Coutinho

Thanks for the feedback! I have been questioning Hobby Boss' accuracy so far in my second build. They seem to be off in a lot of areas. But, their kits are great for beginners, so I'm not complaining!

No filler used, although I do have some available. I'm planning to practice using it on my next build. As for the weathering, that is still something quite far on the horizon in my mind. Still a few things I want to learn very well first. Thanks for the advice!!

Hi everyone, Here it is...my first ever build. When I say first ever, I really mean my first ever plastic kit build of any type. As this is the case, I'm expecting lots of critiquing, but this is exactly what I want!!! Fire away! It is the easy assembly Hobby Boss 1/72 Mig 3. I attempted the white colour scheme for the first time build. Crazy right? For the light blue underside I used a brush and for the white I used a spray can. I used a white primer for the whole thing and also added a couple layers of varnish at the end. What I learnt during the process of my first ever build: 1. Canopies are a b*tch. 2. Long, big decals like the red arrow are a b*tch. 3. Painting is really hard to get right, but is enjoyable. 4. Getting the wheels into position is frustrating. 5. Keep cats out of the workshop. 6. I want to do more more more!!! Here it is:

Anyone?

Hi everyone, I just got myself a 3M half face 6000 series respirator for all the primer, paint and varnish spray can painting. For all those here who do use a 3M respirator, I just wanted to make sure the following particulate filter and and organic vapor cartridge is suitable for spray can paints and varnishes. I have the P95 particulate filter and 6001 organic vapor cartridge. I don't really want to continue modelling until I have this sorted out. I did start by just making sure I had good ventilation, but the thought of those fumes still lingering and making me cough at times changed my mind. Thanks for any help!

I think @Corsairfoxfouruncle was being quite conservative when he said this question was like opening a can of worms. I seem to have opened another dimension. A lot of info here for a newbie like me. Time to get reading!

Interesting. Zvezda and those other profiles say Captain Likholetov and this thread shows Anatoliy Ruzin. https://il2sturmovik.com/news/368/dev-blog-183/ This post here shows Ruzin's plane. Number 5 on the list. The text is in white instead of yellow however! It is basically the same appearance as Likholetov's supposed plane.

Hi everyone, my Zvezda 1/72 LA-5FN just arrived and I'm a little confused by how they represent one of the colour/decal schemes in the instructions. The box art on the back shows the following extra paint schemes in addition to the green scheme on the box front cover. The 159th Squadron scheme of Captain Likholetov is what I'm interested in. In the box art above, the scheme appears to have a sort of blue camo scheme to it. However in the Zvezda instructions for the same scheme, it asks for Olive Drab and US Light Green!!!! Both of these colours had no hint of blue to them. Clearly I am quite confused by this, because googling Likholetov's 1944 Summer Camo revealed the following: I can't really see any green to this scheme at all. But further research showed this scheme too: I don't really know what to believe anymore. If anyone has some sort of instructions pointing out the colours required it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks all

Dilute some regular PVA glue with water, then brush it onto the surface you want to apply a decal. Once it dries, it should create a glossy and smooth surface. Sometimes it takes a few coats to get it perfect. But from the responses here, it looks like it's probably better to just varnish the whole of the plane in a gloss finish to apply decals, than just the area of application itself.

Hi everyone, this question is a mix of both paint/varnish and decal topics. The underbody of my plane was painted using a matt paint finish, while the top was painted with a gloss finish paint. To apply the upper body decals I didn't require any initial gloss finish obviously. For the underbody, only 2 decals were needed on the tips of the wings, so I used the diluted PVA glue trick to make a glossy finish. I did not coat the entire paint job with a gloss varnish. A side note, this method worked incredibly well. Now, I want the overall plane to have a matte finish. Do I need to coat the entire underbody with a gloss varnish, wait for it to dry, then apply the final matte varnish layer? Or can I just go straight into the matte varnish? As I understand it, because the upperbody was already done with a gloss paint, I can just use the matte varnish to coat the paint and decals and it's done? Thank you for any help!

