The Keeper

Good point. A decade ago when you searched 'images' you could come up with dozens of photos. Now most of what we get are game shots and artwork depicting the aircraft at different points in time; some without the red surround. As Hooter pointed out, the Spitfires and Hurricanes certainly used red patches over the ports (as well as repairing bullet holes!) but we don't see them much on P-47's or P-51's and certainly not on Navy A/C. Begs the question: was that tape or doped fabric? Came in handy for keeping birds from nesting! There's a book on Urban (Ben) Drew: https://www.abebooks.com/si

The one photo I looked at with the gun port surrounds looks red. Compare the tonality with the bomb background of "Detroit Miss." They usually patched over the gun ports with red tape after servicing to keep insects and debris out of the barrels. hth

Yeah, those look handy for a lot of applications. I wasn't real successful with these: https://www.tptools.com/VISE-GRIP-Locking-Metal-Bender,603.html Mirth intended,

Usually good experiences, some retailers "overpack" ; they got so much styro and bubble wrap they have to sit on the box like Lucy and Ethel packing a suitcase! Regular retailers know what they're doing, I've only had one ebayer throw several models in a box without proper insulation. Phoned in an order to The New Squadron Shop which I've done since 1972, arrived quickly no problems. It's a great era! hth

Yup, you need a good set of cross action tweezers where they grip the part for you and you apply pressure to release the part. The rubber gripping surface is also a good idea, it just has to be thin and you have to practice with it. I coat mine with aquarium sealer but any vinyl caulk will do the trick. Additionally I can recommend stamp/ decal tweezers with broad flat blades, they come in handy for a lot of applications. Every time I go to a swap meet there's usually a tool vendor there and always a new tool to buy. hth

!!Amazing! A website preserved in situ for historians. Tanks 4 the elucidation

They're still there: https://flightdecs.ca/about.htm

It sounds like you're working with an unnecessarily fragile product. Improving the gloss coat is definitely a step in the right direction. You don't want to be using the MicroSol initially, use the MicroSet which initiates adhesion. After an hour you then apply by dropper the Microsol and the chemical reaction starts and you get the wrinkling and (hopefully) the eventual laying down into all the conformations. Which is why I recommend having your surface horizontal. If it's curling on you after the decal film application it may be a matter of 'soak time.' Some manufacturers advise dr

I took a look at the decals. I'd brush paint the Microscale decal film and let dry overnight. Cut the 'Hughes' separate from the 'airwest' so it's not a major wrestling match and hold the backing paper right next to your placement while you push the decal into position with a brush. You want to be working in a horizontal plane so that your application surface is parallel to your table top. Take a cardboard box and cut a hole so that your wing fits in it with the fuselage resting on the top of the box. You can put some cloth between the plane and box if you think the cardboard might scuff your

I can't really tell from the photo; are you saying the paint didn't grip in the crevices? Sounds like maybe there was mold release still in the crevices, did you wash the part before application? I would imagine that a quick rinse in alcohol and a light over spray at this point would fix the problem. hope that helps

Quite an eloquent rendering of the history. Too bad the formulation didn't hold up. I've got containers of Pactra "international" and Humbrol 'authentics' purchased in the seventies that are still quite use-able! Ah, the good old daze. Here's a link to a more protracted discussion w/ photo: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/what-old-paint-is-this-t523145.html Tanks a lot!

I've got a Paasche around here, I think it's the VL. That's the one that's double action similar to the Badger 150, right? Both companies have done things to remain competitive in today's market but it's obviously a hard road. I'd return it and maybe get one of the many varieties of Iwata clones, most of which are manufactured by Fuso Seiki. You could also do a search for 'airbrush recommendations ' and see what develops. hth

Looking through old magazines (1967) and saw and ad for Official Paint by Official Products of West Orange New Jersey. Looks like a great line of paint with Luftwaffe, Japanese, US, and Britain well represented. They've even got USN Blue Gray which no one else produced till Floquil in the nineties! Anybody use this or have a dried out bottle in their paint museum? I did a search but nothing came up due to their rather generic company name and they've been out of business for decades. I can post the ad if anyone's interested. Tanks,

AX 365, thanx for the pix. This link https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/85-AF-78-Me-410-420430.pdf indicates it's Not unrestored, it's last paint job probably 1986. That being said, paint certainly looks prototypical. The fuselage bay, interior, and cockpit framing look the right shade of farbton 66. Using this color looks too dark in scale so I would go with something lighter that gives a good representation of scale color. Most aircraft coming out of the factory in WW II usually show factory preservative paint like zinc chromate, RLM 02, etc. When the aircraft went in

Looks sufficiently elegant and the paint emulates the camo scheme quite well. Whose paint did you use? Was there too many parts and should I stick with my Revell and Heller units that have been begging for attention for multiple decades? Nice to see one finished,