Smudgeboy

Thank you all for the responses - I'm doing the Academy 1/72 F-15 Eagle, with (seemingly) a couple of hundred thousand (😄) decals the size of a pinhead, and I have discovered (thankfully quite early) that the "no Set and a roll of Sol" method seems to work best in this case. Cheers all.

Hi all, Relative newbie, coming VERY slowly up to speed. Having discovered the delights of Micro Set and Micro Sol, I wondered if there's any consensus among experienced members as to how to use Micro Set, between: Adding a little Micro Set to the area the decal is going to be placed on vs Adding Micro Set to the water to be used for lifting the decal Every other article/posting I read seems to alternate between one technique or the other. Anyone got any thoughts or advice? Apologies if this has been asked before. Thanks, Smudger

Thanks everyone for the interesting and educational responses. As many have said, I guess at some point I have to suck it and see. So far, I've found the Revell Aqua ones to be pretty good, although I still need to practice my airbrush technique and I'm pretty sure I didn't thin them enough on one or two occasions. The underside of my F-14 Tomcat looks superb, but the topside looks a little 'grainy' suggesting (I assume) a combination of under-thinning and spraying from too far away, so some paint was drying before it reached the plastic. Practice, practice, practice. I've got some Tamiya acrylics on order for my next project, so that'll be a good start for comparisons. Thanks again everyone.

Just a quick question, having great fun learning to use my first ever airbrush, and using acrylic paints for the first time as well. As I'm doing a Revell 1/72 F-14 Tomcat, for ease of getting the right colours, I also bought Revell acrylic paints. So far, not knowing any better, I'm getting on fine with them, although my airbrushing techniques are still raw, to say the least. But in looking at a load of YouTube videos on airbrushing techniques etc, it seems that just about everyone who is anyone seems to refer to using what I would now describe as a "Big 4" of acrylic paints - these being Tamiya, Vallejo, Mr Hobby and Xtracrylic. Simple question really - are these makes really that much better than Revell, or is there a bit of snobbery going on?

Just a quick question, having great fun learning to use my first ever airbrush, and using acrylic paints for the first time as well. As I'm doing a Revell 1/72 F-14 Tomcat, for ease of getting the right colours, I also bought Revell acrylic paints. So far, not knowing any better, I'm getting on fine with them, although my airbrushing techniques are still raw, to say the least. But in looking at a load of YouTube videos on airbrushing techniques etc, it seems that just about everyone who is anyone seems to refer to using what I would now describe as a "Big 4" of acrylic paints - these being Tamiya, Vallejo, Mr Hobby and Xtracrylic. Simple question really - are these makes really that much better than Revell, or is there a bit of snobbery going on?

Many thanks all for the valuable information. Rather daunting to see the level of expertise on this place, not only on the models available, but also on the aircraft themselves. I have LOTS to learn!

Hi Giorgio, thank you so much for such a clear and detailed response. I love this place!

As noted elsewhere, a recent returnee to modelling - had some fun doing pretty average (OK, poor) builds of the Airfix 1/72 Spitfire and the Tamiya 1/72 F-4II Phantom, the latter of which supplied endless hours of "fun" with the instructions being only in Japanese! I'm now tooling up (brushes -> airbrush, watching loads of videos on techniques etc) and fancy having a go at putting together a collection of the US 'teen series' planes (F-14, 15, 16, 18). I grew up with Top Gun (I know!) and annual visits to Mildenhall Airshow in the 80s, so these are the big fast jets that used to light my fire. My question is, is there one particular manufacturer who does a really good range of these beasts in 1/72, or does it vary from plane to plane? To be clear, with a respectful nod to those on here who value spot-on historical and dimensional accuracy, that's not really my big worry. I'm more interested in getting kits that fit well and have good decals etc. Cheers amigos!

Newbie to the Forum, so forgive me if this is the wrong place to ask, but how the heck did you get the effect of the rivet holes showing through the decals - that's eye-popping stuff!

Wow! Seriously, WOW! I'm a newbie and just done my first kit in 40 years - I was thinking of posting it here, but having seen this, I'm having second thoughts!! (Don't worry, I will soon enough!) But this level of build and finish is really something to aspire to - great stuff.

Thanks for those last posts chaps - unfortunately (or fortunately) I was in Romania over the weekend enjoying the local food, beer and hospitality.

Thanks Black Night. Do you recommend a particular make/brand of the varnishes?

OK, first new topic on the forum proper, forgive me if I'm re-treading old ground. When I used to do modelling (very badly) in my early teens, I chucked Airfix kits together, slapped some enamel paint straight from the tin on to the kit, whopped on some decals and stood back and admired my handiwork. Fair to say the work wasn't particularly 'handi' but at 13, I wasn't overly bothered. Now, 40 years later, and getting back into it, I have the wonderful world of t'interweb . . . to show me just how wrong I was doing it! Colour me humbled. Now I'm happy to learn slowly, so the Airfix 1/48 scale Spitfire Vb I've cobbled together has been a useful trainer/practice kit. I know I've done a few things right, like painting the fiddly little bits while on the sprue, doing lots of practice fittings, not over-doing it with the glue etc. And I know I've repeated a few rookie mistakes - some ham-fisted work on the cockpit construction led me struggling to get the fuselage and wings tightly together (I think it was mainly from trying to glue painted edges together). However, I've got it to the stage where it is all together, and with a few coats of enamel and some judicious use of masking, it's reasonably painted (though I say so myself) and not TOO full of brush marks etc. So now, I have to add the decals and 'finish' it - and this is where I'm a little bamboozled, about what to use, where, why - and in what order. I've read so many different things about clear coats, Kleer (and alternatives), Micro-Sol and Micro-set (I have bought bottles of those last two) and matt, satin and gloss varnishes, and what to put on before the decals, and after the decals, and where to sand down and where not to, that my head is spinning. I know there's no DEFINITIVE answer, but would anyone be so kind as to provide a Dummies guide to post-painting finishing - including at what point I should have a go at 'weathering' and 'exhaust lines' etc - bearing in mind I am using brushes, not a spray gun. Thanks in advance.

This may sound simplistic, but I recently bought a brand new bottle of the same stuff, and had the same problem - I found that by lightly squeezing the bottle, and simultaneously (also lightly!) tapping the end of the 'needle' on a hard surface (in this case the edge of my desk), the glue seemed to start flowing, as if drawn out by some form of capillary action. Might be worth a try.

Thanks Eric - in one way, I'm very lucky, as there is a long-established model shop (Maskell's) about five miles away from me in Sevenoaks. I plan to pay a visit soon! Is there anywhere on here that lists model shows?