dnl42

I saw They Shall Not Grow Old on a flight last week. The movie isn't suitable for a 13 year old, but the trailers are OK. They show some simpler trenches, a lot less structure, literally a dug trench, some bits of wood structure, and water, a lot of water, at the bottom. Perhaps some paper figures standing ankle deep.

Thanks for moving this!!! As for progress, I'm still working on getting the decals to snug down. I usually use Microscale Industries Micro Set and Micro Sol, but the Blackbird Models' decals weren't impressed. Solvaset appears to be working, but I'm trying to go light on it as I've suffered catastrophic decal failure with the stuff... I found a Part PE canopy frames set in the stash. It replaces the side, upper, and rear panels. A nice feature is the ability to position the upper canopy over the pilot open. I also noticed that the Gavia spinner isn't quite correct for JR-P. The photo shows a more conventional spinner that appears to completely surrounds the blades. The Gavia part sits entirely in front of the propeller, which is correct for the Shuttleworth aircraft as well as many others.

This work is so outstanding, yet superlatives seem trite. How did you make the lifebuoy? On my effort in this scale, I used a kit's plastic ring, paper, and thread.

Just to be clear, this is for former USSR "republics", not other countries in the Warsaw Pact. For example, Polish and Czech subjects wouldn't fit. Is that correct?

Perhaps one of the mods could move this to the Aircraft WIP section? TIA -- dnl

Thank you for that!

Completely agree! I have learned to only use aftermarket decals with Japanese kits.

@Stephen, did you use setting solution on those Blackbird decals? My usual setting solutions Microscale Industries Micro Set and Micro Sol aren't causing the decals to settle into the stringer areas. I also have Solvaset and Mr Softer, and am wondering if they're safe on Blackbird Decals.

Yes, the buffer is used to polish parts. Use your eyeballs with grazing light and your fingers to figure out when any plastic or putty shaping exercise is fair and smooth.

Apparently, not in England and Wales. It is in the US. Worse still, resisting an obviously illegal arrest can result in this charge. Good times...

Wow! I guess nail polish remover was ok. Mr Color Thinner is a safe solvent for Tamiya putty and Mr Surfacer in this application. I've also used it with cotton swabs and "cotton rounds" to strip paint from a model. Don't try regular hardware store lacquer thinner for these purposes as it will likely damage the plastic--the stuff I find locally surely does. In any event, Tamiya putty is a fine choice for that situation. You may need additional applications as it does shrink. Expect to need multiple applications of putty (either Tamiya putty or @Doom3r's homemade putty) to fully fill the area. BTW, cotton rounds, nail file sticks, and nail buffing sticks are good makeup aisle additions to your modeling supplies. Avoid the coarser file sticks. You can find modeling-oriented versions of file and buffing sticks in you local hobby shop (also known as an LHS) or Hobby Lobby.

Criminy, they're killing me with these delays. I suppose we're getting a modern version of the aircraft rather than as it would have appeared in its working lifetime.

That's the joy of working for a company early on. You get to attribute policies to specific incidents and individuals. Such as the guy who wore an anatomically correct bull costume to work one Halloween Day...

Reno Nevada is farther west than Los Angeles California. Lake Tahoe, on California's eastern border is farther west than Los Angeles, on California's western border (the Pacific Ocean). Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state is the USA.

As @dogsbody showed, tools can be fashioned as needed. I use those sandwich picks for a variety of purposes. Along with PPP as recommended by @Space Ranger, you might look for Vallejo Plastic Putty in a tube. It includes an applicator nozzle, a miniature version of what you might get with tube caulking, that is useful for getting into tight spots. Combine that with water as solvent and it's quite easy to use this for tight spots. BTW, Deluxe Materials also has other useful products. I really like their Liquid Gravity for tricycle gear aircraft to avoid a tail-heavy model. Obviously not needed in a B-17 or USS CONSTITUTION.

Zap a Gap is indeed a brand of CA. They have all manner of formulations including accelerator and debonder. I'd be VERY careful with E6000. I used it once to glue some nose weight in place and it melted the fuselage--lots of filling followed lots of cussing. As @Corsairfoxfourunclenoted, CA is not a good choice for gluing plastic parts to each other. Leave that stuff for PE or other materials. My goto glue for plastic is Tamiya Thin. The first and most important thing when bonding parts is to dry fit and make sure you have perfectly mating parts. A sheet of glass with abrasive paper grit-side up will give you a good tool to ensure true mating surfaces, especially for large parts. Rigid sanding blocks can help on the male side when alignment pins are present. Do this work carefully so you don't remove too much material. When gluing parts with Tamiya Thin, mate the parts first and then apply the glue with the applicator. Hold the part until the glue evaporates and sets. DO NOT touch the joint until you're sure the glue is dry. It sets quickly so only a little patience is needed. For a large part, start at one end and work your way around the part. Before moving to the next section, hold the parts until the joint sets. If you still have any gaps despite your best efforts, it's best to fill through gaps with plastic. Thin Evergreen strips work well for this. Cut a suitably sized strip to length, push into the gap, apply Tamiya Thin, and let it dry. Once it's dry you can trim any excess plastic still standing proud. Surface gaps can be filled with your favorite filler. I like Tamiya Fine Putty. You might prefer something else, like a water soluble putty. A trick to using putty is to use its solvent to eliminate excess putty instead of sanding it down, which risks damaging surface detail. I use Mr Thinner as a solvent for Tamiya putty. Dip a cotton bud in the the solvent and rub the excess putty with the swab. It will take some swabbing, but the excess putty will eventually come off. Be careful when you see it start to come off and you may not need any final sanding. If you do sand, use masking tape to protect areas not to be sanded. HTH -- dnl

Indeed it is; city resolution 6252 in 1983. Even more bizarre, the blimp base is outside Redondo Beach, in nearby Carson.

Aerious has all the vowels in order. There are longer English words with this property, too.

Dang... Just waiting for that F!

I'm continually amazed at your ability to rebuild one model into another! I'll also have to remember that laser level. It certainly beats my old school pencil and block.

What distance address you spraying from? Too large a distance can cause a rough finish. While I airbrush Mr Color, I spray close in, 5mm to 45mm. HTH -- dnl

Outstanding! I love these different subjects. Your attention to finish detail is quite well done. Really evokes the feel of a well used, critical equipment.

Bravp! Outstanding work! So many different elements in this, each done so very well.

Thanks @Robert Stuart. For some definition of solved, yes. I fashioned flap hinges in a plausible configuration and otherwise came to terms with a tapered underwing gap.

Quite a lot of aircraft this weekend! The Pacific Air Show is running over the ocean off Huntington Beach, CA, and most of the aircraft are flying out of Joint Forces Training Base - Los Alamitos, with its 8,000 ft runway.