nspreitler
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Posts posted by nspreitler
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Finished Tamiya’s F-4B with a Quinta cockpit, Eduard wheels, seats, TERS, and Sidewinders. Stencils are also from Eduard and the main markings are from Bullseye.
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After a bit of time on the shelf of doom I pulled my F-4B project down and moved it over the goal line.
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That sucks, I had plans to order more stuff from there. Glad I got the QF-4 conversion set when I did.
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I bought some stuff from them at Modelzona in November.
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I just ordered from Reskit this week using PayPal with no issues. I’m in the US and it went through westernbid. I’ve ordered several times in the last year with no issues.
Your issue is interesting, I’m wondering if it’s an ISP issue.
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Making progress on the engines. In this scale a radial just doesn’t look right without wiring so I’m adding the ignition wires with lead wire. I printed out the fantastic spark plugs from Anyz which are a nice little touch.
Eduard’s resin wheels arrived and they are quite nice, but noticeably larger than the kit wheels. There has been some debate over them being too big, but I think they are pretty close.
I’m taking my time since I am waiting for the Zotz decals which are supposed to be out next month. These will be for Pacific aircraft which is what I really want to do.
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2 hours ago, Spectre711 said:
Anyone experience a surprise while placing an order? I ordered 2 Eduard masks and two 30ml containers of MRP paint and the shipping is $17.
WTF, almost half the cost of my order was shipping.
Expedited shipping on orders under $100 is $17, standard shipping is $10. -
22 minutes ago, RichB63 said:
Nice work! The Master Models brass barrels really do dress up the nose section. Love those cockpit toggles too. ANYZ?
Rich
Yes the file is from Anyz.
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The A-20 is one of my favorite aircraft. As a kid I read Edward Jablonski’s Airwar and the stories of Pappy Gunn and his gunships were my favorite.
So when HK’s A-20 arrived everything else took a back seat.
Like most the kit starts with the cockpit which is pretty good. I added some 3d printed toggle switches to the instrument panel and used seatbelts from Airscale instead of the PE ones in the kit.
Overall it is very good, but two flaws come up in this area. First is the location of the instrument panel which is too far forward.
Next is the nose gear, which looks fine but it has to go on early leaving it likely to be broken later on.
The bomb bay is really good, but the reality is once assembled with bombs in it you really can’t see much. So I didn’t do much more than a wash in it. The same applies for the rear fuselage, I really didn’t bother doing much since it all disappears when the fuselage is closed.
The tail goes together well but the parts fit is loose and care has to be used to ensure the correct placement.
The kit comes with a very detailed gun compartment but I opted to close it which left a lot of unused parts. I will likely build this again and open this up, but for this one I closed all of it. The panels that are designed to be open worked well with isn’t always the case on kits designed with open panels. The fit of the nose to the fuselage is amazing.
I’m using brass barrels from Master Model, they are designed for HK’s 1/32 B-17 but work great on this kit. Since I closed the nose they just slide in, and the four in the front of the nose don’t even really need glue.
next I’ll start working on the nacelles bad engines. The engines are about 50 pierces each so that will probably be my next few weeks.
it’s a big kit but not nearly as big as something like the Border Lancaster that is also slowly coming together. It’s roughly the same a 1/48 B-17.
I can highly recommend this kit, it’s been a joy to build so far.
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Galaxy Models does a mask and decal set for it in 1/48 sized for the Tamiya kit. I’ve ordered one since it looks like an interesting scheme.
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A small secondary market is not an indication of larger demand. A year ago Wingnut Wings Felixstowes were selling for double original price, but now are sitting unsold at the original price after the remaining New Zealand stock was released. There may be a handful of people who really want a kit and will pay a high price for it. That does not mean there is a market for a lot of them.
10 hours ago, Specter1075 said:I was hoping we had reached a point beyond rumors. I knew about the F-5's. Seems weird that if Trumpeter had the molds that they would only release one kit through proxy. They would surely see how much some of the old KH kits go for, and would be fools to not capitalize. My interest is in some of the unreleased projects, namely the Mi-28.
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First coats of paint, which revealed a few small seams to cleanup. The VF-92 aircraft had a variety of colors for the nose, white, black, and radome tan. I’ll probably go with tan just to add some color variation.
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3 hours ago, Glynn Jacobs said:
Hi All,
Anybody have a "best place" to buy MRP Paints for someone in the U.S.? I'm looking for the best "bang for the buck" prices and shipping!
I have to start building and painting my 100+ kits before it's too late (I'll be 65 in June!)
Thanks,
WARDOG
There are only two places in the US. Spruebrothers and Hobbyworld USA.
Hobbyworld used to be good, but in the past few years has developed a very poor reputation for not sending items.
I buy them from Spruebrothers, and place an order at least monthly and have always had good service.
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Slow but steady progress on Tamiya’s F-4B. The pylons and TERs are painted and decals applied. I’ll do some weathering on them, but I want to get further into the build before doing that since I’ve not decided how dirty this will be yet. The Eduard TERs are really nice and with some care just click into the pylons, the one in the photo is not glued to the pylon.
