. Here is a thread showing a few pictures: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?79179-Iraqi-MiG-29-Notes As Thierry already posted, they did not really fix the UB kit. They did modify the lower fuselage and the transition piece in front of the exhausts to make the undersized nozzles look less odd, but they didn't really succeed. I do offer a correction set for the UB which has the same parts as my MiG-29A correction less those parts not needed such as the nosecone and chaff dispensers. It does correct the exhausts. Thanks for the nice comments about the missiles. Alexander Rogal mastered them and did an outstanding job. As for the Mastercasters wheels, they appear to just be resin copies of the kit parts (from the M). The K should have different wheels though. I'm not sure what Trump included in the K kit. You can see pics in this K walkaround: http://superfighter.freeweb.hu/MASK%202005/MiG29KMAKS2005FOTOLszlKvriandGborZord/index2.html I do offer resin wheels (original parts, not kit copies), but they are for the MiG-29A and MiG-29M (which, AFAIK, has the same wheels as the A). Cheers, Chris http://zactomodels.com/

Congrats on the move Chris. I hope merely having your own full sized pad will make it all worth it. Since you've now got the room I'd definitely suggest going for a u-shaped set-up. Having that extra space a chair's turn away is really convenient, especially for LSP builders. Having a keyboard and monitor (or a laptop) at your bench is good but I'd opt for a separate computer area to keep the printer and scanner out of your way. I've since upgraded and added a new monitor and a pull-out shelf for my keyboard and mouse: Otherwise, good lighting and a beer fridge are the best suggestions that come to mind.

Dance Pig! Dance! Bravo...

Wow! All that detail AND a digital camo? This is going to be one crazy model!

Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement. It's reassuring to know that all this work might pay off with lots of orders! I'll be sure to send a set for the article as soon as they're ready! I'm not setting a firm price until they're finished and I determine how difficult and costly they are to mold, but I'm guessing they'll be about the same as my Su-27 intakes at around $60. It might be possible to force them to fit but it would require lots of filling, sanding and rescribing on the exterior as well as chopping and moving the bypass details on the inside. Probably more trouble than it's worth. I'll investigate the possibility more once they are finished and in production. As for the bypass doors... I was planning to include parts to have the doors either raised (as shown below) or lowered but have decided to just include the raised ones. Anyone wanting to display them lowered will have to modify the parts. No, they will work fine with the kit gear wells. Just don't get too far ahead of me as there is some cutting and fitting required! There is this area that I already mentioned on my ARC thread: In addition to that, a portion of the duct on the upper fuselage gets replaced:

Wow!!! Stunning and inspirational. Makes me wish I built models...

Hey guys, long time no see! Thanks for all the nice comments and sorry I didn't reply until now. Life got in the way and these got delayed but are back on the bench. Both intakes are finished externally and I'm currently working on the bypass area. I will still need to make new pylons once the interior is finished. No ETA but I hope to finish them soon to get some income flowing again. These are modeled on the F-14D but with a few minor panel line changes will work with other versions. Here are a few updated pics: Today I received the Aires wheel wells and fitted them. I made a few modifications to my pattern so that they can be used together without any surgery. More pics and info in the Zactoforum at ARC: http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showforum=176

Only 2 left!

Packages shipped earlier today!

Invoices sent. Thanks! Chris

I have discontinued my line of Su-27 prints and sold those I had in stock. Thank you to those that bought them!

I'd recommend you sell them and use the money to buy a Tamiya or Trumpeter kit.The Revell kit is a caracature of an F-14 when compared to the other kits. Here is one area I'm very familiar with: The Revell intake isn't even close and is way too shallow. The Tamiya intake is pretty close with some minor issues. They made an odd mistake on the radius on the sides at the intake lip. The left intake (not shown) has a tighter, more accurate radius than the right. The Trumpeter intake has been discussed much (sucks) and is the weakest part of the kit. The Zactomodels replacements are coming along. The rest of the Revell kit is about the same in that it's 'sorta F-14 like', but not. The Tamiya kit is pretty close on shape but has a mix of raised and engraved surface detail. The kit lacks much of the detail of modern kits, especially the cockpit which has smooth panels and decals. The Trump kit is nice but has minor shape flaws throughout, most of which can be overlooked. It does have engraved surface detail, lots of parts and lots of detail. If you want a relatively OOB build that builds up nice and looks close, I'd go with the Trump (plus the Zactomodels intakes). If you want to go all out, rescribe, add a lot of aftermarket and scratchbuilt detail, I'd go with the Tamiya kit. Cheers, Chris

For those who haven't been following the F-14 thread in the Zactoforum at ARC, here's where I'm at on the intakes: I'll be posting more progress pics soon. Chris

No need to apologize to me. I'm guiltier than most of never being satisfied with my work and re-doing things again and again... and again... You've said enough good things about the parts that readers shouldn't be hesitant to buy the set. Thank you! Yes, his might end up being a very accurate MiG-29 but he is going even farther than you with extreme modifications in that he is merging parts from the Trumpeter kit with the Revell kit.The point I'd like to make is that just using my set (in addition to adressing the cockpit and maybe gear wells) will yield a nice looking MiG-29 that is far better than the stock Revell kit. Again, I applaud your passion and tenacity and look forward to seeing the finished model. Cheers! Chris

