Jump to content

spejic

Members
  • Content Count

    2,176
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by spejic

  1. There's two different pylon systems for carrying Western weapons. This is a good look at the pylon designed for bombs - it has been used for JDAM and the French AASM:

     

    https://www.twz.com/ukrainian-mig-29s-mysterious-jdam-er-pylon-our-best-look-yet

     

    The one for carrying the HARM is a two part affair that doesn't have that antenna probe sticking out. This article has a good picture of this kind close to the end:

     

    https://www.twz.com/ukrainian-mig-29-fighter-appears-with-mystery-weapon-pylons

     

  2. On 2/24/2024 at 9:41 AM, Nathant said:

    Why not use Tamiya thin cement? Both parts are plastic… just be careful and don’t overdo it. The clear plastic won’t fog if you’re careful. 

     

    It might wick up in panel lines, and even if one is careful mistakes can be made.

     

    I usually use the thick Testors glue. Unlike epoxies it has some holding power right away. I use the non-toxic type which doesn't make strings, but does have a long drying time (which I don't mind in my building style).

  3. That Palace Athene is super impressive. I've done enough scratchbuilding to appreciate the quality and difficulty of your work, although I do ships which are basically boxes on boxes. I can't imagine doing compound curves - and then making it's mirror part exactly the same size and shape for the other side! Absolutely top level. Thanks for showing it.

     

  4. 5 hours ago, Rob de Bie said:

    From the heart, there are a few more doublers on the fuselage of many A-4 versions. It heavily depends on the lighting whether they are visible.

     

    I did find one example on a A-4L. While I have a couple thousand images of the A-4, you could never tell one way or the other on most of them because of the quality of the film/scan/lighting. But there are also very late A-4E and F's (like those in aggressor squadrons) without them, so it really depends on the particular airframe. I don't see them on Skyhawks with enlarged intakes (probably because they wouldn't even fit), and I have also yet to see one on a TA-4J (again, that is not proof they were no TA-4J's with them) and the Hasegawa kit of the TA-4J does not include it.

     

  5. Try to find pictures of the aircraft you are modelling. That support is seen on some E's and F's and not in others. In my photo collection I can't find it on other variants of the Skyhawk, which is no guarantee because this is a thin piece of metal and hard to see on clean aircraft in 1970's and 80's film.

     

    There is no panel line on the support itself.

  6. If you mean the right hand side from the perspective of the pilot, the picture I have of this area has nothing. The left hand side (the throttle side) has a pocket made of cloth with the same light metallic green color as the quilting, but I have no idea if this was common or not. The Cutting Edge third-party 1/48 cockpit replacement seems to model something there, but the Ares one doesn't and now we are going into second and third hand information.

     

    Unless you have reason to think this container was in your particular aircraft, I wouldn't model it. Once the seat is installed and the fuselage closed up, you aren't going to see anything there anyway.

     

  7. I'm sorry. It worked for me the few times I needed it, but that was for small spots where I guess it's a lot easier to temper how much you rub. It might depend on the brand of the underlying paint as well.

     

  8. It does look nice. Being bespoke it has a couple advantages over the Hasegawa, mainly having positionable spoilers. The Hasegawa wing doesn't have a spoiler at all, and requires some new panel lines to be added. The cockpit looks more detailed and the airbrakes actually look like they will fit closed, which was a major bummer on the Hasegawa.

     

    But the wing slat well is still modeled with a step. Fixing it on the Hasegawa was a pain, and the more detailed the kit the more difficult it will be to replicate all the lines and rivets you need. Can't see if the front wheel is a separate part.

     

  9. On 9/27/2023 at 3:36 AM, Ed DeVivo said:

    One issue is that in a area or two it did not level and clumped. How is this removed?

    I would try slowly rubbing it with a q-tip dipped in isopropy alcohol. It should eventually work, but it might take a while. Be patient. It might look a little cloudy at the end, but if it isn't a clear part it should go away next time it is sprayed with a clear coat (gloss or flat).

     

  10. I've made some decals for Navy and Marine aircraft of the period, and the lettering was very, very inconsistent. You could have half a dozen different letter aspect ratios / spacings on the same aircraft. If you are trying to replicate the markings of a particular aircraft, it's best to get good pictures and just trace over what was lettered on the real thing.

     

  11. You can thin the fillers (Perfect Plastic Putty is good for this because you can thin it with water) or use one that is already liquid (like Mr Surfacer 500). Fill the lines, wipe away the excess with something that won't go into the panel lines (a coffee filter is good) and they will both shrink when drying. I got good results out of both of those recently.

  12. Yeah, the one posted is pretty good for you application, and there are other similar ones from major brands. Broadly speaking the more gel ones give you a few more seconds of working time and the more liquid ones give you less and it isn't always clear from the package which one you are getting.

     

    The more you move something during the setting phase the weaker the join is, so you still want to minimize movement.

     

  13. There are different kinds, but the platinum one makes molds that are both more flexible and tougher. Usually the ones you find in art stores (like the Smooth-On brand, which works well for me) are kind of thick. It will still work - just paint the part with the mold material with a disposable paintbrush or q-tip before you pour in the mold material into the container.

     

    For a beginner, here is the basic set up for a single-piece mold:

     

    basic.png.5eb1aac36ff5377ae3037a068a24c0b9.png

    You want a container big enough to surround and submerge the part but no bigger so you don't waste casting material. If it has a bowl shape it's much easier to get the mold out. I usually use yogurt containers. You then glue your part to a spacer (which becomes both the pour hole in the mold and the part you saw at to free your cast part). Then you glue the spacer to a card. Do not make the card the same size as the bottom of the container - it should be a bit smaller. That creates a bowl in the mold so you don't spill the casting material when you are making your part.

     

    A figure is going to be difficult to do in a single piece mold, with legs and arms going in multiple directions, unless it is all separate parts still on the sprue.  I guess you can put the spacer on its back. A two part mold may be required, but that is a lot more involved. There are lots of good tutorials on how to do that - I recommend the ones on Adam Savage's "Tested" YouTube channel. I strongly recommend doing single-piece molds first.

×
×
  • Create New...