AnonymousFY21

I might go and get a can. I am sure people have said it's possible to decant the contents, but every time I have tried to get the contents out of an aerosol an unintentional redecoration occurs. rich

As the title says I am having trouble with Halfords primer peeling off when I mask . A case in point. I had sprayed the tub of my Hase F-104 with primer last weekend, sprayed a coat of Gunze JASDF cockpit grey on during the week and masked off and sprayed the black consoles with Xtracrylix black on sunday. I peeled the masking tape off and the only place with any paint left was the consoles . So what am I doing wrong? I must admit I didn't clean the part first with any kind of cleaner, just gave it a wipe over with tissue. Do I need to wash all parts with a mild detergent and if so what's the best way to do it and the best product to use? It's totally p****d me off and the tub is now soaking in Power spray (good stuff, another useful tip gleaned from her ), not that it needs much stripping . The primer I am using is the tinned Halfords universal primer, thinned with cellulose, allowing airbrush use. I have been informed that it's exactly the same stuff as the rattle can, but I am starting to wonder . Looking at getting some Alclad primer, is it worth it? rich

Before anyone comments, yes I know it's a G and it should be a J, but I have a master plan . Not sure whether I will use the Aires burner can yet, as the kit one is quite good and I would like to do this close to OOB, with just a few scratch built mods to seat and u/c bays. The obligatory box shot: the TwoBobs decals are really nice, but I have a slightly smudged roundel that Hannants have offered to replace. Trouble is it means sending the sheet back and s*ds law says that they will have run out by the time they get them back and they are no longer available from TB, so I think I will just live with it. The sheet has enough decals to do two a/c, so AndyL is getting the remainder of the sheet, once we have agreed who is doing what. I am reluctant to do too much Natural Metal , but hey nothing ventured nothing gained. I have been beavering away since I got the kit last week. So far I have sprayed the wheels, assembled the main gear bay and sprayed it. I have also started to mod the bang seat, but have lost patience and started the pit tub and instrument panel. The kit is pretty good, but my fuselage halves are like bananas . I assume this is normal? Anyway progress so far, the instrument panel. It's not perfect, but I am pretty chuffed as I nearly bought the Eduard pre-painted one. It actually looks better in the flesh, the only thing that bothers me is the colour. Somebody gave me the correct FS number for US pits, but it looked way too dark when compared to all my refs regarding J's. I have however now found more pics that could back up the original suggestion . To Be Continued................... rich

You are probably right and I wasn't aware that spares were readily available. Thanks for the info. rich

They can do it in South Africa. Along with the Viggen the Lightning is still embedded in memories from Farnborough and Mildenhall. Yes fuel was limited and it was a poor dog fighter, but what a piece of British engineering. Something we should be proud of. rich

He has my address and card details as well. Looking good Mike, my Two bobs aggressor sheet arrived today, so will start a thread at the weekend. rich p.s, don't forget the doors , when you send the order.

Wow look at all that resin, must be one hell of a conversion Mike . rich

I have started Jen, but just boring bits done so far and waiting for decals so that AndyL and I can actually do JSADF Zippers. rich

Very nice. They look so good in blue. You have done justice to the prettiest a/c ever built............. runs for cover rich

Neil Martin Baker MK7 generally, but earlier ones were fitted with MK5's. They were however retrofitted with MK7's later on. Would suggest seatejectcolor.com Lots of really useful info on there. rich

It literally is a paste. Brush it onto the area you want to solder and run the iron along the joint and it's done. I am now pretty sure the paste came from Javis. I think they still exist. Flux would help on some surfaces, but brass is pretty good if cleaned and lightly abraded first. rich

Hi Oz Can be very tricky. What you need to do is look out for solders with varying melt temps. And if possible get solder paste, this will allow you to place the solder where you want it then bring the iron up to the joint. If you can get hold of different solders you can then start off with the hottest and gradually work down. My father used to make Gauge 1 locos for a local guy and they were mainly sheet brass and this is how he had to approach it, otherwise the same as you found happens. I believe he used to buy them through Shesto or someone like that, though it could have been Javis. The model engineering or railway mags will probably have adverts. I used paste successfully on a 1/43 Jaguar XJR14 rear wing. It was the only way to do such a small assembly. To be honest mate, if that is your first attempt, well done . I have seen a LOT worse by so called professionals. You obviously have the knack. Hope that helps a little. rich Dohh Mike got there first. rich

WOW. I really like that. It's a shame it never saw the light of day. rich

Very nice, looks the part. rich

Cheers Giorgio, loads of info. rich

Thats good enough for a start. cheers Giorgio rich

HELP I need someone with info on the F-104J to give me the colours needed for wheel bays and cockpit. Any form will do, FS, Gunze, etc.... I only have the revell instructions and thats for a G and I have no idea if the colours were common across users. Also if anybody knows of good photos of J's in service that would be wonderful, particularly the aggressor a/c represented on the two bobs sheet 48-051. cheers rich

You guys are naughty. I am trying to save the guy some money. Rich

Just to annoy you Jen. Humbrol Mattcote is good, usually. I have had one duff bottle. Can you put it over acrylics though? Don't like Xtracrylics XDFF . Rich

Don't know how I missed this . In SEA camo too . Very, very nice. rich

Enjoy the Evolution mate and lets see some results from it. rich

B. Don, give up on the 150 so quickly. The H&S infinity is fairly easy to clean, but still needs care if you want to make sure all the gunk is out. Can't comment on the Iwata as I have never used one. I moved to the Infinity for various reasons and have found it to be a nice upgrade from the 150, but if treated properly the 150 will give years of reliable service. A few tips. Get the Badger Reamer (ouch!), this will allow you to clean the small brass tip if you get a real stubborn blockage. H&S also do a similar tool. Get some small brushes for cleaning airbrushes (look like toilet brushes). Someone will step in and give you a place to get them. Probably the best thing about the Infinity is how easily it disassembles and reassembles. The 150 can be fun , but if you just carefully remove the air valve you can then soak the whole lot in cleaner. This would probably do for a cleaning between uses. Must admit I never got a blockage if I blew acetone/IPA through between colours. If you do get solvent into the air valve the small rubber seal will swell and stop it working, they are a whole £2ish to replace, so just keep a couple in stock. The teflon head seal will also wear out if you take the head on and off a lot, again a couple of pounds to replace. I suppose what I am trying to say is the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence and with a little care and perseverance the 150 is a good reliable brush. Mind you the Infinity is stonkingly good . Just ask the boss. rich

Dont think it's the Monogram, unless they did an earlier one. The wing is much like the Hasegawa, with a lower section that covers the bottom of the fuselage and includes the lower wing sections out to the fold point. The instrument panel is also solid not transparent, but the lower seat cushions are indeed moulded as part of the pit. rich

Hi Robbb81 Take a look at my work in progress, which deals with fitting the Black Box cockpit into the Monogram (Revell) kit. The Aires set is almost a guaranteed no, no (I have the F-4C one). It is definitely designed to fit the hasegawa kit, even then with huge amounts of hammering into submission. The BB pit has gone in without too much trouble. Just a little trimming and shaving. The top on the nose wheel bay did need thinning, but is still sufficiently thick to take the weight of the kit. The burner cans for the Monogram are 19.26mm where they align with the fuselage, going out to 20.4mm at the back of the petals. The hasegawa short cans are 20mm at the point that buts up against the fuselage. I can't comment on the Aires ones, but Mike has probably just saved me a few pounds. I will probably use plasticard and such to dress up the supplied cans, or start from scratch as even the monogram ones don't look right in the back of the kit. rich

pm me and we can sort something out. Rich