Trumpeter TU-22 M3 Backfire C..

[F111Fan]

That's an absolute monster! If you keep building these Soviet monsters at this rate, you're gonna have to rent a hanger to keep them in!!!

[Mike]

Looking a bit sharp that, Andy (In both senses of the word).

What's the difference between a Buffalo and a Bison? You can't drop nuclear bombs from a Buffalo (you can drop water on fires though). Not quite as funny as the original

[keefr22]

A bit of a sneak preview, the Bison along side a MIG 21...it's BIG!!, and no it won't be ready for Telford.....

Why....??!!

K

[Hypnobear]

Great progress so far on the Backfire, and I like the Bison too, very big!! The Bison has to be one of my favourite Russian heavies, and Id love to put one with my other Soviet aircraft, but at around £150..... ....and working with a fibreglass fuselage....

[general melchett]

Thanks chaps, yes now that my daughter has finally moved out and into uni I will have to devise a plan to hoodwink SWMBO into letting mr rent her room to me for the duration!!!

Mike the jokes don't improve

You can't drop nuclear bombs from a Buffalo

You might have an interesting time trying to refuel from one too!!!

Keef....coz there's around 500 plus parts to the thing and it's mostly made of granite strength resin impregnated plastic similar to high tensile Bakelite !!....

Nakajima, if you've ever built a Monogram/Revell B52 then you know what sort of size this thing is, however with this one EVERTHING has to be constructed in many pieces such as the undercarriage and engine bays which have more parts than a complete 1/72nd scale kit!!.very labour intensive. But once done they look magnificent!!

[David H]

Andy, FWIW the elder Statesman of American Vacforms, Richard Steszak, finished a Combat R3Y Tradewind that he displayed at the Nationals in Phoenix. A Model has announced one and its definitely "AMonster" i'd want to tackle.

Course if i get it only halfway done and it languishes in the basement, it becomes "AMess".

david

[general melchett]

Ah now that sounds a rather tasty morsel Dave,, would have to join you in that one, (maybe hooked up to four Cougars!!). I see they are also doing a 1/72nd Brabazon!!.............that'll sure test the covering ability of Alclad Personally I just wish they would get on and do a decent Blinder!!

Ha, always thought there was a fine line with these kits.......Amonster to A Monstrosity in one easy move.......

[David H]

Plus- The Fuselage of a Brabazon could also double as a golf club.

d-mented

Ah now that sounds a rather tasty morsel Dave,, would have to join you in that one, (maybe hooked up to four Cougars!!). I see they are also doing a 1/72nd Brabazon!!.............that'll sure test the covering ability of Alclad Personally I just wish they would get on and do a decent Blinder!!

Ha, always thought there was a fine line with these kits.......Amonster to A Monstrosity in one easy move.......

[F111Fan]

They are doing a 1/72 Spruce Goose! That will be an absolute monster

[Uncle Uncool]

Awesome, Melchie! I was wonderin' whut was of this build, my mate.

yes now that my daughter has finally moved out and into uni I will have to devise a plan to hoodwink SWMBO into letting mr rent her room to me for the duration!!!

Let ya rent yer daughter's room to ya, General? Well, if ya ever fight with the SWMBO about that matter, ya tell her that ya've got a 20-year-old hot Argie babe who's become yer #1 admirer. My lil' sista has seen yer picture on Britmodeller's home page and kinda freaked out, me fears... She says ya're the spittin' image of Yank actor Michael Paré... Anyway, me guesses every thing happens for a reason; thank God yer face has contributed to sort of make void the lil' lass' funny belief that only losers enjoy puttin' plastic aircraft kits together.

Hey, if ya want to see a picture of yer Argie admirer, ya just scream, mate, aye? She even suggested putting that picture of yers on my sig! Can ya believe this lass? I wouldn't be much surprised if she decided to start buildin' aircraft kits just in order to post 'em on here, y'know.

Beware of the lil' sista, Melchie!

Unc²

[general melchett]

Well that's mighty kind of you Unc, your sis either has impeccable taste or simply should have gone to specsavers!!........Ask her to put a couple of models together and see what happens...........you just never know!!

PS give her this photo of me taken many years ago........a mothers joy!!

