nheather

It is models like this that make me gasp in awe. I see lots of models that are just way beyond my ability and sometimes I try to console myself saying "Well it is the latest top of the range model with lots of after-market" and then I see something like this. A really basic, low quality Airfix kit from the 70s that looks amazing. Then I realise it is all down to skill. Truly amazing. Cheers, Nigel

Bovington is not always reliable. A couple of years ago I was there trying to get an idea of what SCC 2 looked like. I got talking to one of the curators and he told me that sadly I shouldn't rely on the colours in the museum. He said that things were getting better but in the past it was common just to get a team of cadets to use whatever paint was available. He said the only be sure would be to remove a tool box and hope for original paint underneath. After all, the Matilda at Bovington is the source of so many inaccurate caunter scheme paint recommendations. Cheers, Nigel

Whilst on the subject, what do you think of Hataka paints. Being a big fan of British Armour I pucked up the British AFV set as a Christmas present. To date, I have only tried the SCC 15 - I found the paint nice enough but the colour seems a lot lighter than I was expecting - how accurate is it? Cheers, Nigel

Did you see the update to my post. I’ve found suggestion that the Anniversary does not have PTFE seals but that the HP-C Plus does. The PTFE seal is about £11 but not sure if the parts are interchangeable - check first, Iwata can be a little specific in my experience. Personally, unless the metal box and the gunmetal finish are things you particularly want I’d stick with the HP-C Plus. I’ve found the HP-C Plus for sale for £170 ((UK Retailer) with a little googling. And like bmwh548 I think it is only the needle packing seal that is PTFE on Iwatas. Cheers, Nigel

Can’t imagine it wouldn’t. Isn’t it just a special edition HP-C Plus and that as PTFE seals. In fact don’t all Iwata brushes have PTFE seals. A valid concern though, which I guess is why you are asking is that the 50th anniversary was around 2013, so did they have PTFE seals back then, how long has this one been sat on the shelves. I’m still pretty confident that it will have PTFE seals, pretty sure Iwata were fitting them back then, certainly to their higher end brushes like this one. Can you ask the seller? Possible alarm bells - just looked at the distributer site airbrushes.com and the part lists for the HP-C Plus and the HP-C Anniversary. For the HP-C Plus it list PTFE packing but for the Anniversary it is an old style rubber o-ring. Not sure if the parts are interchangeable, in my experience Iwata have a habit if making some very specific parts. Also you do realise that the Anniversary edition is not a Plus so doesn’t have the preset handle. How much are you saving over the HP-C Plus? Parts list for the HP-C Plus https://airbrushes.com/parts_info.php?cPath=400_403_1_9_49&products_id=34 Parts list for the HP-C Anniversary https://airbrushes.com/parts_info.php?cPath=400_403_1_9_49&products_id=21587 Cheers, Nigel

I was wondering that. Looking at the adverts for the needles that are appearing in the recent Airfix magazine, the new needles seem to have all sorts of lumps and bumps Wouldn’t want to pull that through the nozzle end. Cheers, Nigel

The sculpting is a 'feature' of Warlord Games and other wargaming figures. Most tend to be on the chunky size - I suspect it is to make them more robust when moving them around the table. Cheers, Nigel

Thanks, that is really helpful. Many of the photos I have seen show a two tone hull, light grey but with a darker grey covering all but the top under the deck and curving down to the waterline near the front. Is that darker grey the same as the deck colour or something different. Cheers, Nigel

I was given the Warlord Games Cruel Seas games for Christmas. Intend to paint up the models and play the game as a bit of fun but not going to get sucked into expansions etc. So when it comes to painting, just going to use what I already have as close enough. So what I’m trying to do is work out what coliurs the ships were and then match to the closest I have. Using the old White Ensign range as reference - have worked out what colour the E-Boats were, but not so sure about the Vosper MTBs. Just talking about the standard scheme not any specific camouflage jobs. So the hull is a two tone light grey and medium grey. The super structure a light grey. The deck looks like a medium or dark grey. Can anyine advise which of the WEM paints these would be and then I can match against those. Again, I’m not looking for total accuracy, just close enough - at 1/300 scale I iamgine I should go a little lighter too. Cheers, Nigel

Just to give it the best opportunity, just tried some of the 86 (Light Olive), added some thinners gave it a really good stir. Brush painted on some scrap, can’t ague about the coverage but the finish is horrible - it is like someone has put some very fine sand in the paint - how on earth can it leave the factory like that? I normally use Vallejo but have to mail order those so I was looking for paints that I could source locally now and then - which means whatever hobbycraft stock (humbrol, revell and tamiya). But really put off Humbrol now which is a shame because I strongly beleive that Humbrol enamels are still the best model paint that I have ever used. Cheers, Nigel

Really asking whether it is Humbrol paint, the same Humbrol paint that I would get if I bought a full size pot of Humbrol. Cheers, Nigel

What make is the acrylic paint you get in the little pots in some airfix kits. I recently got an Airfix jeep from Aldi, just a bit of fun so I’d thought I just use the paint tyat came with it. It was terrible, reminiscent of when Airfix did enamels back in my distant childhoid days. Is it Humbrol or something else. I found the paint grainy no matter how much mixed as if the pigment is course grained. I was brush painting, coverage was good, but although thinned the finish was lumpy with the grains of the pigment. As I said, very reminiscent of the Airfix Enamels I tried in the 70s. The paints in the kit were of no loss but if they are Humbrol acrylics I will be giving them a wide berth. Cheers, Nigel

