Nikola Topalov

B R I L L I A N T in every way! Excellent model! Well done man! I really like your style -superb paint job and perfectly balanced weathering. I will keep this as reference that's for sure. Best, Nikola

Hi gents, Decals on followed by another gloss clear. Ready for washes... I've definitely learned my lesson not to mix certain types of paint and to wait longer for metallics to dry, as I've had crazing and lost some of the effects which I had prior to the first gloss clear. I hope that I can fix some of the crazing and that I can achieve the effects again in steps to follow. Best, Nikola

Hi gents, It turns out that probably two factors contributed to this - the first being using different brands of paint and clear, and the second being that I have only waited three days for Vallejo metallics to dry where in fact, from what I've been told, I should've waited at least seven. How much each factor contributed, that I am not sure of though. Well, lesson learned! That's why I chose the Easy Assembly kit for my first NMF. Best, Nikola

Hi Remi, Very nice model! Well done! I like it a lot. One comment if I may - Maybe it's the lighting so I might be wrong, but IMHO I think that the post-shading is a bit too prominent and not blending enough with the base color. Just my opinion on that matter. Again, nice modeling. Best, Nikola

Brilliant model! Superb paint job! Well done man! Best, Nikola

Well gents, Something somewhere went terribly wrong... I sprayed a clear coat, Mr. Color GX UV Cut Gloss Super Clear, over the well dried Vallejo metallics and some sort of reaction happened resulting in what appears to be cracking/waves/rippling of the color. Does anyone have a clue as to what might have happened? I am starting to really get frustrated with Vellejo as I have this sort of problems only with their stuff. Am I doing something essentially wrong by mixing them with other products? Thanks in advance. Best,

A little surgery to correct HB's mistake and bring the torque scissors to the back where they belong. I shouldn't be doing this Hobby Boss!!! Best, Nikola Before surgery: The cut: The result - the patient survived and the doc is happy:

Another masterpiece Mathy! Simply amazing! Best, Nikola

Hi gents, She's all metalized! Vellejo Metal Colors - Aluminium for the most part - fuselage, ailerons, flaps, vertical stabiliser, rudder, mg housing panels...; White Aluminium for the filled and painted parts of the wings; Duraluminium for the panels at the exhaust. These metallics are very difficult to photograph! :) Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Excellent work! Well done man! Best, Nikola

Beautiful work! Superb paint job! Well done man! Excellent photography too. Best, Nikola

Hi Lewis, Thanks for the tips! Appreciated! I used Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 with a leveling thinner thinking that it is a gloss primer, but little did I know... It's somewhat satin. As for shaking, I shook the hell out of it, but did not look at the bottom though. Will do next time. Best, Nikola

Hi gents, Well, the marbling technique worked like a charm. I got exactly what I expected. Very happy about that. I think that Nato Black is a good choice for marbling over pure black as anything lighter that that would give too much contrast. One thing which I am not happy about though is how Vallejo Metal Color behaves. It also clogs the airbrush a lot (although I haven't used their flow improver which I probably should have) and it is somehow too grainy. It might be something to do with the primer underneath or my poor technique as an NMF beginner. As we all kn

Thanks Chris! Never thought about using talcum powder. I'll have to give it a try. Another suggestion that I got form a fellow modeler is melted sprue strips. Extending my arsenal of techniques. Best, Nikola

Hi guys, One of the biggest lies in BJJ sparring is saying ''let's roll light''. It never ends that way. Same here. This is supposed to be a very quick build but I just couldn't let some details not get addressed. I had to fill in the side seams between the front fixed canopy and the fuselage as HB has for some reason left about 0.5mm of unnecessary plastic above the proper seam line. Also had to rescribe some panel lines including the one running along the center of the cowling top side, as HB does not show them in the completed aircraft drawing in the painti