Fido996

Hi there fellow modellers, I’m after a bit of info if you all don’t mind? I’ve recently purchased a part made Hobbyboss F-14A in 1:48 and thought it would make a good project in the high-viz Wolfpack scheme. I was inspired by an early memory of a build I did back when I was a kid of an Airfix Tomcat. The problem is finding any after market decals for VF-1. I’ve tried all of my usual searches and these haven’t turned up anything. Apart from a couple that are overseas, but I’m not going down that route due to the high postage costs. My only other option s to paint the main markings. I’ve found a company that make some stencils for VF-1 which is called DN Models. I must admit, this is my first time finding out about them. Has anyone had any experience of using their masks? Are they ‘user friendly’? I would prefer to go down the decal route as I’m not entirely confident in doing the masks justice, but if that’s all there is available at the moment 😨 Thanks for reading and for any help, much appreciated. 👍🏻

WOW! Worked a treat! Cheers gingerbob. 👍

So, since I've been off work I've been trying to get on with this kit from Airfix (in between the never ending jobs the wife keep coming up with) and I seem to have come up against a brick wall. Not sure if I'm missing something or whether I've built it wrong but the turret just doesn't want to drop in! It's nowhere near being able to fit. IMG_2052 by Steve Noble, on Flickr IMG_2051 by Steve Noble, on Flickr

So, if l go gray cockpit and green wheel wells and doors I should be on fairly safe ground?

That's great, thank you very much. Quite like the idea of the Chromate Yellow, nice bit of variation.👍

Hi there, I'm after a little guidance regarding cockpit colours. I'm about to start the Hobbyboss F-84F and decided to upgrade to an Aires cockpit. So, in researching various bits and pieces before committing to anything, I find myself a little confused as to the cockpit colours. Interior green, grey or black? I'm kind of ignoring the Hobbyboss colour callout as they suggest painting the entire airframe grey when I believe it should be natural metal. Also, the wheel wells and gear doors. Hobby boss say Interior green, but I have a three view drawing of the same airframe which clearly shows Chromate Yellow on the doors. The airframe in question is 52-6675 which I think is an F-84F-45-RE if thats any help.

Nice scheme, looking forward to following this. Particularly interested to see how the cockpit set fits as I was thinking of doing this myself.

Apologies folks for dragging this one up again, but I’ve finally got into a position where I’m getting the bits together for my next build. The problem is Coastal Craft no longer stock Akan paint sets. The only other place I’ve found so far is from a source in Hong Kong via eBay. Anyone else got any ideas please?

Thank you all very much for the input, plenty to be going on with now. Des, thanks for that. That title rang a bell so I went and checked the 'Library extension' ( the garage) and found it hiding there. Nice one! However, both my WoF and IAPR have some holes in, so nothing there. Canberra Kid, it was your build that inspired me to crack this kit open. So, yes, it's all your fault! 😂👍 Thanks to you all for your help with this, very much appreciated.

I'm currently ( or attempting to at least ) modify this area on the 1:48 scale Airfix kit. I've got to the point where I'm mostly satisfied with the overall look now and I'm about to tackle the glazed areas. I've searched through, and exhausted, all my paper references and online is proving fruitless also, for a clear underside shot or drawing. Can anyone tell me if there's a glazed area on the underside of the chin fairing as well? Or is it front only? Thanks for any help, much appreciated. 👍

Of course, yes. Forgot about Coast Command. Thank you kindly for that.

I use Tamiya thinner with a couple of drops of Vallejo's airbrush flow improver spayed onto Vallejo surface primer. It's usually paint 50% and thinner/flow 50% mix. It works most of the time but I also find that taking some of the tack off of the masking tape helps as well.

After having attended this years RIAT I came away suitably inspired to build a replica of the Ukrainian Flanker complete with that fantastic digital camo. Now, I've recently moved over to Vallejo acrylics from Humbrol/Revell enamels, and I get on really well with them. My only problem is that I have real trouble matching their colours using my eye. They always look close right up until the paint hits plastic. Then it all goes wrong (just ask my last Tomcat build)! Anyway, what I'm asking in a long winded way, is peoples opinion on the colours for said birds plumage? I have FS numbers from a 1/144th decal sheet but I don't for the life of me believe that the Ukrainian AF use FS sourced paint for their planes. Just in case the numbers I have are FS15085 for the dark blue, FS16293 for the grey and FS15092 for the lighter blue. The colour for the underside being stated as FS25183. I would like to try and keep this centred around the Vallejo/ Ammo Mig range if possible ( mainly because I have a new paint rack and all the holes are the same size :-) ). Thanks in advance for any help gents. Oh, here's the bird in question.

