Steve Collins

I could never answer anyone when asked what my thinner ratios are, though I'd say it usually comes out to about 2:1 thinner:paint. The best way I've found to describe it is to mix the paint in a clear jar. After thoroughly mixing the paint, hold the jar up to a light and tilt it so you can see in through the top toward the light. As you tilt the jar so that the level of the paint goes across the bottom of the jar, if properly mixed, there should just be a bright separation line between the liquid and the paint that remains on the jar above the liquid paint (same as if you tilt a glass of milk and do the same thing). If the paint above the line is very translucent, you've gotten it too thin, if the line doesn't appear right away, it's not thin enough. Yes, very inexact, I know, but it works well for me for both acrylics and enamels, usually in the 12-15 psi range. Hope this can help you get a good mix for painting. Steve

Glad I could help in some small way. Steve

Opus, I think you wound up with a great looking little jet there. Outstanding job. Steve

Yvan and Chris, you may be talking about two different iterations of the Revell B-17 (depending on how long ago you were a teenager, Chris). This particular one came out in about 2011 and is an entirely new mold. The previous version was done in the '60s originally and was a B-17F (usually released as Memphis Belle). That may be where the wheels-up/wheels-down difference comes in, among a host of other things, most especially quality and level of detail. By the way, Yvan, the build is looking good. I'm looking forward to seeing it progress as I have a couple of these to do myself. Steve

Glad the wash is working for you. My modeling time is usually limited and the whole process is much faster than oils. Steve

Maybe it's just an artifact of the photo, but is there something (sprue tag, mismold?) attached to the fuselage piece forward where the angles are? I think it should just be a slightly obtuse angle, just greater than 90 degrees, but seems to have a piece that goes, well, down from there that is impacting on the nose wheel bay piece. Steve

Good luck, Opus. I look forward to seeing the result. Steve

It works for me. Been doing it for years. Don't like working with oils, too messy, slow to dry, have to be very careful what you put them over, how you clean them off if you don't like it, on and on, whimper, moan. Watercolors are just easier for me. Hope it works for you. MiG is looking good so far. Steve

Opus, I use watercolor paints to make my washes. I usually use the Grumbacher kind in the small tubes. I see you're from Washington, so you should have a Michael's or Hobby Lobby relatively nearby. I use lamp black and china white to make my grey washes, with siennas (raw and burnt) and ochres (same) for various shades of browns. I use distilled water in a plastic contact lens case (resealable, saves the wash for later use), put in a small amount of the paints I need, stir with a toothpick till the paint is well dispersed, then add a drop of dishwashing soap (washing up soap) to break the surface tension during application. Put it over a gloss or semigloss surface, wait 15 minutes for it to dry. You can then go back with a damp (not wet) q-tip (cotton bud) and wipe off any excess. System has the advantages of being easy to store, easy cleanup, and easy removal and redoing if you don't like the look. Of course, it can be overcoated with anything that is not completely water. I use Future. Sorry, not trying to hijack, just passing along something that works for me. Steve

Truly a very nice result. I know I coulnd't have painted the code letters by hand. I can't even _draw_ a straight line without help, much less paint one. Excellent model. Steve

The SEA scheme definitely used 36622 as the underside color. There may have been shiny spots, but gloss colors were not used. Steve

Gentlemen, Both Model-Miniature and OKB Grigorov make AMX-13 kits with the 75mm gun in 1/72. Both are resin, both are _far_ better than the Heller kit. Steve

Sorry I'm a bit late getting to the game, gents, but Jonathan is correct. I was in the 4TFW in 1973. We were in the process of changing out our hard wing jets for slatted jets. Unfortunately, I wasn't there for very long. It is possible that some of the aircraft may have gone TDY to Thailand at some point but I was on F-4Ds by that time so I can't say for sure. It is pretty safe to say that, for almost all of the air war in Vietnam, the F-4Es were hard wing jets. So far as I know, all F-4Es had slatted elevators. Steve

Looks nice, Bear. By the way, it's definitely an ALE-38 chaff tank. I've got many hours crawling in and around them (my waist was a lot smaller then). Steve

I'll get the name of the book and the decal manufacturer and get back with you. Steve