I was a child of the sixties, and I think it shows.......to be honest I feel that growing up near the Sellerfield nuclear processing plant left its mark. ............... (luckily most of the effects of the LSD , amphetamines and irradiated nuclear slurry my mother pumped into my bottled milk had worn off by the time I was 40!!)

Striking resemblance to that uncious subordinate Edmund Blackadder me thinks!!

Who would have thought what the future would hold, I think I miss those days but can't really remember much before last thursday...!!

Melchie....

Edited August 10, 2010 by general melchett

[keefr22]

:rofl: :rofl:

[Doctor Strop]

Some very very fine work there mate. Have you got any threads that show what tools you use? I would be interested to read more about the techniques you have used, especially the fine detail work on the main gear.

Cheers

Andy

[general melchett]

Hi Andy, thanks for the comments, as for tools I use I can quickly list them here, (not intended to show off or put you off, rather to demonstrate what's available to us modellers,)

Airbrushes,

Harder and Steenbeck Infinity (dual action fitted with 0.4 and 0.2mm nozzle heads)

Iwata Custom Micron C MC plus with MCS.

Iwata HP-C plus (dual action)

Iwata SAR (single action)

Badger 200 (single action)

(Bare in mind some of these are only back up in case of any tech failures, I mostly use the H and S and Micron).

Compressor

Iwata Studio series Smart Jet Pro

Airbrush cleaning

H and S micro brushes and nozzle cleaning tool and Premiair liquid reamer aerosol cleaner

Safety

Wickes full face respirator and home built fan extractor system

A and Z CA debonder

Brushes,

Premier Brush Co sables.....(a LOT)

Paints

Mainly Alclad 2 metallics and SnJ aluminium powder (cellulose) Mr Hobby Gunze range, Vallejo Air, Tamiya, Xtracrylix, Lifecolor, Citadel...all acrylics, don't tend to use enamels very much just for the odd bit of detail work and if so mainly Xtracolor.

Oil paints

Winsor and Newton range mixed with pure Turpentine.

Lighting

New Ottlite natural light system.....very nice!!

Glues

Zap A Gap CA (thick and liquid) plus Zip kicker accelerator

Revell Contacta liquid

Gator acrylic hobby glue

PVA

Fillers

Mr Hobby liquid putty

Mr Hobby tube putty

Milliput superfine and standard ( white and black)

Green Stuff..(urghh 'orrible stuff),

CA glue and talc

Thinners

Gunze Mr Hobby

Xtracrylix

Tamiya X-20A ( when I can get it!!),

pure Turpentine,

Halfords Cellulose thinners

Humbrol enamel thinners

Washes

Promodeller range (all)

Citadel wargamers series

Mostly mix my own from Winsor and Newton oils heavily thinned using Turpentine

Tamiya smoke

Weathering

MIG pigments

oils (as above)

HB pencil graphite powder

art supplies pastel chalks

art supplies metallic pencils mainly silver , pewter and bronze

cockpit tinting...... Alclad 'hot' range and Humbrol and Tamiya 'clear' range mostly yellow, gold and orange

Exhaust staining Alclad 'hot' violet, sepia and blue.

Tamiya and Olfa rescribing tools and various metal templates

Sanding material

Micro mesh system

various Tru Grit snading sticks

cockpit buffing stick

Halfords wet and dry packs

Dremel micro drill set and pin vice

Primers

Alclad grey and gloss black

Halfords white , grey and red

Varnishes

Vallejo Air matt and satin

Tamiya matt

Humbrol aerosol acrylic matt and satin ( wonderful stuff gives a flawless finish!!)

Klear for canopy and airbrushed pre decalling coats

Detailing,

Evergreen platicard sheets

Evergreen plastic rod

Little-cars lead wire

Little-cars flexihose and copper wire

Little-cars lenses

brass and aluminium tubing (many different diameters)

stretched sprue and even knicker elastic (ideal for rigging, but ask the missus first!!)

Sorry, I know it's a longish list Andy and there's a fair bit left out but it gives a general idea , bear in mindthough that this has been accumulated over many years!,

As for the detailing it's mostly done using the excellent Little-cars lead wire, stretched sprue and various washes to highlight everything.

I'm writing various technique articles for Model Aviation World magazine at the moment which hopefully will give folks some idea of what can be done, there's one on Alclad in this months issue.

Reference and research is everything and so much is now available on the net.....

Most important thing though..............your imagination It's amazing what you can do..

