Pottyscotty

Makes sense, thank you. As much as I like camo Meteors I will probably go pickup the Korean War one.

First off I'd like to apologise if this is in the wrong section, couldn't find a better place to put it. I was wondering if anyone knew the difference between the two Airfix 1/48 Meteor kits? Only things I can see is the different decal and armament selection, and if that's all it is I'd wonder why separate kits were produced. https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/gloster-meteor-f8-1-48.html https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/gloster-meteor-f8-korean-war-1-48.html

Thank you for the list, there is a lot of pound and hobby places around here so should be easy to find it all. Not sure why I thought I'd cap myself to £30 to be honest, I haven't really got any reason to haha. Thank you, had a look and I found one for £64 (Compressor, 2 Airbrushes and a hose), so will likely get that. I imagine once postage had been added to the first two items it would seem daft not to pay that bit more for a second airbrush and higher quality.

I'd like to move on to airbrushing but know next to nothing about it. I have found an airbrush kit and a compressor, and the numbers seem to add up, is this all I need to get started? https://hobbyking.com/en_us/auto-stop-mini-compressor-with-air-tube.html?countrycode=GB&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz_TMBRD0ARIsADfk7hTvBrrKGeiioKJvCk_58p0Mv545R6mf4wd2Wt0VE-TiE0kFCdlZjeEaAmPpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&___store=en_us https://hobbyking.com/en_us/single-action-air-brush-set.html (if anyone knows of a better combination around £30 [not looking for anything fancy] then it'd be greatly appreciated).

Thank you IAD, been using that trick to keep parts together when dry fitting and gluing. Especially useful for bits that like to just pop out of place as soon as you let go! Haven't had much time to work on it last few days but a small update in that it's now nice and yellow. A few complications here in that the primer wasn't spraying properly so was just going on in light patches no matter how many times I tried (I think it's due to the fact that I wasn't cleaning it after use). Another being that the paint has a number of hairs stuck in it because of cats being allowed into the room (after I had said not to let them in of course!). Nothing too visible unless you look up close. Due to doing the darker interior first there was some grey on the outside which was difficult to mask (should have done darker over lighter) so the paint is a bit thick in places, obscuring some details, but nothing too bad. The bottoms were the worst for having little primer so they are full of brush strokes where I've had to lay the paint on thick because it wouldn't stick. Luckily I had decided to finish the model as if it were on the ground (gear out and rotors tied down) so it won't be seen. Despite this, so far I am happy with how it's been come out (and at least it's a hell of a lot better then my previous model attempts ). Next I'll be putting the black on the fuselage around the engine/exhaust area and in the small, detail hole... things. I'll leave decals until everything is painted and glued to avoid them being disturbed by me handling the model.

That'll explain things perdu, thank you! Will get some next time I go down there or get it online. Luckily the rest of the decals are the last thing to do. --------- All sprues have been primed, fixed up the pilots (some primer was showing or there was black on the face etc) and finished the cockpit. The panel is now in place and I managed to get the cyclics in (though not using the holes provided, I had to make two addition ones). The interior of the main fuselage has been painted as well so just need to do the door to the cockpit. Then I'll be adding the yellow to both halves (to avoid accidentally getting it inside the cockpit or on the windows) before putting the clear parts in and sticking them together. Then it'll be a case of painting all the smaller parts and putting them on before finally getting the decals on. And thank you for those who suggested thinning the paint. Brush strokes are hardly visible, sticks better, it's smoother and you get so much more out of the pots. Paper on Cockpit keeps coming out really shiny in these photos but it does blend in a lot better then it looks

Definitely enjoying it so far! Oh that sounds great since I have got annoying patches of shiny glue in places. Will add it to my list of things to get with my next purchase spree (£34 for the kit and so far £25 of equipment and paint, hopefully worth every penny ). Here's the new Control Panel "Decal". I added another coat of black, let it dry for a little bit then applied the pictures before it completely dried (doing this meant the paint wouldn't be squashed underneath and come up over the paper or gather around the edges but it was still wet enough to stick). I'm quite happy with the result of this and actually prefer it to the one that came with the kit (just a load of white dials). It does look better at a distance but up close was the only way to see the detail (camera is back so pictures should be better now)