Have to put some pictures up - but need to chhose a photo hosting and sign up. Chees, Nigel

Thanks for the suggestions, all sensible but picture the task I’m facing at the moment. I have two aluminimum surfaces that mate together. The surfaces are small, say a 5mm x 2mm. I need to remove a total of 0.3mm. The two faces are visible and need to mate together neatly - no chance of filler or paint to cover up. So it would seem that the surface is too small to do figure of eights. And the amount that I removing is too little to mark. There is another area which is an open recess that I need to take down the same amount - it has to go right up to the shoulder but mustn’t touch the shoulder. Cheers, Nigel

Something that I have always struggled with is filing/sanding a squared-off surface and keeping it flat - applies equally to metal, plastic and wood. I appreciate if the subject is suitable you can get good results by putting a piece of wet and dry down on a flat surface and sanding with the object but even that isn't foolproof. But that is suitable for all cases. Say I have a piece of plastic that has a flat end, nicely squared off on all sides. It is a little too long, not enough to get the razor saw out. Now no matter how careful I try to be, how slowly I do the task I end up filing/sanding in a slope or rounding off the edges. Any tips? Cheers, Nigel

Not read the whole thread so apologies if I am repeating. Firstly, the idea of a blanket ban of Swastikas in public display in Germany isn’t true. I believe if there is good reason then they are allowed. For example, I visited the Berlin technology museum in December (fantastic collection of trains and pretty good collection of aircraft). Plenty of German aircraft all displaying Swastikas. Even where they had models on display, they had Swastikas too. So I have heard that where a Swastika is used to portray historic events it is allowed - which is why you can see it in TV dramas and movies. But then you get inconsistencies creeping in - “but models are accurate reproductions of actual aircraft so why can’t they have Swastikas” and “what about the film Iron Sky, that had Swastikas but you can hardly call that historically accurate”. With models I think there are two sensitivies driving the exclusion of Swastikas (1) models are sold in toy shops and commonly regarded as toys for children. I think this is also the reason why you never see Swastikas in computer games - they often use a symbol that reminds you of a Swastika. (2) they are stickers or decals so can be put to other uses and used inappropriately. Cheers, Nigel

Merry Christmas everyone. I’ve actually been on this course, it’s handy as it is down the road from me. I’ve also been on a weathering course in Leicester. The problem with both of these (and I imagine others) is that the hosts are tied to a particular brand. So airbrushes.com ( the airbrush company) are the UK distributers for Iwata so guess what brushes you get to use on the course. They do roll out the complete range though so you do get to try lots (including the Neos) and offer a discount for the attendees - so this is great for comparing £100 vs £300 brushes, traditional vs trigger - but they are all Iwata (or Neo). The one in Leicester was Badger based, but from memory everyone had the same airbrush - in fact airbrushing wasn’t the main part of the course, most of it was hairy sticks. I think they run courses at Element Games which are H&S based. Primarily in Manchester but they do a few others around the country. Aimed at miniature painting I think. I doubt you will find a course that will let you compare brands. Cheers, Nigel

Okay I get the ‘cheapest’ and ‘unperfumed’ bits - but what about strength light, medium, firm, ultra? Cheers, Nigel

Going to try the hairspray technique for the first time. Had a look in the hair products aisle at Tesco expecting to find hairspray (different brands) but flummoxed because there are about five sub-types within each brand. Can anyone recommend one that works well - it’s the different strengths that are causing me indecision. Cheers, Nigel

Nice. Out of interest, just reading about it and one of the selling points is a 'hand matched head'. I assume that means that the needle, nozzle and cap are selected and matched by experts to ensure the most perfect operation. So what happens down the line and you split a nozzle. Does the whole 'hand matched head' thing go out of the window because you get the one you order? Cheers, Nigel

Syl Ate My main interest is 1:35 armour. I have a particular fetish for the smaller, unusual, ugly and less effective types. I also do miniature tabletop wargaming and this has guided my interested towards less famous theatres. I particularly like Fall Gelb (invasion of France) because from a wargaming point of view France and her allies were more than capable of defeating the Germans - so it makes for some interesting games. Off the back of this my stash includes a lot of the British, French and German vehicles that would have taken part in the Battle of France. Really, really want someone to do a Matilda I. Cheers, Nigel

Useful to know. To be honest a bespoke trigger is not something I would consider because I think it is too expensive on the chance that it might help and I would have no idea what to ask for. I bought the Iwata tall trigger because I assumed that they had done the R&D to come up with the best general design - but having got it I struggle to see why they bothered as it is barely any different. But to be fair, I haven't used it yet - maybe when I do that extra 1mm will make a world of difference. Cheers, Nigel

Don’t think I am mixing anything up. I’m comparing two triggers that fit the Eclipse. Why would I even stop to discuss one tgat doesn’t fit. There are two triggers that fit the Eclipse IWS-6121 : the standard one IWS-6123 : the so-called taller one What I’m reporting back is that there is very little height between the two. Cheers, Nigel

Will sort some photos out, probably not until tomorrow now though when there is some decent light. But think you will be disappointed. The Eclipse Kustom trigger is near identical to the standard Eclipse trigger. The business end, where your finger gies is the same shape, size and trigger. There is a little extra material underneath the Kustom trigger pad - that may be where it gets the ‘extra’ height from. Cheers, Nigel

£15.67 including postage - from graphicair.com - not enough to die in a ditch over but enough to be a little irritated. It’s on my brush now so I’ll probably leave it there. Cheers, Nigel