TK501

Hi Angelo, Outstanding job on this model. I recently purchased so I can get it right this time as opposed to the nine year old who built in one day many moons ago. Like you I plan to scratchbuild many details and your build has really inspired me. I do have one question for you if you can answer: I am working on the pilot and copilot seats and all the interesting framework BEHIND the seats. I noticed they are painted a different color than the seats. What was the order of events to create these parts? Did you assemble the seats, the side seat supports (Parts 3 and 4) and then scratchbuild all the additional details on the back of the seats, painting by hand once completed or ...? If you could describe the sequence used to create these two highly detailed seats. Thanks in advance!

Hello there BritModeller Community! It is with great pleasure to present to you my second take on building this classic Monogram kit. So much has happened since it was delivered to me after purchasing on eBay 24 years ago. I gained a ton of weight, lost a ton of weight, got married, bought a house, raised two kids, both of whom are in college and have rekindled my passion for this hobby. My first attempt at this kit was back in the late 70's; I was a wee lad with more enthusiasm than skill. I hurriedly built the aircraft, rushing to start that unique Lemon Yellow paint job on the wings. I "completed" the model but believe me it was a true example of enthusiasm over skill by a pre-teen. Brush strokes abound, broken parts, not a page of reference material and lots of nasty Testers glue marks all over it, I was proud to say it was done. Then of course, I blew it up with some well placed fireworks. Fast forward to 2000 and I am starting to dip my toe in the water around restarting this hobby. Naturally, the first kit that came to mind to try was that Monogram Devastator kit. A quick search on eBay uncovered the kit new in the box and a few days later I started in on it. Then life happened. I met my lovely bride and all my spare time was spent chasing her. I got as far as masking the canopies before putting it down to start that new chapter of my life. Last year I posted my first build after that very long hiatus and went back to working on the Devastator. How times have changed. There are tons of tutorials available on YouTube, some money in my pocket to by some aftermarket decals or resin torpedo kit I happily plowed forward until finally it's done. I've joined my local chapter of the IPMS and brought it to our last meeting. I immediately see ALL those flaws that I will fix on my next project but for now, this is a best I could do. More importantly, I LEARNED so many new techniques and got to try all them on this build. As you go through the photos, it'll become very apparent that BritModeller's very own @dnl42 provided MASSIVE amounts of inspiration, information and just plain guidance as I puzzled my way through the build while referencing theirs. Let me know what you think and I look forward to posting images of my next build., Tamiya's 1/72 Messerschmitt BF-109E 4/7 Trop. Cheers!

I heartily agree with you!! Ok, so once again thanks to all who responded; a valuable lesson was learned. After calling my local hobby shop and was told they did not have the X-20, I took @Ray_W advice and visited my local Home Depot, picking up some Naphtha. With beads of sweat from nerves dotting my forehead, I went about removing the dried panel liner from the model. It worked out far better than I expected and am preparing to repaint the damaged areas after thoroughly cleaning all traces of panel liner and Naptha. I'll start posting some images here soon in a separate thread. Thanks again for all your help.

HI everyone and thanks for your responses. I airbrushed Badger Air-Brush SNR-210 Stynylrez Water Based Acrylic Polyurethane (white) followed by Tamiya acrylic paints(XF colors) thinned with Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver and gloss coated the entire model with Tamiya X-22 (also thinned with Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver for airbrushing). I tried X-20A last night which didn't seem to do anything in terms of removing the panel line. And as I write this and after further examination, it looks like I failed to look closely at the bottle I purchased from my local hobby store today and it is actually Tamiya Lacquer thinner (the bottle with the yellow cap I used that caused all the damage. What a puz I am!! If I pick up a bottle of X-20, will that allow me to remove the dried panel liner without messing up my acrylic XF colors? Thanks again for all the help and feedback on this topic in advance!

Hello everyone, So after years and years of making my own blends of panel liners, I figured I'd try Tamiya's Black Panel liner. Works well enough and is convenient. I let it dry (as per the instructions on the bottle) and then tried to remove and blend it with the paint using Tamiya X-20. Now my paint job underneath is completely ruined. It went through the gloss coat, the final paint coat and into the primer. I'm sick as a dog over here after all the work I've put into this kit to have the paint get destroyed. I'm already resigned to having repaint the spots that are worn through, but any thoughts on how to remove the dried panel liner that is all over the finish without further damaging the paint? Thanks in advance, Mark

Howdy folks! Been some time since I last posted but I've been hard at work despite life getting in the way. Found this thread and have found it to be a goldmine for ideas and tips around technique, historical details and simply inspiration as I build my own TBD-1 Devastator. Quick question: Did you follow the kit instructions and paint the feathered fuselage according to the FS codes? I am using all Tamiya paints and doing just that. Oh and that IP installation almost, almost saw me smashing the poor bird after making attempt after attempt after attempt and failed to get it locked in place. Admittedly, I have a few more levers, a fire extinguisher in front of the control stick, electrical plumbing and other odds and bits stuck in the cockpit but man was that tough!! This build and thread is very inspirational and I hope to have some pics of my own build up soon. Cheers!

Well, it's finally finished. I started this project as a way of getting back into scale modeling, a hobby I enjoyed immensely as a young lad. Not having much skill, a mentor or anyone to talk to about this hobby, I simply soldiered on until rock drumming, girls and life competed for my attention. Thirtysomething years later, I am looking to get back into this hobby only this time, money, information and folks to discuss this hobby with (youse!) are not an issue. Be constructive with your criticism, folks. I just getting back into this, am willing to learn and welcome feedback around my work. This meant to be fun and relaxing to m so I'm not gonna be freaking out because someone left negative feedback. Cheers! Update: I'm still figuring out how to share from flickr site. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience! Update#2: I think I got it now!

Hello everyone! Found this site nearly a year ago and have been slow carving out time to get started on a project...but I am full tilt involved with one now! Found this thread and, being in the market for pair of nippers, took the plunge and am anxiously awaiting delivery of this new tool. Now it's back to my snowspeeder build here in NJ! Mark