Ed DeVivo

The detail on these resin pits, was mind boggling back in the day. My first resin pit, was a Teknics 1/32 for an F-14D, coverting the Tamiya F-14A to a D. The detail and mold was amazing. I just had to have it. This was about 21 years ago, maybe longer. The switches were very pronounced and easy to paint. Even today, there is more depth to these than even the most advanced kit detail oob. I say keep those BB pits and build away!!! -Ed

My first Hasegawa F-14 dates back to around 2002 or so. I bought kit after a nice guy from the hobby shop told me about the Hasegawa at the time, was the gold standard for the F-14. I certainly miss the days of visiting that store, which has closed much like most of them, and the challenge of building the kit. Yes, nostalgia is a good thing, and like you, anything that can bring me Deja-Vu of my original modeling days, I am all in!! Even at the cost of sanity taking a nose dive given the poor fit, and no ordinance. Even though I have a couple of Tamiya's, an AMK and the new Great

Hello to all. As I look in my stash and see a few F-14 Aires and Black Box resin cockpits from days past, I wonder how much longer we will be seeing these. Black Box has been defunct for several years, and Aires really was the gold standard, still is in terms of Resin pits. Here is my question. With the progress in injection molding, and 3D decals, is there even a need for these resin pits? Some newer kits can be built OOB, and an older, let's say Hasegawa F-14 can be upgraded with 3D decals. I am wondering how much longer we will be seeing the resin after

Thanks! I really like the ResKit Jammer but right now, a bit out of my price range when factoring in deck crew. That Skunkmodels cart w/ crew was perfect, but unavailable!

Anyone see these in 1/48? Having some difficulty locating one in 1/48 scale, post WWII... The only one I see is from "SkunkModels" which seems to be discontinued. Thanks in advance! -Ed

Thank you all for the replies!! It certainly helped, and I went with the uv clear resin and I was impressed... I learned that you can also use Tamiya thin cement, which I used as well.. Thanks! -Ed

48 views not one response.. My God what's happened to ARC... lol

Greetings... I am going to use Clear Gorilla Glue to attach the canopy of a 1/48 F-15 to its frame. Here's my question. I know its a very long drying time, and while Im not worried about it drying clear, which it certainly does, my concern is holding the canopy in place on the frame until it cures. Taping and clamping is off the table due to the convex shape of the canopy and the two pieces being somewhat cumbersome. I can see that actually becoming disastrous. I thought of uv clear epoxy w/ a uv led light, as it cures in 2 minutes or so, and I can simply hold it in place.. Anyway, are there a

Thank you all for the replies!!! I used the recommended thinner and used it on a paint mule, and Im amazed how great it was to apply and the result was just what I wanted. I used AK Real Colors Gloss, with its own thinner.. Fantastic. I then used Mr Hobby GX-114 with its own leveling thinner. Amazing... I think I pressed through my clear coat concerns! Thanks!!!

I'm finally at the point of putting on decals on this F-15E I've been at for God knows how long now. The Paint is AK Real Colors acrylic Lacquer based and went on super smooth. The paint does not need gloss prior to decals, but I'm going to put a light coat over the decals when I'm finished to seal them in and protect from weathering. Heres my question. I will be using Mr. Color GX 114 which is a 40/60 ratio varnish to lacquer thinner. I'm wondering if the thinner will ruin the topcoat of lacquer paint. It's been cured now a week or so.. I always dread this part of sp

Thanks for the reply and good to know!

Opinions. When do you start the metallizer process? I'm primed, base coated, and ready to apply decals. Ill apply a gloss coat over the decals to seal them in, pin wash then flat coat.... At what do you guys spray the metallizer paint? I don't want to flat coat it after decals, weathering etc. and I heard that taping over it to mask off the metallizer caused it to lift when removing the tape.. Just some opinions and suggestions and have a great day!! -Ed

Thanks for the suggestion but.. I ended up stripping all the varnish and paint right down to the bare plastic. Even after a week, the varnish never properly cured. It was soft and sticky to the touch and easily left fingerprints. I dabbed an area with decal setting solution which ruined the varnish so I stropped it all,and will repaint! This time, however, I will use a lacquer gloss varnish if at all. Its a shame, because the paint went on smooth as silk, and decals would have layed nice. If I get the same result, I'll decal, then shoot a gloss to seal them..

Thank you Chuck.. What piqued my interest in this particular varnish, was that it did not need to be thinned. Shake the plastic bottle and fill the airbrush. The varnish gets good reviews, but what I did was apply too thick of a coat. I am not crazy about how it layed down. What I also did, was let the model rest inside my airbrush booth, with a plastic cover on the front opening to prevent dust/dog hair etc... After several days, I'm moving it to an area where there is some airflow and warmth so that it may harden more. At the end of the day, I think it will be ok but... Next tim

ON an additional note, try it out on a paint mule. I made a mistake varnishing last Monday, and I may end up tossing the entire model I spent months building. Dont do what I did.