Andrewvft

Hi all, Has anyone built this kit yet? I'm currently building it myself and I noticed this small triangular hole on the tail assembly, just under the front of the elevators. Does anyone know if that is supposed to be there? I don't see it on any other pictures and its really only noticeable when you view it directly side on and see the light from the other side.

Thanks for your kind words everyone! This is a great place to share

This is my Hasegawa 1/72 F-15I Raam that was released years ago. I had this stashed in the garage and finally thought I'd try building it. Unfortunately it had water damage in my garage and the decals were made unusable. Lucky I found someone who had a spare set of decals to sell. I wanted to go for a variety of weapons load out, so I took weapons from various sources such as Hasegawa weapons kit, Dragon Warbirds JDAM, and some spare from an Academy F/A-18 kit. I skimped on the wash of the undersides as noone is going to see it like that. Painted with Tamiya and Gunze paints. Not in any hurry to do another camo schemed jet after this!

I just got an email from Indiegogo for a feedback survey. The email was titled 'Have you received your perk?', with an estimated delivery date of 15 Dec. I ordered the twin package 1 and I sure haven't received anything, and been patiently waiting for things to materialize. Did anyone else get a similar email? Or is it some sort of joke/hoax?

Hi all, I built a Hasegawa F-15I kit but then water spilt onto the decal sheet. Unfortunately, I cant use them now and had the plane all painted up. Would anyone know where I can get a hold of a set of 1/72 F-15I decals? Preferrably without having to buy a new kit like the new GWH F-15I just for the decals. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi all, Just finished this model. This is Academy kit that was for VMFA-232 Red Devils. However, I saw inside that there was a set of decals for the 30th Anniversary RAAF scheme. I later found out that the Australian Distributor for these kits threw in a set of RAAF Decals provided by Ronin. The Build The Academy kit is not the easiest of builds. There are some fiddly parts like assembling the forward fuselage. It comes in 4 pieces. Would be nice if they made it one or two pieces. I used putty to fill in the small gaps around the nose and the wing joints. As I saw this bird perform at the Avalon Airshow in 2005, I wanted this to be clean like I saw it. So no weapons or fuel tanks. Painting and Markings If anyone comes across Ronin Graphics decals, just a word of warning, read the instructions that come with them! I fell into the trap of not reading them and found that I left them in the water longer than I should and in the end, they were too soft to handle. Ended up screwing up a couple of decals. Luckily I was able to get in contact with Ronin Graphics and managed to get a spare set of the decals. Now its just awaiting a display base Anyway, here are some pics:

you mean a varnish as an adhesive?

Hi all, I've just received a wooden deck for a 1/700 Shokaku. It also has some PE parts that go ontop of the wooden deck 'sticker'. Does anyone know what glue I should and shouldn't use for the PE parts? I'm assuming CA glue, so it doesn't ruin the deck sticker. Would that be wrong?

do russians use ebay?

I soooo hope you''re wrong about that

You could always refer to Harrison Ford's tip to flying an X-wing "It’s fake and it’s in space." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N55MfzcZ_cA

Thanks Mike, Eventually i'd like to put some planes sitting on top like they were being prepped.

Hi all, Just finished this ship, though still working on the planes. I usually do planes, but thought i'd give Japanese aircraft carriers a go. I was kinda drawn to their rather colourful decks of stripes etc. I was initially looking for a good Shokaku model, but couldn't find one for a reasonable price in Australia. But then Fujimi came out with this release of the Zuikaku 1941 earlier this year. I painted the main white stripe markings and the red/white stripes. A misalignment resulted in the middle white stripe ending up slightly off center at the front of the deck. I only used decals for the diagonal lines at the front of the deck, the circle towards the after and the name symbol. Thoughts: - relatively simple to construct. - hate dealing with the tiny pieces. I've broken the side antennas so many times. Broken the hooks under the stern of the deck and had to recreate one of the 3 anchors - I'm trying to use PE parts for the 1/700 planes for their canopy frames, which is very tedious, Definitely won't be finishing them anytime soon. - I was hoping fujimi would also have released wooden deck detail parts, but didn't see any and don't want to pay the ridiculous prices for the ones on ebay. - Having seen the older Tamiya version, I think the Fujimi is the better of the two. slightly better details. I wanted to have one of the middle elevators lowered and put a B5N2 kate on top. I chose the middle elevator and cut out a thin plastic sheet so it can sit at the bottom of the hangar tub. The original elevator wouldn't fit without sanding and was too thick. I also made the elevator sheet a tiny bit smaller so it can fall out if I turn the ship upside down. This way, I have the option to have it displayed raised or lowered just by swapping out the pieces. Paint: I used Tamiya IJN Gray (Kure Arsenal) for the hull and Wooden Deck tan. I thought the gray looked a bit too dark, so gave it a very light coat of white to lighten it up. Anyway, thought i'd share my pics