Oh man my confidence has just been crushed... Thank you very much for the advice. I am by no means looking to build up to competition standards. I simply love all Soviet aircraft, have read of their history, do have a Russian background etc... I just want to somehow recreate the planes I've read about and AModel seems to be the only company that makes them. I have made sure that they're recent releases.

Looking at the numbers again, they range from 123 to 254. Joining a club is a great idea! I am in Sydney, so I'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

Thank you for all the extra knowledge. I may attempt other mass produced kits after the Hobby Boss ones before giving the A Models a go. Maybe even the Zvezda. All of the AModels look to have numbers above 70,000, so I'm assuming that's a good thing? When you say sanding, it's just sanding edges down so they fit comfortably right?

This might not fill everyone with much confidence, but this Mig-3 I'm building is the first model kit I've ever built. I am 23. However, I am finding it extremely easy, as it probably should be. The kits I purchased in 1/72: - Lisunov Li-2P/T - 1/72 Ilyushin Il-14P "Crate" - 1/72 Polikarpov I-16 Type 5/6 - Zvezda 1/72 Lavochkin La-5FN - Yakovlev Yak-8 - Yak-18A My mistake earlier, it's actually 5 Amodels and 1 Zvezda Keep in mind though, I'm in no way thinking that I'll get through all of these models in a few months and rush them. I got them simply because once they are sold out or disappear, it's probably very hard to find them again!

I just purchased six 1/72 AModel kits and I am a beginner modeller. Am I screwed? (I am currently building the Hobby Boss Mig-3 and have 2 other Hobby Boss kits to further improve my skills)

Admittedly, as this is my first ever time building a model of any sort, I have a lot to learn with the spray can. I do believe that my first go at it has been largely successful, but there is one or two spots of slight pooling. What is the best way to remove this? A light sanding? Or must you live with it and move onto the next model with new knowledge? There is also a small drop of paint that has run down the side due to this small pooling, it can also be sanded out? Sorry I have so many questions!

I've spray painted the top of the plane with gloss white pretty successfully, however stupid me didn't tape the bottom of the plane which is supposed to be a light blue. The gloss white did cover just a small part at the underside of the tail section, would I be able to simply paint over this gloss white? Or would the gloss stop the new paint from sticking well? Thank you for all the help so far!

After painting a model, in particular a plane, what is the best way to bring out the panel lines? Using a simple black pencil? I'm assuming any panel line highlighting should also be done before applying a final varnish? Thank you for any help!

Well...I've learnt something new, the hard way. While the white primer spray was easy to use on the props and main fuselage and wings, it was difficult for the smaller parts like the back wheel, wheel covers and landing gear. I felt that the amount of paint from a single spray was too much for these small parts. I ended up with thick primer covering details...so I did my best to scrape it off and try again. What is the best way to prime these small parts?

Thanks mate. I've read so much conflicting stuff. Some say to thin because it's too thick from the bottle, some say it isn't needed.

I am using Vallejo Model Colour Acrylic at the moment with a brush, so I will use primer from a spray can. I am a little lost on thinning this Vallejo paint. It feels as if it can be used straight from the bottle after a good time of shaking. Adding water seemed to over thin it, if that makes sense?

I have watched the Quick Kit videos and others, I have read through advice in the forum, but there is still one question looming in my mind. Is it necessary to prime the small assembly parts? The wheels, props, nose cone, bombs etc? I feel like trying to prime them with a spray may cover detail. I understand the need to prime the large aircraft areas though, like fuselage and wings. I actually wouldn't even know the best way to prime such small components.

Thank you so much for the links and advice!!!! I couldn't have asked for more! The links have been very helpful so far and have actually provided some good news. A lot of the Amodel kits that I am interested in are from 2008 onwards! I guess it means they should be good to attempt when my skills allow it!

Hello everyone, I am just starting modelling now and I want to focus my modelling and collection solely on classic Soviet aircraft in 1/72. (This would obviously include civil/commercial aircraft as well as military). Which modelling companies offer the most in this category? I have seen AModel from Russia who offer quite a lot and many unique planes, but from browsing the forums, their kits appear to be notoriously difficult to build. Thank you!

Everyday I research this hobby it looks more and more like building the model is harder than building the real deal! Thanks for the tip!