jager

I go for custom made canopy masks every time, Eduard or otherwise. Particularly when you have a large, complex glasshouse, such as the Sturmovik, or the Japaneses Sieran seaplane. I like the non-moving sections of canopy to look part of the fuselage structure, and bonded and cleanly joined you can spray away to your hearts content, and get sharp lines every time.

The recent crop of Tamiya and Hasegawa come pretty close to perfection, (The Hasegawa P39 & the Tamiya Storch for example) Eduard hit the mark now and then, I recently bought their 'Royal' I-16 set & built all three ! Got reservations about some Trumpeter products but they have come on by leaps and bounds. Matchbox.........Judas Priest ! !

I've had quite a lot of stuff from them by mail order, (Prompt service), and they always seem to have what they list in stock, so you shouldn't be dissappointed.

We had a visiting Typhoon at our local Margate, (Yes, Margate), Airshow a couple of years back, and are promised one this year (Saturday). Did a very impressive vertical climb, absolutely vertical, and very, very noisy, helped by the cliffs acting as a sounding board. What was it the Duke of Wellington said along the lines of, "Don't know if they frighten the enemy, but by God they frighten me" !

Well, the Tamiya 1:48 100th release was much heralded, and having fished a good few bits out of the box and splashed the plastic weld about a bit, I reckon the trumpets were well justified. Some of the other 'Eastern upstarts' have produced a few wonders lately, but the old firm have really pulled out the stops. The internal detail just needs some brass seat belts, (Doncha' just hate those decals ?), otherwise near perfect as you can get, (And you do get to see a lot in that big glasshouse). Nice set of masks, not die cut, so get a new blade in the scalpel. Plus a nice set of really excellent figures, oil barrels jerry cans etc. Need to make a Kubel to park alongside in the sand......anyone know where I can get a 1:48 camel, none Sopwith breed ?

Andy, that's a damned handsome trio of Racers, nicely presented too !

Just don't build modern British, (Being a feelthy fascist beast who leans toward mottled birds with the crooked cross on the fin). However, living on the coast, have seen these hemp coloured beasties heading out to sea, very impressive, moving a few Bf109s "Down the Line".

A while back a friend of mine brought a book back from the States as a gift. "Skyrocketing Into The Unknown" by Charles Coombs, 1954. Just filled with photos of US aircraft of the time. What a terrific period of aviation activity, the X - craft, Starfires, Scorpions etc. plus a few I had forgotten. Anyone remember the Consolidated Vultee YB-60, a basically sweptwing B-36, apparently the size of a B-52, but a sleeker looking aircraft altogether. I remeber aviation was much more to the forefront of the news, the first V-bombers being front page news, literally. I have a much treasured set of fifty bubblegum cards, bought, stolen and swapped in the playground, of Gannets, Seamews, Viscounts etc. I was a pain in the bottom even then.

There is one tip, often quoted. If you want to bend nice even curves, heat or anneal the metal, just put it on the stove till it glows cherry red, gets rid of a degree of springiness too. If you wanna see really spectacular "Tweezer launch", nothing does it like a bit of etch brass under tension !

Glad to hear a few voices of sanity out there, (Incidentally seatbelts are great, so I agree there). I do the odd 1:700 warship, generally Skywave, and that's where etch does come into it's own. Decks do look naked without a bit of railing. I use Gold Medal sets, they make beautiful little cranes & catapults etc. One of my winter tasks is to learn to solder, super glue just ain't is it ?, particularly edge to edge.

