huntermountain

Hi, I think I've left a few of my WIP threads on this site orphaned over the years, but this time I'm determined to see it trough. I'm home with a knee injury, and that means more building time. This is the kit I've finished the cockpit. Quite nice detail, except for the dials. The raised detail is quite ok, but there's no detail inside the dials. still, I'm quite happy with how it turned out(keep in mind I'm going for believable, not accurate). After rebuilding/refurbishing my 30 year old compressor, I couldn't resist spraying the cowling. I used Hawkeye's Talon for the aluminium. It's incredible acrylic paint, but very picky about air pressure. It worked like a charm, but I then decided to polish the aluminium with polishing powder, without masking of the other painted parts. So I had to start over. It still needs some cleaning up,as I rushed the masking job, and didn't burnish the tap enough Thanks for looking.

About cutting the fine line. It's something I haven't tried yet, but have been thinking about. I wonder what the result would be if you insert two xacto blades in a holder at the same time. I guess the distance between the blades would be equal all the way, and the distance might just be what you need. Just a thought.

Seeing another member start his first WIP was the motivation I needed to do the same. I wanted to start this thread yesterday, but the options confused me. I could've entered this particular kit in no less than three group builds. Could it be that some of the people with decision powers over here have a stash of these type of kits? Hmmm... What to do? On closer inspection however, It became clear that entering one of the group builds was out of the question. I'm no speed builder, and the time limits would be cutting it too close. So... The box shot (I get kind of annoyed when I don't see a box shot with a WIP thread. Hard to be sure that it's the same one you are looking to get a feeling for without a picture of the box) Some of the cockpit parts that have been cleaned up, and the engine. I use Vallejo, so there's the primer I intend to use, the aluminium will go on top of that, so i can experiment with some weathering,and the light green will be the main colour for the cockpit. I'm just experimenting with my photo set up. Next set of pictures I'll try to get some better daylight, or I'll have to mess a little with the white balance. Please feel free to comment, suggest and criticize to your hearts content.

This isn't nice, it's great. One of the nicest crusader models I've seen. And in 1/72. Truly amazing.

Very nice. If I ever get tired of jets, this will be the first prop I build. By the way, you're a fast builder. Built it today, and posted pictures of it yesterday. That's a neat trick.

Looks great.

Really stunning. 50+ years of experience definitely show through.

Thanks. For someone like me, with no clue about any of the weapons hanging on the underside of a fighter, this is great.

It looks really great. Very nice paintjob.

I also find it easier without an endcap. Even the pronged one hinders when you clean the needle.

Paul, can you tell me if the Vallejo retarder is supposed to be a rather thick gel? Thanks, Peter

A few months ago, I've made the exact switch you're now considering, and to be honest, the Badger has been collecting dust ever since. I use Vallejo model and Vallejo model air paints with ever better results. The thinning of the paints is key to success I guess... And you probably will have to work through some sort of learning curve. I know I had to. I use the Vallejo airbrush cleaner as a thinner. My local hobbyshop had a problem getting hold of the Vallejo thinner, so I used tap water instead for a while, until I read on here that the thinner is a good alternative(You are absolutely right about the knowledge being shared on this site). I get good results, so I don't think I'll change this any time soon. I can't compare with enamel paints or other acrylic paints, as I chose Vallejo from the moment I restarted modelling. I do have a bottle of Vallejo retarder, but, as I have mentioned in another thread, it's a gel like substance, and I'm having problems mixing it in with the paint, so the retarder actually causes blockages. Still waiting to find out if it is supposed to be a gel. In the mean time I don't use any retarder, although I guess the airbrush cleaner does function as a retarder. I feel the Infinity is a great airbrush, greatly engineered and built. And it does look awesome. The adjustable trigger tension doesn't really mean anything to me. I can't for the life of me feel the difference between the highest or lowest settings, but then again, I'm not the most sensitive guy around . The quick fix on the other hand is a feature I use constantly. Once you've got a setting for low paintflow, you can just click it on or off in a second, a really nice feature. I must say that I do not use the 0.15 needle that much, because I don't have that much use for detail that fine(yet), but I have tested it, and with the right paint mixture, you can do very fine work with the Vallejo paints. But with either needle, you will be having a piece of paper handy to wipe the tip of the needle every so often, because paint tends to dry on there, but that's really not a problem. I'm also new to using the airbrush, and I've always used it as a single action airbrush(as I did with the badger). Full on air flow, controlled with the air valve of the compressor, and then control the paintflow with the trigger. However, recently I've been experimenting with controlling the airflow with the trigger, quite a feat for a ham fisted person like myself, and I'm really chuffed with the way it works. It's incredible how little airpressure you need that way to still get the paint on there, and that is a definite advantage when you want to get in close with heavily thinned paints. I can honestly say I'm very glad I bought it. In the end, with all the information you can find, you will still have to make the decision yourself, but if you choose the Infinity, you might well end up buying the extra needle and nozzle set, because you no longer want to use another airbrush for the bigger jobs. Although the differences between a bottomfeed and gravity feed airbrush might be a big part of that. After rereading this, I edited it to mention that I am in no way paid by H&S .

Another vote for the Vallejo airbrush cleaner as a thinner. It's the only thing I use, and I love it. I have also used the Vallejo retarder, I don't know if it's supposed to be this way, but the contents of the bottle I have is like a gel. It's very hard to make it dissolve completely in the paint, and, as you can imagine, stray blobs of the retarder cause their own blockages, so that's no help. Does anybody know if the Vallejo retarder is supposed to be a gel?

Thanks. I found a link to an old Sil-Air maintenance manual, and I recognise the setup of the compressor in drawings of the silent air range. So now I've got something to go by.

Hi, I got this thing from a guy dumping it at our towns' recycling yard. He said it was broken, and he said it might well be over 30 years old. I managed to get some life in it, and I've been using it for over half a year now. It's a really great compressor, very silent. But I haven't got a manual, or a make or model, so maintaining it is impossible. Does anybody know anything about it? A make would be great, then I could look it up, and who knows, find a manual. Or does anybody have a similar model, and could they point me towards what needs to be done, and how it has to be done. Thanks in advance, Peter