Curt B

I'm sure this topic has been discussed a million times before, but I thought I'd bring it up again in case it's not been talked about recently. How many of you are plagued with the condition of what I'll call 'build hopping', that is, starting a kit, getting a little bit into it, then finding another kit, for whatever reason, that strikes your fancy, and you drop your current 'underway' kit in favor of the new one. Then, getting a bit into the second one, and then a third hits your interest, etc. I'm finding myself, of late over the last many months, doing just that. I've begun maybe 7 or

Wow, great ideas, gentlemen! Good excuse to get some goodies at the grocery store, too!!! I don't know why I never thought of using commonly available/present packaging as a source for clear plastic. I'm still hoping that some time over this coming week, Airfix will respond to my request for a replacement part, but now, at least, I've got alternatives to recreate a curved clear plastic window for my Stuka wing leading edge! You guys are super...many thanks for helping me think outside the box!

Hey All, I destroyed the clear plastic part on a 1/48 Airfix Stuka Ju-87B/R-2, the wing leaning edge landing light clear cover. The part is curved to match the leading edge curvature, and has some riveting around the perimeter. I have written to Airfix Customer Service to see if a replacement is available, but have gotten no response as yet. Wondering if anyone has any bright ideas as to how to address a part like this. I can't envision scratch building a clear part, at least not one this small, curved and with additional details. If anyone happens to have this k

Live and learn. De-tacked masking tape works like a charm. I hadn't thought that Tamiya masking tape as all that 'sticky'...but clearly, with respect to NMF, it is.

Understood. Makes perfect sense.

I have not. Perhaps another option to try...thanks for the thought.

Absolutely! You won't get any argument from me!

Thanks for the added thoughts, guys. I have found the Xtreme Metal paints too good to give up, so finding a good masking process is/was key! I've begun by 'de-tacking' the Tamiya masking tape, and that seems to have worked. I'm sure I'll always have the worry about this whenever I mask over a metal color, but at least now I'm confident that it's less likely to cause big problems!

I agree! When that store was in full swing (before they started letting their inventory of products drop off), that was a great hobby shop! Though it was on the opposite side of town for me, I used to go there. Now, it's 100% internet purchase for me. It was great to have an actual brick and mortar store to go to if you needed just 1 or 2 small items. The down side of internet shopping is, to me, shipping cost, so having a local place to frequent to avoid that expense was great. Alas, no more.

Thanks, Bob. Your answer is, of course, a super-straightforward method. I've honestly not gone to that degree (which also explains why so many of my painted markings don't look very symmetrical), and my hope for an alternate, as yet unthought of (by me) method was/is probably only a pipe dream. I'm just lazy, I guess, but I want to improve my skills, so off to divider world I go... 😋

Looks really good! I love Super Sabres...wish someone made a current new tool version, but yours looks great even for the kit's age.

I agree 100% with the solder! It's great stuff, beds SUPER easy and maintains the shape, and comes inn all those different sizes. Personally, I don't think there is a better option for wires or cables for scale models.

Hey All, Here's a question I have wrestled with for years, and have searched for answers and failed to find any (not that there aren't plenty of answers out there). How do you symmetrically mask your models? Let me give an example. I am working on an 1/48 Eduard P-51D, and I'm at the point of masking to paint the olive drab panel in front of the canopy, as well as the red nose part of the 'Ridge Runner III' paint scheme. For all the years I've been making models, I have always masked 'by eye', to try to make opposite sides of features or markings on airplanes to be exactly the

@falconxlvi: Hey Steve, you posted a reply to this thread over a year ago, now, but I'm getting ready to possibly do my flap set. I'd forgotten to ask you, back then, about what you used to assemble the photo etch part of the flaps? Did you use super glue, or solder, or maybe something else? Looks too clean to be soldered, but super glue is always tough to use on the razor edge of the photo etch. Just curious how you put them together...IF you can remember! LOL I can't remember what I ate last night, much less remembering details about how I built a model a year ago!! 🙄 Also,

I have built many of the Eduard Spitfire variants, including their Mk. 1, and the latest Tamya Spitfire Mk. 1. Honestly, I think both (Tamiya and Eduard) are fantastic models, and eitherone would be great for the OP to build. If I were a first time Spitfire builder, I'd probably suggest the Tamiya Mk. 1. The Tamiya may be just the tiniest better fitting, easier to build. But either one would be a great one as a first Spitfire. Now, regarding the 'definitive' Spitfire, I'll leave that to others better versed in Spitfire history. All the Eduard Spitfire models I've done been fabulous to bu