RobL

Never had such issues myself, but I'd say if you want to avoid it buy a pair of safety goggles (the sort you see people wearing in labs) or a full face mask (think WW2 gas mask).

Go here https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php, and look at BAT. It'll blow your mind. Il2-1946+BAT+sweetfx > BoX imho, unless you're a graphics, er, fetishist.

Yes, please do let us know, I'm in the same situation where what I want isn't available elsewhere, and it's about the same price as what you have bought.

I'm in the clinically vulnerable group, although I'm only in my early 40s. Had a text from my GP surgery on Jan 7th about them getting in the Pfizer vaccine, haven't heard anything since. Hopefully someone will pull their finger out sometime soon and start getting the rollout going quicker/better...

Ok, so I had "one of those nights" last night and felt like getting on with more of this. I started to detail and paint the base, along with undercoating (very roughly) the main roofs. I also finished off painting the outhouse (the metal banding and the handle) and also painted the weather vane (that I've not mentioned yet that I have made). I also painted the main door. The banding on the outhouse, the weather vane "struts", and the banding around the main door, were all undercoated with Vallejo Black polyurethane surface primer, and then painted with Vallejo Model Air Metallic Black (71.073). The main door received a drybrush/highlight of Vallejo Game Color Gunmetal. I also did some other little bits, such as painting the chimney pots. Believe it or not there is actually a cobblestone texture on the base... I had to cut the base down a little on the left and front, because I will be putting it into a picture frame to make a slightly nicer looking base. The tower roof was already painted and I had made a cone cap from lead sheet (I did that weeks ago) - not too happy with that though, I feel I should/could have done far better, but I'm going to leave it as is and move forwards. The weather vane is held on by a magnet, so if it gets "broken off" I can just put it back on! I hate taking photos of things like this at the stage it's at. For one thing, it's actually not far off a final reveal. Secondly (and only really a problem with this model) it's a pita to get it all in shot due to my backdrop not being tall enough (I don't have a professional stand or a place to put one or a professional area where I can take photos), anyhow here's some photos - A slight top down angle - A more head on angle, note that I have to cut the top off the weather vane in the images - I bought a set of ten barrels, they're a little undersized for my liking, but they will come in handy for scattering around the base. (There's only 9 in this photo, I missed picking up one!). Haven't finished painting them yet though. I used Citadel Agrellan Badlands on the rear/side half of the base, and gave it a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade. Games Workshop (i.e. Duncan "two thin coats" Rhodes) state to drybrush it with Citadel Tyrant Skull (which I don't have), and I'm led to believe that is equivalent to Citadel Screaming Skull (which I have), but I'm not sure that'll look right, slightly worried about it looking too light/bone coloured, so I may make myself a test piece and try out some other light colours for a drybrush. Still quite a bit to do, this seems to be one of those things that no matter how much I do on it, there's always more to be done...

I've been looking at buying some things from Shapeways, can I ask what it is you bought, or more to the point how much they cost in order to incur £50 in import fees? Starting to think Shapeways should be avoided, but the only other option I can see is self printing, which for me isn't really an option!

Had a Chinook go over about an hour ago, going east-ish from CM7...

Yes, the room for manoeuvre is a bit tight. The hubs can be replaced with some styrene rod though, I have plenty of it, if I end up sanding them off, a couple I think need replacing anyhow. No, it's not a WW1 tank, it's a very old Games Workshop tank that I've been modifying. Thanks though everyone, I'll bear the advice in mind. What I did earlier with the Dremel+grinding bit plus a skim with Perfect Plastic Putty has at least eliminated the obvious "gloop" "strips". It's looking a bit rough, but I can get away with that, or even sand it back I think if I need. Doesn't have to look 100% perfect and smooth, just not an obvious join like it was looking...

I just tried taking a Dremel to it with a grinding bit, on the slowest speed, and kind of smoothed out the "gloop". Made a bit of a mess of the surrounding area though, so I think I'll try skimming it with Perfect Plastic Putty and see how that goes, see if I end up with a less visible result...

Not very good one's, but here's a couple of 4 of the 8 similar joins I'm having a problem with.

Hey all This is more of a general modelling thing so I wasn't sure which sub-forum to put it in... For a while now I've had some problems when it comes to dealing with seams/joins. I tend to use "gloop", styrene sheet melted into Tamiya Extra Thin cement, to fill joins/seams. However, no matter how much I sand and polish, and no matter how smooth it feels to the touch I can still see the seam/gloop when I put some paint down. As an example I currently have a tank in progress that I have inserted pieces of styrene sheet to make it longer. Either side of the these pieces I've filled the gap using aforementioned "gloop", and it's starting to get on my nerves because despite it feeling smooth after sanding I've still got a visible join area! Anyone here any tips on how to avoid this happening or how to fix it so that I fill the seam and can't see the filler afterwards? Thanks in advance.

