lesthegringo

Thanks - the lacquer thinner I was referring to is the Tamiya thinners, which isn't so aggressive to plastic - I should have made that clear

Gents, I tried to use some black Revell aqua color diluted in alcohol as a wash on my ill fated F-15 project. It didn't work as a wash, and worse still there are spots of the black that seemed to have congealed on the model. I have tried window cleaner and even a fairly strong solution of ammonia, but it is stuck fast. I'm loathe to use lacquer thinner because I don't want to strip the paint off (having had to do it once already...) Can anyone suggest an enamel paint friendy way of getting this aqua color off?

At the risk of starting a heated debate, I would like to know exactly which parts of an F-15 are left bare metal near the engines. Every photo I see of a model seems to show different areas, and the walkaround shots are inconclusive. Is there a definitive diagram showing the areas in question? Les

I had the misfortune to have to strip an F-15 I was building, as the darker grey that I was using seemed to come out very sandy and rough. As a attempt to get it to flow out a bit better, I had added a very small amount of Ace Hardware Lacquer (cellulose) thinners to the paint as well as some white spirit; the idea was that it would re-liquify the paint and smooth it out. Well, it didn't work, so I decided I would have to strip the model back to bare plastic. It took me about two weeks as I was struggling to find a stripping medium, but I eventually found some concentrated Simple Green. The li

Not a week after posting this, I found an outlet selling the (concentrated) Simple Green in two litre bottles while I was out searching for alternatives! Needless to say I bought a bottle, and am halfway through stripping the model that caused the need for the post in the first place. The best thing is that now I can keep my Tamiya Lacquer thinner (what little is left) for thinning duties. The Simple Green is not as fast as the lacquer thinner, so I'll have to work out how to keep the model wet with it; as the cockpit is done and good, I can't immerse the whole model, so I'm trying coating th

I would love to, but the only place that used to sell it (100 miles away in Dubai) no longer does so Les

I'm in Abu Dhabi, and we cannot get 1/100th of the products available in the western world. However, there are industrial zones here that have paint and associated stuff. I would prefer the Simple Green / Purple power alternatives, but I have no option; I can get brake fluid, but I'm not sure what effect that has on the polystyrene Les

I suppose for me the logical question would be 'which one of those ingredients is the one that I could use to clean and strip the models' Les

Guys, boes brake fluid not attack the plastic at all? Les

Good tip, I found this http://www.stanbridges.com.au/files/pdf/T101,_102,_103,_104_MR_COLOR_THINNER.pdf I'll trawl round the paint specialists here and see if I can make something up, even if it's for cleaning and stripping Thanks guys

Guys, ny supply of tamiya lacquer thinners is nearly exhausted, and the one and only place that used to sell it here no longer stocks it. As I use it for a number of things including stripping paint (brilliant for it, it even strips of clear parts without fogging) I desperately want to get some more. Unfortunately I have yet to find an online stockist who is willing to send it by mail due to the imflammable nature. So, assuming that it must be made from reasonably common chemicals, if I knew what they were I could try and source locally. If they are available as a thinner for other more indus

Seen some stuff called Windex on sale here, made by Johnsons, want to know if it's the same stuff you guys use for thinning future and acrylics. It's lime scented, not sure if that makes any difference

Use the trick that people who work with ceramic tiles use - put some scotch tape over the canopy where you want to make the hole, and then it is a) earier to mark and b ) the tool that you are going to use will be less likely to slip and c) the rest of the canopy has some protection against possible false cuts Les

May be this is a little extreme, but if you are going to strip the decals anyway.... get some nail varnish remover, and add water to it, and put it on the decals use it well diluted to start with, but if it doesn't work, a little less diluted next time. BUT, don't rub, touch or try to move the decals when you use this, they will be like liquid and will fall apart at the slightest touch. It has worked for me but it is not the easiest technique Hope you recover what looks like a great model

I've had the same, a sort of white dusty looking residue that looks like when cyano has left it's mark on canopies. It does seem to be a reaction, and I've stopped using future with decal setting solutions to see if it stops happening, and so far so good. However, when it does happen, letting it dry for a good while then using future to make it disappear seems to work, but it does leave a bit of surface texture.

Funny, I am going though almost exactly the same problem, with an F-86. The way I got around the yellow nose masking was to paint the yellow before the metal finish, as it sticks well. You can then mask this off with no problems However, I am trying to do various shades of metal finish, and after using Future over a (revell) silver lacquer, this doesn't seal properly because all that happens is that the masking tape pulls the future away from the metallic finish. I am really stuck with what I have as I can't get stuff like Alclad (not permitted to ship to here) so I need to find a way of eit

Thanks, I'll try it, though I'm making a model, not a sandwich! :D

Guys, for some reason super glue remover is not sold here, what can I use to remove it that isn't aggressive to the polystyrene? Thanks

There's a downloadable version of it, may be a way round it

It does work, you have to scroll down to the two red boxes about halfway down the page

Try this to help you http://www.paint4models.com/paintchart/paintconversionchart20100101b.html#

Guys, I need to make a bit of that weird blue-green interior colour that the Russian aircraft use, any paint mix suggestions? Cheers

Just another caution with the Humbrol enamel gloss clear; in my experience it takes a looooong time to cure properly, and I have also noticed yellowing when overspraying on lighter grey and white. I stopped using it and started using Future, but I am going to try the Gunze Mr Color clears when they finally arrive. Hopefully they will be good

after scribing I often find that there are still little bits of plastic in the scribed line, and the edge is very sharp. When I try and remove the bits of plastic by running the scribing tool along it gently, it just makes the edge sharper. I then sand it gently to treat the edge, only to find I've put more dust into the scribed line!! Have you any tips on how to finish the scribing so that you avoid dust and rough / sharp edges?

thanks, i'll stick some weight in just in case