Stop torturing yourself! The only way to make this kit completely accurate is to start from scratch. My correction set is meant to improve the model within the constraints of using the existing inaccurate kit. You have made some impressive and ambitious modifications to try to make the model more accurate but I worry that some modelers might be hesitant to build the kit with the correction thinking it won't be good enough without a whole bunch of extra work... An almost OOB build using the correction set will get you a nice looking MiG-29 that is much more accurate than the stock kit. It is unfortunate that you weren't able to use my full length intakes. They do address the forward spacing of the intakes.Alexander's beautiful forward intake parts were not made to fit the stock Revell kit and it took lots of frustrating adjustments to merge them with my existing intake parts. If you were to build another using the new intakes, I think you would be pleased with the fit and results. Again, the correction was made to work with the existing kit...I think if you compare the kit to photos and published drawings you would find that the position of the little intakes (and entire corrected engine trunking) is more or less correct and that the main gear wells and location of the struts are too far forward (don't try moving the gear wells!). The recommended position of the little intakes may not look right when compared to the gear struts but is correct in relation to the corrected engine trunking. Again, impressive work on fixing everything. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished model. Cheers! Chris

Here's an interesting article by Wade Meyers: LOU IV: I'm Not Singin' the Blues ... Regardless, green or blue, it's a nice build and nice photography! Cheers, Chris

First let me say that I would assume that any Flanker B kit that you buy new at this point would be the 're-tooled' version. I'd think that most retailers would have already sold their older stock and now have the newer kits.If you buy one from an individual, say on Ebay, it might be the older tooling. Unfortunately there's no way of telling from the outside of the box. I'm also assuming that all of the new Flanker B kits have all of the 're-tooled' parts included in the Su-27UB kit and not just the intakes. Those re-tooled parts include the canopy, nosecone, intakes and exhausts. Comparison pictures of all of these can be seen on this Su-27UB thread: http://s362974870.on...dpost&p=1547234 (see post #46). Comparison pics of the original parts to my parts can be found in the giant Flanker thread on ARC: http://s362974870.on...showtopic=39249 Or if you want to save some time check the Su-27 folder of my Photobucket account: http://s79.photobuck...u-27/?start=all Now, if you get the new tooling, here is the order I would personally recommend upgrading (Decals are a given unless you want the schemes included in the kit): 1. Canopy - Though they 'fixed' the canopy, they only did so by straightening the bulge/bubble of the windscreen portion. Overall the canopy is still too bubbled and looks slightly animated. My canopy corrects the shape and also includes lots of internal framing detail. 2. Cockpit - This is a personal choice as I am drawn to cockpits. The kit cockpit is mediocre but OK if you're not a cockpit buff. Aires, Blackbox and Eduard all blow the kit pit away. 3. Wingtip pylons - The kit ones are just so wrong... Lots of people do build it with stock pylons and the kit still looks impressive. 4. Nosecone - Though the re-tooled nosecone has a better profile, they didn't fix the panel lines behind the cone. The dielectric panel on the kit part is much too narrow and should be more square. This wouldn't be a big issue but that panel is going to be painted either white or green and really stands out. Rescribing would be difficult as the cone line is in the wrong spot and would need to be rescribed as well. 5. Missiles - As with cockpits, I'm drawn to weapons. The missiles that Alexander created are simply awesome (Comparison pics here: http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=181932 See posts #84 and 112). The kit missiles could be used but I'd at least recommend modifying the Alamos as the span on the front fins is about 1/2" too long ( http://s362974870.on...ndpost&p=475605 see post 796). 6. Intakes - The 're-tooled' intakes have the correct shape but the surface detail is weak. The louvered vents on the sides are a prominent feature of the Su-27 in my eye and the kit parts just fall short. The extra, more accurate detail of the aftermarket is also a big plus. 7. Exhausts - The re-tooled exhausts are a big improvement. The kit exhausts could be re-worked to be nice but would take a lot to match the aftermarket. I'd at least remove the big raised warts/rivets. The Aires exhausts are very nice. 8. Pylons - The full set (which does include the wingtip pylons). The kit pylons are weak, especially the centerline pylons. The aftermarket are sweet. Comparison pics here: http://s362974870.on...pic=192896&st=0 (see posts #118 and 125) 9. Wheel wells - The Aires wells are awesome. The kit parts could be detailed with lots of wire and stuff. As I said previously, I'd recommend at the very least replacing the canopy. The other items are discretionary. Note that I included items the are most visible from the top without picking up the model and put the intakes, pylons and wheel wells further down the list. If by chance you get the early tooled kit, I'd put the canopy, intakes and nosecone tied at #1, all mandatory... Cheers, Chris

J/N/P is on the list. I've just been too busy with other stuff to get to it yet.

This really limits your choices if you want a really accurate modern Russian build.The Trump MiG-21 is a nice kit as is the MiG-23 but both are older airframes if you want an "opponent" for something modern like the F-16. Personally, I'd put a MiG-29 next to an F-16 and an Su-27 next to an F-15 if I were matching them up for size and role. Yes the MiG-29 gets expensive if you want anything remotely accurate. I'm still proud of my OOB Revell kit though. If you just look at it from the front and don't pay too much attention, it's still an impressive model... More pics here: http://www.zactomodels.com/html/Mig/Mig.htm If you don't want to spend a whole bunch and are willing to overlook some accuracy issues, the Su-27 Flanker B might be your best bet. They can be found for around $90 (Ebay or Hobbystuff Depot) Just how much you accurize it is up to you. I would at the very least replace the canopy. $32 +S&H I'd also leave the missiles off unless you are willing to replace them or invest a lot of time modifying them. HTH Chris

I've seen better...