A-10 LOADER

Excellent job Jon, looks awesome !! "Chicks Dig Weasels, Weasels Dig Chicks." Steve

I have to admit Andrew, with all my Tomcat reference materials, which is quite extensive, I've never seen a photo of the ECA. I think if you use the MATS line drawing as a guide, you'll be fine. Like you said, unless someone can produce a photo. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

You are correct with all your info. Have you tried M.A.T.S. ?? I just Googled ECA and some images / drawings came up which might be of help for you. Best of luck with the build and please do a WIP of it. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Well, first off, which A model (BUNO) are you doing ? Not all A models were wired to carry the TARPS pod, if that matters to you for accuracy. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Nice choice of markings, this is going to look really nice when finished up. Again, at this scale, your skills are amazing. Steve

If I may add something to this post. Here's what I do and, Chuck is correct, this is so simple to do. Go to the craft store and get some small glass bottles. I take the spray nozzle off of the can I want to decant. Here's the important step, DO NOT SHAKE THE CAN PRIOR TO DECANTING IT !! You only want the paint, not the aerosol. I use a Testor's pipette because it fits the opening of the spray nozzle, when cut properly. The Tamiya nozzles have a small blue piece in them, get a pair of flat billed pliers and grab onto that blue part that sticks out past the nozzle, it should pop out with a good pull. Next, cut the bulb end off the pipette and cut small pieces off the tapered end until it fits tightly into the area that the blue part came out of. Now get a scrap rag and insert the tube into your glass jar. Cover the opening as much as you can with the rag and spray the paint into your glass jar. Keep spraying until the spray can is empty. The glass jar will get cold and frosty until the paint warms back up to room temperature. The paint will bubble for a while and like Chuck said, DO NOT SCREW THE GLASS JAR LID ON TIGHT OR SHAKE IT !! Time varies on how long it takes to stop bubbling but, generally 12 to 24 hours is sufficient. Remove the tube from the nozzle and clean everything up with lacquer thinner, as soon as your done decanting and, you can reuse this again and again. One more important part, make sure the lid to your glass jar does not have a plastic coated seal in it. Your decanted paint will attack the seal and it will end up in your paint. I remove the seal from the lid and use Aluminum foil squares to seal it up. Whenever I use the paint before I put the lid back on I also use a fresh square of foil and, label the jar. Steve

Crazy good stuff at this scale, WOW !! Steve

Very nice Chuck, the landing gear looks awesome. I agree with you about the Tamiya semi-gloss as well. Steve

For Chuck, Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Nice job, the paintwork and weathering look really good. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us all Paul, I basically do exactly what you showed in the video. Steve

Thanks Chuck, the good news is there was no over spray in side the cockpit, thank God. I've been busy adding all the small details to the jet, all the fuselage probes along with a scratch-built Temperature probe, an old sewing needle was used for the port side "pointy" Angle of Attack Sensor, yaw string, blade antenna to the bottom of the TCS pod ( for the third and, hopefully LAST time ). Unmasked all the glass, cleaned it all up and, polished it and, also unmasked the wingtip lights, glove vane lights, walkways and, the TCS pod. She's getting closer everyday, hopefully not too much longer. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Excellent work Chuck. So far everything looks very convincing and true to scale. Looking forward to more. Steve

Greetings everyone, I'm thinking this will be my last update until the jet is completed. I want my final reveal to be a surprise for everyone and, because she's so close, I don't want to give anything away until she's completed. I was able to get the entire jet weathered and gloss coated again, to lock in all the weathering and to also help darken up the colors so that when I flat coat her, the colors won't fade away. I need to fix one slime light decal, flat coat her, do the metal colored areas and then I can unmask her ( I'm really looking forward to that part, hopefully no over-spray found it's way inside the cockpit ) and get all the pieces added to her. I'm hoping with in the next two weeks, at the very latest, to have a finished product to show all of you. Thanks to everyone who stayed on this ride until the end, I appreciate it very much. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Thanks very much Chuck, I appreciate that. As I've said in the past many times, your opinion, which I highly regard, means a lot to me. I'm currently working on the top surfaces of the jet, weathering her up and adding the dirt and grime. I'm also working on an idea for the wing sweep wear marks and I'm hoping to have something worth posting soon. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"