Jump to content

Starfighter

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,051

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Starfighter

    USAF SEA Vietnam camo shades

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted · Edited by Starfighter

    I remember visiting Lakenheath back in the days when they were operating F-111F's and they were having an exercise with about 10 airplanes taking off one after the other. Most were in the " Normal" Vietnam camo, but one aircraft has substituted the usual green 34079 with what can best be described as like Luftwaffe schwartzgrun !so stood out like a sore thumb !

    I guess this proves the exception to the rule  🙂

    • Like 1

    HE-111 in 1:32 or 1:48?

    in Aircraft WWII

    Posted

    ICM produce a very nice He 111 in various marks, and I built the  He 111H-3 kit in Battle of Britain markings, and found it an excellent model, which goes together well. Never done a 1/32 version ( not enough room ! ) but I've heard that the Revell one is supposed to be good, as is their 1/48 version. HTH :cheers:

    New Airfix F-4 Phantom kits...

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    I remember the small vent pipes on the underside of the rear engine fairings, which I believe were also on the FG!? We had a pilot doing his pre flight checks on one of our FGR 2's who gashed his head on one of those little pipes, so his flight was cancelled and off he went to the medical centre to be patched up. I quite often backed into one of the inner wheel bay doors while loading the SUU 23 gun pod. It seemed that every door or panel was designed to cause as much injury as possible to groundcrew ! 🙂

    • Like 2
    • Sad 1

    p51 mustang stardust

    in Work in Progress - Aircraft

    Posted

    What happened to the fuselage insignia ? They look a s if they haven't settled down properly ? Also, I don't know whether you've noticed, but  your underwing roundel is upside down ? Really like he "Metal " finish, though. Just thought I'd point out the underwing decal issue for you, which should be an easy fix, and it is no way a criticism of your model. Believe me, I've made boo boos like that before ! :cheers:

    Matchbox PK-407 B-26B Marauder "Bar Fly" 1943

    in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft

    Posted · Edited by Starfighter

    That looks lovely, Alpha delta 210. I always liked the Matchbox kits, and the few I built were a pleasure  to work with. I don't see much evidence of the so called trench line panels that were supposedly a hallmark of these kits, and they certainly weren't any worse than some of the recent Airfix offerings, but I'm wandering off topic ! 

    Anyway, as I said, that is a lovely model, and I may well build one in the future, seeing as how I live not far from the old home of the 323rd, BG.

      As a point of interest I believe we met at the Wethersfield museum 4 - 5 years ago ? I brought one of my F-100 paintings for Ross, the museum curator. 🙂:cheers:

    • Thanks 1

    Goodyear tyre decals

    in Vehicle Discussion

    Posted

    10 hours ago, keefr22 said:

    I generally apply a thin brushed on coat of gloss acrylic varnish to the sidewall, apply the decal as normal and then when dry give it a final sealing coat of matt acrylic varnish. I find it better to do this after the wheels are painted and the tyres are on, as otherwise you risk damaging or even removing the decals. 

     

    This is assuming they are waterslide and not the dry rub down type you get in some car kits?

     

    Keith

    I don't normally use acrylics, so I presume this system will work with enamels ?

    Goodyear tyre decals

    in Vehicle Discussion

    Posted

    Hi guys,

    I'm about to start building my Tamiya 1/20 scale JPS Lotus 79, and would like some advice regarding the tyre decals. There are none in the kit, but I have a superb decal set  which includes markings for the tyres, which I would like to add. This is a new venture for me, as I mainly build aircraft, so can one of you chaps advise me on how to apply the decals to the tyres, as they are rubber and I'm not sure how well they will adhere ? Any help would be gratefully received.  :cheers:

    WGAF F-104G

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted · Edited by Starfighter

    Oh yes, I do have this saved on one of my external HDD's, but nice to see it again. Just reminds me of my time in Dec

    imomannu back in the early 70's with the RAF . . . happy days 😊.

    • Like 2

    Best Paint to use on a F-105 Thunderchief under the "Project lookalike" aluminium lacquer paint job?

