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Ben Brown

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Everything posted by Ben Brown

  1. Hi Jason, Welcome to the forum! I think I've still got the instructions somewhere. I'll dig around today and see if I can find them for you. A few notes about the CE "Update" set: -If you build the slats "out," you'll have to cut out and drop the flaps, too. The only time you'll see the slats out with the flaps up is in flight with the gear up. I've heard the CE slats are a real pain in the butt to build "out." They can be built "in" with a couple of easy mods to the inboard slat actuators and some scribed panel lines on the inboard wing. -The outboard wing panels don't fit at all. They are too thin and the hinges don't match up with the inboard wing. Even if you do manage to wrestle the panels in place, they aim up at something like 25 degrees, instead of 12.5 like on the real jet. The panel lines are wrong, too. I'd suggest using Paul Stoner's method to mount parts of the CE wing panels to the kit's outer wing panels (near the bottom of the page): http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/J...ildWeasel1.html -The inboard edges of the outboard slats are missing a plate shown in Paul's photo. -If you're planning to use the TISEO, drill out the lump in the center and drop an MV Prodcts lense inside. The outer clear bit for the TISEO doesn't fit very well. -The ARN-101 parts are very good. I also modified some Revell F-4E afterburner nozzles for my F-4E, since the Tamiya and Cutting Edge ones are much too small. If your need any photos of the TISEO or the ARN-101 antenna and cockpit mods, let me know. Cheers! Ben
  2. I hope the fact there's no Super Sabre on the list yet means that they're taking extra time to get it right.... Ben (the F-100 nut)
  3. Hi Chris, I've used the stuff for priming under Alclad and for filling small gaps. You usually have to make several passes when you use it as filler because it shrinks some as it dries. I've heard you can paint it on, then wipe the excess off with 91% alcohol, but I haven't tried that, yet. I just use lacquer thinner (cellulose thinner) when I spray it. It dries semi-glossy. HTH. Ben
  4. Hi Brian, That review I did for M2 was kind of vague (it was only the second article I had written) and I didn't go into as much detail as I probably should have. The resin intakes looked like Seamless Suckers had cut .030" off of the aft edge of the intake to move the whole thing back. I don't know why he did it and there's no mention in the instructions. You might want to compare the kit parts with the SS parts to make sure I didn't get some odd parts. I taped the lower wing in place to help position the intakes, then glued .030 styrene strip in the gap. The inboard part of the duct that fits up against the wedge (the bit that looks like this: > ) under the aft cockpit wasn't perfectly flat on my intakes, so I had to sand them down some so they would fit up against the > better. The vari-ramps need a little sanding to get them to fit up against the intakes. I left mine off until after I had installed the intakes so I had to make a few extra adjustments because I didn't get everything lined up perfectly. I painted the intake interiors before I installed them. I sprayed the Neutral Grey first (goes 3 ft inside the duct) and then masked it and sprayed the rest Floquil Reefer white. The Reefer White covers really well. BTW, for anyone looking for some intakes, I spoke with a vendor at the Nats who said the owner of Seamless Suckers hasn't shipped anything for eight months. He's been working overtime, travelling a lot, and has had some health problems. I hope he is able to get back into production soon. I've got two Tamiya F-4s on the shelf! Feel free to give me a shout if I can be of any help. Cheers! Ben
  5. D'oh! I guess my lack of space knowledge came shining through! Either way, this model dwarfed the Atomic City kit! Cheers! Ben
  6. Hi guys, I had a look at the test shots on dispay at the Nats and the A-7E and MiG-29 looked pretty good! I don't know a whole lot about either airplane, but the parts looked pretty good, and the A-7 looked like an A-7. I don't know if they'll be doing an A-7D, because they had the Navy refueling probe housing molded into the fuselage half. Both models looked like they had a lot of detail. No word on the upcoming F-100D. BTW, there were some absolutely gorgeous large scale models there! A Trump Su-27 (huge model!) and several Tamiya F-15s were on the table. There was a Gemini capsule with the escape tower that was I think 1/6 scale, completely detailed inside and out. It was so big you could fit one of those GI Joe-sized figues inside. Cheers! Ben
