RedHeadKevin

I'd love to know why the BSU-49s were never injection molded. They're a REALLY common bomb from the 80's/90's, and I don't think anyone ever produced them in styrene.

Dear God the selection in that Short-Range AAM set is infuriating. Building anything modern would only use the AIM-9Ms and AIM-9Xs, and you could basically throw the rest of the set away. At least the long-range AAM set could almost outfit a Tomcat or an Eagle.

If you want a nice booth, or a box to make a plenum for your fan, check out the cheap pre-built cabinets at Home Depot/Lowes/etc. I bought a medicine cabinet that was actually cheaper than buying a sheet of plywood to make a box.

Huh... more than I thought. I don't suppose anyone makes conversion kits yet?

The newer Academy F-15E's are probably the best starting point. They have all the F-15E parts, plus the GE Engines and 6 different instrument panels, so you can have spares if you're scratchbuilding new ones. The tail parts and the triangular sensors under the cockpit are the big "missing" parts. Most older F-15 kits come with the outboard pylons, so those shouldn't be hard to find.

I use Sterilite drawers like these to hold my Tamiya and Model Master paints. You'd need something taller for Alclad paints. But these are cheap, sturdy, and you can pop them apart to add levels.

You don't even necessarily need to use black. For a white spaceship, for example, you could use a lighter gray so you don't need 900 coats of white paint to make it read as white. Or you could do a rusty undercoat under your paint coats. This could be handy for chipping the paint afterward. I love the look of black-basing, but it makes touching up nearly impossible, since you'll have to mix your touch-up paint to match the blended black/color look.

Your diorama looks awesome! I remember the first issue of FSM I ever bought had Lewis Pruneau's scratchbuilt 1/32 B-52D in a very similar diorama.

Here's my workbench. I've since remade the top of the spray booth with thicker wood, since I use it as a shelf most of the time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/MH7PqgqTrkFCwCWs9 The spray booth can open to accommodate even bigger pieces. https://photos.app.goo.gl/kM32g7hh1ebQciiy9

What about using playing cards? They're already plastic coated.

I've never used Mr. Surfacer. Is it the same thing as Tamiya Fine Primer? I heard that somewhere, but I'm skeptical.

That looks sweet! I just finished this kit, and it's crazy how the rear wings go together. First, it's crazy that they're built into the intakes, and the instructions aren't great at showing that. Second, once you get everything figured out, it's MIND-BOGGLING that it all goes together so straight and level. Yours looks great!

I don't agree with the "full gun" and "full engines" for an A-10, especially from Tamiya. They could follow the example of their 1/48 F-14. It's a great kit, but it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, like moveable flaps, full engines, or opening panels. You can't even swing the wings without replacing parts on the fuselage. I'd rather see a simpler, more accurate, and cheaper kit without the added complexity and cost of engines and interior avionics parts. You'd want to include a variety of weaponry for an A-10, too. So that could jack up the price and the parts count. It's more importa

They could shrink it a little, and move the "US NAVY" to the smoother part in front of the intakes. Put the "Blue Angels" script on the spine of the aircraft.

I'll echo what some others said: build something easy(ish) and enjoyable. Don't get something that will require 10 kids of aftermarket sets or a new set of tools. I recommend things like tanks, or the Bandai Star Wars kits. They're snap-together kits, technically, but they're some of the finest kits I've seen. I also wouldn't recommend something that requires you to buy all new paints. If you still have some, great. If not, you can start small with a paint selection.