darson

This sounds great, I'll be in with something like a Tamiya Challenger 1 or maybe an RAAF Op Falconer F/A-18.

Arnold, I'm making the assumption that your compressor does not have an air tank in which case what you are describing is quite normal. The air pressure in your compressor builds up when you turn it on and is only released when you depress the AB trigger. Make sure you adjust the air pressure on the regulator while the trigger on your AB is depressed so that you get a true reading of what you'll be spraying at. The hiss of air you hear is probably from the safety value releasing air from the regulator so it doesn't blow up in your face by the way. A staring pressure of 50psi is a little high in my opinion and you may want to open the regulator a tad so it will sit comfortably at about 30psi. Also, a spraying pressure of 15-20psi is too perfect for most modeling purposes. Cheers

Thanks a lot guys and gals that's exactly the information I was after and Steve thanks for that link it's got some great reference photos. Cheers

Hi all, I hope I've put this in the right forum but I managed to pick up the very nice little Fujimi 1/72 Phantom FG.1 the other day and fancy doing it as per the box art. My question is around the colour of these Phantoms as the pic on the box looks a blue of some kind and the Fujimi instructions call for Barley Grey. Can one of you wise people please tell what colour they should be and were these aircraft finished in a gloss, semi gloss or a matt finish?

Nice looking kit and your figure turned out great My only piece of feedback would be to graduate the weathering with the MiG pigments a little more. Heavy on the tracks and lower areas then lighter (with perhaps some different shades) as you go higher up. Nice job.

Nice looking work, I'll be watching for more updates as you post them. You're right though the Fuj 110 is a nice little kit with the biggest problem being the very barren rear cockpit. This is ok in 72nd but sticks out like dogs proverbials in 48th. Cheers

Spence are those tracks and spare from Modelkasten? If so how come you didn't use the kit supplied ones?

Looks great Pete and just as a small piece of feedback, the front ends of your tow cables seem to be floating in the air. Also just as a matter of interest what did you change your aperture and focal length to? Cheers

Games Workshop ground cover makes an excellent desert as it contains very fine particles along with a few larger ones. This combo makes a very effective desert in either 1/48 or 1/35 scale.

Great looking progress Tim. Tell me is that the older Tamiya Zero or the new one from last year?

You don't need to thin Model Air as it's already well and truly thin enough, but you do need to retard it drying around the tip of the needle where it exits the nozzle on your Iwata. Water is useless for this job so don't even bother wasting your time, try using a drying retarder such as contained in Tamiya thinner will solve this problem for you. You can also add a few drops of good old Windex to your paint as this will do the same job. Also ensure that you break down your AB into it's components and properly clean each one at the encd of every session, particulary the nozzle. Once again Windex is an inexpensive and ideal cleaning agent for acrylic paint. I have the same AB setup as you and have the bought the 0.5mm needle/nozzle combo but I use it for wide coverage on large models, it will make no difference to the spraying and clogging of Vallejo paints (Model Air or Model Art), I know this because I've experienced the same thing myself. You may want to think about a Crown Cap for your AB as this will aid in reducing paint buildup and aid in spraying fine detail close to the model at low pressure. The AB you've got is a great piece of kit and can be used to spray for hours and hours with either enamels or acrylics (I made the switch to acrylics a few years ago) I've never used Model Air Gloss Varnish myself but you are right in that the varnish drying before it hits the model and the use of a thinner that contains a retarder will resolve the problem. Personally I use Future as a gloss coat either neat out of the bottle or with a little Windex added to thin it down depending on my mood, however I do spray it at around 20psi to push it out a little harder than normal paint. Cheers

From memory you will have to add fuselage strengthening, catapult hooks as well as a four-blade propeller for the later model IIc machines. Cheers

David both the Hobbycraft & Trumpeter kits have areas of detail problems with them to be honest as I think you can tell from the posts so far. In terms of which is best well that's a question that's really going to be up to you as you didn't say if you were building OOB or going mental with AM and scratch building to come up with the ultimate in accuracy. OOB the Trumpeter builds up a lot easier and is a lot more fun than the Hobbycraft and in my humble opinion has less glaring problems than the older Hobbycraft offering. Just remember 99.9% of people who see your finished model will have no clue about how closely either one of these kits matches a real 1:1 scale Sea Fury, so the choice is yours. Cheers

Mark thanks for the heads up on that resin it really looks nice. Given I have one of those Hobbyboss FJ-4s in the stash I might have to invest in one. Cheers

You know that old Navy adage Bex, "If it moves salute it, if it doesn't paint over it".

Great looking progress Mark and that IP looks great. Given that you won't really see much of it anyway once the fuselage is closed up its just fine given that Tamiya don't give you a lot of detail to work with. Cheers

I second that, it's a great little kit with plenty of detail and you can get some really interesting decal schemes for it. Cheers

Looks just great so far Mark, I'll certainly be watching this one with interest By the way what resin set(s) are you using with your Fury, they look awesome.

Great looking progress Wally and I really like the way you've done the over painted US markings, keep the updates coming. Cheers

Mark that's a good plan but just for future reference Ultracast make an excellent Rotol 3 blade prop & blunt spinner that comes with a Coffman starter blister for use on the Mk.II. Also you will need the pilots head & back armor plate which is not included in the Tamiya Mk.I. Cheers

Cool thanks Daz and Happy New Year by the way.

Spence great job on the tank so far, I'll be looking forward to see how the paint job comes out. Also could you tell me what you use to make the small indentations in the Milliput camo netting, thanks. Ross the Tetrarch was a British pre-war design for a Cruiser tank. It had the distinction of being the first tank air delivered to a battlefield (via glider) during the D-Day operations.

Fantastic work Bruce, you've really nailed those builds Cheers

Hey guys you can count me in for this one with the Classic Airframes Bf109D "Molders" kit and the GB starts on April 1 09 correct? Also, Patrick those are a couple of awesome looking builds, nice work . Cheers

Looks like great progress so far especially the telephone which you've really nailed. Keep the updates coming