Thanks for that Mike, some great references on those links. I think I may have to go down the 'make my own' route as I left out the engine face and the trunking is completely unpainted. My my own fault for not checking the fit earlier.

Ok, so. I bought the BigEd set for the Tomcat and it came with a set of F.O.D guards. This influenced my decision to pose my finished (hopefully) model parked. I've now got to the stage of fitting, only to find that they're nowhere near a 'close' fit. They will go into the inlet but they're just too tall. They sit at an angle. I sort of assumed they should be upright. Even the few pictures I've managed to find have confirmed this. Sitting just slightly back on the lower lip and perfectly upright. So, after seeing if they could be modified and quickly deciding against it, I purchased the Quickboost set. Great set as they are (with two decal sheets to boot!), I have exactly the same problem as the etched set. I made sure to have the intake ramp in the fully up position, it physically would not go any further. So, is it that the parts are too big for the kit they're designed for, have I built it wrong or am I just missing something completely obvious? It's the finally couple of pieces to finish off this build before I embark on the next project (Su-15 I think), so any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

Thanks for that Hairystick, that will be a great help.

I've been searching lately for a resin exhaust set for the Academy F-15C MSIP boxing but I'm unable to find any. I know that Eduard did some for their Fighting Eagles edition but there's nothing on their website about them anymore. So I was wondering if anyone has tried to fit the Aires set thats meant for the Hasegawa kits to an Academy version? Are they a good fit? Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. EDIT: I was wondering if I could be really cheeky and ask a huge favour? Does anyone on here have the Aires F-15 exhausts within easy reach? If so, would it be possible to get a couple of measurements? Specifically the burner can diameter that sits inside the airframe and the outer diameter of the can where it buts up to the fuselage. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks for that 72modeler, just what the doctor ordered.

Sorry, yes, kit PT12 in 1:48. Thank you for that. I must admit to not researching the IP and associated area in any depth just yet. Looking like it's my next task. So that'll be parts E28 & E29 in place of E31 & E32. Having just had a quick look at them now I see what you mean. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm just after a bit of clarity in my own mind and it always helps to hear/ read what someone else thinks. I have a Hasegawa F-14D kit that I want to back date to a B model. Am I right in thinking that I have everything I need within this kit to do that? I need the seats from the 'H' sprues and the small ECM/RWR fairings to go under the gloves vain/ wing area just in front of the navigation lights. I know there are two more that go a little further back but I can't see them mentioned in the 'B' instruction sheet. I'm sort of assuming that these are parts H29 & H30. I'm not too worried about any differences with the instrument panels ( mainly because the interior set I have is for the 'D' model and I don't want to be forking out anymore just yet with the Hinckley show around the corner). Any help would be greatly appreciated gents. Cheers!

I'm currently getting to grips with this kit, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I have planned to scratch build an intake cover so I didn't have to deal with the intakes. The instrument panel and glare panel do need some work, but it's nothing too drastic. The rest of the kit goes together fairly well, I've had no real problems with it. I'm at the painting stage now. The entire surface was polished, primed and then polished again to an almost mirror finish. The final touch ups were done earlier and a couple of coats of my varnish mix were sprayed on. This is now drying off and hardening before the decals and weathering are applied. It's the Seek/ Destroy 41sqn bird. Well, hopefully anyway!

Great stuff, thanks for that scottldr.

This maybe a bit of a long shot, but does anyone know if there's anything like this out there? The airframe in question is WF714 flown by the CO of No. 500 Sqn Squadron Leader Desmond de Villiers. Having just got my mitts on the Airfix kit and growing up near where this Meteor was stationed, I fancied this version sitting on the shelf amongst my growing collection. I've done all the usual searches on tinternet but drawn a blank. The scheme is also a little beyond my modelling skills and patience to do myself. So, any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! Over to you guys!

Heres my attempt at Eduard's MiG-21R. I've tried to replicate the weathering that was shown in one of the photos in the accompanying book from the Silver Arrows kit. As photography is not one of my strong points I had to make do with my camera phone, so they're not up to the standard usually seen on here. It's one thing I really need to work on. Oh, and please excuse the state of the workbench. Everything on it, under it and generally within its vicinity is a work in progress! And in company with Trumpeter's MiG-21F-13... All comment are very welcome and thanks for looking.

Great work there, liking that.