  7. Hi Anthony, Here's something you might find interesting: http://hsfeatures.com/features04/fw190d1332ir_1.htm Cheers! Ben
  8. Looks like the flaps were always up when the plane was parked. Here is a good site to look through: http://www.warbirdphotographs.com/WBP/armynavy.htm There is a photo of a line of Zeros and all have the controls set as if the stick was set over to the left and back (elevators up and ailerons deflected for a bank to the left). That would indicate those Zeros had a gust lock or something holding the stick in place. The rest of the pics seem to indicate the controls were left unlocked and deflected whichever way the wind blew them. Cheers! Ben
  9. Hi Pierre, Here's what I have. It's from a list I downloaded from somewhere. I don't know how accurate it is. This list didn't have paint mixes, but maybe somebody else will have them. If you have access to Gunze paint, it sprays just like Tamiya paint. 35237 - XF20 36251 - XF22 36307 - No Tamiya match. Gunze H324, Model Master 1726, Xtracolor XT134 36320 - XF66 - LIGHT GREY: 11, XF2 - FLAT WHITE: 7, XF24 - DARK GREY: 2 HTH. Ben
  10. Thanks for the info, Greg! I just scored a Swallow A6M2 and I thik it will end up pretty high on the "To Do" pile. Ben
  11. Hi Greg, I'd be interested in seeing the Sakae 12 colors. I may be building an A6M2 soon. Thanks! Ben
  12. Go about halfway down the page: http://www.hobby.co.jp/hobby_show/japan/pla/09.htm Still no work on the Trumpeter F-100.
  13. I've had good luck using a paper pattern, glued to the plastic sheet with white glue. Scribe around the pattern a few times, then snap the excess off like Derek says. The pattern will come off easily, and you can scrape the excess glue off with your fingernail or soak it in water. If you want a symetrical shape, fold the paper in half, and then cut to shape. Also, 2mm is probably thicker than the metal used on the 1:1 scale Spitfire frames. Probably .010 or .020 will be closer to scale, and will be a lot easier to work with. HTH. Ben
  14. Hi Brian, Have you seen this article? http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/gregspr...corrections.htm Then you can have two 1/24 Zeros! Cheers! Ben
  15. Hi Brian, I've used it as a primer for Alclad II. I thin it with lacquer thinner (can't remember the UK name for the stuff) just like any other paint and spray it on with an airbrush. It dries semi-gloss in less than 24 hours. Cheers! Ben
  16. Lately, a friend of mine has been tormenting me with photos of 4th TFW F-4Es as they arrive at Mojave for QF conversion. I've got photos of a lot of them from the late '80s when they were still flying out of Seymour Johnson AFB. It's so depressing to see these planes faded and stained after fifteen years in the desert, on their way to becomming targets. Ben
  17. Hi guys, I just went through my F-4G photos, and couldn't find a single one in the Hill Grey I camo. They all had the Hill Grey II. There was about a 50/50 split between flat and semi-gloss finishes. I dug up my CAM decals, and they got the camo right. It has light grey drop tanks on the wings (don't know if that's accurate), but it has the Gunship Grey on the pylons and going up onto the gun fairing; normal for Hill Grey II. Menelaos, I'm looking forward to seeing you work your magic on an F-4G! Cheers! Ben
  18. If I may jump into the fray. The original Hill Grey camo scheme did have a light grey belly, with the Gunship grey and Neutral Grey uppers. A lot of ANG F-4Ds, Missouri ANG F-4Es, and some F-4Es with OS tail codes were painted like this. You can spot these by the light grey pylons or main gear doors. The Hill Grey II had just the two colors, and Gunship Grey on the belly. They were originally semi-gloss. I didn't know that some were painted flat for Desert Storm. Thanks to Wumm for the info! I don't think I've ever seen a photo of an F-4G painted in the Hill Grey I scheme. I think they all had the Hill Grey II scheme. I have photos of Weasels from the squadron the CAM decals represent. They are all Hill Grey II. I'll dig around this afternoon and see if I can find a pic of the specific airplane for you. Cheers! Ben
