davetur
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Posts posted by davetur
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Thank you very much Thadeus, it sure helps, specially with the nice comparison picture you have added.
Keep up the excellent work!
(Although by the size of your production, it's clear you don't need encouragement!!! 😁)
Cheers
Davide
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On 6/12/2023 at 11:48 AM, Thadeus said:
First thing, I managed to finish two of the three MiG-21's. The easiest ones. The Syrian was built from KP kit. Pretty good kit for a short run. Not too complicated, super well detailed. The Finnish Bis is from Zvezda kit. ummm... It was a super quick build. Aobut 10 work hours. And it has some pretty thin wings.
Hi Thadeus, I was browsing through your bilds and found these... veeeeery nice! As all of your numerous models.
A question: do you, by any chance, remember which colors you used for the Syrian MiG?
They look absolutely spot on compared to available Syrian Bis pictures!
Thank you
Davide
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12 hours ago, f5guy said:
Hi Davide,
Thanks for the recommendations! Unfortunately, Lifecolor and Humbrol paints about very difficult to find in my area. However, my local shop has Mr. Color paints, and their #526 is dead on for FS 30140. For the FS 30279 I went with Mr. Paint (MRP). I had concerns about airbrushing these two laquer based paints over the previous laid down enamel paint, as laquer will sometimes cause enamel to craze. Thankfully both paints went over the enamel with no issues, and really look the part. All I have to do now is get the metal area's painted and she'll be ready for decals. Thanks again, Fred.
Hi Fred, testing is the best thing!!!
I learnt it the hard way when I sprayed a coat of Gunze clear gloss over a camouflaged MiG-29 painted with Humbrol enamels, and it crazed the paint: not everywhere, only where the enamel layer was too thin. Had to sand down the area, respray, etc. etc. ... boring 🙃
Cheers
Davide
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Hi f5guy, from my personal database of color equivalence (of colors I actually own and can check visually, I mean), I can offer some suggestions:
- for FS30140: Lifecolor UA 085 is labelled exactly as FS 30140, and by looking at it, it seems spot on. Lifecolor paints are water based acrylics, but better thinned down with their own brand thinner, they tend to clog the airbrush if you stop for too long, so better spray on till you've finished. In terms of enamels, I have a similarity with Humbrol 62 which seems a bit too reddish, maybe possible to mix with Humbrol 118 and 119 which is similar to FS 30219 US Tan.
- for FS30279: the closest match I have is Humbrol 237, although it appears slghtly darker than in the photos. Anyway, the hue is quite close.
Cheers
Davide
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On 6/17/2025 at 2:04 AM, utley said:
I dont mind being corrected, I never worked helicopter engines before. So on that subject since its brought up now, is that piece actually painted? I ask because Im still working on my apaches and I want it right. Back on subject, theres plenty of other parts I can refer like turbo casings, nitrogen generators, bleed air ducts attached to the case...they arent painted, they're cast blocks of aluminum. I dunno, it just seems...wrong...to paint them gray when its just unpolished material. Ill look for some dull aluminum tonight and give it a shot.
Sorry to reply so late Utley, I have been away for some time from my PC, which is the only place from which I post (the smartphone is too small for and old man like me to use 😉).
Back to the point, that piece is definitely not painted, it could be anodised aluminum or even a magnesium casting or superformed part. Light alloys anti corrosion treatments can make them very dull.
But anyway, I have seen that you've perfectly got the different metal tones on your GE engine: you are an artist!
Cheers
Davide
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3 hours ago, utley said:
That no step piece is the exhaust manifold and it is steel or inconel. paint wouldn't last very long; its just blasted with aluminum oxide or something that you would blast it to put some anti corrosion coating onto the surface. Most likely not aluminum oxide since it's a dissimilar metal on a hot piece, but yeah. Not colored like typical steel.
Sorry to contradict, Utley, but if the photo depicts, as I think, a Blackhawk engine installation, the part marked "NO STEP" is not what you call the (engine) exhaust manifold. It is the GE T700 duct that blows out the sand that is extracted by the T700 integral sand separator, blown outside by a fan which is in the nearly spherical part to the left of the duct.
Having to deal with a cold flow (the separator is on the engine intake) the duct is normally made of painted composite material or aluminum. No need to use steel or inconel in that part. Having followed the T700 engine installation on the NH90 for the Italian Army/Navy and EH101/AW101 in the past, I know quite well how the T700 works.
Anyway I agree with JNordgren42 that dull aluminum should be OK for the B-1B engine casing color, or even Gunze H08 or C08, to be mixed with some matt grey. To achieve this effect:
Cheers
Davide
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The last one is from a Japanese book, it seems the most accurate.
