Spruetastic

Graham Boak – How much clearer can I be by asking one simple question – what paint thinners work with AK paints! I haven’t the patience to point out the flaws in some of your comments, but as a final one from me I strongly disagree with your statement, quote “Britmodeller is one of the friendlier and more helpful websites” – you have to be kidding! To those of you not up their own @rs*s and that have been patient and helpful – thanks and good luck with your modelling.

Guys, This has got seriously out of hand as far as I am concerned. Clearly I have inadvertently made comments/asked questions that have upset some of you - that was not my intention! My questions were of innocent curiosity and not a put down of anyone here. I am not a "lurker" (whatever that is) and this is the first and only scale modelling forum that I have joined. I think it might be the last though as I don't like the way this post has gone. Frankly, and this is a criticism, some of you need to chill a bit. Why would you think my intentions were anything other than as stated? It seems that I am very naive about this modelling world! I had no idea colour reference data was available for Russian fighters (or where to find it), that is excellent news and most relevant to my last question. I thank you for that information. That said, and again this is not a personal criticism, I personally would take the photo of the fighters above with a grain of salt. My reasoning behind that is the poor colour film technology available at the time the image was taken, the processing involved and the age of the photo. That is my opinion based on 50 years of photography. Finally, before I leave this post for good, I would still like an answer to my question of what you think of model kit colour pamphlets and "box art" images? Stay safe all. Regards, Dave

Hi Guys, Thanks for your opinions and comments. In answer to a question posed to me above about Vallejo Air paints - generally I don't thin these paints unless I want to work at low pressure and specifically need a well thinned paint, i.e. for highlights and mottling. When I do thin them I use the 20%/80% mix that I mention above without any problems at all, the same for Tamiya paints. I do not like to use flow enhancers or retarders in any form. They take far too long to dry and I feel are unnecessary and risk dust inclusions. I use my thinners mix for Vallejo varnishes and Micro Gloss and Micro Satin varnishes as well - again without issues. Quote: "As @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies says, there are many 'acrylics' and they are not all compatible." - I never said they were, just that I did not want to work with paints requiring multiple types of thinners over and above the ones I can buy cheaply or mix myself in bulk. Please bear in mind that originally I asked only for the type of thinners required specifically for the AK 317 paint. Now, the last comment from John above intrigues me and I am curious to ask what references to WWII colours he thinks can possibly be accurate? No early colour photos of these planes are anywhere near reality, Anything in a museum has either been repainted with a best guess, or are damaged by the environments they have been stored in for the last 75 years. Only if there is a specific mix listed as used by a manufacturer - RAL or CMYK for example can a colour be matched with reasonable accuracy. We can only expect to be close IMHO, and I am happy with that. What is anyone's opinion of the coloured pamphlets supplied with model kits, would you work to one or would you spend tons of money on reference books? Regards, Dave

Hi Guys, Thanks for your input. Although your responses go way beyond what I asked for. I am aware of all you say Jamie, and although I did not ask for a lecture on paint bases I take on board your comments due to my lack of specifics in defining my choice of the word Acrylic. That said, as most modelling paints that are not stated as being enamels can be thinned with a mixture of water and IPA I think it strange that AK should go down a totally different route to everyone else. I am sure you will agree that most proprietary paint thinners are ridiculously expensive and being forced into using a particular manufacturer's type is not the way I want to work. Normally I mix my own thinners from 99.99% pure IPA (20%) and distilled water (80%) to cut costs. Up to now I have had no issues with any other "Acrylic" modelling paint. This is my very first pot of AK paint and it will now be trashed, I will go with Vallejo Model Air (paints I know well) 71.304 AMT-11 instead. It will be cheaper to do that than purchase thinners for just this one pot of paint. What bugs me is the lack of information on both the AK bottle and on the AK web site! Other AK products I have are "paneliner" washes and pigment powders, neither of which have I had any issues with. Take care all. Regards, Dave

Hi Guys, I am currently finishing off an Eduard 1/48 scale Yak-3. All was going well until I needed to paint the darker of the two camouflage greys. For this I had bought a bottle of AK RC317 (AMT-11). The paint looked thick I decided to thin it and injected some X20A thinners into the cup of my airbrush then added the paint. To my horror it formed large gelatinous globules. I thought this paint was an Acrylic, nowhere on the labelling does it say otherwise, yet it clearly reacted badly with the X20A. I have just tried the paint with white spirit and it separated out into white and grey parts, clearly not good either - what are you supposed to thin this stuff with? Thank your your help. Stay safe. Regards, Dave