  19. Have you considered White Ensign's line of IJN colors? ( http://www.whiteensignmodels.com/ ) They are enamels, but have been pretty thoroughly researched. I think James Lansdale may have been a contributor. Anyway, WEM has out-of-the-tin versions of Mitsubishi and Nakajima colors for interior and exterior. I haven't tried them yet, but I've read good things about them. For acrylics, buried in the FAQ somewhere, is a bit that says Gunze IJN Green is a good match for Mitsubishi topside green and Tamiya IJN Green is a good match for Nakajima's. Their respective greys are supposed to match, too, but to my eye they are both too grey and not enough green. If I go with acrylics on my Zero, I plan to use Polly S Concrete with a touch of Green Zinc Chromate. The FAQ also suggests Gunze H340 for Mitsubishi Interior Green. I doubt they painted the entire plane grey-green first. Probably just the parts that needed to be that color. To do otherwise would waist paint, time and add weight. For the paint chipping, based on my own experience with 1:1 airplanes, sometimes you'll get chips clear down to the metal, other times just to the primer. The paint usually doesn't leave the airplane except around areas where sand, shoes, tools, ice, rain, etc hit it, so you'll see damage around access panels and walkways. Small-radius curves or edges that face into the wind & junk kicked up by the prop, such as leading edges of the wings, tail surfaces, air intakes, and gear doors, will lose paint down to the metal pretty quickly. Props usually don't shed big chunks of paint all over the blades. They usually show wear along the leading edges of the blades, with more paint worn away as you get close to the tips, mostly on the back side of the blades. There's often some darkened paint near the hub from seal leaks. I'm hoping to have a go at my Zero this year. I've sort of been practicing on other kits first, so I could do justice to this one. Cheers! Ben
  20. The best online reference for the Zero is www.j-aircraft.com . There are walk-arounds, pics of disassembled Zeros, links to other Zero detail info, the latest color research, and tons of paint mix info. There's also an article by Zero expert Ryan Toews about correcting/enhancing the Tamiya kit. Plan to spend some time browsing that site! Like Francis says, the Aero Detail book is pretty good. Cheers! Ben
  21. Hi Mark, From what I've read, it's the same kit with a few changes to make a Rufe. Here's a link to the J-Aircraft article that tells how to fix the Zero fuselage: http://www.j-aircraft.com/research/gregspr...corrections.htm Here's a preview of the Rufe kit: http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/axis/j/...rufepreview.htm HTH. Ben
  22. Hi Paul, I had a set of his 1/48 EA-6B intake that I replaced due to pinholes. His original intakes were the way to go a few years ago, but it looks like Cutting Edge has rasied the bar, especially with their 1/48 F-4 intakes. I wasn't too impressed with their 1/32 F-4 intakes. Mine didn't fit worth a damn. BTW, I haven't been around the F4Discussion group in a while. What are you working on now? Cheers! Ben
  23. Hi Mark, No problem! I didn't think you were bashing them. The set I got was one of the first ones produced. He may have had some mold issues that caused probelms with his later intakes. I sang SS's praises in my review on ARC and my F-4E article on Modeling Madness, then started reading about guys having trouble with them. I was thinking I might ought to lie low for a while in case they had bought the Suckers on my recommendation. I didn't want to have a pack of angry Phantom modelers after me! The intakes for the Revell kit look to be a real nightmare. His 1/48 intakes used to be just the ducts, too. I really gave my supply of profanity a work-out installing those little &*^*$#^&s! Cheers! Ben
  24. Gee, I must have got a flawed set for my Tamiya F-4E. I'm the only person I know of that didn't have problems with his intakes! Ben
  25. Hi guys, I've used both the Seamless Suckers and the CE "Intakes" on the Tamiya kit. I didn't experience any problems with the SS intakes, except they mounted a little too far aft. This was easy to fix. You can see the results on my F-4E over at Modeling Madness. The CE "intakes" are merely the kit outer intake lips with some extra resin added on the inside to smooth the transition with the kit intake ducts. You still have a lot of filling to do, and my examples didn't fit worth a damn. The Seamless Suckers are much better. I personally wouldn't bother with the CE "intakes." Gary, if I read your post right, you're looking for intakes for the Revell kit. I don't think the SS intakes for the Tamiya kit can be adapted to the Revell kit due to the different size and shapes of them kits. SS makes some intake ducts for the Revell kit. You just get the duct, not the combined intake lip and duct like the set for the Tamiya kit. I hope SS will some day rework these, as I hear the current ones are a real nightmare to install. Ben
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