Markh-75

Cracking work there sir! Thank you for sharing it with us, i've saved the US Navy and USAAF pages as that is the only models i'm making. I have a Helldiver coming next week and looking forward to adding it to my collection, this guide is fantastic for the colours i need for it and other US Navy aircraft i have kits for.😎

That was a few years ago so still a good effort my friend! (I never laugh at someone else's efforts, just not done). When you consider that the internet is a fantastic resource now and back then, the decals were pretty basic too. i ALWAYS do research on my next kit online, download pictures etc and i can see them on my phone when i'm downstairs working on the model, so no running about up and downstairs required! There are all kinds of things available now for modellers; i would have known nothing about particular markings unless they were on the box and back in the 70's much of this info was not freely available! You can even buy alternative decals for a kit, you still use the stars and bars etc that came with the kit but you paint the model to the colours and markings and then use the alternative serial numbers and nose arts etc. My P-51B was a Revell kit and i painted it in 4th FG markings and put on decals for 'Nick "Cowboy" Megura. The C model i'm doing just now will be in the colours and markings of Ralph K. Hofer, also of the 4th FG. (look for my post named 'March-75s first 3 finished models). I add all sorts of things like the little navigation lights on the wings, if applicable i add the markings on the propeller blades; for me and MY big ol' clumsy fingers, trying to fit a decal onto a propeller blade no matter how well trimmed down, is just not a viable option so i carefully paint them on in matt so it dries dull, i use a very small brush, and cocktail sticks with very little paint on. If an aircraft has stripes, even as decals, i use masking tape and paint the stripes on instead of faff about with fidgety decals. Thanks for your interest, Trevor!

Yes a tiny bit; i dont trim ANYthing around the cockpit area when i cut from the sprue until i have checked the clear parts first. I cut with side cutters and then carefully use a knife to cut anything that will take too long to sand away; i then rub away any flashings with 800 or 1000 grade, wet and dry paper. i use the matt cote to close up any small gaps between the model and the clear parts, its nice and gunky and can fill gaps nicely, i just paint over it if needed and then a second coat to make it look the same.

Thanks folks! I am rather pleased with this kit, bought it to replace a Condor P-51 kit, when i started it the glue melted the plastic, i painted the landing gear and the paint deformed it; just bad plastic. That kit had the snout guns and cannons and i saw this Novo going for a song so i bought it to replace the Condor kit. I usually 'make' the canopy fit, i dry fit it to see how it looks and adjust by careful trimming on the fuselage and the clear part until it fits nicely, that means when its ready to go on there will be no fuss; and i dont use Liquid Poly for canopies now, i put a small spot of cement at four points and then place it on. Liquid poly can waste the clear parts because it can draw the surrounding paint into it when it cures, making a right mess. IF there is a gap i can do nothing with i will paint it with a paint that is a bit thicker at the gap and then when dry i paint the correct colour. I love doing the clear parts now, and they can really 'make' the look of a kit! I have posted somewhere in the forum about how i do the painting of clear parts. I think its in the 'workbench' area on this group. I am building an Academy P-51B/C just now, and as you say they are cracking kits to build! I wont be long now as its most of the way there so look out for it when i post it!

Thank you; I like the little Novo kits, easy to build and you can put as much detail on them as you want, they're like a blank canvas! The snout guns and cannons are actually pins, i took the heads off them with the Dremel and used a VERY small drill bit to drill where the machine guns were in the wings, and to build the cannons out i just painted them three or four coats of gloopy paint i have, smoothed them down and painted them up!

