kurtd123

Hobby easy sent me an email Saturday that mine has shipped (air) from Hong Kong (to USA). Tracking # input in USPS results in this: Your item was accepted at 3:37 pm on October 3, 2019 in HONG KONG. Status In-Transit October 3, 2019 at 3:37 pm Acceptance HONG KONG

P-51 was lighter, smaller, easier to transport and used less fuel. More of them could be delivered and made operational in a shorter period of time. The P-47 was known for needing a long runway and lots of gas. The logistics made the decision.

I have been keeping up with this thread with some interest and want to continue with the encouragement! Finds something that strikes your fancy that doesn't have a thousand parts and build it! I think Hobby Boss has some 1/48 Easy Assembly kits that might fill the bill nicely! This will give you a finished product quickly and allow you to learn the basics without risking lots of money and time.

I was wondering the same thing. I have an old Detail & Scale from the '80s with decent cockpit shots, so I don't really need it. The D&S was published shortly after the Libyan engagement and my main interest in that book was the original color of the cockpit, which seems lighter than pictures in the Daco book (which I think were taken after Y2K and repaints). The Daco book has a staggering number of pictures and is very well done (airplane porn). I have a hard time believing he could improve it!

I agree that the enamel paints are easier to brush out of the bottle since they do not dry as fast and level better. I think it really only matters if the odor bothers you. Most of the water based acrylics are less offensive in that respect and easy to clean if you drop some paint on the floor, a kitchen table....your hair! LOL. However, you can buy (not expensive) products that slow the drying time of water-based acrylics at your art/craft store (just add a few drops). I think the reason acrylics are much easier to find in most parts of the world has something to do with their VOC (volat

I suggest starting with something simple, such as one of the very inexpensive Hobby Boss "Easy Assembly" kits in 1/72 and brush paint the entire thing. For brush painting, reasonable quality paint brushes are essential. I suggest using the paint manufacturer's thinner for the brush painting part of the build. (I get much better results brush painting when using the recommended thinner.) Find an article online with brush painting techniques for scale models. I suggest acrylic paints as they are much easier to locate and handle. Recommendation for brands of supplies would vary depending on

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Thanks! I am going with a very boring completely out of the box build. Washed the parts down this morning and watched a couple of YouTube videos to prepare myself. Hope to get started on the cockpit soon! Probably using the VF-84 markings to replace a Monogram build that my X "accidentally dropped" as we were in the process of splitting up 22 years ago! LOL. (That is how long it has been since I built a Tomcat!) Kurt

I have seen some comments about replacing the wheels. Are the kit wheels correct for the birds represented by the kit decals? It seems like an automatic to replace wheels these days, but figured it was worth asking "why?" before I spend even MORE money! Thanks, Kurt

I did the 1/32 Tamiya J kit with Two Bob's decals for this scheme. After much internet scouring I decided to build the kit OOB except for the cockpit. The pictures I found showed the MSIP cockpit (avionics bay repainted white and the new digital display on the lower left side of the instrument panel). I used a Black Box Cockpit that I modified with an Eduard IP. The Black Box IP was not that great but the Eduard IP was the early version, so I just shaved off the digital display from the BB IP and added it to the Eduard IP repainted that area. Tamiya has the antenna for the J version, whic

Just curious... were there ever any jets with the TCS pods, tail brackets but no ECM blisters along with the beaver tail in the kit? Asking because I happen to have those parts!

I just googled "Tower Hobby Coupon Code" and found a $15 off code. You never know if they will work, but this one did. Unfortunately it isn't displayed on the invoice, but I think it was this one: 01A39

Just ordered mine from Tower using a coupon code and it cost $63.99 with free shipping. Not bad. (I already have one on order from Lucky Model and it was significantly more expensive with shipping.)

Nice pics Finn! What a challenge to replicate the weathered finish those aircraft had!

From my rather limited reading and research, I gleaned that the LAU-17 (Navy) pylons were replaced starting very late during 1966. Pictures from Bolo (1/2/67) are nearly impossible to come by and I have not seen anything written on this specific topic. There is one picture of 63-7680 (piloted by Olds during Bolo) in Osprey's "USAF F-4 Phantom II Mig Killers 1965-68" that appears to have been taken shortly before Bolo and it still had the Navy pylons. Since I bought the damn parts I will be using them, even if I am proven wrong. (this is called denial) Kurt