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Here you go - I think you can see quite clearly that it's photoshopped Chris

Hallmark has beaten you to it, I'm afraid: http://www.ornament-shop.com/product/2002-Star-Wars-Death-Star/-i1021000.html Chris

Lovely job! chris

Further down the page there is Bagger 289 - the brother of Bagger 288

As I've managed to finish my Bf109 STGB entry, and I'll be at a loose end from mid-January 'till April, I'd like to join too. I've got a 1/48 HobbyBoss Me262 on the way - the A1a/U5 Chris

I can see the pic fine, so I've put a copy on my photobucket account for those who can't - Chris

Slimmer pickings this year, only 3 completed - just All 1/48 Tamiya Bf109E3 Eduard Fw-190A8 Hasegawa BF109F4/B Cheers Chris

Despite what I thought, I managed to get her finished before Christmas. I kept the weathering light, all the fiddly bits are in place More pictures in the gallery Chris

Messerschmitt Bf109F-4/B Oberleutnant Werner Langemann 10(Jabo)/JG53 'Pik As' Gela, Sicily July 1942 Kit: Hasegawa #09945 + Lionroar PE Luftwaffe seatbelts Scale: 1:48 Paint: Tamiya custom mixes Build thread: HERE Chris

Thanks for the nice comments guys! Rest of the stickers are on, and for panel lines I did an acrylic sludge wash for a change (I usually use oil). I don't think it has made much of a difference really, oh well... Top coat over the decals looks a bit on the gloss side here, it's supposed to be more satin, but I think it's the strong light exaggerating the effect. Just the knock-offable bits to do, as well as a bit of chipping & weathering, and she should be done - although possibly not in time for Christmas! Chris

Nothing wrong with another Stuka when it's as nice as this. That scheme looks great, I love the weathering. Chris

I'd say that was a successful experiment Mike, that finish looks gorgeous. More please! Chris

Good on you for salvaging this build. I'm often nonplussed when people get fed up when they hit problems a build and throw it all in the bin. It's good to see someone with the determination to make the best of the hand they are dealt! Chris

Stickers on, mostly (I haven't done the starboard side yet, ran out of time last night) Chris

That's a wonderful result, very impressive Chris

Very impressive, the squiggles came out great. Looks brilliant against the blue sky Chris

So you jumped in at the deep end then That's a good result, is it your first time using an airbrush? Looks like a good job to me, especially in 1/72. The edges look absolutely fine in these pictures to me, but if you want to keep the bleeding down there are a couple of things you can do. It's always worth burnishing the edges of your masking tape down, try using a cocktail stick to get those edges really stuck down. Something else you can try is spraying the base colour, do your masking, then spray a bit of the base colour along the edges of the mask before spraying the next colour. That way if you do get paint creeping under the tape, it won't show up & it will create a seal to stop the 2nd colour creeping under. For the canopy, a lot of people dip them first in a clear gloss varnish before attaching & painting them. This does a couple of things, like improving the clarity & filling any small scratches and blemishes. It will also help when you try to get any overspray off - the cocktail stick method you are using works really well in combination with a dipped canopy. The paint just behind the canopy looks a bit thick and grainy, maybe you sprayed a bit heavily there? The macro lens makes shows up every blemish though! Building up several thin coats should get you a more even finish, you should find that easy to do if you're using acrylics. I'd say you're off to a flying start, these forums are full of ideas & techniques so you're in the right place! Chris

Well it doesn't look like your skills suffered for having a 20 year break - that's a wonderful result Chris

I find the meths taste nicer Seriously though, I use meths because I'm a cheapskate. To buy 1 litre of meths in a supermarket here in NZ costs me NZ$4 to NZ$5- about 2 quid. To buy 1 litre of Tamiya x20a acrylic thinners from a hobby shop here, I'd have to buy 4 x 250ml bottles. At NZ$17.50 each that works out to the equivalent of 36 quid. Now, I'm sure that the Tamiya thinners would absolutely be the best thing to thin your Tamiya acrylic paint with, it stands to reason & a lot of other folks here wouldn't want to risk their paintwork by using anything other than the recommended product. But I figured there wasn't any harm in trying the cheap option first, and it worked for me so I've stuck with it; I've never used the proper thinners, so I don't have anything to compare my experiences with. The purple dye doesn't tint the paint at all for the amount that I use, even when spraying white. It will dry quicker than if you use the proper thinner, as I understand the proper thinner has retardants in it to slow the drying process. Another option could be to use the proper thinners for thinning the paints, but use meths for cleanup. That way you get the finish you like, but without burning through litres of the expensive stuff. I did find a formula on another forum for what is in x20a, but as I'm not a chemist it doesn't mean much to me http://www.network54...nal formulation Chris

Well I would say welcome, but that greeting would be a tad late Great progress so far, it looks pretty good to me. Keep up the good work. Chris

That looks pretty good to me David, and the interior looks nice too. One bit of criticism - I hope that's OK - is the gloss coat. It looks like you've used some kind of thick gloss varnish, and you've missed quite a few spots leading to a patchy appearance. Where you've brushed it on, you can see brush marks in it. Whatever the product was I think a more even coat would have done it more justice. This forum is a font of knowledge, and most of the natives are friendly too. If you have a dig around you'll find all sorts of tips & tricks to help you add to your skill set. Now all you've got to do is find somewhere to store it, it looks like a big bugger! Chris

Cheers for the encouragement guys. Stu, I use Tamiya acrylics, thinned with meths. Since I came back to the hobby they are all I have used, and they are the only paints that I've airbrushed with. I get on with them well, the main issue is that you have to be prepared to mix your own colours for a lot of shades. It's not that arduous though, I can usually mix something that looks about right to my eyes. They aren't the greatest for brush painting though! Chris

hi, there are paint conversion charts here, but the humbrol mixes look complicated: http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_germany.htm chris

Lotsa painting done today. Annoyingly it was only as I was giving the paintwork a rub down with a cotton rag, I realised that I've missed a patch of RLM74 on the port wing tip. I'll have to whip the airbrush out again tomorrow A bit of preshading in black first, then the white band & yellow panel. Masked those off and then a freehand RLM74/75/76 splinter pattern. The mottling on the painting instructions was a strange sort of vector-drawn blob affair, in a mix of RLM74&75. I decided to do something a bit more like the box art. The wheel wells will be painted RLM02, but I'll brush paint that in I think. Next up will be a gloss coat for the panel line wash & decals Chris

Cheers Mike. I've got a bottle of Glenmorangie that I'm partial to, but any chance of a nip was vetoed by the domestic controller, who pointed out the paracetamol that I'd been popping probably wouldn't mix well. If I'd have known that was going to happen, I'd have had the whisky first! Onwards... The flaps, radiators & slats are in place, unfortunately I managed to knock the rather tentative prop off. It will have to be glued in place static at the end. I prefer to try to have them rotate-able, it makes photographing them easier. I added a couple of supports in for the slats, as I wanted them deployed and if you glue them in place the way Hasegawa would have it, they wouldn't look right. The slat mechanism should push the slat straight out forward of the wing, rather than having them drop down & forward. I also had my first go with using primer. I wanted to get something I could run through my airbrush, and I ended up getting a jar of Mr Surfacer 1200. I mixed it 50/50 with Acetone, and I think it's come out quite nice. Just before finishing I made the mistake of giving it a last once-over with the MR Surfacer, and in my hurry I had the airbrush too far away, so I ended up with a few rough dusty patches. A quick rub down with an old cotton T-shirt sorted it out, so I'm ready to start painting. Chris