On a less expensive model the decals can leave alot to be desired, in quality and application. They can tear so easily, or even come apart in the water! (try to build up a back-up of decals to use in such emergencies). Sometimes when one comes off the backing and onto the model it can wrinkle up and appear wasted but if you are careful you can lift it off with a paintbrush or even tweezers and just put it back in the water dish; it WILL spread itself back out! I then use the tweezers to pick up a backing paper from under the water and get the decal onto it. make sure the decalcote has been applied on the area before you try to transfer it again! II also use Decalcote/Decalfix to clean the area before i put any on a model; i paint it on as normal and use a strip of kitchen roll to wipe it back off with; leave it for a minute and paint it back on, works great! Its a good idea to clean the area that decals go on; for example, i suffer with eczema and have to use a few different ointments on my skin, i always wash my hands after using them but there are bound to be very small areas that aren't even visible to the naked eye unless they are highly with a liquid solution! The Decalcote is great for cleaning the area off first! You just dont know what might be on your fingers.

She's now complete and decorated! quite pleased with this one! . . . . The cannons and snout guns worked out well; the decals were rather iffy though! Some of these cheaper kits can have poor quality decals and this was no exception, the yellow bands were decals but i decided to paint them on instead of faffing about with decals there; the 'Betty Jean' decal on the other side was rather problematic, in fact once i had it in place i noticed a small tear but managed to get the problem sorted smartish! The aircraft serial numbers in yellow were an issue because one of them came off the paper and wrinkled up too much to be of any use so i cut the remaining one in half because on the plan page the number is obscured halfway through by the star and bars, cutting this decal in half and using each half accordingly, solved the problem. All in, i persevered with it and got it finished and ready to go into the cabinet! Note the Stars & Bars on the tail! made to look like its wrapped around the leading edge of the rudder! I'm nearly finished building an Academy P-51B/C in 1:72; its been a lovely kit to build, every part clearly marked and set in the sprue nicely; normally the little tang on the top of the P-51 landing gear as part of the u/c door is part of the sprue and ends up being lost because the sprue aren't too clever, but on this kit there was plenty of thought into how things were moulded in the sprues! Really getting the hang of this modelling lark now! When i do a wheel i just paint the whole thing black and then use a tiny amount of silver on a brush, the brush is almost dry, this tends to highlight the wheel rather than make a clogged mass of silver in the centre! Just one of my tricks, i assembled the bombs and rockets for this kit and then put them into my box of spares! As always i will put a picture on this group when she's done!

How many are there? and how much are they, i'd like the old Humbrol no 188 if possible!

Thanks for that; i have one acrylic paint in Tamiya and a couple in Humbrol, i tend to use Humbrol enamels mostly, but it looks like i can paint acrylics OVER the enamel and NOT the other way around. I brush paint my models. I will experiment with them as you suggest, thank you.

Hi, is it okay to paint acrylics AND enamels on the same model? Acrylics weren't around when i was last modelling and i havent used them yet but i know i will be for US Navy WW2 models, just wondered if they work okay together? Some of the darker blues for US Navy aircraft can be a problem because Humbrol ceased production of some of them but i have found the best match possible for them in acrylic paint.

A few days and there will be another P-51A complete! I just take my time, i have plenty of it.

Hi Macman! thanks for your reply, i started collecting die cast in 1:72 but felt that many important aircraft weren't available, which was why i decided to get the craft knife back in action and the tickling sticks! I build all in 1:72 and its a collection based on the US Navy WW2 aircraft and around American aircraft of the 8th, 9th, 12th and 15th USAAF in Europe in WW2. I used to do modelling in a cupboard but now i have a spare room that's what its used for and i store all my models (die cast or Kit) in a glass cabinet, soon to be 2 glass cabinets. I am just outside of Larkhall, near Hamilton. We moved here about 14 years ago from a flat in a nearby town and we have a large front and back garden and a bigger house so lots of space for my modelling which i am finding quite therapeutic now! I'm getting adventurous in my rediscovered hobby!

