Danyel

Thanks for these answers. I think I understand what you both mean: There are two sets of stencils, one is low visibility for lighter grey jets and the other is for the darker camo jets so if I use the low visibility stencils I should be fine. Thanks guys Sorry if this was a daft question. I didn't know if the wording of the stencils was different or if there were other major differences.

Hi, I've a question about stencils on the Harrier which I'm hoping someone may be able to answer. I bought an Airfix GR9A starter set (a5530) but, finding that the starter set had a very limited set of decals, I bought a decal sheet for the Airfix GR7A/GR9A kit (a04050) from Hornby - I love stencil detailing - and want to use the stencils on my model. The GR7A/GR9A kit has 2 different configurations of stencils for three different aircraft. I really like the all-over medium sea grey scheme of ZD327 in my starter set so don't really want to change colour scheme. Does anyone know which stencil configuration (if either) would be correct (or mostly correct) for my kit? Or, did one of the aircraft, for which I've now got the decals (ZD404, ZG506, ZD433), wear the all over medium sea grey scheme at some point? There, I think I've explained that correctly I hope someone can help. Best wishes, Danyel

Furious ground crew! lol. Lovely Harrier

Thanks so much everyone for the lovely feedback Really encouraging Thank you Thanks DAG058, It is Vallejo matt varnish thinned with vallejo thinner about 70/30 then lightly misted onto the model at about 16psi. The varnish was shaken lots and lots and really went on a treat. Thanks Selwyn Very funny. I turned my back for a moment to get my camera cameback to find Bertie sat on the plane! Thanks Spitfire31, Tigercat and Winenut. He is a nice cat Leonl, I'm sure it's lucky

Awesome!

Well nice. The pilot is gorgeous

Thanks Rob. I lost count of how many times I had to adjust the airbrush because it splattered or got blocked or the pressure was too high or too low. Never going back to hairy sticks though! The wash and weathering were applied twice. The first time was completely overdone and after removing nearly all of it with airbrush cleaner I went for less is more

Hi All Here's my Spitfire which I want to share with you. It has some firsts for me, first time using an airbrush and first time weathering and washing panel lines. Obligatory 'upside down on tamiya pots' photo: Oh no! Giant killer cat! Hope you enjoy, best wishes, Danyel

this is really lovely, a pleasure to look at

brilliant model

Just got a Kamov Ka-58 from the charity shop for £2. Came with four paints and Revell glue. Bargain! No decals or instructions. I've just got the instructions from the Revell website and, as it's a fictional plane, I think I might, just might, decorate it with USAF decals! :-)

Decals! Brill! Can't wait!

Dear All, Please have a look at the following. It's my second build after a zillion years away... I am quite happy to be roasted (If it weren't for Devilfish pointing out that on my first build that 'Stars 'n' Bars' should point upwards or forwards, I'd have made the same mistake again, so thank you Devilfish, lol!). I'm not too bothered about getting F84 related criticism as I'm not going to build another one. I'm looking for criticism of my modelling techniques as I want to improve my modelling skills for the future... So here's what I did... The kit was lovely to put together (very little flash, well fitting parts with very little filler required). Reasons I chose this model? 1. It was in Modelzone reduced to £4.99. 2. It would be a bare metal finish. 3. Never built anything made by Academy. Building proceeded with the cockpit. I ignored the decals for the instruments (didn't fancy my chances of getting the decals to settle onto the instrument panel correctly), instead I chose to prime in white, overpaint in black, instrument panels were drybrushed with a medium grey to bring out details, then I scratched a representation of dials onto the faces using the back of a blade (a tip I learned here - thanks guys). Dials were coated in 'Clear 'n' Glaze'. I liked the effect. I don't have an airbrush (I want one but can't justify one -YET!). So, for the exterior I wanted to test my brush skills. I used Vallejo Silver for the airframe - NINE thin coats. Probably too thin. Will experiment with a thicker paint on my next model (Corvette Stingray 1:25, Revell, will be Metallic Gold, so have to get it right!). For the differently shaded panels I used Klear with a dab of colour (actually it was Klear with a dirty brush, which the Klear lifted out of the brush) I wasn't impressed... I couldn't get the brushmarks to go away, but after decals were applied it doesn't notice TOO much, to me, anyway. Decals were horrific. I've read horrible things on here about Academy decals and I agree. They were thick, they wouldn't conform to compound curves, they tore easily. I bit the bullet and decided to use Klear as a decal solution... This worked brilliantly, apart from the compound curves, which caused problems. After letting the Klear dry then slicing the decal with a blade and reapplying Klear the compound curves became satisfactory. The Klear was fab for the smaller decals. The larger decals tended to stick too readily and then tear so I cut the other large decals into manageable sections. The Klear pulled the decals into the panel lines and rivets so I'm very pleased and will use Klear for this purpose again in the future. I didn't apply the decals to the yellow thing at the front (please excuse my lack of plane-type-vocabulary!), or the flaps to the front wheel, instead used paint and, although it doesn't match the colour of the decals on the tail or wing pods, am fairly happy. I didn't mask the canopy. Instead I overpainted the areas, scored the surface of the paint and scraped away the unneeded paint using a cocktail stick. I need to weather it all. I need to do the panel lines. I'm not sure how. I'm thinking Windsor and Newton oils but have never used them before. Please advise!!! There are four decals still to be applied but I'm really sick of applying decals at the moment! In the wheel wells and on the undercarriage I used a Citadel black wash. I'm happy how it turned out on the undercarriage, but not in the wells as it looked blotchy. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to throw criticism my way. Best wishes, Danyel

It's brill.

Hey, Nobby! I noticed my local model shop has completely sold out of 'pigs ears'. I wonder if your thread has anything to do with that? Best wishes Danyel

Thanks for your kind words about my Airfix Hornet. One thing I will do on my next build is make seatbelts out of tin can! Now... where's that beer!

This is brilliant and so inspiring, Nobby. Best wishes Danyel

Hi Devilfish, Lol! Thanks everso... I had no idea! In future I'll do exactly that! Constructive criticism always welcome. It's a learning curve for me. Best wishes Danyel

Hey! this looks ace!

Thanks guys!

Hi, wanted to share progress with my first model since coming back to model aeroplanes after 23 years. I bought the Airfix start set so I didn't have to buy loads of new paints, and here's what I've got. As you can see I had to use lots of filler (Games Workshop liquid green stuff). Priming was a first for me... never used an aerosol before, and I didn't get the finish flat. Never used masking tape before, never masked a canopy before. I rushed at the end... I put the striped transfer round the wrong way on the droptank (too much beer), then put the bombs and whatnot on before I'd weathered it or put a flat varnish on :-) Many thanks for looking.