modelingbob

My recent last two from LM (Hong Kong) to California, took 9 and 11 weeks. That's pretty average for me, in my best was 8 weeks and the worst took 16 weeks.

I usually try to wait 24 hours before I start the weathering or decal process. X22/MCLT is usually dry to the touch in an hour (if not faster), but I still try to wait 24 hours.

I use Mr Hobby Metal Primer a lot. It is not a very good primer for PE, and flakes off pretty easily, no matter the prior preparation. The only primer I've found that works well on PE is Duplicolor Van and Truck Primer from my local auto parts store. Your thinking of bending first, then painting, is a solid strategy that works.

I have the Mr Hobby, Mr Airbrush Custom 0.18 (PS-770). It's essentially a clone of the Iwata Custom Micron at half the price. And I just love it! A great airbrush!

Yep, thanks, I know the guns are mounted backwards. That brings up the only negative issue I had with the kit. Bandai plastic is vulnerable to mineral spirits based washes. I left the guns off until the end, after weathering extensively with enamel/mineral based spirits products. I pressed the guns to fit in the correct manner, and the socket in which they press fit into exploded. Upon further review, the socket caused a "pocket" for the enamel stuff to wick into saturating the opening. The only way the guns would fit in the repaired socket was to mount them backwards. Besides it's sci-fi and

I'm really glad that Lucky Model is not offering the $2 surface shipping option to the USA any longer. My bank account balance thanks them!!!!

First off, black basing isn't a "new" technique as it's nothing more than a variation of pre-shading which has been around forever. Here is a more recently developed weathering technique called "texturing" and is championed by Bera Karoly: https://www.google.com/search?q=bera+karoly+models&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj40d6V4sDhAhWVqp4KHSUuA1UQsAR6BAgIEAE&biw=1920&bih=937 There, now we have another technique to argue about!!!!

Just to point out, the second build on LSP is not far enough along to reach the same issues illustrated on the first build. Give him some time and I'm pretty certain that he's going to have to deal with the same issues. It ain't the builder, it's the kit. It will be interesting to see what happens. A friend of mine had attempted to build this kit, he experienced the exact same issues as the first LSP build, and when he met the tail plane fit issues, that was the straw that broke the camels back and he threw it in the trash. So far, that's 2 for 2 on kits pretty far along in the build process (

If there was a "like" button here I'd be hitting it right now!!!! But there's not, so you get this post instead!!! Very well said, and I agree 100%.

That's what I do. Just be careful that you don't sand through the underlying paint. Sand slowly with fine grit and check often until you remove the offending object.

I guess they don't understand how Ebay & PayPal really works. Neither will support scammers. They hold distribution of your funds for a period of time, to make sure you ship, and if you don't ship they will shut you down pretty quickly.

In my case, the plastic became more brittle probably due to oil based washes. In my case, large amounts of wash wicked into the gun opening and the opening fractured when I press fit the guns into place. That's why the guns are mounted reversed fore and aft on my build indicated above. In the future I will make sure that oil based washes do not wick into any openings to solve the issue. I had no issues any place enamel products did not wick into any openings and the regular external surfaces showed no cracking or other ill effects from enamel products.

I've bought two Bandai Star wars kit, the Snow Speeder and AT-ST. The Snow Speeder I've finished and the AT-ST is in the build queue (pics are here: They are both fantastic and Tamiya could learn a thing or two from them about detail quality, engineering, and fit. They are both buildable as snap tight kits, but I used Tamiya Extra Thin to lock everything in place, just like a regular kit. I only have two somewhat negative things to say; 1) the decals have a "half-tone" type pattern on the solid colors, and 2) Bandai plastic is vulnerable to cracking using oil based washes. Otherwise I'm

A general warning that may or may not apply to your situation. Some Ebay sellers in Asian countries play a scam in that they never ship your products and give you a bogus tracking number to keep Ebay/PayPal off their back. And then the Ebay/PayPal claim period expires. This is especially prevalent in instances that they specify long delivery times. I'm not saying that this is what happened in your case, but make sure you keep under the Ebay/PayPal time limits for non-delivery claims.

Maybe they got burned by this guy and it finally motivated them to post something. Maybe they are "fishy" also. Who knows for sure?

I do NOT have the 1/48 GWH F-15E. I was really excited about buying it (it was on my must have list), until I started building the 1/48 GWH F-15C. And I now, will not be buying their F-15E. The F-15C and F-15E have the same basic construction sequence. A warning about the F-15C (which will also apply to the F-15E) is that you must build the fuselage, intakes, intake trunks, and wings in a complicated multi-step construction sequence, in which any errors will compound down the line and could prevent an easy assembly process. I could not get the intakes, intake trunks, and fuselage to line up co

And there is a reason they have clammed up also!!! Criticism is a double edged sword, it can help you out in some situations and it could cut you very badly in other situations. I don't blame AMK one bit for going the clamming up route.

There are a lot of good traders here. But scammers are everywhere. If the seller requires PayPal Family & Friends as the method of payment, that is your first clue for a scammer. And if they are not a long time forum member, that's your second clue. And if they are a brand new member on another forum posting the same thing, that's your third clue. Personally, I pass if they require PayPal Family & Friends, but that's just me. Standard PayPal, no problem, I'll do it, even if I think you might be a scammer.

When a seller requires the buyer that they will only accept payment via PayPal Family & Friends, you need to be aware of scammers. PayPal Family & Friends does NOT offer any PayPal protections at all. None, nada, zip. Hopefully, a valuable lesson was learned from this.

I have the exact same issue! Both Mr Color and MRP are fantastic paints but tough to get. I get Mr Color (my preferred choice of paint because it's much cheaper than MRP) shipped direct to me from Hong Kong/Taiwan/China vendors and have not had any issues getting them shipped directly to me. Ebay is a great source for Mr Color. I've used this vendor also for Mr Color: http://www.sealmodel.com/products.php?category_id=84 Hobbyworld-USA will also ship internationally for both Mr Color and MRP. But he's a little more expensive than direct from Asia. http://www.hobbyworld-usa.com/Store

Thanks. There are a few issues with this kit! 1) The kit canopy is very bad with tons of distortion molded in. All my sanding/polishing went for naught. I thought I could improve it, but alas, after further review, it's still bad. 2) The cockpit framing is too thick, and you need to thin it down by about 50% in thickness or the fuselage will not close correctly. And then you will have horrendous fit issues with the radiator intakes, canopy width, and top and bottom cowling. Get the fuselage closed correctly and all the fit problems will vanish and you won't need a drop of putty.

I had the exact same issue with SealModel. I never received any info from them on how I should pay, and I never heard a word from them. Of course, I never received the order either! Sorry, I'm of no real help, but at least you know this is not unusual!

Sierra is correct in that First Class Package International Service is the least expensive rate for international shipping. Not that it's cheap, but it is the least expensive. However, you need to check with the USPS in regards to tracking (which is required for seller protection on Ebay/PayPal) to your specific destination because it is frequently not available to certain countries. Not a good idea to ship an item sold from Ebay without tracking because the seller is at risk for covering the loss. Currently, Uruguay is not listed as available for tracking on the USPS website.