Thanks for the comments, those mistakes have started to happen (surprise, surprise). Had a few problems now I've got stuck in but nothing too major. After all the interior parts were primed I spent the day painting them all. It was only until after that I realized what I thought was a dark blue in the packet of paints was actually a black so unfortunately some things are the wrong colours. Though not visible in the picture I picked up Humbrol 66 (Olive) to paint the Pilot's uniforms and it's a really nice looking colour. I re-did the helmets in black after finding it but by that point I had glued to the chairs so it was a bit fiddly. The glue I got with the kit was rock solid but luckily I still had some from a set from a good few years ago. Only problem is I must have gotten some cement in the lid since the precision needle was suck in there! Since it's nearly full and there's nothing wrong with it I don't really want to buy a new one. Has anyone got any alternatives to using the needle? The two throttle/RPM (not sure what it's called on a helicopter) control sticks went on fine and stuck well but I can't put the altitude ones in because the pilot's legs actually cover the hole you're meant to put them in! The instrument panel is where the first decal is placed and unfortunately I messed it up. Decal was cut out and soaked in warm water for about 7 seconds before leaving to absorb for about 40 seconds. I came off nicely but no matter what I did it wouldn't stick. I was brushing it with a little bit of water as well but still nothing. After about 15 tries to get it to stick it still wasn't and it just curled up. I thought it'd be a good idea to try to stick it on with the cement but that just ended in it ripped and turned into glue, as well as leaving paper behind on the model (which another layer of paint has cleared up nicely). Does anyone know why it didn't want to stick? I know people use Micro 'sil' and 'set' which I was going to get for the exterior decals but do these have any adhesive properties or would the other decals share the same fate even with these products? To replace the damaged decal I measured the control panel and designed a new one, it's a bit more accurate (looks better printed than in pixel form like that) and colourful than the one you get with the kit so I'm happy with it. Not quite sure how I'll be sticking it on yet. Lower section Sorry for the dark pictures, having to use my tablet due to faulty camera

Interior parts primed with Humbrol Matt 34. Very happy with the result of the spray can so will definitely be purchasing more for large sections. I may create extra parts for it like benches but many people have said that you can't really see in (though I'm going to have the side door in an open state so it should be more visible?). Despite reading pretty much everywhere that you should leave parts on the sprue and Prime/Paint I thought it'd be easier to take them off and do it. I was, of course, wrong haha. The power of the spray was making them fly off white tac and spraying directly onto them would make them fly off across the room. I discovered that I can use a cardboard box to do spraying in if, like me, you don't have room for a proper modeling space. It means that small parts you take off the sprue (though I'll leave them on in the future) won't go missing when sprayed since they can't leave the box area and they show up clearly against the cardboard, but also it means that if any paint goes astray it won't ruin your desk, wall or furniture since it'll just hit the sides of the box. Everything still seems to dry fine in there and the bonus is that it doesn't stick to the cardboard and create marks unlike Kitchen roll.

Dry fitted it seems to piece together nicely, just a few gaps that model filler can fix. I guess they may all vary slightly which may cause issues?

That's brilliant, thank you so much. I think I read somewhere that it should be the same amount of water as it is paint for thinning acrylics, am I right?

Thank you for the advice Chimpion. Decided to start with the Sea King since it's smaller and should be easier to begin with (admins feel free to move the topic to the correct section, I do realize now I could have just done them as two separate topics). All the plastic has all been cleaned so I'm just going to let it dry over night then make a start on the cockpit tomorrow. I do only have the white primer so would it be a bad thing if I were to use it for darker colours (black, olive etc) or should I leave those until I can get a grey primer? Do smaller parts (Pilots, Chairs, Control Sticks) actually need priming first or would they end up really thick? That and if I were to paint something one colour and then waiting for it to fully dry, would painting over it in another one mix it at all or come out odd? It'll be good to know when doing the main body exterior since I can brush/spray all in yellow then go over the grey/black/whatever parts afterward instead of having to mask it all out before painting. Sorry for the, most likely incredibly simple, questions. I really do appreciate the help you are all giving.

Got the primer, some better tape and a few extra paints (you only get the exterior paints with the kit and not the ones for the pilots etc). Didn't have much money on me at the time but did see some model filler and the liquid glue so will pick that stuff up at a later date. For now, at least, I'm able to make a start! Out of interest what's the general rule with primers? Large surfaces only and do small parts without or should everything be sprayed?

A03043 if that's any help. Comes up with one of the newer box designs but means nothing to me haha. That's brilliant, thank you. I believe I do so that's perfect. I'll pop back down to Hobbycraft or to the Hornby Visitor Center (both nice and close which is lucky for me) and pick up some primer then. To save money would it matter if I used white primer for everything or would it all just end up too bright? I may also pick up an orange and blue spray can for the Lifeboat as it's very large areas that may take a while by brush. Sea King should be fine to do though. Will have a look for that stuff too. Really appreciate the help, not having much clue about any of this the advice has been great from both you and longshanks as well as what I've read around the forum.

Thank you Kev I've seen a couple of topics of people doing the Severn Class since it was sold twice in its own box and with this bundle, so a bit more common. Sea King there is very little on however I found a video of someone showing how they built/painted theirs. That and helicopters are all pretty similar so most things are transferable no matter which one I look at. That was absolutely on the to-do list, especially if in the end I don't use a primer. I know it's to both remove the agent and grease but would that mean afterward I can't touch the model (as I'd just be applying grease again) or is it just because of the agent that it's a problem? Would washing it also remove any glue or should I wash before I start absolutely anything, instead of before I paint? I know they definitely sell Humbrol primer in a spray can in the three colours. I believe a few people on here use those so I presume it works fine. Kit came with some Humbrol acrylics (some people seem to like them, some don't and it's just preference is what I seem to be finding out) and Humbrol precision poly cement which if I remember comes out clear. Never thought of applying with a brush for some reason, thank you for that! I did pick up some masking tape from Hobycraft but a few people have mentioned adhesive residue with different tapes so I may look into getting a modeling specific one instead.