Justin S

Thank you for the comments, everybody! After I painted the camo with unadjusted colors, I "post shaded" by adding white to the colors and spraying each in a random, mottled pattern concentrated mainly within the panels.

Couple more:

This is the first model I've painted with Model Master enamels, so I'm curious to hear what you think. I'm not too happy with how it turned out, myself - I sprayed them freehand and couldn't seem to get as tight a demarcation as I can with Tamiya and Gunze acrylics. I added an Avionix resin seat - I know it's probably the wrong version for this plane, but it looks much, much better than the kit seat, so I don't mind. Besides, the kit seat is the wrong version anyway, I think. The markings are from Afterburner Decals, which were excellent. I'm ashamed to report that this is only the second

I've recently come to terms with my mortality and realized I would never be able to finish all the kits in my stash within this lifetime. Also, I moved into a new apartment without sufficient storage for all my kits. Therefore, I've decided to thin the herd. Take a look at the following list, let me know what you want and where you live, and I will give you a shipping quote (I'm in the U.S.) I will accept Paypal and USPS money orders. I will ship worldwide, but will only accept Paypal outside the U.S. Thanks for looking! Justin PLANES: Trimaster 1/48 Focke-Wulf Fw190F-8 $20 1/48

Hi Michael, it's the A version. The kit comes with a complete C version, plus an extra sprue with the A tails and the other bits and bobs to make it an A - a great deal! I think I will always get this kit even if I want to build another C - that way I have the extra A bits left over and can convert a D (I have two in the stash) to a B if I want to! I suspect Academy will eventually release a B, though. Hi Rodney, yes, the nose was the only tricky bit of the construction. I did a lot of dry fitting, too, but when it came to glue everything together, I did it all at once (except the nose

Thank you for the kind words, everyone! :) Hi Matt, thanks for the input! In all the pictures I've seen of this plane, the tails look bright and clean even though the rest of the airframe is absolutely filthy. I don't know if that's because they use a different paint for the bright colors, or if they just cleaned the tails a lot, but that's why I didn't weather the white and red as much. Hi Rumbling, glad you like it! Here's a brief overview of how I did it: - Base coat of Xtracrylix light and dark ghost gray - Lightened each color with white and sprayed in a random, mottled patte

This is my second Academy Hornet, finished late last year. They are an absolute joy to build! This one is an A model (with the A+ upgrade) in the markings of VMFA-232 "Red Devils" as it appeared aboard the USS Nimitz in 2007. I added a Quickboost SJU-5 resin seat and Mk. 82s from a Hasegawa weapons set. Markings are MAW decals, which performed flawlessly - I highly reccommend them! The loadout is one that was suggested in the MAW instructions. I appreciate any constructive criticism you can offer. Specifically, I'd like to know how I did with the weathering. I tried to replicate the dirt

Thank you for the kind words, everybody! Yes, I did postshade. I used Gunze acrylics for the SEA camo colors, then modified them with Tamiya acrylics for the postshade. If I remember correctly, I added XF-4 Yellow Green to the medium green, XF-2 White to the dark green, and XF-57 Buff to the tan. I scratchbuilt the centerline pylon using an old Monogram kit as a guide. There weren't really any fit issues to speak of. The whole thing went together surprisingly well!

Some more:

Here is my 1/48 Hobby Boss Thud, built to represent Karl Richter's aircraft. I built this for my dad, who served with Richter in Korat, Thailand in '66 and '67. I added an Avionix resin cockpit, Bombs and centerline rack from a Hasegawa weapons set, and Verlinden RBF tags. Decals are a mix of Aeromaster (stars 'n' bars and stencils), Microscale railroad letters and numbers (from which I pieced together the "USAF" and the serial number), and homemade (Richter's name). I know there may be some inaccuracies, but it has Richter's name on it and that's all that's really important to my dad.

PM sent

Does anybody happen to have any information about or photographs of Lt. Karl W. Richter's F-105 Thunderchief? I've always wanted to build his plane for my dad, who served with Richter in the 421st TFS at Korat Air Base, Thailand during Vietnam. I haven't been able to find any references for his plane, though. In case you're wondering why I don't just ask my dad, it's because I want it to be a surprise! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Justin

email sent on SHWFOTS decals.

Thank you for the comments, everybody! Luke, take a look here. It looks like it had this scheme at the Miramar air show in 2003. That's the only time that I can place it. Steve, thanks for the link - that's awesome!

I now have two planes with bats in my collection: Thanks for looking! - Justin

There’s a bit of a story behind this one: My girlfriend woke me up around 2:00 AM one night not long after we moved into our apartment and walked me out to the kitchen. She pointed up at one of the cupboards and said, “What is that?!?†Half asleep and bleary-eyed, I looked up, squinted and saw a dark mass hanging there. I said, “I think it’s a…bat!†No sooner than the words had left my mouth, it flew right towards us. It was, of course, a bat. We had several more “visitors†after that - it turns out there was a colony of them living in the rafters and they were getting in

Could anybody spare a baggage pod from a Hasegawa 1/48 F-16 kit? It's parts are F3 and F4, which I believe are included in all Hasegawa Viper kits. I'm also looking for a buddy store (refuelling pod) from an AMT Viking. I have ordnance from Hasegawa weapons sets A, C, and D in 1/48 and set III in 1/72 to trade. Thanks! Justin

You can see more of it here: http://www.network54.com/Forum/47751/thread/1203348043 Cheers, Justin

Moritz, The decals are from Eagle Strike, 72073 Freedom Hornets Part 2. Cheers, Justin

Here are the five models I finished this year. Hope you like them! - Justin 1/32 Hasegawa Hellcat: 1/48 Classic Airframes Bf 109D: 1/48 Hasegawa Macchi C.202: 1/72 Hasegawa F-14A Tomcat: 1/72 Academy F/A-18C Hornet:

Hello everyone, I want to convert my Tamiya 1/48 Block 25/32 into a Block 30, so I'm wondering if there is anyone who wants to make a Block 52 out of their Block 50 kit and would be willing to trade their GE nozzle and widemouth intake for the Pratt & Whitney nozzle and NSI intake from my kit. I would give you my entire Q sprue for your entire H sprue. Anyone interested? Thanks, Justin

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! Eric, the decals are from Eagle Strike - #72073, Freedom Hornets, part 2.

This is a great kit and it was an absolute joy to build, especially after tackling a Hasegawa Tomcat! I added a True Details seat and decals from Eagle Strike depicting the VFA-105 CAG bird aboard the USS Enterprise during Operation Desert Fox. I’m not sure if the weapons loadout I used is correct for this timeframe – it’s actually a configuration used during Operation Enduring Freedom. I chose it simply based on what was included in the kit. Hope you like it! - Justin

Thank you for all the kind words, everyone! :) I used Gunze-Sangyo H315 Gray FS16440. The final clearcoat was a mix of 75% Tamiya X22 Gloss Clear and 25% X21 Flat Base.