I don't think no-one, but no-one uses all the etch brass from an accessory set. One guy did, went blind years ago. Just applying the Big Ed set to the 1:32 Hasegawa Me109G-6. They suggest you remove all the moulded in detail from the cockpit walls - and replace the 3D detail with a fair degree 2D flat brass. Let's face it, you aren't not going to see a lot in there anyway, particularly in a darkish grey cockpit, (Please, not the "Yes but I know it's there", life is too short ). Of course a lot of it is useful, pedals, canopy interior etc. And the instrument panel is great. Even so a lot of it is going to be redundant, (Maybe I should take to scrathbuilding sci1fi starships, and use the left over stuff for fictional detail - where's my old Eagle comics ?). What think you, brass fans ? (Why did I buy it, well there's a great set of masks in there as well, and a re-useable etch mottle mask ! )

Ted's right. Particularly on bright days, (The few we have had), you sometimes can't see just how the paint is hitting the surface of the model. Also, watch the temperature, I was daft enough to spray in a hot conservatory, the paint was drying so quickly in the air that I might as well have sand blasted it.

No, it is specifically for thr Hasegawa kit. Have looked at a few 'Georges', and some of them a bit grainy, but some seem to have a straighter main canopy. Did Hasegawa make a different version ? I can see this little Jap airplane going into the cupboard never to be seen again. Annoying innit ? (Sent Eduard an email, await reply).

Help, About start spray job on Hasegawa 09647 Kawanishi N1K1-Jb. Applying Eduard mask EX 065, - too darned big. Now the mask is for N1K1-J. Have I got it wrong (Again), was there a change in canopy design ? Must have been appreciably different. Gotta start cutting up fiddly bits of tape, or maybe do some target practice with my particular 'George' ? ? :shithappens:

Great choice of subject ! Combined with the growing range of 1:46 vehicles and figures, plenty of dio potential, and that big, very visible interior, well you can hear the resin boys mixing the silicone rubber as we speak. Can't please everyone Tamiya-san, but you've got me well pleased.

Don't dismiss Airbrush cleaners. I now use them after a spraying session. Even after running a cup full of thinners through the brush, another drop of airbrush cleaner and you will be amazed at the stuff that gets dissolved & blown away. (No double entendres please, gentlemen ! )

Now there's a pretty little cat. Just love those pre-war USN schemes, now can somebody kit up some of those big pre-war US flying boats please ?

Just like to add, I don't work for WEM, (Honest !), but I started using their paint a while back, and it's a revelation, sprays like a dream, good coverage, terrific colour range, and they do a good postal service. So what more could a young man want, apart from a weekend locked in a hotel room with Debbie Harry, and a box or two of Eduard goodies ?

Yes I'll go along with colourcoats, excellent. It's all a matter of opinion, but bear in mind a small scale ship is going to look more realistic a few shades lighter than recommended colours, so a drop of white to the mix will do the trick, or a light overspray of matt varnish / white or light grey mixture. Do be careful though, a good few light passes first, then stand back and have a good look, it's pretty difficult to go back to square one ! !

Thanks all, for the useful input. I guess I'll give ICM a look - see. Good idea about the Tamiya German tank service set. I remember quite a while back seeing excellent single Tamiya crew, including the standing pilot figure with the inital Buffalo release.

Nice work, really, a great clean paint job.

Been looking at 1:48 air / groundcrew lately. Preiser look OK initially, but there are some slips in accuracy, particularly the US set. Hecker & Goros are really good, but pricey. Now considering Eduard & ICM. Hear so - so reports of Eduard, including sinkmarks on some figures, whereas ICM seem pretty OK. Any thoughts ?

A Badger 200 is fine, pretty robust too. (Mind you I recently started using an Iwata, big difference). Bear in mind the type of paint you use is going to have a big influence on the results you get. I find White Ensign Colourcotes are really excellent, very finely ground, they remind me of the old Compucolor range, (Remember them Ted ?, I used to travel over to Hackney , to Walker's, to stock up every month ! )

Even if not initially a satin finish, most aircraft would take on a sheen from wiped, fuel, oil etc. Most Japanese aircraft show a pretty gloss look to the paintwork, and remember a lot of pilots liked a polished finish, claiming it would have a beneficial effect on performance.

But the subject of a great flying film, 'The Bridges at Toko Ri' with Van Johnson, an, I believe, William Holden. Lots of film of US Naval aircraft, largely Banshees I think.