Doom3r

Did you read my fist message? Here how it was: As you can see it is just a name of the section with different camos at the link I provided (you obviously did not look at the it where it is stated that these are 2 different schemes but under the same section). In this message I did not state that SEA scheme was either applicable to the G model or that it is the same as SIOP. The reason why I did recommend the link is b/c it not only has FS numbers that was posted earlier but b/c it has approximate paint matches by different manufacturers (which is actually what was asked in the opening message of the thread).

B/c your post definitely confused me: before your post nobody was talking about SEA scheme for B-52G other than I mentioned that the colors are described in my link are under the section "SAC SIOP & SEA schemes" (which are 2 different schemes but due to similarity are in the same section). And in my post I definitely refer to the scheme on picture as SIOP since this is the scheme on the box art of the model kit in question. Basically I read your post that you doubt that the scheme on the boxart is applicable to the B-52G. If this is not what you was trying to say my apologies but it would be helpful to be more specific on such messages or at least colors since lot of times I've seen SIOP is also referred as "SAC SEA" which is kinda confusing.

If by "SEA scheme" you mean the scheme from the boxart then it is SIOP scheme and yes there is a photo on the website I mentioned earlier However if you mean SAC SEA scheme -- basically the same as this but with black undersides then yes, I do no believe short tailed B-52s wore it.

Take a look at this page (scroll down to SAC SIOP & SEA scheme) it has not only fs numbers but also some paint suggestions http://www.theworldwars.net/resources/resources.php?r=camo_usaf

I am not sure what price you can get 1/72 ESCI F-15C but I wonder if you considered Hasegawa F-15C which could be found for a price of $20-$25. However be careful there is another Hasegawa F-15C around which should be avoided since it is 1974 mold. The only negative parts of that kit are going to be that Hasegawa as usual did not put any weapons in the kit and that this how F-15C was in 80th early 90th (however since you were looking at ESCI then being an early F-15C might not be a biggie for you)

I don't think they "do not want it" it's might be a case that they cannot afford it or/and do not have capacity to do it right now: military and Air Force particularly was neglected for a very long time (since the fall of USSR till probably the wake up call which was war with Georgia in 2008). During that period their assets were not maintained properly (especially in 90th), decayed and got outdated. Russia today is trying to catchup on lot of things: Su-30 & Su-35 are entering service in addition to old Su-27 & MiG-29 and maybe replace them, Su-34 to replace Su-24, MiG-35 is also entering the service in small quantities, Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 are getting upgraded and new planes are getting built, Su-57 entering the service, PAK DA is in development, all sort of UAVs, small cargo plane to replace the An-26, lot of ramblings about a need for big cargo plane to replace An-124 (if I remember right they even wanted to restart it's production but in addition that Ukraine is going to claim those as counterfeit they might not have all required documentation/parts for those), etc... At the same time you are still need to support all existing airframes that are still in service so I am afraid they are simply cannot get all what they want and a huge order for another plane which role is already filled by other things might be the straw that could break the camel's back.

Don't know if you noticed (and how true is that) but in the promo video in my 1st message for a few seconds they show something that appears to be an unmanned version of this aircraft. That would be definitely interesting to see. And how would it be used in different roles. Maybe offtopic but what do they say about 1.44? What happened to the project and was it's results used in the further developments?

First of all my point wasn't about that it would take a lot b/c it is Russian. No I was just basing my estimate on the another Russian airplane that is just entering the service b/c projecting when Russian airplane is going to enter the service using as example let's say Rafale is a bit strange. If we wanted to just talk about numbers it would be shame to do not mention J-10 (first flight in 1998, entered service in 2006) and J-20 (2011, entered service in 2017 and currently is being produced in huge numbers)

There were talks about it on MAKS, there was the promo on Dubai Airshow but this is basically it. They originally claimed it is going to be actual flying prototype but right now they state this particular aircraft is for static testing. Basically nobody really knows how is it going to pan out. Let's not forget that first T-50 prototype flew in 2011 but actual Su-57 entered service only last year. Even worse: if I understood right the missiles shown in promo for Su-75 is in development as well. Funny thing is that in promo video they have not only F-35 in crosshairs but also newest Turkish UAV that was presented recently.

