Steve McArthur

Your Smart Jet Pro cost about four times what an AS186 style compressor with a tank costs, I'd hope it works at least as well.

I'd recommend an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS as a good general purpose airbrush that will last a lifetime with proper care. Facebook link for common airbrush questions. If you need a compressor get one with a tank.

Amarillo is the font https://www.dafont.com/amarillo-usaf.font I've never tried printing my own decals

Largescaleplanes has a discussion on this and seemed like 4xAIM-7E, no sidewinders was a typical QRA load. Sidewinders if loaded would have been AIM-9E early on or later AIM-9J. This one has the C/L tank. The following is dated September 28, 1980

I know this is a model kit of a plane that was never completed, and it's just my engineering background getting in the way. I'm curious how the wing fold is supposed to work with the outer segment keyed where it can't pull past the leading edge? The full scale mockup looks like a line parallel to the trailing edge at the circled joint. Never mind that the mind that weapons bays are too short and should match the doors. They were sized to take a pair of HARMS and Harpoons. It would have been nice to see the JSOWs on the sprues in the test build. Rockeyes and dumb bombs are an odd choice to include in this kit. They are about the last things you want to use your stealthy attack jet to haul around, but it's kind of keeping with the cluelessness of McDD and the USN with respect to stealth in this time period.

Have you tried just calling H&S? Customer service +49 (40) 87 87 989 30 Mo-Fr, 9am - 4pm CET

C-12 is the one of the base designation for the Beechcraft Super King Air and it's derivatives. The -12F is a King Air 200. It's on the smaller end of the scale 13 seats in an airliner config. -12J is a 1900C 19-seat commuter airliner and the longest of the King Airs. Much different in length and different wing spans. Probably different engine nacelles.

I don't think anyone was advocating to avoid removing the needle. I follow the Iwata guidelines I linked to earlier and they only flush between colors, and pull the needle only at the end of a session. What several of use were trying to get across is always removing the nozzle leads to unnecessary wear and tear on the delicate nozzle threads and from what I've seen on the r/airbrush subreddit a lot of nozzle threads being snapped off in the airbrush body.

I just ordered a similar Olympos single action to see how the stubby form factor works for me.

I've used their Orange Line with an 0.2mm and I'd expect similar results with the others. I wouldn't expect their pigment size to vary between product lines which is the main problem going to a smaller nozzle. That's if you've figured out the thinner/flow improver/retarder witch's brew. The guess work with acrylics is the main reason I've stuck with lacquers.

I use Tamiya's products. I just go with a grey that's darker than the camouflage color. Sometimes I'll hit panels that actually open like retracted speed brakes with black to make them stand out.

I've read Israel made there own, probably had to since the USAF didn't use them long. I think the Israeli Fast Packs would be indistinguishable from McDonnell-Douglas produced versions. I think I even read at one point McDD was buying them from Israel. The Modelling Madness reference to different versions is F-15C/D FAST packs with Sparrow mounts versus F-15E CFT with stub pylons for bomb carriage. Since I started my project years ago before stalling I've got an earlier IsraDecal BAZ Decal Set and bought the IsraCast early GBU-15 with data link pod I bought from SprueBrothers at the time.

I had some questions on Operation Wooden Leg that never really got answered, but you might find some of the other info useful. As for which kit to use I started from the Strike Eagle Demonstrator. I think any of Hasegawa's early F-15Es would be fine. If you look at Modelling Madness's Kit Research You need a kit with what those tables list as sprues H* & I* for the FAST packs while the later F-15E substitute a sprue P with the updated CFT and other F-15E corrections. (7008, 7021, 7022, 7248 and apparently the Idolmaster release 51969) It kind of annoys me that Hasegawa never issued a F-15C with Fast Packs. I'd like the do an F-15C with them.

I don't think anything is as bad as the Tornado. I've got a few ESCI Mirages in my stash, so I went to have a look. It has raised panel lines, decals for cockpit panels, generic ejection seat and no depth to the exhaust. There's used to be quite a bit of aftermarket available to dress these up, but they aren't bad with the canopy closed and a good paint job. As a simple kit for someone getting back into modelling, the lack of cockpit detail may be a plus: paint it black, stick on decals and call it quits. Amazingly ESCI managed to put in seat belts when so many modern kit makers can't seem to manage this simple detail.

