zeus60

I believe it is known as white spirits in the UK. Can you find it under that name?

I'll third the Revolution. I got mine locally, but I've only heard good things about Dixieart.

Just to be clear, do you soak all the decals at the beginning? I soak them one at a time, as I apply them. In other words, I do steps 1 to 5 for each decal to be applied.

I will also vouch for the use of Tamiya thinner with Polly Scale. I've never had any clogging issues using this technique. But I'll also add that I don't airbrush fine details; I only airbrush large areas or masked camouflage. Perhaps this is why I don't see the problems that Chuck1945 has experienced.

I have not tried it myself, but there was a post on hobbyfanatics.com that said you could use oxy-clean to remove acrylic paint. A little less nasty than the super clean, I think.

I checked my two P-40E's. One has both sets of decals; the other only has the American decals. (The shark's mouth is on the British version.) Interestingly, the one with both sets is Otaki. The one with only the American decals is Arii. So perhaps when Arii bought the molds they dropped one set of decals.

I don't think that is a violation, since you have the original. But you've made me think. I also have two of the Otaki P-40E's. I haven't opened the boxes yet. I'll have to see what I have. I did notice when building the Otaki Oscar that the decals I got didn't match what a review on modeling madness showed. I had to order aftermarket from Australia (only place I could find them!).

I just use toothpicks, but I only work with enamels and acrylics, not lacquers.

I also thin with Tamiya's thinner (which I also use for PollyScale). In addition to thinning, I believe it contains a retardant, which will help with your second problem.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought of that movie. Remember the scene that showed a service station in the background with a banner that read "Yugos our specialty"? On a serious note, I'll mention that had a pilot refused, he would probably have been summarily shot for cowardice.

I stand corrected. However, you shouldn't use ammonia on a Futured canopy for the reasons Forseti42 listed.

Although I have not tried it personally, I've heard you can use Goo Gone to get the residue off.

I was in Staples the other day when I saw this: I have never seen this before, so perhaps it's a new product. I picked up a roll to try on my next canopy, but I was wondering if anyone else had any experience with it. I did tape some on the cardboard backing, and it came off cleanly, so right now I'm optimistic.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was that I don't think I've ever seen 99.9% pure at the pharmacy. The link Jen provided seems to be a company that supplies chemicals for industry. Since the extra 9% is water, it probably wouldn't work with enamel paint. I'll have to hunt down some 99.9% pure here across the pond.

This is slightly off topic, but if it's good for cleaning paintbrushes after using enamels, could you also use it to clean your airbrush after using enamels? Using this instead of paint thinner (aka white spirits) would resolve much of the fume issue with using enamels. P.S. I don't think I've ever seen 99.9% purity, although 91% is easy to come by.

You can also get pipettes from Drs. Foster and Smith, a veterinarian site. They are used for feeding birds and reptiles. That's where I got mine.

What type of sponge did you use? I would think the pores would be too large on a regular sponge. The ARC tools'n'tips page mentions using a sponge makeup applier. Maybe foam rubber would work?

In the year since I returned to the hobby, I've switched back and forth a couple of times. I now use acrylics and am seeing good results. But there is no doubt about it, Larry is right, acrylics are more tempermental. If you can handle the fumes, I'd suggest you stick with enamels. I work indoors and prefer to avoid the fumes, even if I have to deal with other issues.

Yes, you did. Here is an article on the IPMS Stockholm website about painting insignias and such that you might find helpful. You can also buy Parafilm at Micromark, although I have not shopped there. Hope this helps. Stacey

Hi, Larry. To answer your original question, no, it's not just you. I have switched back and forth a couple of times (and that's in less than a year of modeling!). I am just switching back to acrylics, after hearing of how Tamiya thinner helps avoid clogging with using PollyScale. But there is no doubt that the use of acrylics involves more variables (such as thinning medium) than enamels. If you're happy with enamels, and can handle the fume issue, I see no reason to change. Stacey

I can't help but think that there is a way to mask canopies with this technique. The only trouble would be removing the foil afterwords.

If you're talking about the Colourcoat line, here is a review that appeared on armorama. The reviewer was quite enthusiastic. I think I will pick up some, since they have a very extensive line of Japanese colors, and I have quite a few kits of Japanese subjects in my stash.

Beautiful! And I mean both the cabinets and the models! Now I'm wondering if you could just get a bookshelf cabinet and put a clear door on it, using the framing you used.

I believe rubbing alcohol is wood alcohol and is toxic in its natural state. Denatured alcohol is grain alcohol (i.e., booze) with something added to make it toxic (hence the "denatured"). The purpose behind making it toxic is so it won't be sold as a drink, since many places around the world have rules or regulations regarding the sale of consumable alcohol. This doesn't answer your original question, but they are two different things.

I sort my paint by type (enamel or acrylic). I don't have enough of either type yet to need to organize further, but when I do reach that stage, I think I'll organize by country (RAF, Luftwaffe, etc.) rather than color (gray, brown, etc.).