Holdfast

Mmmmmm, not bad Nige but if you want more masks I think that you will have to build faster than this, it's like watching paint dry What paint do you use for the blue of the isignia? I've only asked you about nine times but I never remember and I don't want to cock up my 1/32 No Guts-No Glory Build for the want of the right blue

Hi Steve, Brilliant work with those masks, this is the sort of thing that inspires modellers. Ian (AdAstraMasks) do you include a warning with your masks "Warning using paint masks is addictive"

I joked with friends about some nutter doing this but I secretly love the idea. The thing is though there's not much point unless you do build the 323 Gigant to go with it Seriously though, If you are on track to complete this in time for the Scottish Nationals I will, if you like, provide the markings as masks Just drop me a line at Miracle Paint Masks I'll be watching this with great interest.

Cool, painted on markings always look better than decals, nice job

I too do custom masks for the 1/24 Mosquito, just choose your subject. Mal

Have you thought about using paint masks then you can paint the codes in the correct colour. There are plenty of paint mask out there, some are even custom made.

All the PSP that I ever worked with was rusty. Whatever the original finish was when it was new it obviously soon got wheathered and rusty. It was afterall used to create a stable platform over ground liable to being affected by the weather IE rain. Lay any piece of steel on ground that is likely to get wet, run vehicles or aircraft over it and quite soon any protective covering gets worn away and it will start to rust. It was effectively out of service when I was in but I did teach on it and I did lay it for real in the Falklands. Like I said it was always rusty. I think that it might have had some sort of coating when new and that it was black. I don't think that this was paint but something akin to the preservative coating on tank tracks; but don't quote me on that. It would certainly look good made to look rusty with grass and weeds growing through the holes. This of course would be shorter in areas of high traffic. PSP came in 3' and 6' lengths and laid so that the joints overlapped, they were locked in place with spring clips 2-3 per section. We were, sometimes, issued with new ones of these which were finished in the black finish mentioned earlier and this is the reason that I believe that PSP might have had the same finish when new?

Very nice and great to see this in model form as I'm currently working on a set of masks of this very scheme for the Tamiya 1/32 scale P-51.

Well of course it is, it's very good but this is something else. A 1/5 scale P-51 Mustang built by David Glen, go to his web site Spitfire in my Workshop for more about the P-51 and his 1/5scale Spitfire Mk I. I'm posting these pictures (sent to me by David for this purpose) as I had the privilege of supplying paint masks for the markings (the nose art and other stuff is yet to be done). Because of the need to apply an etch primer coat under the masks David had to deviate from the normal method that I recommend for applying USAF Star and Bar insignia, but the results speak for themselves

I'm also working on one of these as well, I'll be finishing it in Eaglestons markings, I recently closed up the fuselage halves. This is a very nice kit and I'm not using any aftermarket items, apart from my masks of course Mal Oops sorry I forgot I used Radu Brinzens wonderful seat belts, they are outstanding. I should also mention that there are a couple of small things to watch out for. You will notice that the series of screws around the panel on the starboard upper wing are missing their slots (they are there on the port wing) and both upper wings have a slight sink mark just in front of the flaps. Both of these are very easy to fix; I simply lined either side of the long sink marks with masking tape, added filler, removed the tape, and then sanded flush. A ten minute job. For the slots on the screws I snapped a scalpel blade to leave a small blade, and then filed this to the correct width. I then simply pressed the tiny blade into the plastic where the slot should be. This kit was really given a beating on another well known forum for these simple to fix glitches. Nothing was mentioned of the great fitting cockpit with wing spars and the fit of the wings and the excellent engine. I also love the way that the windscreen fits. A lovely kit and I'll be getting another one

Yes, roll on Telford I'll probably have to try and reserve one as I have a trade stand this year, and won't be able to get around much. I have been contemplating what masks to have available for the show; maybe some for the 188 would be a good idea? Mal

Looks like I'll be getting another Revell Ju 88. This conversion looks like the proverbial dogs danglies Mal

Or you could use masks. Everything on this 1/48 Tamiya Fw 190A-3 is painted, including the dashed no walk lines. I produce the masks, Miracle masks

I thought that I'd better clear up what I said in my earlier post as I checked the dry transfers that I had looked at and they have either changed or there are different sets using different styles. That sounds unlikely so I may have looked at a different site. Anyway The Hobby Decal Spitfire Dry Transfers, that I looked at last night, don't use the "stencil" font and it does look better than that, but I'm still not convinced that it's correct. Some restored Spitfires use a similar font (I'm not sure what it is, yet) and again the dray transfers would look better than the decals. Sorry for the confusion. Mal

Also be careful of the style of the lettering, I have done some research on this as I want to use dry transfers on my models as I always, now, use paint masks for the main markings and hate water slide decals. I have also spoke to Edgar about this and, I think that, we are a little devided. However I believe that Tamiya have the style pretty much correct, but they are decals. No names, but most, if not all, dry transfers (for the Spitfire) use the "Stencil" font. This font is an American font from around 1938, f memory serves me correctly, and certainly isn't the style that would have been used on RAF aircraft. Please note that these are my thoughts on this subject and using dry transfers for the stencils, even in the wrong style may be the way to go, as I would bet that no one will say that you are wrong (unless they now agree with me ) I am trying to correct this situation but what I believe to be the correct style is, I have been informed, "not possible as the elements are too small for the process, since the EU changed the chemicals that can be used"? From a commercial dry transfer manufacturer. However I'm still on the case. Mal