Cloud in the Wind

You’re firescout turned out great. Nice job. I think it was worth the price. And Bergund was really great for me when’s I got the color too dark and found that the decals blended right in. They were able to send me a replacement sheet right away. Totally happy. So I built the C model too. https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=69465&p=albums&album=63271

Greets builders. I picked up a few 1/144 scale Panzer Corp kits at a show recently and I’ve enjoyed the simpler build for a change. I’m on to the finishing touches though and I’m curious about the whip antennas. Can anyone recommend the length I should try to mimic? 4cm? 3?

Also, not sure what type of paint you are using, but if it is acrylic (or water base) then "tip-dry" and "bubbling in a cup" is a common occurrence. The latter being a symptom of the former. You mentioned wiping with a tissue and Q-tip. If you meant that you are wiping the needle, than yes, wiping the paint buildup off the tip of your needle is an "every few sweeps" activity that you'll get used to doing. Again, this is for acrylic based paints which tend to dry VERY quickly on the needle of your airbrush and this leads to some of the issues you're experiencing.

I saw a post a few years ago about what to do when you have the last few mm of cement in Tamiya's extra thin bottle left beyond the reach of the cap/brush. The post indicated that you can pull the brush down a bit further with a pair of pliers. I was also wondering if it makes sense to combine the old cement with another bottle? I have a couple that are down to that level, but maybe that's a bad idea - combining old cement?

Good day fellow small scale builders. I picked up the Trumpeter F-22 on a whim the other day and decided to push it ahead of other projects - thinking that it would be a quick build. Unfortunately, I think I'm seeing that there will be a few challenging aspects to the build. Namely, the kit comes with the clear canopy already secured to the top of the airframe. I am concerned that when I glue the fuselage halves using Tamiya's liquid cement or CA glue that I will fog the interior of the clear part. 🥶 I could seal the inside and outside of the clear part with liquid mask, but

There's a lot to unpack here for venders and small businesses especially in craft industries like ours but here's a reasonable quick and dirty article https://www.forbes.com/advisor/taxes/cash-apps-to-report-payments-of-600-or-more/

Something to consider Mark, get a couple really cheap models that you really don't care about and set them in your stash. You might find that you need to practice filling & sanding seams, airbrushing, trying different weathering, adding bits and bobbles. Having a couple of "kit-bash" fodder models has helped me release some tension during a stressful build and gives me a chance to practice techniques before touching that $60 6-month project kit. For things to get? Get yourself some 600-700, 1200 grit sand paper by the sheet and some decent paint brush set with a few types

I've taken to buying sheets of wet dry sandpaper from the local autoparts shop. Last time I went I bought a few sheets of 600, 1500, 2000 grit and just cut off strips and sections to wrap around old squadron sticks previously pictured. The economy of volume is definitely been worth it!

Something to put on your stocking stuffer list might be a regulator like this one; PneumaticPlus PPR2-N02BG-2 Miniature Air Pressure Regulator 1/4" NPT - Gauge, Bracket, Instrument Pressure (3-30 PSI). I really like it’s performance and it works well with my pancake compressor.

Gabor you're the greatest. This is great.

If I can ask another question regarding the external fuel tank choices. The kit offers three variations and recommends to check resources, but I've come up dry on my search for those used by the 518th IAP North Korea - my chosen version. Any suggestion on which tank might have been used in '53 by the 518th IAP? Or was it mission specific?

Thanks GABOR. I really appreciate the pics. Your build is wonderful. I hope mine can do justice for the kit.

Generally I consider it a good thing to get extra parts in a kit ... right up until you get no instruction on what they were for. These are on the B sprue but there are no numbers and the directions do not reference them. Its hard to tell from the photos but they are definitely not just straight "rods" of different length. The thicker part stands proud by 1-2mm and they are of different lengths. They might have been antennas, but that's a lot of plastic to cut away. Any ideas?

Herb you're a life saver. Thanks so much for sending those wheels to me. Happy modelling!

Hi Herb, thank you so much for checking for me! I really appreciate it. Finding pics and dimensions is tough so i'm going to be satisfied with as close as you can get. I'm not wining any awards I'm sure so no worries there... Near as I can tell the nose gear (x2) are about 3.2-3.5 mm in diameter and the main gear are about 5.5mm. This is a pic from an aftermarket set in 48th scale, though I'm not certain that Trumpeter puts nearly that detail in their 144 scale kit. Nothing in the pics from the instruction or kits are detailed enough to show it, but maybe it give you something