Matt

Of course, this would be easier if I could scan and post some pictures, but here's my working list. (assuming the Tamiya Vb wing). Others may have more thoughts. 1: Remove the wing strengthening strakes. I'm not sure if the 'wheel hump' needs removing or just slimming down a bit. 2: Remove and fill the upper and lower 'b' cannon blisters. 3: Fill the 'b' cannon ejector chute, and the inner mg chute. 4: Remove the 'b' cannon fairing and fill the inner mg port in the leading edge. 5: Make new upper and lower 'c' cannon blisters. As best I can tell, the upper one is a sort of a very flat, w

Also, blank off the 'b' cannon shell ejection chute (big triangular hole next to the wheel well) and cut new ones for the 'c' wing. I should check my references when I get home from work. I could have sworn on my work list for this conversion I have both MGs being moved. Anyways, looking good so far. Cheers, Matt

The only issue I've had with the Chopper I is that the blades can flex on the cut, so the end result isn't 100% square. Handy tool, but if you want square ends on the cut, you'll need to sand after the fact.

That is going to depend on your opinion of the Hase MkIX. Its a typical Hase kit for detail and construction, however there are many folks that feel it is not especially accurate for a MkIX in terms of shape. Personally, I've never seen one in the flesh, as I've only built ICM for the MkIX, so I'm not going to get into that argument here. On the other hand, the Airwaves update for the MkXI might be easier to get for the Hase than the ICM, so its a bit of a toss up. Cheers, Matt

Airwaves had a number of conversion sets, depending on the donor MkIX kit, ICM, Hasegawa and Occidental. I built one using ICM as a base kit, some Airwaves parts and some scratch building for last years D-Day group build. Full build is here PRXI build thread. Cheers, Matt

Lucky you, mine seems to get me into all manner of problems Matt

Good old #11 blade. It cuts, its shaves, it slices, it can scrape seams and apply putty. It can be used to bend PE. Cut some notches in it and its a micro saw. You can use it a wedge to pry open a seam to apply liquid cement. It can open out holes if you don't have a drill. You can scribe new panel lines with it, or just clean out sanding gunk. You can use it to apply CA. And that just off the top of my head. There are probably a dozen other things I've used it for over the years. If I was only allowed one modeling tool I'de take my #11 blade first. M.

Finally the modelling fairy blessed my humble abode (looking suspiciously like the UPS guy....) A pair of Tamiya Vb(T)s, 2 sets of Eduard PE and enough Ultracast goodies to feed my addiction for a while. I'm still not 100% finalized on exactly which Spitfires to model. One will definatly be ER220 (QJ.R) of 92 Sqn, flown by Neville Duke from Libya in '43. The second I'm in 2 minds over. I could do her as EP706 (T.L) of 249 Sqn flown by Buzz Beurling from Malta in '42. This is my fall back choice if I can't find a better candidate. I've been toying with EP829 (T.N) also of 249 Sqn aka 'Mal

At the risk of becoming completely predictable, I'm going to build more Spitfires. I have a pair of Tamiya Vb(T)s on order, plus assorted Eduard and Ultracast bits. At the moment, I'm leaning towards 'Buzz' Buerlings 249Sqn EP706/T.L and Neville Dukes 92 Sqn ER220/QJ.R I might, if I feel up to it, turn one into a Vc and do one of the infamous 'blue' Malta Spitfires, probably Joseph Lynch's 249Sqn EP829/T.N aka 'Maltas 1000th' Cheers, Matt

Engines and Things do a 1/48th Merlin II which is right for a MkI. From the photos it looks pretty rough though. Aires and CMK do Merlins, but they are 66's for the MkIX which isn't going to fit your MkI. Cheers, Matt

Brush it straight if its still got good flow properties. Thin it a touch if its gone all thick on you. Matt.

Same way you do canopies really. Sand them back with very fine grades, give them a dunk in Future (or local equivalent) and then attach with a clear cement (white glue, watch crystal cement etc). If they are really tiny then you can sometimes skip the sanding part. Cheers, Matt

It might help if you can post a picture or a diagram, as 'looks like an iwata' is a touch vague. But, lets assume its a basic dual-action. The needle runs in a sliding 'carrier' in the back of the handle (behind the trigger). The needle is locked into the carrier via a locknut. The usual setup is loosen or remove the locknut, slide the needle all the way forwards until it is snugly seated in the paint nozzle. Make sure the trigger is all the way forwards, and lock the needle to the carrier using the lock nut. Now, when you press down on the trigger you will get airflow, but no paint flow

Definately depends on the brand of the Acrylics. I never prep-wash, and rarely primer, and once in a blue moon will 3M Blue or Tamiya Tape lift PollyScale or Tamiya paints, even on the nasty plastic in some ICM kits. On the other hand, I've been using some MM Acryl paints for the first time, and those 'bleepers' will lift at the slightest provocation, no matter how careful I am. One tip I've heard of , but never tried, for really sensitive paints is to mask with wet newspaper or tissue paper. HTH, Matt

