JackG

There doesn't appear to be much evidence for the ambush scheme on Stugs. Opinion is that this particular style of camou was best suited to those vehicles with prominent surface areas, like Panthers and Tigers. There is this one factory photo, where a variation of the ambush scheme is has been applied to only the skirt armour: regards, Jack

I'd go with the glasses, it will set her apart as I'm sure you will be building more figures in the future, most without eyewear? You could lighten up the iris of the eye to make them stand out more. regards, Jack

Jörgen, coming along nicely. If I may chime in about creating the look of sheer fabric, it might not be so much about technique as it is about understanding what you are seeing. You can can get away with airbrushing a clear over a uniform surface, but when you have wrinkling in the fabric along with body structure underneath, it's a bit more in depth, and even at this scale, likely easier with a paint brush. Take a look at the picture below (and try and remained focused - lol!) : Note how in those areas where the fabric touches the skin, you can see more flesh tones, and even more so where the the material is stretched tight over body surfaces. On the other extreme end, where the material wrinkles, doubles up, or is not in direct contact with the skin, it becomes darker. hth regards, Jack

I seen it mentioned here that Eduard's 1/48 Emil was scaled down from their 1/32 version, so the same problems were copied. to Gingerbob's link to the kit comparisons, thanks for that. regards, Jack

I'll be doing AFV Club's Stuart V. Bronco's individual track links will replace the kit's 'rubber band' tracks. Also have a PE update from Royal Model, along with a Commonwealth crew figure set. Plan is for a Canadian marked vehicle, so have acquired Decalcomanics dedicated decal set - though might opt for an Archer product. The ones pictured here look great up to a certain distance, but up close can see a printed screen on all the colours except black. regards, Jack

Very nice work, really like what you have done with the face. It all holds up together quite well. regards, Jack

This should end up very dynamic with the wind effect on her hair and coat like that. Looks great so far, and the eye glasses should clear up nicely after dipping them in some clear acrylic. regards, Jack

Les Moore, Karl, batcode, Mike, Old Man, Beard, Ilan, Spad, Pat, Val, bunnylurve, and NavDoc - thanks kindly for that, and all the 'likes' as well. I had intended to join the Trainer GB here, but by the time this one had made it's way to the bench, I realized it would not be completed in time for the deadline. Base colour first started out with Hobby Color orange yellow. Finding it was a bit strong, spayed another coat mixed (right in the airbrush cup) approximately 50/50 with golden yellow. regards, Jack

This is a Choroszy resin kit in 1/72 scale. This particular aircraft was also known as the Spruce, codenamed by the Allies during WWII. The build involved some scratch building to add finer details, particularly the main wing struts. Side by side comparison with the Fujimi Claude: regards, Jack

Wasn't there mention before that the Quickboost props had an incorrect shape? There is also Ultracast, but they don't supply the nose. So hopefully, as Troy mentions, someone can help out with their spares box. regards, Jack Edit; regarding Ultracast, you could opt for the Spitfire section of their catalogue, there you will find prop blades and nose spinners combined.

I too would recommend EZ line, though the the larger diameter has a noticeable flat profile to it. Another source for elastic type rigging is USCHI http://www.uschivdr.com/products-in-detail/rigging/ They have three sizes: Standard: 0.03mm Fine: 0.02mm Superfine: 0.01mm regards, Jack

From the late Dan San Abbott: The german aircraft industry used unbleached and bleached linen fabrics. The unbleached was the beige in color and when doped was translucent, not transparent. The bleached linen was near white in color Pale yellowish white and is somewhat transparent, I prefer translucent. The French and British industry did not use bleached linen fabric, nor was it calenderized. The French and British had a high thread count in the 80 to 100 yarns per inch. The German linen fabric was 50 to 55 yarns per inch with heavier yarns. In order to reduce the porosity of the fabric it was calenderized by runnying the fabric between heated steel rollers under high pressure which esstentially crushed the yarns and filled the gaps between the warp (lengthwise) and filling (cross the width) yarns. Calenderizing was used also th reduce the amount of dope needed to fill the interices between the yarns. The photo of the Halb.D.II is covered with bleached linen fabric. The term canvas applies to fabrics which weigh more than 8 oz./sq.yard. Aircraft fabrics weighed in the range of 3.5 to 4.5 oz./sq.yd. --------------------------------------- I also have this bookmarked, might be of some help: http://wwi-cookup.com/sopwith/modelling/cdl.html regards, Jack

The greens of the vegetation might be a tad too lively, but it really is a well balanced presentation and keen weathering on the vehicle. regards, Jack

Wow, that added base scene looks great! That baking soda really does pass well for snow, and I think you've nailed a perfect little scene here. regards, Jack

Fantastic build! regards, Jack

Looks more than ok, really great looking vehicle. I think it works because you haven't gone overboard in the chipping and rust department. regards, Jack

I think you should be good to go, as the Sherman V is the British nomenclature for the M4A4. Just remember to keep the hull machine gun, as the Firefly had this weapon removed and welded over. regards, Jack

I'm not much into modern armour, but this really does stand out! regards, Jack

What's this, has someone made aftermarket roadwheels for the Valentine?!? regards, Jack

Stew has it well covered, only thing I can think of adding is the underside roundel on the black port wing would have a yellow ring added to help make it stand out - though it was not suppose to overlap onto the ailreron. regards, Jack

Also depends on the time frame the subject is depicted. Once the order had been passed to apply them (a few days, at most, prior to the invasion - hence the hand applied look), new aircraft from factories would likely have them applied there, taking the time to do a much neater job of it. Remember too the scale effect, if you have shakey hands, being off by 1mm isn't much when viewed from a distance, but say in 1/48 scale, that is almost 5cm out of register in real life. regards, Jack

The above is very true for 'C' squadron. 'A' squadron had Russian place names, while 'B' squadron used American states for nick names - or at least this is what I found according to an article printed back in the February 1994 issue of Military Illustrated (issue no.69) regards, Jack

Martin, you sure know how to pick them. Questions on this subject can be found on a number of forums, but only relevant point I can pass on is 26. Panzer did not seem to mark their vehicles with their Divisional emblem. If it is structural photos you are after, Bovington has one of these - though it's origin, I believe, is from a training school. Daniel Guglielmi's book devoted to this particular division seems to be popular with those who have it in their possession. It only has English captions for the photos (of which there is a lot), but after a dozen years since publishing, it is very pricey - and that's if you can find it. I think once these upgunned tanks were added to the regimental roster, they were just referred to as lang (long gun) mark IV's, so that may be why it is difficult to find specifics. regards, Jack

I was thinking same thing, you want something with a low road wheel count. A panzer IIc would also do for an early DAK vehicle. On the British side, the Italeri boxing of the Crusader would be a good choice too. regards, Jack

There is one Firefly Ic listed in this working pdf file: http://mmpbooks.biz/mmp/tables/Vehicle_Names_V3.pdf It's nickname was New Orleans, but I'm confused as to why it is listed with 11th Armoured Div. since Northamptonshire Yeomanry was the senior unit of the independent 33rd Armoured Brigade. I've no knowledge of decals available for the above. Dragon though, does have Vc boxing that has markings for Velikye Luki. Bison also did a decal set that included this famous Firefly, not sure if still available. regards, Jack