dubster72

Bubbles in the paint cup are caused by an incorrect nozzle seal, not by a blockage. As H & S airbrushes have a floating nozzle, I'd check how this is seated within the nozzle cap & how the nozzle cap is sealing to the body of the airbrush. On some H & S airbrushes, the nozzle cap doesn't fit tightly enough & an o-ring is required. Although H & S don't supply them as standard, they will if you contact them with a complaint. To test if that's the problem, wrap some electricians tape around the nozzle cap/airbrush body joint & see if the bubbles persist. Hope this helps Patrick

Considering that the AT-ST is just a clay mock-up, any attempt to portray internal detail is impossible at this stage. Perhaps once it's cast in styrene we'll have a better idea of the kits full features. However, as most 1/35 armour kits have little or no internal detail, I wouldn't hold my breath. The possible lack will be addressed by AM manufacturers I suppose.

The B-24 commonly flew at a lower altitude than the B-17, so the de-icing boots were often removed. The sides of the cowlings nearest the cockpit were usually painted Olive Drab on BMF aircraft to avoid sun glare.

That's a really nice result from all your hard work Rob! Although it's a fairly dinky tank, somehow you've given it a bigger look. Still would have felt that I'd drawn a short straw if an M5 was issued to me in Normandy though Cheers Patrick

That's looking really good Will. With paint & weathering it'll be awesome! Cheers Patrick "The spice must flow!"

What an excellent idea for a build Will! As a Dune fan I'll be watching this one avidly. I might go watch the film again now Cheers Patrick

As Badder says, the scale is important. If you're building mostly 1/72 aircraft, then static grass is really the only game in town. Anything else looks overscale. For 1/48 & above, try using faux fur. It's readily available from craft shops or eBay. This is my Eduard 109 on a faux fur 'airfield' I trimmed the length of the fur down using electric clippers & then airbrushed it in shades of green. Hope this helps Patrick

Excellent stuff, that's a 110 to be proud of!

No worries Nigel! The lower hull front & rear isn't painted at all, I've only done the hull sides. So I'll mask off the tracks once the hull is fully assembled & paint everything then. Here's an example, my SU 152 where I used an old pair of latex gloves! As for German Grey, you're absolutely correct that it actually was a very dark grey, almost black. I like to use lighter colours to get a scale effect. So although a Sherman might get an Olive Drab base coat, I'd then add yellow or tan to lighten it & hit the centre of the panels with that blend. For the P3, I'm trying out a colour modulation scheme. The base colour will be a dark grey (actually Luftwaffe Grauviolet!), followed by probably 2 more shades of grey around the edges of panels & hatch covers. Cheers Patrick

Nigel, when it comes to individual link tracks my way is to assemble a run using a length of masking tape laid sticky side up. I then place each link on the tape until I have a decent length. I use Tamiya extra thin cement & run this into the gaps between each link. I leave it for about 20 minutes for the cement to start going off & then fold the tracks around the wheels, adding sag as necessary. That's then left until the cement has set fully. Even though the links are now fully set, there's still enough flex left to remove them from the wheels for painting. Below are a couple of photos to illustrate my method as seen on my Dragon Panzer III. You can see that I've painted & weathered the lower hull first. This is because I find it easier to do so when the tank has fenders that would make fitting the tracks very difficult if left to the end. All ancillary parts such as tools, tow cables etc are painted off the tank & added using superglue once the main painting has been finished. I hope this helps Patrick

Read this thread yesterday & sympathized, without having any advice to offer.... only for it to happen to me today! Made a mental note for the future to always check the trigger before loading the airbrush with paint

Dan, the main worry of most new airbrush users is putting the paint down too heavily & causing runs. I've seen it with apprentices in the spray booth all the time! But paint likes to go down 'wet'. As you make your pass with the airbrush, you should be seeing a wet sheen, especially if you're using Tamiya acrylics. They're very prone to drying before hitting the model surface. Try keeping everything the same (pressure, thinning ratios etc), but move the airbrush closer to the model. You should find that the finish is more even & much smoother. I've never heard of the effect that Wildweasel refers to, I spray everything at 30+ PSI without any problems. After all, there's less chance of the paint drying mid-flow if it's taking less time to reach the model Cheers Patrick

Humbrol Clear is a great gloss product, but it needs 2-3 coats to get a good shine. Then you need to leave it for a minimum of 48 hours to cure. For washes, I use thinned oil paints. Apply to the panel line or rivet head (aircraft or armour) with a small pointed brush & capillary action will take it along or around the feature. Leave it to dry for an hour or so & then wipe off any excess with a cotton bud. IMHO it's not giving the gloss coat enough time to cure that causes most of the problems with washes. Hope this helps Patrick

No they're the ones I've highlighted (poorly!) on the pic you used. They're pretty much universal on all these types of compressors. Get everything put together just like you're about to use it, so it's all sealed up. Tape up all but one of the vents & see what happens when you switch it on. I reckon you'll feel airflow coming through the open vent. If so, that'll mean it's definitely the valve that's at fault.

It's sounding more & more like the valve is sticking. The flow of air from the piston isn't that strong & if the valve sticks all the air will be lost through the cooling vents. Here's a way to check this. Cover all but one of the vents with tape. Run the compressor & put a fingertip over the open vent. If you can feel air escaping, then the valve is sticking.

Those sandbags look great Rob, very natural & realistic

I think I'll watch this one with interest I've always fancied doing an Eduard 110, but the complexity seemed rather daunting (I'm an armour builder in the main) Looking forward to seeing more Cheers Patrick

No the heatsink is the bit at the top with the fins - looks like half of a motorcycle engine! No worries mate, I'd love to get this one solved

It's the gurgling noise that's got me wondering too! Usually we associate that kind of sound with water, but in certain circumstances it could apply to airflow as well. If the motor runs, I would remove the heatsink to reveal the plate beneath, as seen in the photo I posted earlier. Then I'd use the bolts to secure the plate without the heatsink. Run the compressor & see if air is passing through the check valve. If it isn't, then the problem is definitely that valve. If it is, then there must be a leak somewhere along the chain, perhaps in the pressure regulator.

No, it should be quite difficult to move. I think that in operation it probably only raises up by 1 millimetre or so. The valve on mine is quite stiff, so yours sounds ok.

Having replaced my AS 186 compressor with one from a fridge freezer, I've still got the guts of the old one. The things to consider are: If the motor runs, but no pressure builds, then you've got a problem with the check valve. In the photo, I've removed the heat sink & the valve is the white bit. It's just a cheap nylon affair that gets pushed upwards as the piston forces air against it. If the valve isn't working, all the air will be lost through the cooling vents in the body of the compressor housing. Test to see the movement of the valve by gently pressing it from under the plate. If the motor doesn't run, then check the components in the circuit. Obviously the power switch first, then the condenser & the pressure cut-off valve. If you think it's either the white pressure check valve or the condenser, I can let you have them as I don't use them in my current setup. Hope this helps Patrick

Just seen this build for the first time & I'm very impressed! Some excellent work on the weathering, subtle yet very effective Cheers Patrick

I paint smaller parts with enamels, so I don't need primer there.

No such thing as a stupid question, answer are a different matter For both aircraft & armour I prime the completed model. Priming or painting the parts on the sprue just means a lot of scraping to ensure a good joint when gluing. But if your usual paint is Vallejo, then it might be worth hitting the sprues with primer & leaving the kit for a couple of days. This will allow the primer to cure & prevent any paint rubbing off during handling.

Here you are Pawel http://s813.photobucket.com/user/dubster1967/library/Airfix%20Typhoon?sort=3&page=1 Cheers Patrick