Regarding the leading edge, I am not 100% sure since I painted it some time ago, but I think it is Gunze C-08 Silver (for sure not the Aqueous H-8).
Happy modelling!
Davide
PS: PM inbound
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Hi Pappy, here's the scans from three different books:
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On 2/22/2025 at 10:02 PM, Pappy121 said:
G'day people,
I recently picked up a second hand 1/48 Trumpeter kit and since I know embarrasingly little about this brute I did some research which lead to more questions. So I need some help from the ARC brains trust,
1. The Trumpeter tail is incorrect as the tip slopes 'down' the wrong way, that is to say, the trailing edge is higher than the leading edge. The fix is to cut a wedge out of the top such that the TE is now lower than the LE, but how much lower?
2. The kit includes four pylons and three sets of stores:
A pair of photoflash pods, a pairs of Mk. 28 and a pair of Mk.23s.
Apparently external stores carriage was not really a thing but the jet looks a little naked in a clean config, was anything else carried externally?
3. I will be building a later aircraft so will be using the kit supplied intakes (earlier aircraft had curved inlet sides and lacked the intake LEX) and I know that the rear ECM fairing is the larger of the two supplied. I also know that the two doors of the rearward facing bomb bay are undersized and incorrectly shaped for a later version, is there anything else that needs correction?
cheers,
Pappy
Hi Pappy, if it may help, I've just finished a Trumpeter late RA-5C in 1/72. I think most of the issues I've found also apply to the 1/48 case.
Regarding your questions:
Point 1: thanks, I did not notice that!!! I'm still in time to correct it on my model. Based on different drawings in different books, I've made some rough calculation and the trailing edge should to be 2,5 to 3 millimeters lower (in 1/48).
Point 2: I'm almost sure it could carry external fuel tanks, although I don't recall having seen any photo of the RA-5C with them. Just on some A-5, but that's anothr story.
By the way, why do you want to spoil the beatiful lines of the Vigilante with external stores...? 😉
Point 3: In my Display Case model, you can find a comparison of the late ECM fairing I built from sprue with the one supplied by Trumpeter. It's not difficult
Regarding what you call "two doors of the rearward facing bomb bay" I honestly don't understand what you mean... what you see in the photo is the end of the loooong internal fuel tank. In the 1/72 model, its shape is not so bad compared to that, only on some cases I have seen photos of Vigilantes with a lightly fatter end, but if you choose carefully the aircraft you want to model, the Trumpy end will be OK.
Cheers
Davide
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9 hours ago, GW8345 said:
Your information is misleading, the Sparrowhawk HUD did not come around until late 1999 so (again) it depends on what time frame the modeler wants to do.
I worked on F-14A's from 87 to 90 and then on Bravo's from 90 to 2000, the only difference in the beginning was just the engine start panel, over time subtle differences between the cockpits did occur but it depends on the time frame and what mods the each airframe had.
Also, not all Bravo squadrons got the Sparrowhawk HUD, VF-24, VF-74, VF-102, VF-142 (off the top of my head) didn't get the HUD.
V/R
GW
Glad that my misleading reply led you to provide a more complete answer than the one you provided on December 31st... 🙂.
I live in Italy and I try to help with the references I have, for sure I've never been so lucky as to work on a real F-14 like you did!
Cheers
Davide
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Apart from the P&W engines replaced by the GE ones (for which you could find a 1/48 source in here: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/katran-k4818-f-14d-exhaust-nozzles-opened-amk--1276170 or https://www.scalemates.com/kits/katran-k4819-f-14d-exhaust-nozzles-f-110-ge-400-amk-kits--1276172) I think the main difference in the cockpit between the A and the A+/B is the HUD. In the A the symbology was projected directly on the front windscreen
, while the A/+B had a real HUD with a combining glass.
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On 12/31/2024 at 8:41 PM, Da SWO said:
I thought there was a thread on this topic, but I couldn't find it.
My wife bought an Tamiya F-14A and wants me to build it as an A+.
I looked on scalemates and didn't see any conversion kits.
Aside from engines, what do I have to do?
First... which scale? 1/32 or 1/48? There is a big difference in reply.
Cheers
Davide
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Fantastic build... with the right back backdrop and natural sun illumination it will be mistaken for the real aircraft!
Cheers
Davide
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Just for completeness, the only other picture I've found (later) of F-14s and RA-5Cs on the same deck is this, found on a 1980 book "CV: Carrier Aviation".
This one:
Interesting also the presence of an F-14 in Ferris scheme
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18 hours ago, Lost_Erik said:
👍Fantastic!