Its a great idea, I've had a similar idea ,but using a Spitfire, in plan for a number of years. The only caveat to bring up is that aircraft are generally very fragile beasts when encountering mother earth at any rate of speed, so the damage could be quite considerable, depending on how 'forced' you want the landing to be (undercarriage up or down) and the obstacles encountered during the landing (hedges, trees, ditches, shrubs, fences etc). If you are already well into construction and don't want to add a lot more damage, then consider a 'wheels down' forced landing. If you really want a b

Just FYI, but you may have 2 problems at the same time. The 'bubbling' was a loose component, however the 'spit up' was almost certainly moisture in the airline, so what you are seeing is not unmixed thinner, but a big gob of water coming in through the air passage. Cheers, Matt

I'de go with Bills suggestion, applying the decals to backing, then attaching the IP. The thing with the Mike Grant decals is that the instruments are not separate decals. The entire sheet is one big decal, so you have to cut them out individually. If you want to apply them after the backing is attached to the IP, then you have to find a way to cut them out precisely. You might be able to get away with a Waldron punch and die, but they are decals and somewhat fragile. I've used them in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. I just trim them roughly close, then apply them with plenty of Set into the original

I'll second Edgar. I had collected a number of aftermarket 'sets' for the PR XI, mostly Airwaves. When I finally came to build my PRXI all I used was the fuel pump blisters, beam approach aerial blister, windscreen, a fuselage plug to convert the fixed tail wheel to the retracting model, and the broad chord rudder. The latter two probably weren't necessary, but as I had them, I used them. The chin was Milliput/putty using sheet styrene templates. The wings a few minutes with putty and a scriber. The F35 camera control, a few scraps of styrene. (Although Airwaves do a really nice example, t

If its trimming something that will have adheared to a surface by the time its dried (for example, excessive clear film around code letters) then I do that before I soak the decal. If its trimming around the outside of a edge, where the excess is still free of contact with plastic (for example, cutting around an open/removed panel) then I wait until the decal is applied and dried and do it with a sharp knife. In general, you don't want to be messing with a decal once its applied and before its fully set. Cheers, Matt

Yup, that is exactly the issue. The new puddle of Future will soften the underlying coat and turn into a sticky mess. There are variables here, mostly how thick the underlying coat is, how much of a puddle you lay down, how long you let the puddle sit, and lastly how much moving around you need to do. In general, I do this, and I'm usually fine for largish markings that I can lay down pretty accurately first time, or small stencils that are easy placed. For small/fiddly work that might need a lot of positioning (like a wing walk) , I use a puddle of spit as my setting solution, and then br

This is a Spitfire Vb, supposedly flown by Johnnie Johnson when he was Squadron Leader of 610 Sqn late '42. Everyone ends up with the JE-J MkIX, so I figured I'de tackle one of his earlier mounts, and add a Vb to my Spit collection, thus filling an obvious void. This was supposed to be a quick, mostly OOB build thats turned into something else. Hunting up the decals in the stash, I found a long lost box of Spitfire bits, so I dragged out some Eduard, some Part and plenty of Ultracast. Paint is a mixture of Tamiya, Pollyscale and Xtracrylics. Weathering is chalk wash and pastels. Chipping

With a final rush to the finish, she's finally done. Not exactly the quick and easy build I intended, so I figured I'de use the the opportunity to experiment a bit. I used a lot more pastels to try and create a bit more of a used look. Not sure I captured it particularly, but thats half the fun of playing around. More pictures in the Critiques page. Thanks for following along and all the kind words and encouragement. Matt

Thanks. Chalk washes are dead easy, and best of all, if you make a mistake or don't like it, it washes right off. You need a chalk pastel of the right colour (dark grey, black). You can get these from art stores individually. I got a pack of 12 varying shades of grey from black through white. The manufacturer is Alphacolor. I got them from Micromark, but a lot of art places carry them also. Start with a glossy finish. Scrape some chalk into a small pot. I use an artists pallette. Add a small amount of water (maybe a drop or two), then a few drops of liquid dish soap. Mix it up really good

So finally I was able to tear myself away from earning a crust to do a little more work in this project. All the decals are from the Victory Productions - Aces of the Empires sheet. They are a little on the thick side, but they settle down okay. Next time I'll only use specific machine markings from this sheet and source my national markings elsewhere. I'm not a big fan of stencil decals, but I was going to use the kit stencils, until I got the dreaded 'Tamiya disease' on the first wing walk I applied. This is a whitish 'stain' that comes off of the decals. Its doesn't happen with every ki

My only gripe with the 'clogging' issue is that it is so flipping inconsistent. The current Spitfire I've been working on is a classic case in point. The base Medium Sea Grey and Ocean Grey were laid down in PollyScale, with Liquitex Acrylic Medium as a thinner. It went on fine as an all over coat. It was fine at low pressure doing various post shades with very fine lines. Not a problem, not a clog. The BR Dark Green was also Polly Scale, and it was nothing but clog problems the entire evening. No magic trick worked including 3 different thinners, different pressures, and a complete strip