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Fly-n-hi

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Posts posted by Fly-n-hi

  1. Nice work Janissary! The cans look really good.

    Topgun, I used the Novus polishing kit on my last two builds and I don't see myself going back to Future dipping. The canopies are crystal clear and you really can't see much difference between them and Futured canopies. I have 2 builds in progress now and I also polished them with Novus and skipped the Future.

    One nice thing is that you can use liquid masking and bare metal foil on the Novus canopies without marring the Future. That and you can generally handle them without scratching them.

  2. The last 2 kits I've received have needed replacement parts. A C-17 kit had very warped wings and an A319 kit included the incorrect clear parts sprue. I got replacement wings for the C-17 in about 7 or 8 weeks (it was over the holiday season) and I just ordered the clear parts for the Airbus about a weeks ago.

  3. Heck the Hasegawa intakes for the Superhornets work just fine. I'd use them and save my $$$.

    Just use welding cement generously so that it beads up inside the intake as well as outside, glue some foam backed wet/dry sanding pads to a small dowel rod ( I used chop sticks from Pei Wei) and sand the interior down really good. If there are still gaps brush some Mr. Surfacer 500 (or Mr. Dissolved Putty) over the seams and sand again. Do this a few times if necessary. Then do the dump & pour method with white latex or enamel paint and you're good to go.

    This way you don't have to worry about masking the inside of the intake...which would be a pain in the rear.

    Here's one using the method described above. Its a little out of focus but it is totally seamless:

    file-16.jpg

    Here's another one. Again its a bit out of focus but it is seamless:

    file-11.jpg

  4. Thanks guys. Glad I could be helpful. I just realized, too, that the title of the thread is "A319" but the pics are of an A320. All the stuff is pretty much the same but its wrong none the less.

    And just for the record...not all of our planes are that filthy.

  5. Thanks guys. My brother got me an Airbus kit so I figured I'd take some reference pics. These are from my smart phone so they aren't the greatest quality but I figured they are better than nothing. Next time I go in I might get some better close ups of the gear.

    Emvar...we have both CFM-56 and IAE-V2500 engines on our Airbuses though all of the orders from now on are going to be IAEs. And we do not use containers on the narrowbody Airbuses.

    We use the brake fans alot. Here in Arizona it gets pretty hot.

  6. There have been a few times when I was taxiing behind another US Airways plane and I've noticed that the white flags on the tails were not at the same hight...i.e. one was about a foot lower than the other. Only a modeler would have noticed, right? I thought "The judges are gonna notice that."

    file-31.jpg

    I don't know if this is unique to US Airways paint but you can see that the panel lines on the vertical stabilizer really stand out.

    The leading edges of the vertical and horizontal stabilizers are the same dull aluminum color as the engine nacelles but are not heated.

    file-35.jpg

    This little bump over the US flag is the WiFi antenna:

    file-34.jpg

    That opening is the outflow valve. Its what controls pressurization.

    file-15.jpg

  7. Note the polished metal frame around the nav light cover.

    file-30.jpg

    That hole in the wing is a view port that contains a disk. That disk will break if the fuel tank is over fueled.

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  8. Its difficult to tell from this picture but the inside of the nacelle is not metallic at all. Its mostly covered in dark colored exhaust stains. Its very dirty.

    file-21.jpg

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    Notice that when the hydraulics are not powered the ailerons and elevators droop. The rudder will flap around in the wind as well.

    file-16.jpg

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    file-36.jpg

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    Interesting to note that there is only on vortex generator on the inboard side of the engine nacelle on the A320. This is not the case on the A319 or the A321. They have the vortex generators on both sides of the nacelle.

    file-24.jpg

  10. The placard that looks like New Mexico is the logo of the paint shop that paints our planes:

    file-8.jpg

    The landing gear is a dull aluminum color while the wheel wells are the same color as the wings.

    file-7.jpg

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    The opening on the wheel hub is the vent for the brake cooling fans.

    file-9.jpg

  11. Hi guys. I figured I'd share some pics of an A320 if anybody is interested. I tried to get some good pics of the landing gear and I played around with the exposure as best I could. I figured this might be helpful to any modeling an Airbus. The basic stuff like weathering, landing gear colors, etc...should apply to most A320 types.

    file-1.jpg

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    You can see that lip around the engine air intake is a matte aluminum color. This is the part that is heated in icing conditions. On the Boeings these are usually polished and shiny.

    file-5.jpg

    file-4.jpg

    Its a bit difficult to see in this pic but there is a very dull aluminum stripe on the leading edge of the wing. Again, this is the heated part. Its really hard to see it even when standing right there in front of it.

    file-6.jpg

  12. I totaly disagree with the fact that the panellines are too dark or even overdone.

    If you Google there are pictures which has the same finish concerning the panellines.

