swimmer25k

Some more info about me: I have a company car that I use during the week. I had a 2006 GTO that I sold a week ago. I bought it used in 2010 and it was time to go. I have a 2006 Mustang with a ton of Roush and Ford Racing parts. Parts highlights are: supercharged, long tube headers, small blower pulley, cold-air and cat-back exhaust. Brembo brakes all the way around, Eibach suspension, short-throw shifter, anti-sway bar, and Roush 18"X9" wheels shoed with Eagle GT tires. It's got only 25,000 miles and I'll take it out on nice days. For styling I have a CDC chin spoiler, Roush rear spoiler, Roush grille, and two 9.5" white stripes from tip to toe above red. It has 485 RWHP. It has a permanent spot in the garage regardless of what I get. I had a 1998 M3, which I replaced with the Mustang. It was an awesome car, but super-expensive to fix. The Charger looks and sounds great, but as already pointed out; it's a Dodge. The styling on the SS is a bit lame, but the engine and performance are sweet. I'm a little worried that with the Malibu going away parts will become pricey. I just went through all of this with the GTO. $1500 for a broken driver-side window. Ouch. Nice Beamers come up on occasion. I'm not in a great hurry, so I'm cool with that. I'd like to have a four-door because of that consideration called "wife and kids" (aka "bad roommates"). My wife can't (read as "won't") drive a stick. My choices have an automatic transmission available, so not an issue. Back to my horror show; the Academy F-4N. Thanks for for all the awesome replies so far. Isn't this better than arguing about how the rear of the ZM Phantom is messed up or the color of the area behind the pilot on a P-47 Razorback? Chris

I'm getting opinions from as many sources as possible regarding buying a new car. My finalists are a 2017 Chevy SS, 2017 Dodge Charger SRT 392, or a BMW M3, 4, or 5 under $50K. Any suggestions or insight? Thanks, Chris

I have the DMold/Rhino/XMM (forget which one) intakes, so it really isn't an issue. My Academy N is almost ready to paint and the resin intakes weren't a hassle at all. Would this change your opinion?

F-14 parts gone. Will entertain offers on the C-130.

Title says it all. I've got both kits, so not an issue. Ignore accuracy and/or detail. Looking for the easy way to get a J done. Thanks, Chris

Thanks for all the great replies. I'm not in a hurry. I'm hoping to give the kit as an Xmas gift so he can (watch me) build it.

Thanks for all of the responses. I received a second Yellowhammer decal sheet in the mail yesterday, but didn't see it until today. The yellow is much brighter than the brown mustardish YH sheet I already had in my decal stash. I also got Gunze (solvent based) BA yellow (forgot the FS number) and blue (FS15050) in the mail as well. The yellow seems to be very close. I sprayed the yellow on to a scrap piece of styrene with a hole punched out. It was almost indistinguishable from one yellow to the next when I slid the new YH sheet underneath. The BA blue was sprayed on scrap stabilizers and compared to a 1/48 BA Skyhawk I painted about 15 years ago. The Gunze blue was more rich in color as compared to the Testors painted A-4, which seemed a little gray. I took pictures, however, photobucket crapped the bed once again. Any recommended services to use instead of the increasingly crappy photobucket? Thanks again for the help. Chris PS: how easy/difficult is the Academy J to the ZM kit? I'm currently about 1/2 way through an Academy -N and it hasn't been too much of a hassle so far.

Yellowhammer:

I'm preparing to build either my Academy or ZM 1/48 F-4J as a Blue Angel. (Sidebar: Which kit should I build? I have the Eduard cockpit, wheels, nozzles, Hypersonic canopies and other extras. I only have Eduard nozzles for ZM. ZM easy and fun??) I've had the old Yellowhammer F-4 BA sheet. The yellow is a little darker and almost a mustard color. They give a paint mix suggestion for the BA blue. BA blue is FS15050. Consensus is that Testors BA blue is off, and to use a mix of 15052 and a blue from the small square Testors bottle. I mixed up a batch about 20 years ago and it was a striking shade. Paint issue #1: How close are the Yellowhammer instructions to mix BA blue to the real thing? Gunze makes a FS15050. How close is this? (I'd prefer to use the Gunze even if a little off.) Paint issue #2: Which BA yellow is correct? Testors "BA Yellow", Gunze chrome yellow, or another formula/brand? The yellow brings me to the biggest issue of all........ Decal issue #1 (Yellowhammer vs. Cam Pro): I have the old Yellowhammer sheet and have had the Cam Pro sheet in my Spruebrothers cart, but haven't pulled the trigger. The yellows are completely different between the two sheets. Which one is accurate with respect to the correct yellow? The yellow paints seem to be closer to the Cam sheet, but I really can't tell. Please see the samples below of the sheets. CamPro is first and then Yellowhammer Please tell me what to do. Chris

I picked up my kit yesterday and have to say that Kittyhawk is finally listening. There weren't any open panels or over-engineering. Detail is also improved. One of the disappointments are the fixed nozzles. Detail on them is nice, however. The other downer is that the wings are molded seperarly. Canopy seems a little thick as well. I'm no expert and leave it to guys like the Zactoman to tell me what needs to get tossed and replaced with new parts. Chris

I caught my five year-old son flying my Dinky (?) Space 1999 Eagles around our house today and thought that building a model for his birthday would be fun. (I build mostly 1/48 jets.) Early searches show that there is a bunch of stuff available to build an Eagle. I think the big MPC kit is the way to go. Can any any of you help me put together a "shopping list" of kits, detail sets, and decals, so I can start putting this project together? Thanks, Chris

I have for sale two Testors C-130s in 1/72; the Blue Angel -E/F and an AC-130A. Both kits are original and unstarted. The boxes are a little beat up. I'm asking $45 for each one. Buyer pays for shipping. I can let them both go for $80. I'll cap shipping at $20, but I don't think we'll get there. Next up is a cache of 1/48 detail kits for the 1/48 Hasegawa F-14. Some sets are for the B, but can be adapted to any variant. Included is: Aires cockpit and wheel wells, Black Box Combat Series Bombcat, Cutting Edge wheels, and Wolfpack IFR probe/bay and their OIF update. Purchase price al a carte is about $110. I'm asking $75 with shipping included. Paypal only please. Thank you for looking, Chris swimmer25k@hotmail.com

Fightertown has a sheet of VX-4 jets including the F-18E, -14, and F-4J. The F-4 has Black Bunnies and a white or very light gray one as well. Yellowhammer did a -J as well. I believe that Furball may be doing a future sheet, but others may know more.

I'm a faithful Gunze and Tamiya customer. Lifecolor makes a shade I'm looking for that no one else makes. Thanks, Chris

I'm looking where to buy some Hataka paints. Their website has been troublesome and I'm looking for a distributor. Thanks, Chris