Propeller repair/saving! My Matchbox PB2Y Privateer arrived yesterday, all looking very good in the box but one propeller was loose from the sprue and a blade was bent at the hub so i was able to repair it carefully for use with the propeller gadget! The gadget! This prop is from a Helldiver; i dont know if or when i'll build it as it has no u/c. The gadget with the Privateer propeller in. The blade was bent back at the hub to almost breaking point. I know, its a bit out of focus (maybe too close) but its now fixed; i'll keep it somewhere safe on the workbench until i'm ready to build the model. This little gadget, i got with a replacement propeller for a P-51B (by Hasegawa) bought from Hannants and its come in handy for any work i need to do on propellers. The P-51 prop was a hub, a cone and four blades (all separate parts) and all needed gluing together. I wasnt confident and i hadn't long got back into doing models but this device took all the guess work out of making that prop! I drilled the hole through as the pin on the Privateer prop was longer. Its made of resin so if i glue the prop with poly cement or liquid poly, it wont stick! Once a prop is made i always reinforce the prop blades at the root with a tiny blob of super gloop on a cocktail stick (for accuracy and neatness). The circular ring on the base fits a P-51 nose cone (specifically) but i guess that any cone the right size will fit it. I only do modelling in 1:72 so its a possibility.

Clear plastic canopy painting. One thing i like on my models is nice clean canopy lines on the clear parts and painting them (at my age with shaky hands) can be off-putting unless you know how to sort it! These are the tools i use. . I call it a stylus, it came in a set of craft knives and blades from The Range shop. (nearly £4). . Let's get to the point! . erm, stick? Manicure sticks, 5 for £4.95 in Lloyds chemist. . one end... . ...and the other. The metal stylus i got in a box of craft knives and blades and quickly found a use for it; i use it after each coat of paint to carefully remove the excess paint that goes where it shouldn't. NEVER use a knife to do this because it WILL scratch the plastic often irretrievably! I only use it for major areas of excess paint. Used very gently, its very effective at following the lines in the canopy but leaves a residue mark where the paint was. Worry not! I use the wooden sticks to remove the remnants and films left on the plastic, its very effective and does NOT scratch the plastic! I have a set of 5 i bought in Lloyds chemists, they're actually for manicuring purposes. Their sharp edges are very good at removing the residue marks where paint was and if ever they go blunt i just sand them sharp again; i only use one as they are all the same shape and size. After painting but before i have worked my magic on the excess paint... . Not very tidy. . saying nothing. . OMG! Part of the secret is leaving the part to dry overnight after painting, and its important to remove the excess of ONE coat only each time; paint it, let it dry and then clean it up, look for areas that need another coat (some paint is like that). I have seen me painting-in, leaving to dry and cleaning up, up to three times before i get the result i want and extra care is needed for strong colours in gloss; Some teardrop canopies have very thin lines over them and i have seen me putting these on with a tiny amount of paint on the end of a cocktail stick! You just relax when you're painting canopies, and importantly BREATHE! I always got into a panic when the paint went were it shouldn't until i learned this technique. Take your time, no rushing required, enjoy the kit. Doesnt matter to me if a kit takes longer than it should, more time is more care and attention to detail. Here's the same canopy after being cleaned up.... . looking better. I dont paint the bottom lines just now because this is the area that is glued onto the aircraft and really should be clear because paint and glue together can be quite messy, especially on clear parts; i paint the bottom lines on the canopy when its fixed in place and i'm painting the surrounding areas to finish off. . much better.

Thanks for your replies chaps, the 64 x 64 looks good to me, i'll get it resized to that and see if it works; if it doesnt, well its only a profile pic! Thank you!

I am unable to find a small enough picture for my profile pic, what size should it be in height and width, pix size, please?

More gadgets i use for my models! Recognise these? . They are cable tidies from when i was in he TV installing part of my job; often they dont stick very well, especially to wooden or board TV stands but they can also come off the glass ones too but they free stand well enough when empty. I find them very handy for supporting the parts of a model while i work on it!😉

The P-51A had no openings, the carb' intake and rad intake and the rear vent were all blanked off; i like 'em open, so i did! bit tricky as they are such small openings in this scale but they look good.