    And even worse at the underside.

    Care to share a link to those pics for us?
  13. I can't answer your original question for sure but one thing you have to watch out for are the engines. Make sure that the boxing includes the correct engines for the airline that you are building. And don't just trust the pics on the box because they don't always match what's included.

  14. I've got some critiques.

    Before I list them let me say that clearly this is a fantastic build. The craftsmanship is top notch. But there are some artistic liberties here that are incorrect/inconsistent (to me, anyway):

    First, the panel lines (which look superb) are overdone. Before I posted this I searched through a bunch of Skyray pics and none of them really had visible panel lines (not like this). Again, your Skyray is great...its just not realistic (to me).

    Second, the panel lines are very dirty/visible (which indicates wear and tear) but the painted areas are very clean, especially the decals. The panel shading, which turned out great, looks like differently painted panels...not panels that are dirty, faded or weathered. What I mean to say is that it looks intentional. My mind is saying "Wow, that is supposed to be dirty but it looks really clean." To me it sort of has an "Anime" look to it.

    Third, to my eyes, the rivets look overdone. Again, I looked at several images before I posted and I'm just not seeing them on the real planes. I could be wrong, though. Maybe you have sources that are better than Google Images.

    These are my opinions, of course. And like I said earlier...the workmanship is fantastic!

  15. I've tried MM acryls but it always peals when masked over. Is there a fix for that??

    On a recent build I used MM Acryl even though I've had the lifting problems like you're having. But it had good adhesion when applied over a Tamiya primer base and thinned with lacquer thinner. Yup, good 'ol lacquer thinner from The Home Depot.
  16. My 2 cents (based on the paints I've used):

    Alclad II is the best. It goes on super fine, its durable and comes in many shades.

    Model Master Metalizers are ok. They, too, go on fine. Some are buff-able, but they don't seem as durable. I've had MM peel off with masking tape.

    Citadel paint is fantastic! Although it's not as shiny as Alclad II it definitely gives a metal look to your model. And its very durable.

    Talon Acrylic is ok. It does go on smooth and is buff-able. But the best results are achieved using Talon's buffing powders. The problem is that it has to built up with several light layers. Its really easy to over do it and it ends up being kinda thick. And the buffing powders can end up being a mess.

    I have some of the Mr. Color Super Metallics but I haven't used them yet. If I do anytime soon I'll update this.

  17. Well... I guess it'll take everyone's mind off the seamless integration between US Air and America West - 'cause that's just gone super swell.

    Well, US Airways is making money and AA is not. The America West acquisition of US Airways has actually gone fairly well. Its just the pilot seniority list integration that has been a disaster. And that is 100% the fault of the US Airways (East) pilots and no one else. But the operation of the company has been very good.

    How about that seamless integration between TWA and AA, while we're at it?

    Speaking of that...based on AA/TWA merger wouldn't it be fair if US Airways (the acquiring airline) integrated American (the bankrupt airline) the same way American (the acquiring airline) integrated TWA (the bankrupt airline)?

  18. It was never off. They've been in "talks" for about a year now.

    Although US Airways is purchasing American the American name will remain. The HQ will be the American HQ in Ft. Worth and the US Airways management team will run it.

    All that remains at this point is the final price of American and what the role of Tom Horton will be.

  19. Nice work! Excellent weathering.

    1) Duh! I knew something was wrong with that light, so I jumped to the wrong conclusion, mostly because I made a blue navigation light on my last Tomcat which should have been green.

    2) I think the soot from cannon fire would look really cool, but make it subtle. Most overdo this too dark.

    3) Sometimes close-up photography creates longer shadows making bumps seem larger than they really are. You are probably right.

    I'm really looking forward to your Tomcat- and anything else you build!

    About the cannon exhaust staining...the gun gasses are purged from the bottom of the nose. They come out of those vents that are in front of the nose wheel well. The area behind the muzzle doesn't really get stained. This is to prevent the pilot's vision from being obscured.

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