peterm

Anyone! Help! Ok, I hate decal makers, and here's why. Just got the new Xtradecal sheet for the F-100C and I swear, from searching for and looking at pictures till my eyes have gone funny, that at least the first two examples on there have issues. The first one has the playing cards on the tail, super, but from what I can make out the cards always fan the same way, left to right, right hand card on top. Not, as the decal sheet would have, handed versions. So that's unusable so it doesn't really matter that the buzz number has the wrong shape of 2 on it as well, the a/c having the more rounded style than the "AmarilloUSAF" numbering supplied. The second one on the sheet looks better (though I don't have close up pictures) but where's the buzz number? They quote a reference from "Colors and Markings 14" and look at that picture, IT'S GOT A BUZZ NUMBER! So why haven't you put it on the sheet?!? And therein lies my question, does anyone have a reasonable match for the more rounded style of USAF font so I can make my own bloody buzz number? And the follow up question is, what colour should the "USAF" and "U.S. AIR FORCE" be? According to C&M 14 they should be insignia blue, and ... actually I'm going to stop there, because looking REALLY closely I think they have printed those decals in blue. It's late, my eyes have gone funny and it's a very dark blue, but I do think it's right! Anyone know if/when it changed from blue? Or did it vary between a/c, as I think all the F-86 sheets I have they're definitely black... Thanks in advance!

And in the Squadron/Signal "Allison Engined Mustangs" walk around just about every surface is GZC; cockpit, wheel wells, gear doors etc etc. Of course these are restored examples... Nothing's simple any more :-(

I can second the book recommendation, only thing is too much detail! Cutting Edge did a couple of sheets too, and FoxOne at least one as well. http://www.shull24.com/images/r4809.jpg is a set of the towed decoy blisters which you probably need too :-) Good luck, I hear it's a bit of a bear, fit wise. (I have two!) Cheers.

Cheers Mike, appreciate that. It's just Xtracolor X136 (FS16375) and the kit decals. I believe that the Norwegian a/c are now actually painted in 270, but I'm reasonably convinced from looking at photos that they used to be lighter. This pic http://attach.high-g.net/attachments/f16_1_177.jpg clearly shows a 375 tank under a 270 airframe (in my opinion :-) And this: http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-phot...4/1/1417145.jpg looks lighter too... I can't find anything to back me up right now, and I could well be wrong. But it looks nicer that little bit lighter, I think! Cheers.

It's not that bad, here are my two: http://www.scam.org.uk/models/2009/F-16A_Norway/DSC_2424.JPG and http://www.scam.org.uk/models/2009/F-16DG_...ic/DSC_2436.JPG And yeah, the nose droops a bit, it's a bit rough round the edges and the tail's a bit strange but it's OK, and the weapons (while maybe a tad heavy on the engraving) are well worth having (and certainly usable, IMHO). Enjoy (it's a hobby :-)

Ooooh, me too, I'm probably wrong but I'm sure I remember the box art :-) "My favs at the mo to do are F-4J VF-31 (Like the very early Airfix kit which got me into Phantoms in the 1st place!)" Finished mine a few weeks ago: http://www.flickr.com/photos/db_fotos/3734...57621561019167/ Fox One decals, I don't know which ones you've got but I've got the Aeromaster and the Superscale sheets for that scheme too and the red on both is waaaay too bright. IMHO. After looking at lots of pictures. And emailing a guy who runs the VF-31 website. And looking at more photos.

Wow, lot of Phantoms! I thought my stash (23 at the moment) was a lot but now I'm not sure...

Mike I know the time thing. But it's not a lot of decals, just a few very big, very expensive ones :-) It's getting it to the decal stage that's the hard part... If you do sell them, don't tell me how much you get for them :-) Cheers.

Bob, Really good, love the weathering round the access panels. I hesitate to ask but what scale is it? I haven't got the patience...

Go on, build it! Try not to think of how much you could sell it all for.. Near the bottom of this page is mine, a sort of tribute to the Columbia crew, it's the STS-107 mission patch on the base: http://www.scam.org.uk/models/2006Models/Models06.htm Like you say, RealSpace bay, CE nozzles, CE decals, a lot of work...

You can always go DIY: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aeroclub-1%5C48-Conv...0119128003r2156 Czech Master do one too: http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=CMK4037 I thought I had both but can only find the Czech one right now. And the Neomega set to go with the Aeroclub bits. I think...

I think it's the Syhart sheet (www.syhartdecal.fr), he was at Telford. I restricted myself to just one of his sheets having bought toooooo many at the show in Brussels he was at. Including that one :-) Nice lad, and he does cover a lot of the more exciting French schemes (comes from being French I guess). I understand he's even designed some for the French AF so he should know what they look like :-)

I would take the pitot things off, they just get in the way of the filling and sanding and are rubbish anyway. Better making your own... Just a thought... :-)

Mick Nice pic of Tim's sandwich too :-) See you at Telford!

Like the man said, the café is pretty good too, quite basic but really good value and (like anywhere in Brussels) a good choice of beer :-) Gets a bit cold in the winter but it's a fabulous place, and walking back through the (also really nice) park you'll see parakeets, even in November. Noisy buggers... Highly recommend it, they hold the Brussels IPMS show in there every other year (sorry, you've just missed it) http://www.scam.org.uk/Brussels_Sept_2008/sunday.htm and it's well worth a trip, especially if you can get the Eurostar for £59 return. Enjoy!

Jumping in a bit late, here's mine that I finished a few weeks ago. Hasegawa F-16B (V5:1500), Isracast F-16I conversion (48001) (the original Isra set (no etch in mine, much more surgery!)), 600 Gallon tanks (48004), RAFAEL "Delilah" missiles and datalink (48014) and Litening pod (48013), Paragon Python 4 missiles (48136), Aires Exhaust (4133) and undercarriage bays (4194), Black Box cockpit (48039), Montex canopy mask (SM480126), Isradecal IAF F-16I Sufa decals (IAF-43). Lots of fun, built over two years, there were months where I couldn't bear to go near it! Sufa pics, if it doesn't load, try reload, if that doesn't work, let me know. Please.

The Mechanic? As in Mick and the Mechanics? :-) As one of the "club members" who commented on it, I particularly liked the picture base, nice idea. But seriously this kind of thing: Looks good, one small point if you punch of the SGT Fletcher tanks dont the pylons come with them? Julien is what I love most about these kind of forums, there's just too much expertise. And you only find out after you've spent hours creating something that's it's just subtlety wrong in a way you couldn't know until someone tells you :-) Julien? As in Dixon? Gosh I'm being nosey tonight, I should drink less at wekends... Cheers.