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MikeW

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Everything posted by MikeW

  1. If that started out as a badly built basket case, and was not an enjoyable restoration, then you clearly have excess talent and patience in droves. She looks great - beyond great. Did these used to fly into Perth? Cheers, Mike
  2. I found these flaps much easier to deal with than the flaps and slats on Zvezda's A320. They are not really tricky ( apart from keeping track of which of the three versions one is building ) but, at least for me, I didn't realize just how much I relied on using the wings as a handle when building, gloss coating, and adding decals. With the flaps added, making the wings a lot more delicate, I had to reinvent how I did things. Re the decal glue - I used the LU CSA sheet for the cheatline on the Air India plane. ( Perfect colour match with F-DCALs Air India 707 sheet that I butchered to finish this ) On that build, the LU main sheet was OK, but the separate smaller sheet with the cabin and cockpit windows just stuck like crazy. I went through three of them just to finish one plane ( The Authentic Airliner window purchase was actually necessitated by not have any windows left for Aeroflot ). The Aeroflot decal sheet was just 'sticky' all around. I ended up soaking each piece for 30 seconds or so, then gently forced the decal to start sliding, breaking the adhesion, then dipping it back in the water, first one side then the other, letting decal float free, and rinse some of the glue away. Repeated this step three or four times. Southern California is always generally so bright and sunny, one feels one can get away with gaudy colours. Like all places, there are good and not so good things about Los Angeles, but one absolutely brilliant thing is that is has a South African climate, so am once again living outdoors, and leaving all the windows in the house open, pretty much all year. That is why that patio is so important to me - it is, in effect, my living room.
  3. Sadly, had to cut four booms ( trees ) down - were diseased, invading the plumbing or poisoning the dogs. Growing grapes as a summer ceiling to the patio. A Canadian friend suggested that with all the terra cotta tiles I had, yellow and blue would be perfect colours. So I did that for a while, until I saw this show about orange being the new black, and quite fashionable, so I started adding that. Seemed like a good idea. Wonder where I got that idea?
  4. Sort of - Air India leased Il-62s from Aeroflot for their Delhi and Mumbai runs to Moscow, but they left the blue Aeroflot cheatlines on the plane, and put 'Air India' in red above that. As a national flag carrier, I had to correct that for them. Yes, Zvezda 1/144 airliners are awesome - treat yourself.
  5. Looking forward to this immensely. Got the obligatory two of these, and have procured some after market East African decals, but waiting on 26 decals to reprint the BOAC version. Been out of stock for a while now. Than of course the existing standard VC10s can be converted over to other liveries - gonna be a VC10 kinda year. Cheers, Mike
  6. This turns out to be as much a tour of my reworked patio as the Aeroflot airliner. Not only is the photo lab patio changed around, so I lost where I used to take pics, but my brother bestowed a new camera on me recently. I need to break down and read the instructions - the thing has so many buttons on it, one can't even pick it up without pushing two or three of them and setting off all sorts events. ( I'm a bit of a Luddite I'm afraid ). So besides some rebuilt fencing and iffy masonry, may I also present the Aeroflot Il-62, 1980 Moscow Olympics official carrier. The Zvezda kit is just a delight to work with, and the decals were one of the new Liveries Unlimited sheets. Great detail on the sheet, but something odd with the glue used, The decals would form an immediate and immovable bond with the first thing they touched, so a lot of floating off the backing and, rinsing for want of a better word, saw things right. Cockpit windows from Authentic Airliner Decals. Really love this new 3D look for realism. . . . . . and the 'with something else' shot - her stablemate, my other Zvezda Il-62. The Il-62s operated by Air India did not look exactly like this - but they should have. Thanks for taking a look, Cheers, Mike
  7. And oops again - I just watched the video - it has been years, and not an An-72 at all - lots of prop action. ( a shot of a Yak in the background though )
  8. Oops - and well it should be pointed out. For a while there, the map of Eastern Europe was as fluid as the map of Africa in the 60s in my youth - every day in geography class, something was changed it seemed. Anyone remember the video from about 10 years ago - Numa Numa - where the group "Ozone" from Moldova are dancing all over an An-72?
  9. What a magnificent piece of modelling! Can't really tell if it is a model, or a piece of art for an office. Funny, I was just meandering through the stash, pondering my next build, and was thinking of a Comet, and now it is decided - so thank you. ( not expecting anything near this standard of course. I am a realist ) Mike
  10. Ouch on that hole - the more annoying that you were just 50c short. Knowing your skills, I'm sure nothing will be visible here when done.
  11. Thanks Ced - That started my Saturday out very nicely. Love a good chuckle over morning coffee. Re the 'masking backwards' scenario, like woodwork, is one not supposed to paint a large white X over the beautifully finished bit to remind one not to work that bit again?
  12. Admirable result achieved Dave. As you say, quite an attractive scheme ( for a dodgy carrier). In my limited experience with resin, that has been my memorable take away too - detaching the part from the sprue / extra resin ( or in my case, I resort to hacking, carving and shredding ) seems to generally lead to damage of the smaller parts. Always. Today, small resin bits, and P.E., stay unmolested n the box. Attractive pair of Russians. Cheers, Mike
  13. I didn't notice it either - it really did look like some part of 'the flap action' at first glance. Well caught.
  14. Apologies if you have explained this before, but I am rather taken with your 'paint stand'. It sure looks like the Stuka is flying in tandem with something from Star Wars - gives new meaning to Luft46
  15. Looking good - really good. ( Apart from that extreme banking angle of course )
  16. Glad I'm not the only one who pulls this. I'll swear a large chuck of my stash has alcohol involved. Fiscal conservative that I am, prudent even in the ways of the purse, I sometimes view my email and eBay actions from a late Saturday evenings activity, and think "What Ho, when did I buy this?" I must say I still only buy things I really want / need and get a decent deal, so no major damage done, but a bit a Dutch Courage helps my shopping.
  17. Impressively painted crew Ced - Did Stew pay a visit?
  18. You could teach an advanced class in weathering. Every time I look at it, I see something I missed before. Very enjoyable to behold. Cheers, Mike
  19. Dear Lord Ced - I envy your dedication and patience here.
  20. There is a discussion on AirlinerCafe re these decals Ian - they are the Brasil Decals we all have salivated over, but this is not the usual seller. A private collection he has had for over ten years, and by all accounts, the goods are being delivered. So, if you are interested, and will take the assurance of someone you have never met, speaking about a third party he has never met, I'd say go for it, you will get the decals.
  21. Really like the varying shades of metal on the wings. Very nicely done indeed. (And fate, being a cruel mistress, has a set of 707 Kuwait Airways decals on eBay as we speak.) Cheers, Mike
  22. That is one of the cleanest looking Airfix 707s I have seen. Well played. I often find I get to revisit the priming stage a few times. The first time around reveals imperfections I had not seen, nor indeed felt after all the sanding, so I invariably have to putty, sand and prime a few spots over again. ( My first prime stage never comes out as clean as yours has here though ). Some 'spot welds' around the cockpit, and I'd say you can call this stage done.
  23. Nicely done Rich - your decals look superb. Cheers, Mike
  24. I thought I was the only one. Nicely done. I never got around to adding wheels to mine, and to date, one of the very few kits I have built that I no longer have, Cheers, Mike
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