You can try to put yellowed decals next to sunny window for a week and so or if you have a source of UV (the UV thing that speeds the cure for nail polish is the popular option) then few hours to a day might take care of it unless the decal film is something funny. Keep in mind that old decals could completely fall apart once you put them in water, they might behave in funny way (like not adhere), etc. However don't get too much into cheap stuff: if airfix model + decal set costs more than HB or some other model kit you probably would be better off with something other than Airfix. Would be a real shame if you are going to spend as much money on Airfix as for a new 1/72 GWH F-14A unless nostalgia feeling.

Oh wow. Did not know that - I thought it was just a rebox of the old one. Hmm was waiting on AMK to release A model. Looks like the wait is over.

First of all: stay away from Trumpeter/Hobbyboss since it is full of panel and rivet lines that are nowhere could be found on the real thing. Second: it all depends on what is your priority and how do you want to vuild it. If you want to build parked on the deck/ground or inflight with everything closed up your best bet is Tamiya. However if you want to have all things opened up like during the takeoff I am afraid Hasegawa is the only option, however building that one is not so easy.

There are few things that might be happening here. Here are few suggestions: 1) What paint/thinner proportions did you use? For that nozzle and pressure I would expect something around 60/40 to 80/20 but exact proportions everyone figures out on their own by more practice. It is very possible you thinned it too much and it simply was flowing on the surface after landing on it. 2) Did you try to lay the paint in one go? This is another common mistake that I did when started with A/B. You should not try to paint it in one layer. It is better to do in a few thin coats instead of one thick layer. With one thick layer there is a huge chance of flooding some area (which is actually looks like what happened there). Additional things: 3) Did you prime the model before laying paint? Some paints might not adhere very well to the plastic (usually water based acrylics like Vallejo, Model Master). Tamiya & Mr. Color seems to be better, however I would still suggest laying a layer of Mr Surface Finisher 1200 or 1500 before applying paint: it makes paint to adhere better and it also allows not to worry about washing the model before painting if there are no visible contamination by release agents (I usually wash only resin parts). It also unifies the color so if let's say you used green putty to patch up some seam lines and other imperfections that green color would not be visible through the paint layer (especially would be visible on gray/white airplanes) 4) What distance were you spraying from? Standard mistake (I know I did it when got my 1st A/B) is to try to use it as spraygun and spraying model like from 30-40 cm... This is not the right way to do it: 10-15 cm is usually max distance. In reality is even less. 5) Nozzle size of 0.2 is really good for some delicate work (maybe things like preshading, marbling, some sort of freehand camo, etc) or trying to paint small areas. However when you learn basics I would probably advise getting 0.4-0.5 nozzle (you are going to need it in the future anyway to paint bigger areas -- cannot imagine painting 777 using 0.2 nozzle).

@David Hadland one thing I completely forgot about Hasegawa is that their kits do not have armaments. Not sure about F/A-18E but their Tomcat does not have even Sidewinders. So take that into account. And if you would want to configure it as Bombcat you are probably looking for another 20+ in aftermarket weapon sets.

Well, the best Tomcat in that scale would be the one from GWH, however it is far more expensive than £20. I would advise to stay away from Hobbyboss unless you can get it for £10: for whatever reason they put some sort of the divider on top of the canopy and it is not a seam line: it is solid 2mm high aerodynamic thing that you would need either to sand off or replace the whole canopy. As far as the accuracy goes I have no idea since the canopy was a deal breaker for me but judging from their 1/48 attempt I would not be surprised if it is full of the panel, rivet lines and other things that you would never find on the real thing. I hear that new tool Academy is quite good for the case if you do not want it to be displayed with flaps and slats down otherwise Fujimi (recently was reboxed by KA Models) or Hasegawa (however watch out: Hasegawa still keeps old mold around with raised panel lines, no flaps, etc, so your safest bet would get https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-00544-f-14a-tomcat--120633 (Atlantic Fleet Squadrons)) would be a bit worse than GWH yet less expensive. Other than that you could try Revell which is worse than GWH, new Academy, Hasegawa & Fujimi but still is OKish. Btw, Revell has Top Gun boxing https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-05677-movie-set-top-gun-1-and-2--1260333 which has their F-14D & F/A-18E. Both are not the best and have only decal options for the movie (that got delayed once more). As far as F/A-18E your choice is probably between Hasegawa and Academy however they are a bit more expensive than £20.