lesthegringo

Gents, am building an Academy F86, but intend to display the engine separately alongside after some scratch building to improve it. I don't want to add weight if I don't have to so want to know if the model is a tailsitter by nature, especially without the engine inside

Someone found and bought some paint for me in a model shop after I asked for some black and white. The stuff they bought is Tamiya polycarbonate paints, which I've never heard of before. Anyone knows what it is, what to thin it with, does it work with other paint systems....anything? I have it, I'm wondering if it is any good, but don't know what to do with it! Thanks

I used Tamiya Lacquer thinner and it worked perfectly for gloss, matt and satin paints. They seemed to dry really fast too Les

Me being the idiot I am, I forgot to clean one of my airbrushes after spraying some Tamiya acrylic paint. Now it is as stubborn as hell, does anyone know of an airbrush friendly way to get it out? Thanks

Thanks for the info guys

Very occasionally, when I have to cover for a guy over there. Having said that, there is a friend over there that comes here regularly, so if you know of a shop he may be able to get some stuff for me

Guys, I'm getting frustrated at constantly being reliant on others coming out to see me for supplies for my modelling. Just as an example, I cannot find black or white enamel paints at all in any of the (admittedly not dedicated) shops that sell any models at all. As for models, I've found a total of ten Tamiya kits, and about fifteen Revell kits. If I wanted Radio control stuff I'd be ok, but scale modelling hasn't caught on here, so if anyone here on ARC knows of any shops in Abu Dhabi, or even in Dubai, I'd be grateful for the info. Here's hoping! Les

Thanks - looked at both of those online and they didn't seem to do scale models. Must be just a poor website *EDIT* Sent TimeMachine Hobby an e-mail, they have a lot of the paints. Thanks again guys

Guys, I have a visitor coming out to see me in a couple of weeks who lives near Glastonbury, Connecticut. I'd like him to bring out some stuff for me, so I want to find a model store nearby, but nothing shows up on google searches. Does anyone know of a good shop in that area? Les

Guys, I have Tamiya flat base that I add to future to give a semi gloss coat to my models (my preferred finish) however it is a bit problematic to get right. What have you guys used to do this? It would be for spraying, and I would happily have one acrylic and one enamel / lacquer type. Another requirement is that it doesn't yellow with time, like my Humbrol gloss coat does Thanks

Neo, the brass adapter to the left of you arrow is exactly what I want; a female 1/8 BSP fitting on one side, and on the other, a male thread to suit the Badger series hoses, which (thanks to a friend who lent me a vernier caliper and some thread guages) I have measured to be a 3/16" diameter (not 3/8" as I wrote previously) by what we have worked out to be a 60 threads per inch pitch - the imperial thread guages only went down to 40 TPI, so we used the metric ones and the thread pitch was between 0.45mm and 0.40mm, which works out at about 60 TPI. That, looking at thread reference charts, is

Thanks Neo, but unfortunately neither of those. The output from the compressor is 1/8 BSP Male, and I need a male threaded connection for the badger hose which seems to be about 3/8" diameter with a really fine thread.

Hi there My wife bought me a litle compressor over Christmas, however the output fitting is male 1/8 BSP. I need to know what the correct thread size is for the Badger 250/350 series airhoses, as I will have to get an adapter sent mail order from overseas. Can you advise me? Thanks

Thanks guys, will try and report back

Guys, just a note to warn you against using any of the coloured metallic paints in the Humbrol enamel range in a double acting airbrush. I sprayed the copper paint for detailing some parts about a month ago. Afetr spraying, I cleaned out the airbrush, but when I went to use it for another colour, a lot of the metallic particles kept coming out and ruining the paint I was spraying. So I took the airbrush completely apart and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I put it back together then sprayed lacquer thinnner though, and it came out clear. Great, I thought. I put some paint in the paintcup, s

Guys, a friend of mine was able to bring out some paints to me from the UK, I am in Abu Dhabi where we can't get any of them. Amongst the paints he brought out are a number of Xtracolor paints of specific shades. The problem I have is that with the Tamiya enamel thinnners and the Tamiya Lacquer thinnners I have, the paint seems to thin out and the pigment ends up looking like dust or fine sand, separated out at the bottom. It sprays OK through a Badger 350 type airbrush, but I have to continually shake the paint jar to keep it in suspension, and so for use witha double action airbrush I think

I have tried using some watered down nail polish remover to do it, but it can be quite aggressive and it also tends to give issues with the adhesive. I will try the distilled vinegar trick, maybe with a bit of Future to recover the adhesion.

Gents, my Micro Set is virtually finished, and I have someone going to the UK next week who can theoretically bring some back. Unfortunately, Hannants don't have any, Amazon don't sell it, and I can't find any stores near where the chap lives to send him to. So, what can I use in its place? Les

I buy tie wraps in different sizes then use super glue to attach wet and dry abrasive paper in different grades. Works very well and is cheap, but more importantly here I can be assured of a constant supply. The tie wraps are stiff enough without being too rigid

Thanks, I'll give that a go

Following up on this, what is the best satin clear coat to use? Future and Tamiya acrylic flat is still giving me variable results. Is there a good ready made satin coat and matt coat out there that you can recommend?

My preference is for enamels, or the Mr Color type paints (don't know if they are enamels or not!) but I am looking for a white that doesn't go yellow with age. Can anyone recommend a brand? Looking for both gloss and matt Thanks

Hi guys. I live in the UAE, where there is virtually nothing available, so I have to get someone to bring paints and tools in. As a result, I can only get a few so I have to get the right ones. I don't like mixing because of the difficulties of trying to match the colour again if I screw up (very usual) and also because of the wastage of paints I find hard to get. I was hoping you could advise me on which paints I can order through Hannants to paint the Tamiya Raiden; the instructions sheet is basic and quotes 'Dark Green' and 'blue black'. Also, I'm looking at doing a Russian military jet, s

I've been using Tamiya acrylic flat base with Future to make a satin clear coat for my models, but one has turned out with white spots of what I can only imagine is tiny lumps of the flat base. I've used ammonia based window cleaner to remove the Future, but the spots of flat base will not come off! I don't want to use abrasives, as I've got the model how I want it, but can anyone suggest something that would take off the flat base residue? Paints used underneath are Humbrol enamels Thanks Les

Guys, this is more specifically with respect to 1/12 scale formula 1 cars, where there are large areas of carbon fibre effect decals used on the wings, end plates and so forth. The decal I have is made by Studio 27, but printed by Cartograf. The problem I have is that I have to make it conform to compound curves and large areas, and after using Micro Sol and Micro Set, I often find that the slightest touch can cause flaking, indicating a lack of adhesion. I have even tried putting future on to the part before the decal, and applying the decal on the future while still wet, but have had limite