madmike

Automotive stores carry fine grit paper down to that grade My bro-in-law builds model cars and he gets his fine grit paper from there, so give that a go! HTH :wacko: MikeJ

how did you get the band to match the decals? stupid thing to ask but I am way confused over this issue :wacko: :wacko: MikeJ

wot? us liv't in shoebox 't middle of road :wacko: Luxury! MikeJ

I normally use a wide flat brush and apply the Future in thin even coats, 2 coats is enought o prep a model for declas and another couple go on to seal the decals prior to weathering/final clear coat. I wil give this stuff a bash though :wacko: :wacko: MikeJ

Phill Perth West Oz yourself? :wacko: MikeJ

Phil Thanks for that... :wacko: I will check out Woolies as well as Coles after the long weekend. :wacko: Whcih state are you in? I still have my old bottle of Super Stride left, plus 3/4 of the big bottle of Future I got in LA Is it clear in the bottle like Future or cloudy like Stride used to be? cheers mate and keep us Aussie modelers posted! :wacko: Mike

Now this may well be a stupid thing to ask but I am a bit perplexed at the moment. :wacko: I have decided to build one of my Hobbycraft F-86E's. I have a choice of 2 Microscale decals sheets to choose from, all requiring the black edged yellow theatre recognition bands on the fuselage,tail and wings. The bands supplied by HC are pretty crappy (how unusual) and I really do not want to use them! My intention is to do the BMF in Tamiya AS-12 and pick out panels in Humbrol metalcoat shades, so masking will be a snap. I cannot decide the best procedure to mask the bands, so...please HELP!! :w

good point. I have 200+ tinlets of Humbrol in some pretty repulsive colours , that I was given some years ago. They can be put to good use now! Thanks again for the tip, it certainly was not prehistoric! I grew up in the Central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Summer was hot 45degC+ (105degF+) and the bitumen on the side of the roads used to met and go rather tacky. Our house was about 150m from the town pool, my mates and I used to run barefoot down the road towards the pool and cool of every 10 or metres in the slightly cooler tree shadows. Them my mother would tell me off for havi

Bob thats a good way to do it, sounds better than my method which amounts to holding my breath and hoping the unprimed filler does not chip! Thanks :wacko: :wacko: MikeJ

we may be frugal BUT we LOVE a bargain MikeJ

Colin could be the gloss was not completely cured perhaps? MikeJ

Richard no probs.... Yep, scare 'em to death and ask for a cheaper price. I attend Swap meets on a semi regular basis and "lunge" at some good stuff. I got a 1:48 Monogram F-14A (all parts present) a little while back for a buck and that's an Aussie Dollar , so about 85 cents Canadian MikeJ

Richard I have heard the best stuff is sculpey, now I have not used the stuff as we do not get it in Oz but that or perhaps miliput might be the go. Important thing is to use something that does not generate heat as part of the chemical reaction during curing. I know you can sand both well Glad to help, hopefully others more versed in the arcane art of vacforming might be able to offer advice, particularly as you are one of the lucky few who have a vacuforming machine! MikeJ

If the plastic has yellowed over the years it would be a chemical reaction within the plastic itself and would probably be irreversable. Dare I say that you could make a mould from the yellowed vaccs and drop cast new ones? Perhaps an experten in that procedure could help you more than I could? HTH MikeJ

Bytepilot Thats something I have never thought of using stretched sprue before to do! great idea MikeJ

be nice to get some of that stuff, but here in Oz it's a no-show MikeJ

Steven this method works for me, cut a strip of 600 grit wt n dry about 10mm wid and a piece of straight sprue. . Using CA glue, glue one end of the wt n dry strip onto the end of the sprue and wrap the tape around until you can attach the other end. This makes a pretty good sanding stick that can get into the intake trunk for flush sanding You have mentioned gaps, so I use this method. Fill the gapes using your favourite filler and a cocktail or toothpick. Let the filler set for about 5 mins and then using nail polish remover (must contain acetone) blend the putty into the intake fairing

Swanny I await with keenness! Mikej

Swanny, that is great news... Well done on your research efforts and thanks Peter for finding it... Now is it available in West OZ? MikeJ

oh dear I just answered this one earlier time for a beer ;) :unsure: sorry about that :D MikeJ

I use Aeromaster Tyre Black, it has been discontinued now but Gunze make a similar product. It is a very dark gray or off black, giving the tyre a weathered gray look. Worth it and they look good, the tyres that is. I generally base in tyre black and then dry brush a lighter shade to impart more wear, which looks good on the diamond tread of USAAF et al tyres. If need be, I spray a dusting of tamiya buff or flat earth over the tyre to grime it up a bit, but as said earlier, pastels work equally well if not better! :unsure: MikeJ

thtas the way I would go, I prefer PE harnesses but the great way lead foil can be bent and "draped" is worth the effort :unsure: I have a heap of the lead foil dentists use for X-rays, tad thinner than wine bottle foil. ;) MikeJ

Normally I use Aeromaster Tyre Gray for tyres. However if you are doing a specific theatre plane, I would paint tyre black (gunze still makes a pot of this colour) dry brush with a lightened shade over the wearing surface and then weather according to the conditions of the theatre of ops... eg a desert fighter could be lightly sprayed with Tamiya flat earth or Tamiya buff a pacific or european based aircraft could be sprayed or brushed with a mixture of tamiya dark earth and dark brown(or any earth colour really) to represent mud. Remember though that ground crews would remove mud pretty q

I thin oils with white spirits, but make sure you have a good acrylic gloss clear barrier coat laid down first.. Sludge wash works a treat as well! :unsure: MikeJ

I use cloudy ammonia still smells pretty bad ;) but a small amount, and I mean small on a cotton bud or micro brush works well :unsure: MikeJ