Geoff M

As Max says there were a bunch made and they must have been around immediately after the war. Why were they relegated to the dust bin? There must have been some not-so forward thinking people involved in the decision.

Recently read a short article on the P-51 v P-47. It seems that the intended use of piston engined aircraft after WW2 was as fighter bomber not air superiority due to the arrival of jet aircraft. The P-47 had better capabilities as a fighter bomber (more payload and firepower) and better survivability than the P-51 although it was marginally slower which was probably not a big issue in the fighter bomber role. Why would the AF choose to keep the mustang instead of the thunderbolt in the post war years? Was it purely image related? The mustang was a more glamorous aircraft? Just wondering. geoff M

I don't care who makes them as long as they are better than what is available currently if any, all 1/48th. 1. Republic P-43 2. Curtiss P-36 3. North American X-15 4. Grumman F11F 5. Wright Flyer

Great outlook on life and reality. Geoff M

Like you I have been using MM enamels for decades and I have around a hundred little bottles. My wife is concerned with the vapors from spraying them indoors. So to appease her fears I have tried Mission Models paints and I just got some Vallejo paints. Both are acrylics. They are very fine pigments and they are fairly thin so they spray easily with a little thinner. I have been impressed with them so far. I don't know of any company that produces "oil based" enamels although there are some that make acrylic lacquers. Perhaps someone else might know of some other enamels. I am at a loss with what to do with all my mm paints. Some are multiple decades old and still good. My only annoyance with mm paints is the cap gets stuck after while and you have to destroy it to get it off, no matter how diligent you are about clean the bottle rim. I have found the vallejo paints clean up easily with windex which is nice. The Mission Models paints are a little more temperamental and need there specific thinner for cleaning. Hope this helps Geoff M

Hi Burner, I just converted to Vallejo too. I don't measure but I thin approx. 80/20 paint to thinner. I find that they spray nicely and dry quickly. Not the most durable paint, scratches easily, but resists my finger prints so far. I spray between 18 and 25 psi. I agree, I would never spray straight from the bottle. I just painted my first kits with them and I am pleased so far. I used model master enamels for decades, but since I do my modelling indoors I decided to switch to something less aromatic. Good luck with tomcat. Geoff M

Mustang Megadeath, I know I have a Meng, Eduard, Hasegawa in 1/48.

I like your reasoning. Thanks for the validation. I feel so much better now. Still gotta stop buying kits. Geoff M

My name is Geoff and I have a stash. Part of the MA (modeler's anonymous) creed.😬 Geoff M

I could do a Tamiya P-51B vs a Monogram P-51B Geoff M

I had them too! I remember the sheet being one 8.5x11 sheet approx. that was one solid decal so that each marking had to be cut out and trimmed. They were also quite thick as I recall. But they were the only game for a RF-101C at the time (early 90's) Geoff M

As far as the wing tank issue, that may a have been a matter of the time period. Probably as the planes got older and fatigue became more of an issue they decided not to use the wing tanks to save hours on the wings. Maybe? Geoff M

I looked this up on Scalemates and this link will take you to what I found https://www.scalemates.com/kits/italeri-2792-spitfire-mki--1235463 It seems to be a possible rework of an existing Mk IX/V molding. No information on what if anything has been changed. If I remember correctly, Italeri acquired the Occidental Spitfire molds. Geoff M

I have the above listed kit and despite wanting to build it my previous endeavors into ship modeling have not gone well so I am not going to start this one. The box is open but it has not been started. This includes Tom's Model works photo etch set 3528 for the Arizona. Let me know if you are interested and I will get out to you. I would like reimbursement for shipping. Please pm Geoff M

Love it! Geoff M