spejic

Really nice painting and panel line work. It looks like the Eduard pre-painted photo etch set, so he did a great job matching the color for the rest of the cockpit because the grey on those are not anywhere close to FS36231. At least mine wasn't.

I think this looks really cool. You did a good job on the panel lines and I like that little bit of detail paintwork on the engine exhaust.

Exquisite paint work and the problem areas of the kit like the air brakes are really well done.

This looks really nice. You did a great job fixing the slat well and applying the big decal over the wing vortex generators.

I like two-part epoxies for lots of things people use superglue for. I don't think it's great on skin either, but before it is set you can clean it easily with water (same for cleaning excess of your parts). Plus you get lots of work time. It's biggest failing is that it has almost zero strength holding parts until it is dry so you need something to hold parts in place unless gravity is doing it for you. You can also try regular PVA or white glue. It holds things while drying, dries clear and shrinks so it is hard to see, is easy on skin, and also has water clean up when wet (or ev

I think it's the same as US Navy colors - FS12197 for the broad fuselage colors and FS31136 for the slat and flap interiors and the intake warning. I can't successfully color correct the image, but you an see on the far wing that the top of the slat and the wing have a slightly lighter color than the place the slat slides into.

A long time ago I read the hint to use ammonia-based cleaners in an airbrush and started doing that on my Iwata. It took a few months, but the chrome started getting stripped from the cup and it turned a golden color. I switched to other cleaners when I realized what was happening. It's not some kind of instantaneous reaction, but it will happen. I stopped before I got any pitting, but the brass is softer than the chrome and I can see lots of small scratches in the cup even though I only use soft tools to mix and clean. If you keep using ammonia long enough to get pitting or deep scratches the

I just kind of eye-balled mine. Since the new nose is shorter and the parts are thick you can pretty much get away with sanding the Fujimi nose to shape, filling the lines, and adding the lightning things. I didn't add drawings because photographs are always a little distorted at the edges (where the nose would be) and I don't want to seem like the arbiter of what the nose should look like. There's also a new small cooling intake in the nose and a handful of other differences (like the cloth(?) used between the HUD and the windscreen, or how they don't have that quilted stuff on th

I don't disagree, but in this particular case aren't bezels sometimes plastic? Maybe you want to preserve the look.

I have a build thread on the construction. It might help: It wasn't finished because I had canopy issues and it's currently sitting not collecting dust in a plastic container until I get the will to fix it.

Sure. I've updated it to make it clearer. Print it at 300dpi for 1/72 aircraft. A good image view program like Irfanview will let you do that.

Unfortunately, there are no kits for Argentinian or the very latest Brazillian A-4's. The Argentinian A-4's modifications of the A-4M are pretty much all in the cockpit with a bunch of new antennas and bumps. I have a list of changes with correctly sized templates for 1/72. If you want to see it I can post it, and I can resize it to 1/48 if you wish. The original Brazilian A-4 (the AF-1 Falcão) was just a A-4KU, which is pretty much an early A-4M. But the upgraded AF-1B has a new cockpit, new antennas, and some complicated structures on the nose. If you are serious about making a 1

I've never had a problem with any kind of filler cracking or coming apart (and I've used like ten different kinds) unless the join is not connected properly. If there is any flex in the join then simple fillers will crack because they are not flexible and are not structural at all (two-part epoxies should do better if there is a decent connection to both sides). So make sure there is a good glue connection all long the join and if that isn't possible then a support structure behind it or filling it with styrene is a necessary step before any kind of filler is used.

The gentlest kind of detail wash is done with diluted watercolor paints or ground up (dry!) pastels in water. It cleans up easily with a wet paper towel. But it also doesn't stick in the panel lines great so you need care during the cleaning phase and you need an overcoat or it will come off with handling. I recommend using coffee filters for cleaning as they are not fuzzy so they don't go down into details and they don't leave fibers behind.

The details are just amazing. It creates such a lived in, vibrant feel. These things are really flying cities more than ships, and it really makes sense to create a docking area as busy as a city's port and a topside as changeable as a skyline.

Thanks for telling us. I read Punk's War way back when and like it, so I'm interested in this.

I think this looks really neat. l like the varied metal shading on the exhausts/thrust reversers. I'm always in favor of gluing down the wing gloves because it gives a much more in-scale appearance.

This looks great and I'm happy to see one built. I think your choice and arrangement of decals is very lore-friendly while still being unique.

Yeah, but they essentially called it "Eagle Extreme!" which is even worse.

That is a very fine looking model. I like the subtle panel differences - you've made it look both worn and neat at the same time. Actually, I've seen a number of these kits built and they never look anything less than awesome. Makes me want to get one too.

I've taken to searching the dust from the vacuum every time I clean. I always end up finding something I didn't even know I lost.

Here's one picture with 3 Mk82's on a MER used operationally and not just as a demonstration: https://www.leecroissant.com/media/large/Douglas-A-4-Danang.jpg You can tell they are Mk82's because they extend past the nose of the MER while a Mk81's would be even with it. Also the bomb singly mounted on the outer station is smaller than the ones on the MER, and they don't make anything smaller than a Mk81. And this picture shows why you would mount 3 bombs on a MER: https://www.skyhawk.org/sites/default/files/images-a4-unknown/a4k-ddmmmyy-rnzaf-snak

You can find plenty of pictures of A-4's with 3 bombs on those pylons (although usually on a MER). The pilot was restricted in his rate of roll in those configurations, but it's possible.

In some cases, but generally it makes a weaker bond and can make the glue look white and powdery. Accelerators are almost all stuff that evaporates quickly and only a tiny bit of stuff that cures cyanoacrylate. It does help to increase the humidity if you have low humidity in the house. You can also try lightly blowing on the bond.

This has happened to me on occasion. I'd get a bottle of the standard green labeled stuff and it wouldn't bond anything. Then I get another bottle and it worked fine.