My first airbrush is a Badger 200 single action I got for Christmas as a kid around 1980 and still use it frequently. For about 20 years it was all I had and I just learned to deal with its limitations. I ditched the bottle almost immediately and went to the smaller paint cups as they were much simpler to clean up. I'm not sure if the Badger cups fit the Iwata, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Edit to Add: from comments below, Badger siphon feed paint cups don't, but H&S do. Now I have about a dozen airbrushes, but I still use this 45 year old brush and it's sibling 200SG when I don't need to worry about finesse or fine lines. Primer and clears are what a lot of people delegate single actions brushes to, but for me they are the obvious choice for anything that doesn't require finesse. I still do a lot of models that don't have freehand camouflage with nothing but these single action brushes.

As delivered the Block 30/32 and earlier planes had the landing lights mounted on the main gear, but they may have not stayed there. As older airframes were updated through different programs that added the capability to use targeting pods on the chin stations the landing lights were moved to the nose gear door regardless of block.

Block 40 and later have a different landing gear. I have a very difficult time telling them apart, but there are some detail differences

Check out the tool section in your local hardware store. I've got a bunch of small Irwin clamps I bought locally in a couple different styles that don't rely on springs to hold them closed. I bought a bunch of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081HY1VGB/ in different sizes. My only complaint is they really need a strip of rubber or something grippy to keep them from sliding off curves surfaces.

Don't have a lot of advice other than to use a better paint. Google "Vallejo Tip Dry" and it's all over the internet. Tip dry and clogging come up daily on the r/airbrush subreddit and it seems like 80% of the time its Vallejo causing grief. Vallejo has it's fans, but I think they just don't know how simple airbrushing is with quality paint. I tried Vallejo once about 15 years ago when I switched away from enamels after about 30+ years airbrushing. Life's too short. I chucked them in the bin half way through my first project with them and switched to lacquers: MRP, Hataka Orange, AK Real Color with Tamiya Acrylic Clears. If you are committed to sticking with Vallejo it's a matter of finding the right combination of thinner, flow improver (fights tip dry) and paint. It seems like every diehard fan has their witch's brew that works for them. I like MRP, shake the bottle, transfer some to my airbrush, spray, no counting drops of multiple chemicals to force it to work.

Use hardware store acetone (cheap) or Tamiya's Airbrush Cleaner that's 50% acetone (more expensive). I follow Iwata's guidelines here https://www.iwata-airbrush.com/airbrush-cleaning.html and only tear down the airbrush if it's acting up. I use an old paintbrush to scrub the cup and loosen whatever it can reach while flushing it. Edit to add: with the PS270 you really have no need to ever remove just the nozzle. You can pull the head assembly and leave the nozzle attached for deep cleaning.

Here's the original image from the DVIDS website without the no hotlinking BS of the the guy that posted it on his site. It is a public domain image.

Same as Tamiya Extra Thin at a fraction of the cost. Save an old TET bottle and just use this to top it off.

Fine with me

It is a gloss finish FS16081. I've seen this referred to as Engine Gray or Navy Gray, while the flat version is Euro Gray or Seaplane Gray About 10 years ago I had the opportunity to visit the USS New Jersey on a business trip and they had a SH-2F on the deck I took numerous photos anticipating a build at some point. The gallery is on flickr with the Seasprite photos towards the end of the series. I uploaded the images at the native resolution of my camera, so they are fairly large. One neat detail was at some point anti-skid was sprayed on top of one of the external tanks in the silhouette of a gecko

I would guess the graininess is from spraying a bit too far away, but your photo looks like you also have some uneven coverage that may need another layer of paint. I use Mr. Color Leveling Thinner with Tamiya X/XF paints without problems. But I usually only airbrush Tamiya clears. I'll also mist a little pure MLT immediately after spraying the paint to help level out the finish if it looks like it might be a little rough. Paint really shouldn't be thick enough to cover imperfections in the surface or seams. Ideally you want the paint to go on thin enough that it doesn't obscure even the finest detail. You need to rely on putty, sprue goo, superglue or other techniques to clean up seams. I usually put down a layer of primer before painting to check my seam work and always find places that need more work. Some thicker primers can help mask light flaws like sanding scruffs with the risk it will cover detail. I also use Mr Surfacer applied with a paintbrush as a thin putty for some seams since you can use alcohol dipped Q-tips for most of the clean up instead of sanding.