MoFo

Lamp cord is another good source of fine copper wire. Really, any old, flexible electrical cord/cable will have a good supply.

Yes, it would be VERY risky to try to work with a rotary tool. Use fine grit, wet sandpaper, then polish out the scratches. There's a good article in the Tools and Tips section of the website about removing mould lines from canopies that describes the process well.

Echoing Ken, but it'll be a bit trickier on the INSIDE of the canopy - just have some patience and all will be well. And if you plan to do any polishing on the outside of the canopy, I find it's best to only do one side at a time. That way, if there's still minor scratches that can be seen, you know which side they're on. Alternatively, doesn't Aeroclub do a vac replacement? ;)

Well, the IPMS Stockholm site SHOULD be back up tomorrow, and the Humbrol Authentic mix chart might list something that'd help. I can't really think of any easy way to get there from their standard shades - Duck Egg Blue is a LONG way off - other than mixing their truest yellow and blue until you get something "close enough". You might be better off with their acrylic turquoise since it's a closer starting point, possibly adding more blue or green per your preferences, and maybe lightening with a bit of white.

For smaller areas, both acetone and CA debonder (and accelerator, for that matter) will work as well. Acetone can craze plastic if used in larger doses though, and stripping a full kit with accelerator or debonder would be insanely expensive. And SF, I'm thinking a sticky entitled "how to use the search function" here in T'n'T wouldn't go amiss. :)

Repeated, light coats to build up opacity, then a heavier coat (or two) to finish things off. If you're going over light grey plastic, you shouldn't need a primer, but if it's dark or strongly coloured, or there's much filler underneath, it'd help. It also helps to paint the part with matte white, as it covers better and dries faster, before paying down a coat of gloss white for a final shine. Also, different paints will improve your chances of success. Floquil Reefer White (matte) is widely regarded as the best white on the market, as it's quite opaque. I've also had a fair bit of succes

FWIW, general consensus on the Model Master version seems to be pretty negative (as with most of their Soviet shades), so you'd probably be better off with the Xtracolor paint.

I've got rubbers on my Bone, and it's fine. :wacko: Several years later they look exactly the same as the day I sprayed 'em.

Plus, Alclad is a very potent lacquer, so you run a good risk of melting/crazing the plastic with the heavier applications brush painting requires. Probably not a good idea in all.

Option 1: burnish masking tape over the decal and rip 'em off. Option 2: flood it with decal sol, remove once it's softened. Option 3: very careful sanding/scraping. All three MAY damage the paint underneath (though the first two should be reasonably safe), so be prepared to do some touch ups.

The reverse is probably easier - prime the relevant areas with white/light grey, spray the stripe colour, then mask off the areas to remain striped and paint the bomb OD/whatever. I personally use a combination of the three (or four, I guess) techniques, depending on the ordnance and nature of the stripes. It depends what look I'm going for, how complex the stripes will be, and how lazy I'm feeling.

50%. There is... another.

Short answer, no. As a for instance, Gunze Sangyo Aqueous paints are acrylics. Their Mr. Color Lacquer line is also acrylic. The former is water base, the latter lacquer based, but both use acrylic particulate - the actual paint itself is plastic. The typical connotation of "acrylic paint" is that it's water/alcohol/ammonia based, but this isn't correct. This is why so many people have problems spraying Alclad, which calls for an acrylic (lacquer) primer. Enamels are oil based. "Thinner" is just a generic term to describe whatever product is used to dilute the paint. Again, the typical

A pin vise is effectively a small hand drill with a chuck fine enough to hold very small bit, pins, etc. So (depending on the type), it is used in a similar manner to a scrwedriver. You can use finer drill bits to bore out missile exhausts when moulded flat on plastic parts. Flashed over holes are holes - usually for locating things like underwing pylons and various optional extras - that go part way through the plastic so the surface of the model isn't marred if you don't want the options. They're visible on the insides of the kit, but "flashed over" so they don't go all the way through t

Making holes, usually. The most typical uses for drill bits that would fit a pin vise include drilling out gun barrels, exhausts, missile, flashed-over holes etc. And you can get straight pins (or sewing needles, if you want to go that route) at any fabric store. You will also get a small stash with most formal shirts...

Acrylic refers to the "particulate", not the carrier or thinner. It's alcohol based but must be removed with ammonia once cured.

That is true. Paint model. Gloss coat. Apply decals. Matte coat. Apply pastels. Light matte coat to seal pastels.

For general purposes, a pin in a pin vise is by FAR the best option. It will scribe a very fine line (think Academy or Hasegawa), and can be used in any direction, though it is a bit more labour intensive to scribe with (it tends to push the plastic to the sides, rather than removing a trough). They're also dirt cheap. For straight lines, your second best option would be an Olfa P-Cutter (see the recent tools/tips article), also marketed by Tamiya as their brand-name scribing tool. Works very well in straight lines, but scribes a much wider line than a straight pin (think Tamiya or Italeri

Most (hobby) paint manufacturers have semi-gloss clear coats in their lines. You can also simply mix gloss and matte paints in varying ratios to dull the shine per your own personal taste. You will still need to gloss coat before decalling, however, before overspraying with a semi-gloss clear coat. Decal film will silver over semi-gloss paints.

Pastels work best over a matte surface, as they need something to "grip" to. They will pretty much just blow/wipe off a glossy, Futured surface.

Pretty much any other "white metal" paint, I'd imagine - silvers, aluminiums, chromes, etc.

Then use some blue with light grey and white. Or something like it.

Masking tape, burnished down and peeled off. And no, you can not re-use decals.

Couldn't you just paint it white inside? :)

Where does one purchase huge airbrushes? I only ever have normal sized airbrush problems.... :)