Hello, Sorry for the late response to your reply, thank you for your comments they are spot on. I did a lot of research after my post and decided to paint the inside with an off-white to "pre-age" the finish and it worked quite successfully. I did paint the crew hatches Nato Green, but according to the colour pamphlet in the Tiger kit it looks a little too dark. I adjusted Nato Brown considerably by adding red and yellow to come close to what is shown on the pamphlet and the rest is done in Nato Black. Now I just need to buy a Molotow Chrome pen for the inside of the lights and wing mirrors and have yet to paint the hand tools. The smaller of the two canvas packs I modified to go on the front and I also made parts from scrap sprue to accept the spare wheel on top of the turret. That required moving the ventilator. Interestingly no provision is made for mounting the spare wheel in the kit, which is a strange omission! The engine bay doors and turret hatches have been posed open as will be the drivers hatch and I will post some pics when everything is finalised. Currently I am just finishing off a 1/48 Eduard Yak-3, which I started some time ago and also building a Kubelwagen Type 82 for a diorama with a 1/48 scale Eduard FW-190A-8 - I like to run more than one project at a time. Stay safe. Regards, Dave

Hi, That is what I thought might be the case. From the images I have viewed though I could not decide if it should be all white, light grey or possibly a combination of both light grey and white. White seems an obvious choice to me to brighten the interior. Would the hatch lids also be white on the inside faces? Regards, Dave

Hi Guys, I wonder if anyone can help me please with the colours used inside the Panhard AML-90 tankette when it was in service? If at all possible some pictures would be very much appreciated. There are quite a few videos on the net that show exteriors but very few interiors and then they tend to be restored examples. Thank you to anyone that replies. Regards all. Stay safe. Dave

Hello Simon, I believe that I followed Mike's instructions to the letter and all I get is an unconverted link and no pictures - as the post above. I just wanted to share with the guy's that responded to my original question a quick look at my model , but frankly it is not worth all this hassle. Thanks for your patience and help. Regards, Dave

Hi Guys, My apologies if this does not work. I am trying to post some pics associated to a question I posted about Vallejo primers peeling. Let us see if this works: https://www.flickr.com/photos/190187821@N04/shares/BrgH59

https://www.flickr.com/photos/190187821@N04/shares/BrgH59

Hello Simon, I am sorry, but I must have missed something here, I just don't understand what I am supposed to have done wrong. Or for that matter what I should do to be right? Question: Why does this response box have an "insert image from URL" instead of an "attach images" button? Which is what I expected to see. It is the way every other web site I have ever used works. What could be simpler than that? As I said previously I was both surprised and frustrated that I could find no obvious way to attach images without a URL. After reading another post on the Britmodeller forums it seemed clear that I was not the only one to be confused and struggling with posting images. It was suggested within that post the way to do this was by joining flickr - something I had never intended to do. Now you tell me that this web forum's monitors would prefer not to link to an outside source (and I can well understand why) - so why have a response box that leads a user down that path? The simple answer to this is to change the "Insert image from URL button" to "Attach images" button which can then take the images from a directory on the end users P.C. - don't you agree? Stay safe. Regards, Dave

Thanks Mike, That is the kind of input I was hoping for. Up until your post I was still in doubt about the Ultimate range of primers. No one else has so far come forward with praise for them, which surprised me somewhat. Paints to me are THE most expensive thing in plastic modelling, I cannot afford them all, much as I would like to, so I was reluctant to buy a load of primers that I might hate and never use again. Actually I still like the finish of the Vallejo black primer. I used it for the base coat on the T-62A tank tracks shown above. I will use up what I have left on parts that will not required sanding. I am still curious about the Mr Surface primers, but I worked out how many I would like to purchase due to their varying properties - it was not an inconsequential cost. The question I have to ask you now is with your successful testing of the Ultimate primers why do you still lean towards the Alclad primers? Regards & best wishes, Dave

Thank you for that information - your input is much appreciated. There are some things I have an issue with though - The tank is "not ready for inspection" it is still a work in progress. I think it is appropriate where I positioned the link - in my original post, not in some new post, and finally I did not know you could do what you suggest as I am new to the forum. Indeed I did try to upload the pictures from my PC without a link but this web site prevented me from doing that. Some research later I found what I thought was the answer - to create a "flickr" link (as prescribed by the "insert image from URL" protocol on this very page. I must admit that I was wondering why the heck I had to do that as I have never done so with any other forum I have ever joined. Thank you for inserting one of my picturess. IMHO though the viewer will get a more detailed look using the flickr link. Stay safe. Regards & best wishes, Dave

Hi Guys, I promised you some pictures of the tank, this is as it stands at the moment. I have to add some exhaust staining, paint the tank commander and make a diorama for it. I might install a tow cable too. I will also have to get rid of the "silvering" on the left hand side Soviet Star. This is the first time I have used Tamiya decals and I am not at all impressed with them. Give me Cartograph ones any day of the week! This is only the second tank I have ever built, as I am an aircraft guy really., both radio controlled and plastic models. Apologies for the poor backgrounds of these images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/190187821@N04/shares/4oJbv2