Jeff J

I thought I'd get nothing done this evening (Valentine's Day and all that), but wifey had a work-related call to deal with so I managed to do a second coat of the gloss red, and tried out a couple of the unwanted yellowed decals on the unwanted pointy baggage compartment nose, one with with Micro Set and Micro Sol to see what difference those two solutions made (never used them before). The Micro set seemed to gather together from the surface tension before I added the decal. After that, I can't say I saw any difference, but perhaps it's more noticeable on parts with more raised/etched detail.

Gloss red (masked) Fuselage built

Cockpit construction has commenced, the cabin windows have been glued in, and the engine housings attached to the wings. That main cockpit windscreen is a right be-atch though, so I'm leaving the other cementing to harden before I try again tomorrow.

And an O-o-o-old German infantryman Perhaps not quite so well painted, but there's a really good grubby look to him. Not sure about the somewhat macabre blood on the bayonet though...

But where is this holy grail?!

Looking through my old paints box I found this little guy. I probably painted him when I was about 10 or 11...around 1975/76

GLOSS Yellow!

Yeah, I figured it wasn't a disaster, but it does mean I'll have to go back to Hobbycraft again (and cross my fingers that they've got gloss yellow in stock). Was hoping to avoid a 3rd coat though. Oh well.

In true Uttoxeter business legends John and Peter style...Damn, double damn, then round the block for another dose of damn! Just spend a while this evening painting the main gloss yellow only to find I was using insignia yellow. MATT insignia yellow. DAMN!

The parlous decals are on the left (curly and yellow), with some decals that are in good condition (flat and, well, not yellow) on the right for comparison... (I ought to have picked a white background to place them on for a better 'white balance') The section at bottom left I'll not be using on the model so I'll be trying them out somewhere to see if the ones I do want to use are viable, and sun-bleaching the others to get rid of the jaundiced look. If they're not viable, or don't sun-bleach out, then I'll take up @rossm's kind offer. Other than that, not much progress last night, as I was just doing fiddly stuff, and establishing exactly what needs doing next.

But what is it?

That made me chuckle!

I found the box in our lean-to, which means it (along with a couple of other non-Matchbox kits, including USS Voyager (NCC-74656)) had been subject to years of extreme cold, extreme heat, sunlight, and rainwater coming in through the leaky roof... Seems I started painting it when I first bought it gawd-knows-when, but here are various parts being prepped to recoat with thinned paints (a concept I had NO idea of when I started doing models as a kid back in the early 1970s!): But before I can paint properly I found I have other parts to glue on. These little things that went on the underside of the wings (can anyone name what they're meant to represent?) were fiddly little so-and-sos as there were no significant recesses for them): I'll post a photo of the parlous state of the decals when I get home...

Okay, I'm learning, and I've learnt that build proposals go here, so... I shall be building the Twin Otter, now that I've finally found it. It's a kit that I'd started all those years ago, but got nowhere near 25% of it done.

Having found my Twin Otter kit, please can I be added in? I found that I'd already started painting it, back when I had no idea that you can and should thin paints. I painted the insides light grey two evenings ago with thinned paints and it's like a revelation! So much easier! No brush stroke marks! I'm genuinely quite excited by this prospect of new, easier, and better quality results as I rekindle my interest in this hobby!

BOOM! Found it! (Faded) Twin Otter I suspect I'm going to need replacement decals though...

I was just wondering if the de Havilland Vampire kit is an ex-Matchbox mould, that's all.

As there are lists of Humbrol to Revell (and Revell to Humbrol) paints, isn't there also a list of Matchbox models that are now owned by Revell?

@Dads203 I see the Badger 150 is £114 on Amazon but that (amusingly named) Procon Boy isn't much more expensive at £135.

However, I did find this: de Havilland Vampire kit A kit that I have NO RECOLLECTION OF OWNING! A complete mystery! (Still can't find the Twin Otter)

Thanks for your responses. You're all very kind. I'm just heading to bed so haven't really started researching, but how does this one measure up? EverythingAirbrush - TC-802K Airbrushing Kit with AB-130 Airbrush, Hose & Stand

True of course, but I also don't want to risk spending a lot of money on something that I only use once or twice... That's genius!

Yes, but I'm not a contractor!

It's a good point and just after posting that then going to bed I thought "I should have mentioned which sort of paint I was going to use!" For the safety aspect I would be spraying acrylic, not enamel paint.

After seeing the smooth looking results achievable with an airbrush I'm tempted to buy one. However, I'm not going to go nuts and spend £200 on a compressor then three figures again on the airbrush. I'm aiming for <£100 (I know I'll at least need a decent mask on top of that). Here's two under consideration: 1 Battery powered 2 As demonstrated by Model Minutes Matt... ...on YouTube I'm not expecting low volume at this price range! Just wondering what your thoughts are...