Small update on this... I bought a new set of collets. And a chuck (didn't know one existed for the Rotacraft RC-18 until I went searching), one of these - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EXPO-12800-MINI-3-JAW-CHUCK-FOR-EXPO-ROTACRAFT-MINICRAFT-DRILLS/312622694476?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649. And the old Rotacraft RC-18 multitool now works as a slow speed drill, although I do have to have the speed controller turned up quite a bit otherwise the multitool bogs down. But it worked nicely on a piece of 1mm styrene sheet I used just now to test it. Real test will be if I can drill out some gun barrels on a model I've got in progress... Really happy now, I can forgo using the pin vise. Thanks guys for pointing me in the direction of a railway speed controller.

Italeri 1/72 Sea Harrier. Also the Xtrakit Vampire, nice little kit, apart from the decals.

Possibly a bad batch. They had massive problems when they launched them however many years ago it was - they basically replaced a batch free of charge for members of a certain private online model club I was a member of. Contact AK and see what they say. My (limited) experience, having only used their Polished Aluminium, is that they can be put down at whatever psi you like, and go down well, although you do have to avoid handling them for quite a while whilst they go off (I painted a Games Workshop model with it and rubbed through it due to handling). It was far easier to put down than Vallejo Metal Color though. Didn't have the problem you are describing.

Heard the sonic boom here in Braintree, Essex also.

Thanks guys. I'll continue looking, on eBay most items seem to be momentary or the body of the switch is too long/big for my need. I've got some micro (and they really are micro) slide switches, but I failed at soldering them to wire last time I tried it, and I don't quite know which of the 3 pins to use anyway...

Hey all I have a project or two which requite LEDs and small switches (that will fit through a hole as small as 5mm for example), but I'm stuck on what switches to buy because I don't know the correct terminology for what I'm looking for. What I want is a push button switch that when you press it whatever is connected to it will come on, then when you press the button again, whatever is connected to it turns off. I think what I'm looking for is a latching switch, but my searches so far for such parts haven't been very fruitful. Would anyone here be able to point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance.

Just want to report back on this... I have purchased the parts to make the speed controller in the video above, and I can confirm it works as a speed controller for my Rotacraft RC18 "multitool" using it's own power brick. I set the the Rotacraft tool's own power dial to max, and it spins up from 0 at a speed which seems slower than normal and I can turn it right down (which is what is needed), although I've yet to try it with a drill bit as I seem to have mislaid the collets for it. I did try to fit the chuck I've got on my Dremel 3000, but it seems the thread on the Rotacraft tool isn't the same so the chuck wouldn't fit. But if anyone wants a simple and cheap speed controller buy the stuff described in that video, mine cost under £15 buying the electrics from eBay sellers, and required no soldering. The box was a fiver though and isn't a great fit (I had to sand out the hole for the switch a bit and the hole for the female jack doesn't grip the female jack I bought like the guy shows his does in the video) but it's doing it's job.

Sorry all, but I have something I wish to get off my chest. I have given up on model kits and gone back to painting Games Workshop models and building/doing stuff for that hobby. Why? No one asks... A few reasons. A little background first - Back in 2013 I had been away from doing anything model related, for some years, even Games Workshop stuff, which was my bread and butter for about 2 decades, due to circumstances related to where I live and work/life balance. Games Workshop's prices were also rising, as they always do! I had however recently bought an RC helicopter (2nd hand dirt cheap), a Blade MCPX, and (foolishly) wanted to put it into a scale fuselage, so I got back into model kits and bought a Revell 1/48 UH-1 kit as a donor. I also bought a Badger 250-2 spray gun. Fast forward a couple of years and I had some spare money so I invested in an AS-186 compressor and airbrush kit. I trashed the cheap £10 Chinese airbrushes and several replacements over a year or so due to being new to airbrushing and then invested in a Harder and Steenbeck Ultra in 2016. That is when I started to "up my game". Around the same time I also joined a well known model kit private online club. Basically, short story long, throughout that time I thought that assembling/painting model kits was cheaper than doing Games Workshop stuff. So, reasons - I have recently come to the conclusion that actually I am wrong on that thinking. Games Workshop models are now, for the most part, no more expensive than building model kits. I can buy a box set of 10 figures for the price of a 1/72 Airfix new tool Phantom, for example. So, that's one reason I've given up on model kits - they're getting too expensive. Paints are also getting too expensive, especially when you buy a number of paints that cost as much as the kit, just to paint 1 model. Even during "normal" times. Another reason is that I have limited storage/display space, and a 28mm heroic scale figure is easier to display/store than a 1/72 fighter jet or a 1/48 WW2 prop fighter. I bought (and then subsequently sold) a 1/72 B-24 Liberator and 1/72 PBY-5 Catalina, and I had no idea where I would put them, during or after assembly/painting, so I constantly avoided starting them. Another reason I gave up on model kits, is the attitude, earlier this year, of a number of people on that private online club's site that I was a member of. Basically, whilst people in late March/early April were starving (due to food delivery shortages among other reasons), the general consensus on that site was to bury your head in the sand and ignore it all. The problem doesn't exist. I can't abide by a group of comfortably well off people who could be helping others acting like that, especially the owner of the site. It has left a rather sour taste in my hobby. Turns out though, since stopping assembling/painting model kits, my last was an Italeri 1/72 Sea Harrier (started April, finished in August), and leaving that private club, I have had a renaissance in my hobby, despite the health/finance problems I have which often stop me from doing anything model hobby wise, I have enjoyed painting the Games Workshop models, making a building, and a few other things Games Workshop related, that I have been working on, this year. I do still have several (about 12) model kits in my stash, I have a couple on the shelf of doom, and I bought an Airfix 1/48 Spitfire Mk1a in preparation for the Battle of Britain 80th commemorations, but I am as yet to return to doing any of that, I have no real urge to buy any more model kits, despite having a few I still would like to obtain, and I have enough Games Workshop models to be getting on with that I don't see myself assembling/painting a model kit for at least the first half of this year... Thanks chaps. Carry on, I hope your 2021 sees a renaissance in your hobby if you have not already had one this past year.

