K2Pete

I was wondering when you were gonna mention fitting the fins onto the 1st stage, then I did a search for this vehicle and ... saw that there aren't any! Well, I'll be darned! You're doing really nice work on this Randy! And your solution with the Air Scoops was good "outta-the-box" thinking!

I am stilll-l-l waiting for these Acrylic balls to come in from Plastruct. This ... is ... un-bee-leev-able! ... it's been 12 weeks since I ordered them ...

I am still-l-l waiting to hear from ARK Models ... so, obviously, no progress on my Buran1

Nice to see that you're back on this build ... I thought you might have taken a lo-o-ong holiday from this build! And Tom Kladiva does some nice work ... I'll wait and see if you modify it ... somehow! Pete

I don't have the model right now so I can't take pix of it ... it's been loaned to a local school so it will be at least a few months till it gets returned. But the images in this thread should give you all the info you'll need to do your own version. And post your build here too, we all wanna to see it! Pete

So far ... so good Randy! Not using the Dremel saved all kinds of grief, I'm sure! That little machine is just too quick at spinning and one fraction of a second of distraction results in an hour of repair work. Sanding the putty by hand, much better! And you're moving pretty quick on this one too, eh? Thanx Pete

What about making your own decals Drifterdon? If you've got the stickers, scan 'em maybe adjust 'em at bit, and print 'em out on Decal film/paper at the exact scale you want! Pete

I sent Andrey a reminder email and he responded with ... I m in Germany in Nurnberg messe. I send you u-tube movie with info step by step instructions assemble decals to our Buran -- Отправлено из Mail.ru для Android The inference is that I don't know how to apply decals and that the problem is all mine. But when I get the YouTube video, I'll post the link here. I'm hoping they're correcting the decal sheet, because I see this issue as THEIR problem ... but I'll patiently wait and see. Pete

This is Wonderful Manfred! I usually remember dates that had an impact on me but yesterday's anniversary entirely slipped my mind. Until late afternoon when I saw a brief tribute on the local news ... 34 years have passed ... wow! Thanx Manfred!

It looks like you're gonna be the first to try this! It you're willing to cut the seat off, I know it's a waste of dollars, but that's the solution. Or you may be very pleasantly surprised, and the entire assembly fits with just a little sanding ... Pete

Thanx Randy ... I tried these decals upside down and backwards and kept thinking, "these guys would have tested their decals out many, many times ... it CAN'T be them! I must have screwed up!" habu2 ... I used the same address and Andrey got back to me within a half hour! He wrote: "Hi Pete, I received your email. I need time. I do all to help you. Best, Andrey. -- Отправлено из Mail.ru для Android" I also sent him a link to this thread. So either he will figure that it was my mistake ( ? ) or I'll get a new free sheet of decals. The decals DO go down very nicely, I hafta say. I'll keep you posted. Pete

Now this is interesting ... I must be doing something wrong ... or-r-r ... This evening I was continuing with decalling and I was doing the belly surface of the elevons. Though the instructions were poor, the decals went on very nicely. I put the Port side decals in the water and ... wait a minute ... those aren't right! The decals shown have already been wet and I was trying to place 'em but ... they are the wrong angle ... Here's the illustrated instructions ... the 2 decals above are #31 and #33. Shucks, says I, I must be doing something wrong ... Here's the instruction for the top side Elevon decals #30, #32 on the right hand side and #35 and #37 on the left hand side ... correct?? And here are the decals with their #'s still on ... they haven't been in water. #35 and #37 are okay, but #30 and #32 are not! I've got an email into ARK Model to let them know they misprinted their decals or-r-r somehow, I've screwed up. If you see what I've missed, let me know! Thanx Pete

Thanx Giovanni ... I do use water for the initial setting of the decal but I like the extra bit of lubrication the setting solution gives. Plus, the Future seems to add some 'grip' to the decal which makes it harder to move around. But, it's not really a problem, with the Belly decals anyway ... I will paint on dark washes to simulate the re-entry burning and highlight with pastels ... the viewer, or Judges, won't even notice any flaws! Pete

Well, it's been over 8 weeks since I placed the order with Plastruct for some Acrylic spheres and ... I'm ... still ... waiting. I guess they're the only game in town, eh? Pete

Thanx Gents! Giovanni, I've watched your 1/72 builds and they ... are ... just ... Gorgeous! You have some serious skills! And you're Gorgeous too Randy! Thanx! I've started the Decalling and ... whe-e-ew-w-w ... the decals are lovely but oh so delicate. This wing decal went on nicely ... there was a lot of moving and adjusting, but it went down perfectly! But ... the other wing did not. It got folded under and over and ... I wrecked it. I asked ARK Model where I can buy another decal sheet ... This is the wing decal that I drowned ... On the Tail, I assumed that the decal covered it all. Nope. You have to paint the hinge joint. But again, the decals went on perfectly. The fit is Excellent! I must have screwed up here, but as you can see, the nose decals don't meet up. Well, I hope to have another set sent ... The underside of the Nose decal. So, the Decals aren't White, they are transparent with White tile indications. So, you'll need to paint the Belly. I did it with Primer. And the complex Belly decals. Just a bit of a pain, but again, they are fitted perfectly. When you guys build this, take care. These Decals are delicate and flimsy, but they handle a lot of manipulation on the model. I sprayed on Future first, let it all dry for a day or 4 and when ready to decal, I used a lot of setting solution ... but, I just chalk it up to not doing LARGE decals before and not taking ... my ... time. But hopefully, I'll get a new set of decals ... soon-ish! Pete