Thank you, Erik
4 hours ago, Dutch said:Just lovely! Gotta love the Vigilante! And it will look really cool next to a F-14A on the deck. Was that the deployment with USMC VMFA-333 flying F-4Js as well? Might as well build and display all three!
Thanks Dutch!
I don't know, I have got photographic proof of Tomcat and Vigilantes sharing the Nimitz deck from this thread:
https://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=109865
From what can be seen, the only fighters on board seem to be Tomcats, of VF-41 (those are the decals I'll use, HAD 72217) and VF-84. Intruders and Corsairs as attack aircraft, plus Vikings
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Here's my modest Vigilante, one of the most beautiful airplanes ever designed, just one step below the SR-71, in my opinion.
The Vigilante is one of the first efforts of Trumpeter's mad riveter...
It is a good build when viewed from a distance (not too close) but overall I'happy with it 🙂.
Few aftermarket (Aires exhausts, Master pitot and AOA sensor) and few mods shown after.
Decals HAD Models 72200 - Fleurs RVAH-6 Squadron USS Nimitz. This is intended to be displayed together with a still-to-be-built F-14A of the same period, one of the few where Vigilantes and Tomcats shared the same deck...
Thank you for looking!
Davide
First, I corrected the wrong shape of the internal lips of the intakes (must be rounded instead of straight) by cutting and shaping with files..
I created a very crude representation of the internal intakes and added engine faces from the spares box. Just to avoid the void.
Replaced the plastic part with steel tubing to replicate the fuel dump pipe. I also added metal hinges (from paper clips) for the stabilisers and rudder, which leaves the possibility to adjust the angle, and makes for a more sturdy attachment.
The inside of the beautiful Aires nozzles, now discontinued (but Reskit makes some nice ones).
Replaced the too flat and straight ECM antenna of the the kit with one from sprue shaped to fit.
And did some carving to try to replicate the "Mae West" shape of the cockpit sides.
The finished stuff.
Just a minimum of weathering below
The decal sheet reprents one most NO STEPped Vigilantes ever...
It was my first effort to try and replicate paint patches... not too good but not too bad either, from photos on airliners.net the aircraft were worn but not too much. Nothing like later Tomcats or Hornets.
And finally, on a still unfinished Italeri deck section:
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Hi Wardog, I have seen now this exchange last July on the Punchers & Tigers Instruction Sheet. Could you be so kind as to share with me the scans of the instructions you have?
The decal sheet is since long sold out, but I might be able to reproduce it in some way... I am particularly interested in the camouflaged scheme.
Thank you very much.
Davide
PS I will send you my email address if you send a PM that I ca n reply to. Your profile is not accepting PMs at the moment.
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Wonderful model... the weathering is outstanding, overall and especially the exhaust stain on the tail!
Something I would never try myself is the yellow and red striping on the intake covers: that's simply insane 😊
Cheers
Davide
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Excellent build, Jan!
Regarding Photobucket, it's an annoiance... I switched to Imgur a long time ago, and posted images are there since 2017, without having to pay one cent. It's not difficult to use. See:
Cheers
Davide
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3 hours ago, BastianD said:
Found some thin transparent plastic sheet in my stash, used a perforator and tadaa: looks like the right size to cover the increased Star Tracker opening:
👍 That's most probably how I did it 😉... more than 30 years ago!
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Hi Bastian, I measured 8 mm diameter. Don't ask how I chose 8mm because I can't remember...
I filled the hole with a simple transparent disc... it has yellowed with time.
I also put some shiny material below it.
But in case you want to do something better, in this thread I found this interesting link to a page showing the SR-71 Astroinertial Navigation System.
Cheers
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Hi Bastian, from this pic in that wondeful thread, you see a major inaccuracy of the Testors/Italeri kit: the intersection of the triangular windscreen with the nose is straight and horizontal, instead of curved and going downward as it should be. Not an easy fix, though.
Davide
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18 hours ago, habu2 said:
I posted a ton of pics in this thread, including the engine:
Wonderful set of pictures! I missed it in the Research Corner at the time you published.
Thank you
Davide
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Hi Bastian, not sorry for the disassembled Blackbird... it will sure come out better.
One thing you may want to consider, since the nose is now disassembled, is to correct the planform shape of the nose.
The Testors/Italeri shape is midway between the A-12 and the real SR-71: a picture from an ancient IPMS Italy bulletin will clarify what I mean. The kit is in between the gray and the white shapes below.
When I did mine, ages ago, I simply added a plastic card shape and blended in with putty... this is how it came out.
And I enlarged the hole for the star tracker (on the spine between the cockpit and the refuelling receptacle). The kit's one is tooooooo small.
Cheers
Davide
Pics wanted f-18a + cockpit
in Research Corner
Posted
PM sent to you, linus
Davide