A-10 LOADER

That sucks Collin, especially at the cost of the Tamiya kit, she was looking really good. ☹️ This is why I ALWAYS try new things on my paint mule before applying the process to the project. Oh well, lesson learned the hard way. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

WOW, two beautiful looking Tomcat's there Dylan. Looking forward to more. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

SWEET !! Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Awesome work so far Collin and I love your choice of subject. You hardly ever seen a PAX Tomcat being built. Looking forward to future updates. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

I completely agree. Dylan, those pieces are looking extremely nice. Looking forward to seeing the rest. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Agree 100% Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Hi John, Paints used were Tamiya rattle cans, Model Master enamels and, MRP Paint. I won't use any water based paints, don't trust them. Thanks for checking in. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Greetings everyone, I managed to get the semi-gloss coat on the Tomcat yesterday and I'm currently working on the "corrosion control" touch-ups. This will be my first attempt at trying this so, hopefully I don't screw this up. I am practicing on a test subject to get the feel for it. Hoping to have something worth sharing in the next couple of days. Thanks very much to all those who are still showing an interest in this project. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Beautiful work on those cans, they look very realistic. This WIP is enjoyable to watch, keep up the great work. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Test a decal that you won't be using from the sheet. Put it in some warm water and see what happens, if it breaks apart, do like galfa suggested and use the Microscale Liquid Decal Film. A good friend of mine uses it all the time on older decals and it works like a charm. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

It's roughly the size of my two 1/18th scale Cats. I agree with Darren, some funky things going on there. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Good on Merit. Steve

I just realized I put this in the wrong place. If the admins would like feel free to move it to Works In Progress. Sorry about that, that's what I get for rushing. Steve

Finished up the "crossover fairing" yesterday. Really happy with how it came out and I think it looks more the part. I transferred my card stock template to some .020" sheet plastic and cut it out. Then I folded the bends in the plastic using a metal ruler as a straight edge and bent it with my fingers. Next, I added the panels, their fasteners and, the gun fairing exhaust vent. The vent was made from a piece of 7/32"tubing, sanded at an angel until it looked right. I used some Tamiya panel line wash to check everything. I needed a way to "lock in" the shape of the fairing so I could add the small panels the run on both sides of the fairing where it contacts the pods. I measured the length of the fairing on the jet and set my clamps, on a ruler, at that point. This held the fairing in the correct shape. I opted to do one large piece of .010"sheet plastic, on each side of the fairing, instead of separate tiny strips. This will also help the fairing keep it's shape after the glue dries. Once the glue was dry it was just a matter of cutting the plastic to the proper width. After all the trimming was complete it fit really good into the spot and looks so much better IMO. With my lack of good reference pics I'm not sure how accurate it really is but, it's an improvement and I'm happy with it. Now I can get the gun/ammo pods and the fairing in some primer. Now if I could only find some better pics of the center line pylon for the targeting pod. Steve

I picked up a resin gun/ammo pod for my1/18th scale, pre-built AV-8B Harrier II. This is a resin version from the new 1/18th scale kit that recently came out. They look good but, could use a little work, especially the "crossover fairing" (not sure if that's the correct name for this piece ??), that goes between the two pods to make them better. As you can see, the panel is no where near being close to being correct, it's too flat and one dimensional. I started detailing the gun pod by adding a length of 1/4" evergreen tubing to the gun exhaust port. Next, after multiple attempts I finally got the template made for the fairing using some HD card stock. When everything is locked in where it should be, it fits good and looks more the part. Now I just need to transfer this to some sheet plastic, add some details, panel fastener details and, the air scoop. Until the next update. Steve