But for goddness sake feel free to ask anything at all, if we can help then that's what it's all about!!

Andy

[kev67]

You are either very rich or very poor at the amount of stuff you have, on top of all your equipment how many models would you have in your stash, if you added them all up would you able to afford a nice holiday

[Uncle Uncool]

your sis either has impeccable taste or simply should have gone to specsavers!!........

Hmph... me'd say it's the former, Andy; ya see, the girl is just into good-looks 'n' fashion. As for her eyesightin,' she was the one who first realised that Micro-Mark's pounce wheels actually etched square-shaped rivets on my models

Ask her to put a couple of models together and see what happens...........you just never know!!

Awlright, my stash is gettin' double pad locks on the door as of now! Please don't give crazy ideas to the lass, will ya? Not only are kits expensive down here but also very difficult to get by. I'm afraid my sista might graft Hasegawa's F-14 wings onto an Italeri Tornado just because the former looks better than the latter! *shudders*

PS give her this photo of me taken many years ago........a mothers joy!!

Striking resemblance to that uncious subordinate Edmund Blackadder me thinks!!

I did, and she replied back tellin' me that she's recognised Mr Bean's face on that picture. General, the sista ain't stupid, y'know.

I was a child of the sixties, and I think it shows.......to be honest I feel that growing up near the Sellerfield nuclear processing plant left its mark. ............... (luckily most of the effects of the LSD , amphetamines and irradiated nuclear slurry my mother pumped into my bottled milk had worn off by the time I was 40!!)

Uh-oh... she said ya've lost points 'cause of this statement, mate. Sorry. Said yer mother would have never pumped drugs 'n' stuff on yer baby bottle. Ya've hurt the sista's maternal instincts, mate. It's likely that ya've sort of fallen from grace with that one, Melchie. Be repentant, mate; be repentant. Ya shouldn't joke about babies 'n' drugs, y'know. Too bad, mate; too bad. Ya hear?

You are either very rich or very poor at the amount of stuff you have, on top of all your equipment how many models would you have in your stash, if you added them all up would you able to afford a nice holiday

Uh-huh... sista thinks Andy oughta be very rich for he's been starrin' on successful films ever since the acclaimed 1984's Streets of Fire, directed by Walter Hill.

Cheers, General!

Unc²

[Doctor Strop]

Thanks for the list. I was particularly interested to see what airbrush(s) you use. I have a cheap n' nasty Aztec bottom of the range jobby, with a 20PSi compressor that a mate nicked from his skip at work. I have issues with the brush drawing up the paint, even when spraying thinner through to give it a clean. I have been looking at Iwata or a Badger, something like a Badger 175. Not sure what to go for though, any advise would be welcome.

As for all your other equipment and sundries, I do have a few of those bits. I can only get hold of new formula Klear, and that seems to have caused more of a mess than anything. It is amazing how much stuff I have accumulated since returning to the hobby 3 months ago.

Not got knicker elastic yet though, but at least I can use your post as a reasonable alibi when the missus catches me in her drawers

Cheers

Andy

[general melchett]

OK Unc, I repent , but London was a crazy place in the sixties, free love, basin haircuts and mass fluoridation of the local water supply! On holidaying on the south coast of England just outside Dungeness so much stuff was pumped into the sea you could literally walk on the water half way to France, and you should have seen what we had to eat with our chips!!

Yer little sis musn't take things too seriously Unc, our humour is an acquired taste at the best of times. Well sadly I'm not rich and I don't recall being paid for makin 'Streets of Fire', that Walter Hill eh!!!!,

Kev, I guess I have about 100 models in the stash at the moment which is way below the average though more than a third of those are large Amodels and resins I have a very understanding wife who puts up with a lot though she's told me often enough that it's either her or the models!!....and I've told her that I'll miss her greatly...............funnily enough I'm off on a nice holiday next month, ( not sure what she's doing though...!, )...

Andy, there's a new Harder and Steenbeck model just out on the market which is aimed squarely at a more reasonable budget, (Little-Cars are selling it at a very tempting £50) plus DVD and cleaning brushes, the Ultra, have a word with Paul at Little-Cars, he's your man, I'm sure he'll sort something out for you, here's a linky,

H and S Ultra

What's the problem you're having with the Klear?, airbrushing or brush painting the stuff on, pm me if you like....

but at least I can use your post as a reasonable alibi when the missus catches me in her drawers wink.gif

My God man...........be careful where you delve!!...and make sure she's not wearing them at the time

Cheers all,

Melchie...

