Alfisti

Oooh man,that looks a real beauty. Dave.

Some good advice on your first WNW's kit.Have a look at this that was built by a friend,have seen this in the flesh and its stunning,he may even display it at the Hinckley show.Whats so bloody annoying is that he makes it look so simple!'Arry Tate'And you thought the Ninak had complicated rigging,Lol! Dave

Look forward to that one Pete.Definitely gloss coat before you apply,take your time,and use a setting solution as it really does help pull those decals down over details and other features.Its those bloody rib tapes that I'm dreading on my latest project,a real PITA to apply and keep straight!I'm doing a lozenge winged Fok DVII from Eduard,Franz Buchners Jasta 13 bird,and some of the wing decals don't quite fit,fortunately there are some lozenge panels left over and will be able to cut out pieces to patch where they are short and damaged.I also noticed,(too late,they'd been applied,bugger!),where these loz panels butt up to each other,there is a slight colour diffusion at their edges,which has resulted in lines appearing chordwise,should have trimmed these off before application(where fools,especially impatient one's,rush in,lol!).Hopefully some of those rib tapes will help hide the anomalies. Dave.

No probs Pete,glad to pass on the info.Also before applying the wing end decal,I make a series of small cuts (approx 1-2mm) into the curved area before soaking,this helps reduce the wrinkling that can occur while the decal is settling down after using any setting solutions. Dave.

When I am building an aircraft with a lozenge pattern covering,I paint the upper surfaces with a mid green camo colour,and the lower with a light green camo colour,then coat with gloss varnish.This helps prevent any glaring white or grey primer colours showing through if there is any misalignment or the decal splits/cracks when applying the lozenge decals. Dave.

Very nice looking instrument faces.All we need now is some woodgrain decals for WWI props,(Gawd,I hate painting those!),any chance Peter? Dave

Looking good Pete,nice choice of colour scheme,and that exhaust stack looks great. Dave.

Hi Chris,try this link about Latvian Gladiators for more info on their use.Linky Dave.

Thanks Tonka,nice picture.Also big thanks to Chris (Stringbag) for mailing me some excellent reference pictures/plans indicating where that little sucker goes as it's not included in the kit.Will make from a buckshee sidewinder fin that I'm not using! Dave.

Hi Arnold,cannot find the article concerned,I dug around and found the box,which I thought contained the article,but it contained aload of AM stuff I'd forgotten about which was good.I did a bit of searching the web,FSM did 2 articles on correcting the kit,Jan 99 and Mar 05,the latter is still available as a back issue to purchase.I also found a pice on another site that explains how to go about it Fokker D VII. HTH......Dave.

Anybody have any info on the location and shape of the catapult hooks on this aircraft?Have a SAMI article on building the HB kit which states adding them from scrap,but there are no pictures or location details in the article.Tried 'googling' it,but to no avail. TIA.........Dave.

Hi Arnold,there was an article in FSM from many moons ago that outlined the bad points,the most obvious was the depth of the fuselage which needed an insert to build up to the correct profile.There were some more things,but nothing too serious,I'll have to dig it out to have a look and see what else is required! Dave.

Fascinating subject,and listened to the podcast.Did they find out what the flashes on the ground were that the pilot thought was flak? Dave.

Nice work Andy,just how I remember seeing them on the road in the mid 70's.Went to work for a company in 77 that had Volvo F86/88's,prior to that had been driving Bedfords,Ford and Commer,and these Swedish trucks were worlds apart from my previous motors,like driving a Roller in comparison.In 78 I had a brand new Leyland that was on contract hire,what a heap of s***e that was,whoever had designed that had a hate day against truck drivers! Dave.

Hi Ron,there's a build article on the Canberra you want to depict in Model Airplane International #51 October 2009 that may answer your query. Dave.

