lesthegringo

I have to say, using talc with super glue as a filler transformed my modelling. Not in any particular order, by stopping shrinkage, speeding up setting time, allowing fast fixes and corrections, and allowing scribing after. I would say that stopping using home brew polystyrene glues and going back to Tamiya / Gunze extra tin glues was also a big factor. The other one in the top three was the use of acrylic paints and varnishes to supplement my enamel habit, which means I can get more sophisticated weathering and finishes without risking the model. An honourable mention must go to the use of

Trust me Vince, they won't!

Gosh - I thought I was building models for fun. Won't make that mistake again.....

Ok, that sounds well worth a try Les

Thanks - is the hairspray water soluble? Les

Guys, trying to create a paint chipping effect by using the salt technique over a silver base, however when I mist the water on it just balls up so that rather than chips, I get little circles where the salt has dissolved on. Anyone got any ideas how to combat this? Les

Sorry to say that despite some very positive aspects of this kit in terms of detail, there are major issues with warped parts and poor fit. The main outer fuselage halves are the worst culprits, they are incredibly twisted, to the point where you start to fail to have a reference point to try and pull it back. The interior and sub assembly fit and detail is very good indeed, but from my experience with this kit, the bigger the part the bigger the problem. There was also the quality of the packaging, resulting in quite a few breakages of minor parts as they became trapped and intertwined with

Thanks! Les

Guys, if you look at the attached picture, I am trying to assemble the main gear legs to the respective wells. The problem I have is that with the rear retraction brace correctly in its two positioning holes, the main mounting position of the legs is not clear. The red line is the mating face on the leg, and the green and blue lines represent where they could fit in the well. It would be obvious if the length of the brace made it sit in one or the other, but unfortunately it goes halfway between them. It is the same both sides of both legs, although one side sits marginally better in the blue

Guys, the rather excellent Cyber Hobby kit quotes Gunze colours, and so evidently they don't have a specific paint to replicate the interior colour, so CH would have you mix two Gunze colours. These are 95% aqueous 32 and 5% 12 (Mr Color 40 / 33) Am I right in thinking that they are trying to emulate RLM 66? Cheers Les

Oh boy, is the fit bad for the fuselage, especially around the front end. Any tips from people who have built this would be massively appreciated, I am putting this one on hold until I have a bit more idea how to progress without having to use huge amounts of filler Cheers Les

Guys, just made these up (simple folds) but I'm not convinced that they are the correct scale thickness. They have the inner and outer skins that look outstanding, but I think the two skins should be separated by a greater scale depth. However, as ever, no easily available aircraft can be checked, so any feedback welcome. If it comes to it, a styrene sheet inner part would be easy to use suitably cut, but would like to be sure I was getting it right Cheers

Thanks Guys, will try the Tamiya extra thin and see how I go Les

From my few attempts years ago for non model related projects, as long as the part is shaped such that it has a slight 'draft' or taper, and no undercuts or other features that would prevent removal of the master, it should work. Silicone release agent on the master is needed, and then you will have to seal the surface of the mould, plus use release agent when moulding, and also cast in some feature that allows you to pull the part out. If you don't fill the mould completely, make sure that there is something in there to grab hold of, as the part won't want to come out However, if the part i

Guys, I've spent a few days dressing up the areas of a kit with some scratch built details, which as the title states were made from sheet and strip stock. While I was working with it, I found that using my usual trick of getting one of the old drafting 'pens' to wick some lacquer thinner between the parts was OK, but would lead to soft details as it would consume the styrene edges. As a result the details were not as sharp as I would like, and also I think it softens the styrene making it more prone to damage during handling. What is the best way to overcome this sort of problem? Is there a

Guys, I will start by saying that so far in my modelling experience, this is the best kit I have ever worked on. The fit is unbelievable, the quality of the moulding is exceptional, the details are superb, and the way it goes together is a dream. So why am I not completely happy? Well, when two (identical) parts are missing, which happen to be the engine upper cowling pieces, I would say that's a bit of a drop off. There's only one way to complete the model, and that would be to build it without the cowlings, using the enclosed very finely detailed engines, but I wouldn't have the cowlings to

Gents, Eduard has you use olive drab and dark green for their depiction of the East German MiG, which is visually at odds with their colour sheet - that seems to depict the olive drab as maybe khaki drab, a definite brown shade. Can anyone set me straight? Les

Am I right in assuming that if I were to buy the Brassin series of parts for the Eduard MiG21, that I would have to do the usual cutting / sanding / fitting to get the bits to fir the kit? If I look at the blurb and pictures on their site, they show clean, finished looking parts that would just drop in, which I suspect is not the case. Can anyone confirm? Actually, I suppose that goes for their other resin bits too Les

Look on google for 'iridescent cellophane film' - it is used as decorative wrap for gifts, party balloon weights and sometimes for sweets. It's perfect for this Les Edit - forgot to mention, it is very thin, so you push the tip of the missile into it when you lay it on a cutting board, and it will stretch and form around the tip. I used Future in the past to glue it, trimming is the pain though

I need to build a fairly large sandwich of photo etch, and need to clamp the parts while doing so, but I want to use something to separate the clamps from the part so I don't end up with them bonded to the PE. Is there something that cyano doesn't stick to? Cheers Les

Just my luck the particular subject had the ones with the white background, otherwise my laser printer would have sufficed Les

No Krylon here, so I'm trying what they have, wish me luck. Now, how do I decant the spray paint without covering half the surrounding area?

Thanks for the detailed reply. Good tip about the nozzle / needle size too. As for the Krylon, I'll take a look at the hardware store to see if I can get it, sounds like a good deal Cheers

Guys, maybe this could be in any of the specific forums, bUt the question arose while discussing a Hasegawa F14a build, for which we got a set of the Eduard photo etch, both the interior and exterior frets. The one that generated the most lively debate was with respect to the undercarriage door hinge mechanisms. The set would have you cut off the very blob-like kit hinges, then replace with the photoetched parts, which is a folded part with the strengthening rib detail etched on the outer surface. However, to us, the scale thickness of the part looks way too thin. Not having a handy F14 aroun

Thanks, Mike, good tip, especially about the Gunze stuff. Someone pointed me to this as well http://modelingmadness.com/others/features/mp/mcleodpaints.htm which compares different products including these