Curt B

I did the same, looking for my canopy piece. I’m convinced there are model part gremlins that lurk around our work benches and just wait to drive us insane. I’m absolutely convinced!

Fantastic! Glad to see my experience was not an isolated instance!

Agreed...I used the 'contact' link to write to. If you detail what you need, I'm sure they'll get back to you with any questions they may have, and then you can work out the specifics. Good luck!

Indeed...and the replacement canopy arrived via USPS today. I'm happy!

Brett, you're gonna be building one really cool P-47! Make sure you keep us in the loop when you start your build!

Hey All, Just wanted to give a huge shout out to Tamiya Customer Service (Gary Demory at USA Support). I did a very stupid thing, and lost, probably forever, the main (rear) clear part of the canopy (part H2) for my 1/48 Tamiya P-38F/G. I cannot explain what happened, other than I used a tweezer to hold up the canopy while I was going to let some liquid mask dry, and when I came back to check on the part 10 minutes later, the part was gone. Tweezer was just as I left it, but no part. We checked the dogs, but they were not in the room. My wife and I scoured every inch of the house (where I'd gone) after I left the model room and returned to it. I am dumbfounded, and have NO IDEA where the part went, but I'm sure I'll find it 4-5 years down the road. In any event, I wrote, that day, to Tamiya Customer Service, and told them my story, and that I'd be happy to pay for 2 new clear sprues (I figured 2 just in case I lost ANOTHER one). I wrote to them mid-Sunday afternoon, and Gary Demory replied on Monday, before noon, and said that the model is too new for them to stock spare sprues, but did I have a part number? I wrote back, and told him H2, and he said that he happened to have only one extra H2, but that he would send it right out, no charge for the part or shipping. I got a note today that it's been shipped. So...whaddya think about that? Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Wahoooooooo for Tamiya Customer Service!!

Hi, and thanks! I would like to ask you about the fan(s) you used on your DIY hood. I've done some research, and have yet to find what I think is an appropriate fan to use in a build it yourself exhaust hood. I've reviewed some 'explosion proof' fan/motor combinations, but those are hideously expensive, and every one of them has been HUGE in size, made more for industrial use or painting automobiles, not painting scale models. I'm not even sure if a genuine explosion proof fan exists, or if one does, whether such a thing is needed for model painting. That said, I do spray some nasty content paint (lacquers, primarily, and in some cases, spraying the equivalent of pure lacquer thinner, upon occasion, to provide a thin layer over lacquer paint that may not have settled down perfectly). I would not want to spray what, for all intents and purposes, is aerosol gasoline or alcohol, into a fan/motor combo that could spark upon start or during a run. I'm generally pretty immune to fears of this sort, but then again, I don't often create mists of flammable/potentially explosive materials and introduce them into areas where sparks exist or may potentially exist. So, any thoughts on a relatively small (physically), but high flow fan/motor that does a creditable job of suppressing sparks would be greatly appreciated. Regarding materials to build such an enclosure, I'd likely want to use high grade, thin, plywood. MDF sounds like a good option, except, as you say, for the weight. Ideally, sheet metal, with appropriate piano hinges to allow folding it up, would be the way to go, but I have no idea where one could order precisely cut dimensions of such material, or with folded over edges to prevent sharp edges, which is how I'd want to do it if I used sheet metal. Plus, the hinges might be tough to find and maybe even more difficult to find the appropriate fasteners to connect those hard to find hinges to the sheet steel. All of this is probably doable once the appropriate fans are found, though.

To answer your question/point...all of the color/decal schemes in the F6F-3 instructions show ALL the -3 planes WITH the small windows. I'm sure, as you noted, that the fuselage parts (the "D" Sprue) are probably for the F6F-5, and those DO NOT have the windows. At least the plastic fuselage parts don't have the windows.

Oh, I see it now...the front halves of the "D" sprue fuselage have "J" labeled parts...and those are identified for the B and E decal schemes. Thanks, guys.

Hi All, I just got a new Eduard Hellcat (kit is in subject line). It looks great in the box, but I noted something strange. There are 2 fuselages in the kit, but only one is shown on the parts list. The parts on the parts list iand n the instructions is the "C" sprue. The 'extra' fuselage parts are a "D" sprue. I have to presume that the "D" parts are for another variant of this plane, but because it's totally separate, it doesn't seem like there should be any reason for that sprue to be in the box. Has anyone else encountered this? Why is this sprue included in this kit?

I don’t really know much about the actual aircraft, but I agree with the other poster who wrote that your weathering looks REALLY good, and the sheen on the finish strikes an excellent balance between gloss and matte. Nice job!

Oh wow, you are right...should have thought of Scalemates. Thank you, sir’

All, Does anyone know if a model kit of a Faichild PT-19 Trainer aircraft exists? Ideally, I’d be looking for a 1/48 styrene kit. I’ve found a few wood kits, but that is far beyond my capability (and, frankly, interest). One of my coworkers’ dad’s used to have and fly one of these in the 1960s and/or ‘70s, and she’d love a replica for her shelf at home. Any thoughts?

Thanks, guys. Some things to contemplate.

I'll jump in here and say that the Badger quality control SUCKS! I bought two SOTAR 2020 airbrushes, and BOTH had air regulator manufacturing defects. The dealer from whom I bought them (in the USA) replaced the first one, and did some remediation on the second one, in order to resolve my problems. I only ended up with two in order to see if this problem could be resolved, and because the price I paid for them was really low. The dealer told me that the Badger QA has become a problem. I don't think I would recommend a Badger airbrush. I will say that once the brush problems were resolved, they are reasonably good fine detail airbrushes. However, I have a PS-770 (a higher end airbrush than you are contemplating), but the quality of that one is significantly better than the 2020. However, again, just my $0.02.