I have had similar problems with Mr Flory's washes. Particularly the last bottle or two of Dark Dirt I purchased between 2019 and earlier this year. Mostly the "trick" is to have deep trenches for panel lines. I've quite often found that Flory's wash does not catch in shallow panel lines. Even when I use a semi-gloss clear coat. Flory's videos only go so far in being helpful, because he vigorously defends his products and he assumes that you have the exact same environmental conditions that he does, and that you do everything his way. I was a member of his private club, until earlier this year, and did ask questions about problems like this on the daily video shows he does, but never received a straight answer... To try to get rid of those spots use a mini cotton bud (Q tip in the US), Tamiya do some, although they are rather overpriced, or dental micro brushes - simply as they are easier to get into those areas. Water is the key here. Use HOT water, the hotter the better. Cold water will remove very little of the product. If that doesn't work, then it's quite possible you have a clear coat that hasn't gone off properly before you applied the wash and the wash has got "stuck" in the clear coat in those areas - I had that happen on an A-6 Intruder, I used Future/Klear and it didn't go off properly, as a result the wash got "stuck" in the clear coat, even though the clear coat didn't feel tacky. As a last resort, if you can get a sander in there you may be able to sand away the dirt spots - use the finest grit possible so as not to remove too much of anything else. Flory's own green/white polisher sticks are useful for this. Or, like I often do, you could leave those spots as they are, and just say that's part of the weathering, i.e. dirt build up.

Finished another one last night. Still 4 adventurers to paint and 1 still to buy... This one is a Chaos Warrior. Not sure what a Chaos Warrior is doing adventuring in a dungeon but hey ho GW made a box set expansion for a Chaos Warrior... It's a kitbash of a couple of GW parts, but mostly from a single plastic model.

Thanks guys. I'm not sure using a speed controller with my Dremel would work, it has a standard UK 3 pin plug and cable on it and is 230v/130w. My limited electrics knowledge tells me that it wouldn't be possible to convert it to 12v DC just by plugging it into a speed controller. I have however just come across this video on youtube - I think building one of those, and buying the 12v grinder tool bentwaters81tfw linked to would be my best route to go. Should cost less than £30. Might be even less because I have an old rotacraft "multitool" and that has a DC power brick I think, so I'm thinking that I might be able to use that. My thinking is that I don't even need the wall plug the guy in that video uses, I can use the Rotacraft multitool DC power brick, buy a male/female pair of connectors, and connect the speed controller between the power brick and the multitool and use it that way... Although I would like something with a variable size chuck, not a collet system.

Hey all I seem to have arthritis spreading throughout my body, and at times when modelling my hands start to ache. Particularly when drilling stuff with a pin vice. I have considered buying a Tamiya Electric Handy Drill kit, #74041, however it seems a bit limited due to the fact it only takes up to a 3mm bit, and reviewers say the collets don't take really small bits very well, plus it's battery powered so you can guarantee when you come to use it the batteries will be dead... I have a Dremel 3000, but I know it's too fast, even on the slowest speed, to use for drilling plastics with small bits. So, I'm wondering if there are any (relatively cheap) alternatives out there - advice/suggestions would be appreciated? Thanks in advance.

Made myself another book from a PDF today. Not as good as my first, but then that wasn't exactly publishing for sale quality either. It is surprising just how easy it is though. Kirsty Allsop can kiss my asthma, I am the arts and crafts god!

So, I received an item in the post today, and as usual it came with packing peanuts. I was wondering what to do with them, wondering if they're recyclable, and then I hit on an idea. They're starch, so they dissolve in water. So I stuck them in the sink, filled it with water. Packing peanuts, what packing peanuts!? Don't know if you're meant to flush them down the sink or not but it's only starch.