Hi Selwyn,quite a difficult question to answer as there is no simple remedy.Paints used during these times were mixed from several different mediums,and this could result in variations in the final colour due to how they were mixed,age and stability of the pigments,and a host of other factors.Perhaps it is prudent to be not too dogmatic over the final colour as eye witness reports,artists impressions of the time offered different variations ranging from a Khaki green through to a Chocolate Brown colour.According to some sources,some tanks left the factories/depots in an Admiralty Grey sheme,and the crews let the mud and dust do the natural thing to camo them.The arguments for and against could fill volumes,so you pays your money and takes your choice,and after weathering etc,who would be able to say you were right or wrong.Mike Starmer over on ML,gave a mix for Humbrol 29 Dk Earth (4 parts) to Humbrol 98 Chocolate (1 part). Hope this helps you out,although perhaps,not a definitive answer!If it looks right........... I don't claim to be an 'expert' on the matter,and if anybody can offer alternatives,all well and good. Dave.

Very nice Jose,really liked the videos on the construction and the painting aspect.Could you further explain your technique shown where you pour some liquid (thinner?) into a plastic tray,then you place a sponge onto this,then what looks like a sheet of (paper?).And why do you do it this way?Also was a bit concerned when you were washing the parts under the running tap,did you have the plug in the hole in case something detached from the sprues that would have gone done the plug hole. Dave.

And getting some sanding practice in,in preperation for those wing 'planks',or ribs if you prefer!Apart from that,its a nice and welcome rendition of the 'Bloody Paralyser',some nice internal details,and IIRC,holes are provided for that mass of rigging.Would be nice to think that Airfix tweaked the moulds a bit,and if the AM boys bring out some upgrades aswell would def buy some of that.Many years ago in one of the model mags,Harry Woodman did a couple of articles on upgrading and correcting some of the kits faults/omissions,together with some really nice line drawings. Dave.

Wouldn't wanna be the back seater if curry or sprouts had been on the menu in the mess the night before! Dave.

Cavalier zimmerit set CV101 is designed for the Tamiya kits of the mid and late prod Tiger I's.Moulded in a thin resin material that is easy to cut,and you can also damage it up to your taste.Also comes with resin pieces to replace kit details that have to be sanded off to fix zimmerit to kit parts.Probably best to fix zimmerit with 2 part epoxy glue which allows some time for final positioning of pieces,and,lightly sand the back side of the zimmerit pieces to help the glue 'grab' the pieces.Wash zimmerit first too in a mild detergent and rinse off with warm(not hot!) water to remove mould release agents that may be present.I did a Tiger II some years back with this stuff and I was very impressed (mind you,I am easily pleased!)with the final result as it was eay to cut away from the film and apply and looked the business.ATAK are also very good,albeit a little more expensive.Have fun. Dave.

Have a look at this site for info on Tigers,loads of useful info on the type you want to model TIGER Companies such as LionRoar and Eduard produce some very nice etch sets to detail up your Tiger,try Hannants or LSA Models,and IMHO the very least you should add are the mesh intake covers and side fenders.For a good comparison on available goodies,have a look at the Perth military modelling (PMMS,sorry,cannot link his webpage!)site as he lists a goodly amount of accessories available to plaster over your Tiger.You can also try this site which provides details on the real thing and modelsTiger!info/ HTH.......Dave.

Hi Paul,Planet Models produce a Stampe,try Hannants Linky,not cheap though! Dave.

I've used Games Workshop's Bleached Bone to depict CDL on my Roden Strutter and it looks good.What I need now is advice on what colours to shade and weather it,have tried some artists pencils but it looks too harsh.Am using hairy stick at moment (trying to pluck courage up to use new airbrush!) and would appriciate any hints and tips. Dave.

Hi Sean,AFAIK the only company (but I stand to be corrected!) to produce decals for the Gotha was Americal-Gryphon,sadly,they are no longer trading. There was somebody over on the IPMS (UK) forums selling off a load late last year if my memory serves. Dave.

IMHO SBX is one of the better traders,Ordered a couple of items last Sunday,had an email Monday to state the order was being processed,Wednesday had email stating order dispatched,arrived today (Sat).Items are always well packaged too.Big from me. Dave.