I put the Bullseye decals on the tail, and they applied beautifully. I only used Microset and they settled down into every rivet very well. They are Cartograph so I expected they would work well.
I painted up the sill and with some inspiration from Doog’s Models applied aluminum and zinc chromate layers and did some chipping. This isn’t attached yet but the fit is pretty good. The Wolfpack seats look very nice, but are just a little short compared to the kit seats but raising them up a mm or so is an easy task.
This week I want to get the Sparrows and Sidewinders done, start on the heat shielding and nozzles, and get the base paint down.
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I agree, what we have today is far better than what was available 10 years ago. The number and quality of new releases is just astounding.
I’m building Tamiya’s F-4B now, with a Quinta cockpit, 3D printed Sidewinder rails from Flying Leathernecks, decals from Bullseye and Eduard, and Mk82s that I printed from a file that was available for free.
It’s a fantastic kit but Tamiya then exceeded it with the F-35. I also picked up the Kotare Spitfire which is a stunning kit. The new HK A-20 looks amazing too.
Great Wall has released incredible stuff like their family of Flankers and the P-40. ICM is crushing it with stuff like the OV-10 and CH-54. Dora Wings is filling the niche Classic Airframes used to have.
3D printing has revolutionized aftermarket, with companies like Eduard releasing new and better stuff all the time.
There are numerous paint companies with ever growing selections. MRP, AK, Ammo, Gunze, Tamiya, etc are all readily available. Sprue cutters, scribing tools, and anything else you could possibly want are a click away.
Bandai with Gundam, Pokémon, and Star Wars have kits the appeal to very young builders up to the most experienced with everything from Pokémon kit that can be built in an hour to the PG Millennium Falcon.
It’s safe to say it’s a golden age, with the definition of achieving a very high level of achievement.
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1 hour ago, dai phan said:
Hi,
Great work! I want to add something onto the pylons that hold the Sidewinder. Is there anything from this set that is drop fit w/o modifications to the pylons? Dai
The Eduard Triple Ejector Racks are a drop fit onto the kit pylons. -
Mk82s painted (plus a spare). The cruise book provides some great references for the ordnance. The main assembly is done with just a little black CA to eliminate seams.
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9 hours ago, ST0RM said:
I watch several YouTube builders and see them using AK Interactive and Ammo paints. These lines seem to grow and really capture the look of aircraft colors and various shades. Plus chipping fluids and other weathering aids.
While Tamiya, where it used to be the go-to line, isn't changing at all. It's missing so many common colors, forcing the painter to mix crazy ratios.
Once again, it seems they're content with their existing market and customer base. Expanding their color line would keep them competitive and current. Thoughts?-Jeff
I agree, the lack of common colors has always kept me from getting many Tamiya paints. I do use some, the LP metallics are fantastic for example.
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I found a better solution for Mk 82s. I found a set of Mk82 files on Cults3D and printed them on my Anycubic Photon Mono 4K. The tail easily slots into the bomb body, and dimensionally they are more accurate. The Eduard ones are too short by a few millimeters.
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To avoid the temptation to rush the ordnance at the end of the build up of Tamiya’s F-4B I started working on it now. I have Eduard’s F-4 weapons set which has 4 each AIM-9s, AIM-7s, and 18 Mk 82s. I also considered using the Mk 82s in AMKs very nice ordnance set, but opted for the Eduard ones. These are a bit of a challenge with the butt joint between the body and tail, getting them flush without sanding too much off takes some care. I cut closely with a razor saw and used a glass file to get a flat surface. I am sure I’ll mess up a couple of them but fortunately only need six of the 18. The AMK ones would also work but the Eduard ones already fit the Eduard TERs without modification.
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I am using the Quinta 3D cockpit decals, and while it is nice the color is not Dark Gull Gray. I found MRP 405 Ukraine AF Blue-Gray to be a very close match to the color on the Quinta parts.
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First steps on Tamiya’s beautiful F-4B. I knew it would be a great kit, but I am still impressed on how good it is. Planning on doing an aircraft from VF-92 from the USS Enterprise’s 1968 WESTPAC cruise.
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Done
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9 hours ago, STEN8 said:
I was wondering if anyone has built a kit completely out of the box, including following the instructions, building sequence and suggested paint colors? I was thinking about it while at my workbench and other than childhood Monogram and Matchbox kits fifty odd years ago, I can't remember a single kit I have built just as purchased in decades. Just curious.
Harry
Lutz, FL
I’m sure I did when I was a kid starting out, but as soon as you start painting them following build sequence goes out the window.
Doing different scales?
in General Discussion
Posted
I used to be strictly 1/48. I wouldn't even consider something in another scale, but realized that's a narrow way of looking at it. My first deviation into other scales was Bandai Star Wars stuff, and now I have still have a lot of 1/48 but I've done 1/72 and 1/32 aircraft too. I build armor in 1/35 and 1/48, I might even get a couple of the Border 1/35 aircraft. I even have a coupe 1/16 scale kits
Now there isn't a kit in any scale I wouldn't buy because of scale. Locking yourself into one area of the hobby is limiting and makes it feel like more a chore than a hobby in my opinion.