Did you use Olfa circle cutters? Was it easy to use? I'm trying to find some sort of circle cutter to cut plastic for props like you did.

great model. What did use for the props?

Thanks, I managed to find some company does PE canopy frames for ww2 IJN aircraft. One called Flyhawk and the other called Rainbow.

lol yeah i can't see any engraving on them

Hi all, I just started building a Fujimi 1/700 1941 Zuikaku. Does anyone have any tips on painting the canopy frames? They are so tiny, yet i've seen some pic of really great results.

If you can get hold of Fine Molds 1/72 X-wing, they have options for Red 1,2,3 & 5

The comment of decals is a bit strange. Looking at the photos, why is the paint surface so rough? they would probably settle better if the surface was smoother. I use Mr Mark Setter myself for decals that need to sink in to panel lines or uneven surfaces. Sometimes it wrinkles/contracts a bit then settles back and fits tight over raised areas or sinks in to panel lines. Not sure if micro sol does the same. Good work.

Greetings Star Wars fans. Finally got around to finishing this kit. Its pretty simple and is snap together. Just got to be really careful with the instructions. It comes in coloured plastic and decals as well as stickers. I chose to paint my model. The only things decals I used were the red parts on the wings. Its very similar in size to the Fine Molds version, however the lasers are smaller and thinner. I like the deep panel lines as it helps cutting along panel lines when masking. Lastly, but not least, it comes with a neat display stand. It also comes with 2 proton torpedoes that can be displayed as if they were entering the shaft of the deathstar, however it looks really gimmicky so I left it out. Here are some pics

Vader singing opera? Or trying out for the 4th tenor? lol

Thanks all, In terms of detail, I think Bandai slightly edges out Fine Molds. The clear plastic for the windows is also better than Fine Molds. I was really impressed with how clear it was. Bandai has a bit more assembly required, but the plus side is that its a snap together kit for those who just want a model. The plastic photon torpedos definitely look gimmicky. Coming from someone that used to play the X-Wing simulators, they don't look like the proton torpedoes i'm used to seeing lol At first I thought the same of the Darth Vader lasers, but it soon grew on me and I think it gives an interesting look. They are detachable, so you can always leave them off. But overall, the Fine Molds kit does feel smaller.

Greetings Star Wars fans, I just completed this model for friend. This is the new line of Star Wars models from Bandai. Its a snap together kit with coloured parts. If some might remember, Finemolds released a TIE Fighter X1 early last year. You'd think they'd be the same, however the Finemolds model is a bit smaller. In terms of construction, Bandai's snap together is pretty easy with very little gaps if any. I was surprised by that as the last snap tight model I did was more than 20 yrs ago and it wasn't very good. The downside though is that it has more assembly than the Finemolds version. I like the display stand. Its much better than the Fine Molds version. I also like the green laser pieces they give you. At first I thought it was a bit corney, but it makes the model look more interesting. The kit also comes with the option of windscreen with glass(plastic) or without (for those die hard fans who want just the frame only). Like the Finemolds model, it comes with 2 figures of Darth Vader(seated and standing). Both are very well detailed. Overall, I think Bandai did a great job and I do prefer it over the Finemolds due to its better stand and lasers. I also chose to paint this one with medium grey(which has a bit of a bluish hue to it). This colour is more identifiable on TIE Interceptors, Bombers and Fighters in Return of the Jedi. Apparently this was due to the 'blue screen' background. Next in line will be the X-Wing. Anyway, here are some pics. I've also added the Finemolds(very light grey one) for side by side comparrison.

Thanks guys. One thing I struggled to find out is, whats the difference between green tail tips/nose and white? Was it some sort of unit recognition?