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    I'm building a 1/32 F - 100D at the moment, and for the aluminium finish ( FS 17178 ) I used Xtracolor  X142 , which is actually called aluminium. After spraying I coated it with a gloss clear cote before decalling, and will finish with a satin cote, which tones it down.

    I used this method on my 1/48 F - 100F, and was very pleased with the end result. The other advantage with using Xtracolor is that you can paint other colours over it, if you need to, and it will not "Pull" up the silver finish, unlike some other brands, like Humbrol's metallic colours.🤙.

    • Thanks 1

    Trumpeter 1/32 F - 100D landing gear

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    Hi guys,

    I know it's a bit of a long shot, but does anyone have a spare landing gear strut (  Part E 21 ) as I've just discovered mine has half of it missing ?  Apparently trying to get spares from Trumpeter is nigh on impossible, so I wondered if anyone has built this model in a " Wheels up " configuration, so having the parts going spare.

    I would have used the kit's metal parts, but the kit was second hand and the metal bits were missing, which wouldn't have been a problem, as I planned to use the plastic parts anyway.

    Hoping someone can help out, otherwise I might have to have a go at scratch building.

    Of course if you have the metal parts from the kit I can use them, and will be willing to pay for them.

    • Sad 1

    F - 100D wheels

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    Thanks for the info on the replacement nose, Ben. I've just filled the joint, so will sort that out when it's all dried, I'll also replace the pitot probe mounting, as the kit one is a work of fiction, and the probe itself would scale out at about the size of a drainpipe ! Fortunately I have the Master models replacement, plus the AMS ejection seat.

    Regarding the wings I think once you have the drop tanks on and the leading edge slats drooped the thinness won't be too noticeable ( to me, anyway ! ) I don't understand all the accuracy issues, as their 1/24 Hurricane is just about perfect.  Makes you wonder if they ever looked at a real Hun !

    F - 100D wheels

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Ben Brown said:

    I built the 1/32 D kit and tried to correct most of its problems. That's what led to my um, strong... opinions about all of Trumpeter's F-100s.

     

    Steer clear of the replacement wheels from Renaissance. They were just copies of the too large kit parts. I'm not familiar with the ones Seawinder mentioned. The Renaissance ones were the only replacements available when I built mine, so I had to turn them down to the correct diameter. 

     

    The main and nose gear struts are the correct length; the too-thin wing has the effect of making the model sit too nose-level. The only way to fix the model's attitude, other than rebuilding the wings, is to cut the tops of the struts about 3 mm for the 1/32 kit. It does slightly effect the geometry of the doors and actuators, but on mine I just hid the entire mess behind the drop tanks. I don't recall if the kit needed nose weight. Didn't they provide a weight for the avionics bay? Regardless, shortening the main gear struts won't change the center of gravity enough to cause problems. 

     

    With enough alcohol, headache medicine, and elbow grease, it can be built into a decent looking model, as my friend Lee did here (I'm the disgusted friend he mentions): LINK

     

    Ben

    Thanks for that, Ben. I do have replacement wheels and a corrected nose from Zactomodels, which I've just fitted. I also have a new pitot probe from Master Models to replace the " telegraph pole " included in the kit ! It does mean a new scratch built mounting point in the correct location, but I can easily sort that.

    By the way, has anyone noticed that the centreline pylon is too deep ?  😐

    F - 100D wheels

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Seawinder said:

    Don't forget the wheels. Apparently at least three companies make them: Armory Models, Master Details and AMS

    Thanks, Seawinder . . . I do have the AMS set, so should be good to go :cheers:

    F - 100D wheels

    in Aircraft Cold War

    Posted

    Hi guys,

    Just after a bit of advice regarding my Trumpeter 1/32  F - 100D Super Sabre wheels. I've read that the kit wheels are too big and that the main wheel legs are too long ? I have a set of aftermarket wheels of the correct diameter, and I read somewhere that the main wheel legs need shortening by 3 mm, and my question is : will shortening the legs affect the geometry of the wheel doors and struts ? any help at all would be much appreciated . :cheers:

×
×
  • Create New...