spruecutter96

Afternoon, All. I would like to echo Cockney Col's sentiments... very best of luck to all MZ staff in finding new jobs in these very difficult times. Your old employer will be missed by a lot of us and it's sad to see MZ go down the tubes, despite the way the stores were going. I hope that there is some truth in the rumours about W.H. Smiths taking the business over, but I wouldn't hold my breath over that one. I guess this is a very sad reflection of how the high-street retail business is going now. Cheers. Chris.

If they ever get around to making another film with Karl Urban (very unlikely, I know), they really need to have Judge Death in it. That movie would properly rock! Here's hoping... Found the vinyl kit of Judge Death at a model show in July and I just had to have it! Thanks for showing us the gear you've produced so far, fella.... they look very cool, indeed. Cheers. Chris.

Maybe I'm missing the point to all this... In the final analysis, don't all kit modellers basically glue small bits of plastic together and then paint them, in the hope that they look like a representation of a "real" object? I'm not sure that it is a past-time that anyone should get too wound up about.... Just my opinion, nothing more....

I have to say that I think that attracting young potential-modellers to our hobby may be the fundamental issue which could (eventually) sound the death-knell for our hobby. There are WAY too many other things to take up kids' spare time these days (and we must not forget the fact that most modern kids wouldn't regard kit-bashing as "cool"). Do people only consider how the current generations fortunes are going? Maybe the storm-clouds are forming for model-making... What do you think?

This whole business has been very sad for the staff involved and I wish them all the best for the future. These are very difficult times to be looking for work, but it's not impossible... Over 1,000 replies to this topic on just this one website.... Shows the wish / need UK modellers have for a national chain of shops? What do you reckon?

Hi, Don. That looks very well worth a look.... Probably have to count me out, however, as my finances will be in a sorry state until Christmas or so. Good luck with finding folk to go on the trip, mate. Cheers. Chris.

Deffo needs a nice pin-wash to bring out the surface details..... Other than that, a truely cracking build, Sir! You are going to need one very large display cabinet to keep them in. Cheers. Chris.

As Homer Simpson would say "HOLY MACCARONE!" I would much rather buy ten or fifteen really cool kits for that kind of money (or put it towards a holiday somewhere sunny). Just my two penneth...

That is one excellent build & paint job, my friend. You should be very proud of your work, there. Thanks for sharing. Chris.

As Borat use to say.... "WOW-A-WOW.... I like this....is niiiiiiiiice!" That is just about the best paint / build job I have ever seen. Many heart-felt congratulations, Sir. We commend you.....

This is easily the most complicated decalling job I have ever seen.... Much kudos to you for tackling this one, georgeusa... I reckon it would end up in the trash after a few days if I attempted it (simply haven't got the patience required for a build like this!) Cheers. Chris.

Hello. For a lot of applications (pun intended), I reckon Johnson's Klear mixed with varying amounts of talcum-powder is the Dog's Danglies. You can clean it up with tap-water before it has started to set and it sands very well. Also, it doesn't shrink as it dries. Hope this helps. Chris.

Evening, all... I spent five days at Fairford last week, so I guess I'm a little biased on the "pro" side. While I appreciated that RIAT is nowhere near the size that it used to be 10 or 15 years ago, I'm of the opinion that it will NEVER get back to those kind of aircraft-participation levels. But the likelihood is... no air-show ever will, regardless of its location. I think that you have to look at the positives when it comes to Fairford. Even at a reduced size, it is STILL easily the biggest show, with the greatest variety of aircraft you will see in the UK (if not Europe). I'm sure that other Euro shows would love to have half the stuff that came to Fairford this year. Last year was a bumper year by modern standards, but was handicapped by some fairly unpleasant weather. I understand why people hark back to the "golden days" so regularly, but those days are simply over. We need to make the best of what we get now. On the subject of cost, I've been told that to STAND UP in a grand-stand for several hours at the British Formula One race will cost you nearly 100 quid these days... by comparison, Fairford seems like VERY good value for money to me. What does anyone else think? Cheers. Chris. PS: There was no Yank hardware this year due to massive US government budget cuts, resulting in a banning of serving aircraft appearing at shows (apparently it's called "sequestration"). This has lead to a number of American air-shows having been cancelled.

Hi, Steve. You MAY be able to get the canopy off with super-glue De-Bonder (I have not tried this myself, so it's just an educated guess! Modelzone branches that are still trading are currently doing it at half price). The "last resort" option is getting a small butter-knife (nothing with a cutting blade) and VERY carefully prising the canopy off the model. As for getting rid of the fogging itself, I would recommend that you try some Iso-Propyol Alcohol (available from Maplins) and a cotton-bud. I would think that the canopy fogged due to the fumes from the glue that was used to attach it to the aircraft (not pointing any fingers here... I have badly fogged the main glass on a B-17 I made years ago... you live and learn, I guess! Hope that this is a help to you. Chris.

Hi, Paul. I am guessing that you're enquiring about this after seeing the example at Small Space a couple of weeks ago? Unfortunately, I can't remember which table it was on, but think it was on the last table on the side-wall, closest to the corridor in which the kitchen is located. Sorry this isn't much help. Chris. PS: Very much Looking forward to the Hamex show in December.

That's a cool-looking build of a cool-looking plane. Mike. Thanks very much for sharing with us.

Not wanting to stir up any trouble here, but are we not utterly "spoilt for choice" in model-making terms now....? You see kits of stuff that people could only dream about 20 or 30 years ago.... OK, you can't find these kits in every High Street, but isn't actually finding the rarer ones all part of the challenge? Just my two penneth-worth.

Damn... I may have to dig my one out of the stash and have a go at it, now. (Pretty sure it won't look as good as this, though). Thanks very much for sharing...

Highly recommend this show... LOTS of very cool stuff to look at and Mr. Matt Irvine usually brings a tiny part of his MASSIVE stash to flog on the day. If you are into SCI-Fi modelling and can get there, it is well worth the trouble. Cheers, All. PS: Probably worth mentioning, if you're used to the larger, regional model shows, this one is in a SMALL village hall, just north of Milton Keynes. I only mention this just in case someone drives a coupla hundred miles to get there and is disappointed by what they find.

Hi, Tomcat-20. A big welcome to this forum. I have seen people using tissue paper / kitchen roll soaked in water-thinned white glue to produce the fabric FOD covers on model aircraft. I would guess that there's a real knack to it, but the ones I've seen look very cool indeed. Hope this helps. Chris.

In my humble opinion... all models should be finished like this one! That look bloomin' amazing. Thanks very much for sharing it with us.

One word... astounding.

That is one extremely cool weathering job you've got there, Dave. I also like the ceramic (?) liners ion the jet exhausts. Thanks very much for sharing.

Hi, Graham. Once you manage to remove all the paint, if the bristles are looking a bit tired and shagged-out, then try dipping them in Micro Scale Decal Sol (normally used for making decals conform to tricky surfaces). Legend has it that the Sol will revive the bristles a treat (must admit that I haven't tried it myself, but it was recommended on this site). Hope this helps. Chris.

Thanks to both of my respondees. This has really given me something to go on (awful pun very much intended).