[keefr22]

Green Stuff..(urghh 'orrible stuff),

That's my favourite filler Andy, don't dis the green stuff !! Apart from that (& the airbrushes - I have an Aztek (which is still my weapon of choice), an Iwata HP-CH and a Badger 200 as back up - though I doubt it would still work) your list of stuff is pretty similar to mine! It's quite scary when seen written down as to what we actually accumulate!

Tamiya X-20A ( when I can get it!!),

Have you tried IPA - I find it works as well (maybe even better) than the Tamy thinner & it's heaps cheaper!

And as to nice holidays, well I hope you enjoy yours! But how long will you actually remember it - & all the while your stash will still be waiting for you when you get home! So I know what personally I'd prefer to spend my money on (or rather preferred to spend my money on when I still had some....!!! )

Keef

[general melchett]

LOL, ...I do use Green Guff now and then but can't stand the taste!, it always seems a bit flakey/powdery when dry, think I'll stick to my Mr Hobby putty stuff. Know what you mean about accumulating stuff it soon adds up!

I have an old Aztec A470 somewhere, it was OK just didn't feel very well made ( all 'orribly plasticy) to me but it sprayed well enough just not a patch on the Micron which is by far my favorite, (as it should flippin thing cost me an arm and a leg). Must admit I like the Infinity though it's been through Hell and back, dropped, crushed and generally abused in its short life poor thing. Unlike the Iwata the parts are cheap and easily replaced.

I haven't tried IPA I'll certainly have a look though as I find the Tamy X-20 hard to come by.......

And as to nice holidays, well I hope you enjoy yours! But how long will you actually remember it

More a case of will I ever be allowed to forget it mate!! ....I toyed with the idea of taking the Amodel Bison with me for something to wile away the hours but didn't fancy paying the excess for lugging the paints cabinet and compressor on the plane or getting sand in my primer!!

[Uncle Uncool]

OK Unc, I repent

Aw, ne'er mind the sista, General; we're mates ya and I no matter whut.

London was a crazy place in the sixties, free love, basin haircuts and mass fluoridation of the local water supply! On holidaying on the south coast of England just outside Dungeness so much stuff was pumped into the sea you could literally walk on the water half way to France, and you should have seen what we had to eat with our chips!!

Hmph, and I heard that by then ya used to be handed yer fish 'n' chips wrapped up in newspaper sheet...? Mate, if ya survived all that, me thinks ya're gonna live for ever!

Yer little sis musn't take things too seriously Unc, our humour is an acquired taste at the best of times.

Besides some other things, yeh... Her sense of humour gets to be like a tumour at times. Poor lil' lass.

Well sadly I'm not rich and I don't recall being paid for makin 'Streets of Fire', that Walter Hill eh!!!!,

That crook! Such a great film that is; have ya watched it, Melchie?

Cheers, Andy!

Unc²

[general melchett]

I certainly have Unc, great movie!

Mate, if ya survived all that, me thinks ya're gonna live for ever! laugh.gif

Well with that, the Blitz, rationing, the British weather and the price of oil I think you might be right!!!

Anyways think it's about time I returned to this thread.........................................what was I building??.......................Oh yeah the Backfire!!

Just finished off some more of the white anti corrosion painted areas, detailed the intakes (PAIN!!), the metallic intake edges and the small underside intake strengthening bars that are missing in the kit....

Also going over any small blemishes that I've come across and post shading some of the upper surface grey,

prior to chucking Klear all over it ready for decalling.

As I plan to have the wing spoilers deployed I thought I'd give them some internal detail as there's nothing there at all, just plain plastic, so using reference photos I've scribed the areas...

Mekchie...

[keefr22]

Mekchie...

Mekchie?? Who he....??!!

K

[general melchett]

Mekchie?? Who he....??!!

Ancient Aztek God of plastic and glue., patron saint of poor eyesight and omnipotent diety of wide span fingers...

[dieselweasel]

General

A bit of a daft question, but this poor mortal wants to know when you start a project and you have to get detail scale plans where do you look for them, by the way the Backfire looks ace.

jim