Cheers! The stripes were murder! Took a while (weeks); if only Tamiya did 1.5mm wide! lol still i got it in the end, i'm happy with it; and with all three! The Bearcat is my latest build, took a couple of weeks to get completed but i am very happy with it, looks neat! I'm redeveloping skills i used a few years back, can only get better. If i have stripe decals, i prefer to just paint them rather than faff about with decals, yes, it takes longer but its a nice neat result.

Monogram, F8F Bearcat (my most recent). The Revell 'Night Blue' looks good, and even better when matted down a bit! It was a very pretty lil' blue aeroplane before decals and matt cote! Looks great now. Novo, P-51A Mustang in the markings of Col. Philip Cochran of the 1st Air Commando Group, India. I hand painted the stripes by painting the area white (3 coats) and then masked with Tamiya 2mm tape. It took a few attempts to get the stripes on this side but i persevered and got there in the end. Revell, P-51B mustang, i painted it in the colours of Cast. Nick Megura of the 334th Fighter Sqdn; 4th Fighter Group, his plane was called "Ill Wind". This was an easy enough kit to make but the glass frosted up when i fitted it; the space between the gunsight and the canopy was tight and the liquid poly shot up into it and frosted the canopy! I was able to fit another canopy from another P-51 with a bit of 'engineering', for one of my firsts, i'm pleased with this and in fact all three of these. These are my first three models completed this year, i've had a fair few ups and downs to start with since October where three kits i had were very cheap and of inferior quality, two of which melted when i put glue on, or even paint! The other was the A-36 Apache dive bomber which i had to abandon after nearly finishing it; the bombs were in the wrong place (i just followed the instructions!) and i was unable to fit the dive brakes because of them, i tried to take them off but the wing broke and fell to bits. The two P-51s have been going for a while so i'm happy to get them completed at last. Its always good to have some builds complete!

. . . . . . . . . . . 1st picture shows my earlier workspace. Its boards on a camp kitchen stand we had when we had our touring caravan, it went in the awning, now its making itself useful again! I started late this year and i was in the outhouse but it was brass monkeys out there! Heating it was pointless because it would be like burning money; i moved into the kitchen after that which was okay for a while but not ideal because i was at the back door and in the way, and needing more work space so i moved into the spare room downstairs. 2nd picture shows my now expanded workspace, did that today, i have some larger models to make and i will need the space. The other pictures are the various gadgets i've gathered to help me including 10 x 5amp croc clips for holding things while i paint them, i kept four loose but put the other 6 onto 6" long sticks; a pin vice is a great tool to have, it holds the smallest of my drill bits and other things too small for my clumsy big mitts cant hold! The next is a gadget i got with a replacement propeller, it lets you assemble and repair propellers, cracking little gizmo! I put my paintbrushes into a little tray that came with a George Foreman grill thingy; very handy for my best brushes and my sticks. The stick i got from a chemist, they are actually manicure sticks, nail cleaners but they are excellent for cleaning off the excess paint from clear parts and leaving no paint residue! I got the little pallet knife the other day in Hobbycraft for when i'm working with filler on a model. The two pick-ups are actually from an electrical tester/meter, they plug into those and they are used to grip parts in tight spaces for testing; but i find them excellent for holding small things like propellers while i paint them! I press the button and a pair of wire fingers emerge from the ends. On the subject of picking things up, i have a good pair of tweezers, they are brilliant! and my cutters! I was using a pair of very small wire cutters but these are 1st class! Just a few ideas i've had as i go along.

"that" auction site is pretty much all there is around where i am; i have a model shop in the west-end of Glasgow, and one in Uddingston, apart from that there's Hobbycraft. Used to be a few really good model shops in my area but they've all gone now. So you'ze will have to bear with me or i'd have no models to do!😉😁

You might well be! I wouldn't give mine, but then who would want them? lol

No issue with the Japanese colours; i dont intend on doing any Japanese; just American. I'm finding my way and finding more good stuff as a go.

Yes my glasses are fine, i'm using an older pair which are well suited to modelling! Light is the issue but i dont want to run up a bill or end up dazzling myself; i get by!