Rocky

What color would the area under the front of the windscreen on a natural metal finish P-38J be? My old Monogram instruction sheet says olive, but no other part of the plane is olive, and I suspect that olive is for an optional olive paint scheme. Black would make more sense.

You could have the really short nose and accuracy with the first three prototypes, but the production F-111B nose would still be shorter than an Air Force bird. It looks different.

In other words, if they only give us C-17 cargo planes to do CAS with, we will push bombs out the back door. Its a total non sequitur as to what the best platform is.

1/72nd scale, of course. Not just because its less expensive and more fit on a bookshelf. Many subjects only come in 1/72nd scale. Lots of subjects would be ridiculous in 1/48th scale, and insane in 1/32nd scale. Think B-52, B-2A, B-36, YB-49, etc. Yes, an F-5 or MiG-21 is dinky in 1/72nd, scale, but an F-4, F-14 or MiG-25 is not. If you want all of your jets in the same scale, 1/72nd scale is the way to go. I save 1/48th scale for WWII, and 1/32nd scale for WW I.

I have the same hopes of doing a production F-111B in 1/72nd scale. Of course the big problem is that the front end of the production F-111B is unlike any kit of any version of the F-111. BUT Trumpeter is coming out with a Su-33UB kit that has a front end that looks very similar to a production F-111B. Perhaps it can be kitbashed together, with a Hasegawa FB-111A, into something that looks like a reasonable facsimile. Time will tell... Trumpeter Su-33UB discussion: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=276960&hl=su-33ub&st=0

Many thanks!

I picked up a second hand Hasegawa FW190 Tunisia kit, and it is sans instructions. Does anyone have a copy? Thanks

How well did the filler putty show through the paint when you were done? I'm thinking of using Squadron green putty to get the preshade effect for the grid lines. I'd use a black putty if there was such a thing. I'm concerned that the engraved grid lines are too wide, and I'd be better off using a fine pencil instead.

On second thought, maybe I should use a Russian solution for the canopy too. The Su-33UB canopy might be close to a production F-111B canopy.

I was thinking that was the only way to do it. I don't have any experience with that, but when all else fails, learn something new... I've been thinking of making an EF-111B. That would be really interesting, and a plausible development, except that I am afraid the tail would be too tall to get through the hanger doors on the ship.

I want to build an F-111B as it would have looked like if it was put into production. The last two prototypes and the production version had a longer nose than the first three prototypes, but not as long as the Air Force versions. It sort of looks like a Su-27 nose to me. Would a kitbash Su-27 nose and some Milliput work on an FB-111A kit? Or is it too far off? Another problem is the steeper windscreen. I don't know how to fix that change. Somebody make a conversion kit, pleeeeze!

I just got my DACO F-104 detail set. I have not had a chance to use it yet, but it looks really good. You can buy individual sprues if you order directly from DACO. I ordered an extra Kormoran missile, so I have a pair of them.

One thing that amazes me, is that it would be so easy for the artist to take a built kit, hang it on a string, take a photo of it and use that picture as a basis to at least get the shape of the plane right. I'm no artist, but even I can copy an image well enough to look vastly better than this box "art". One would think the manufacturers would want to make their products look good.

If a Thunderbirds F-4 touched a Blue Angels F-4, would they both explode in a burst of gamma rays?

I don't think Scott is saying it shouldn't be on the "maybe" pile, just that it's never going to go anywhere else until someone comes up with a photo. The burden of proof is on the affirmative. And it can only be proven one way, not the other. Like Scott wrote, you can't prove a negative.

I've wanted to do an Omani hunter circa 1980, but I can't figure out if hey had been repainted yet.

The Daco F-104 improvement and correction set has one Kormoran missile. Its not enough for a Marineflieger F-104G, and too many for any other F-104. I'll be glad to buy your useless missile!

ONE of each missile? Seriously? Thats just cruel. Oh, I have these great boots I am selling. They are kind of expensive, and you only get one boot...

I wanted to do my Edward MiG-21MF in Syrian AF markings, but I couldn't find any pictures of the subject.

The Bullpup was a terrible missile. Pilots hated the thing. It was inaccurate, and to guide it, the pilot was forced to fly in a straight line, which made him vulnerable to ground fire. If it was ever carried by the F-4B in combat, it was rarely used. I have seen lots of pictures of Marine F-4Bs with unguided rockets, and of course, bombs.

I just did a web search for Thunderbirds T-38 images. As I expected, different photos show different shades of red, but I was pleased to see a number of good photos that look just like the color of your decals. I confess that I thought the Thunderbirds must have used a darker shade of red, but I was wrong.

I just got my set of decals, and my impression was that they seemed a little bit orange. I have not compared them to the Testors paint yet, but I pulled out my Hasegawa Thunderbirds decals, and I was shocked at the difference. The Hasegawa decals are redder, but too dark. Yours seemed light, but they are very close to the red stripe in a Microscale national insignia.

It was a 1/350 USS Enterprise from Star Trek TOS, but then the clouds parted, the angels sang, and Polar Lights blessed us. I have wanted a 1/72 B-1A for almost as long, and its my Holy Grail. But I'd also like a 1/72 scale: F-101A Tu-128 C-5 Galaxy And in 1/48 scale: YF-17 Ju-87B-1

I recently painted a model, using blue tape to mask, and I had a lot of paint bleed under the tape. A few days ago I was in a hardware store, and I saw two brands of tape that advertised that their tape did not allow paint to bleed under it, leaving a sharper edge than a competitor. One was a 3M blue tape, and I forget the other. It was green, and had a frog pictured on it. What masking tape do you use, and have any of you tried these better masking tapes? Is there really a difference?

At least it wasn't a moose...