nheather

When buying some ing online priced in US Dollars, is there a way to make PayPal do the conversion rather than let the underlying credit card do it. The reason I ask is that if the credit card does the conversion the process isn’t very transparent and you don’t know how much you will be actually paying until you see the credit card statement at some later date. I had a nasty surprise when I pre-ordered a 3D printer recently, only about £300 worth of purchase but £40 of bank charges. I understand that there has to be fees and conversion rates but I’d like to see them up front - so wonder if there is a way to have PayPal do the conversion and charge the card in pounds. I'm sure there used to be a selection where you could choose whether the conversion was done by PayPal or by the credit card but I can't see it any more - unsure whether it is no longer available or just hidden away. Cheers, Nigel

Sussex Model Centre is predominantly RC (which is one of my other hobbies). They stock enough plastic models for me to have a browse when I'm buying RC stuff but I wouldn't recommend a special trip just for plastic models. The Dorking shop is good but beware the owner can be a bit grumpy (in my experience).

Thanks for the clarification - useful to know as I have both the Achilles and the Archer in my stash.

I’m not that knowledgable on the subject so apologies if I am speaking out of my bottom when I throw this in. In my mind, the term ‘Self Propelled Gun’ refers to mobile artillery (howitzers - indirect fire - rear line) whereas the primary purpose of the Achilles and the Archer was to kill tanks (direct fire - front line). So my question is what command/regiment would they have been put under, artillery or tanks?

The reason why you have not had problems with other electrical devices is that they most likely auto-switch between 220VAC and 110VAC - that is quite common these days. Other equipment have a physical switch to select either 220VAC or 110VAC. If the compressor has neither a physical or auto-switch then you will need a transformer to step up from 110VAC to 220VAC.

Hi, Not looking for precise accuracy but the paint that I just purchased online has surprised me a little. This is for painting early (1942) USN Wildcats. This is just for 1:200 wargaming miniatures so not looking for precise accuracy but even so the colour I purchased isn’t what I was expecting. I mostly have Vallejo so decided to stick with that - I chose 71.298 M495 Light Grey from their USN set - I bought the individual, not the whole set. In my head, I was expecting quite a pure light grey but this I would describe as more of a light grey beige. The scheme is this for lower surfaces and 71.109 Faded PRU Blue for the upper surfaces. This is the era with the stars in the circles, after the red Centre but before they added the bars.

Can anyone recommend any good forums for discuss 3D printers - I appreciate that their in a resource here which I use - but thinking of something bigger where the details and differences of different printers can be discussed. I’m at the point where I am ready to buy but want some advice on what to buy.

Whenever I read reviews I come away with the impression that Anycubic and Elegoo are pretty much the same level, I have a slight leaning towards Elegoo, but both appear to have their fan clubs. But Phrozen always seems to be a step up from those two, I’m not sure whether that is a fair assessment or whether I’m unconsciously swayed because it is more expensive. What do you guys thinks, is there something that makes the Phrozen better or is it just that it is the most expensive of the three. At my entry level I’m looking at Anycubic Photon 4K - £196 Anycubic M3 - £234 Elegoo Mars 3 Pro - £272 Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K - £329 Anycubic and Elegoo used to be similarly priced but hard to compare these days because Elegoo appear to have dropped their standard Mars 3 leaving just the Pro version. This makes entry Anycubic £76 cheaper than Elegoo and £133 cheaper than entry Phrozen. I think the Anycubic is the oldest design, and they do have the newer M3 version which is predominantly about a bigger build plate but being newer adds other improvements like a better light source. What I’m really trying to understand is that for an entry machine I can spend between £196 and £329 and I don’t know whether they are all pretty much the same in which case why not go for the cheapest or whether choosing from the top end will give me a better machine and potentially better prints. Spares are important too, in particular availability of FEP films and LCD screens. Note that I haven’t mentioned Creality. This is simply because they are relatively late to the resin market so I really haven’t had the chance to look into them. I know they make good filament printers (I have an Ender 3) but unsure what their resin offerings are like.

The H&S brushes are the ones that immediately come to mind if you want a dual needle setup. Like the Evolution 2 in 1 - that can be bought for around your budget.

I don't think so. For those that do their airbrushing at the same workbench a dedicated compressor is better and more versatile. I can see it useful for modellers who don't have a dedicated workbench - like those that set up at a household table but have to clear away at the end of each session. Also as a secondary airbrush for those who want a portable solution like when going to clubs or a mate's house. I liken it to the broadband in my house - WiFi is great, very flexible but where the device is in a fixed position, like my gaming PC or my Sky Box then wired ethernet is far superior.

Not sure whether it is perfectly accurate or not but I really like their SU-76.

I’m no expert, but just had a google and these two websites https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76_mm_divisional_gun_M1942_(ZiS-3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76_mm_tank_gun_M1940_F-34 suggest that they used the same ammunition BR-350P for composite AP BR-350A for high explosive AP BR-350SP for solid AP F-354 for HE OF-350 for HE fragmentation Essentially, any brass shells that you can buy for the T-34 76mm would good for the 76mm anti-tank (or divisional gun) Cheers, Nigel

Can you even buy 2K printers these days. I wasn't looking at 4K for extra resolution but because that seems to be the standard resolution for the entry machines these days. But point taken - using the same reasoning, I'm not looking at 8K machines. I see those as extra cost when I don't really need it - also increase repair cost when you have to replace the LCD.

Must admit I like the price point of the Anycubic Mono 4K, which has a smaller build plate than your Mono X but I assume is the same otherwise. The Mars 3 was a good alternative but this seems to have been dropped now in favour of the Mars 3 Pro which is £100. The way I look at it, I can get an Ancubic Mono 4K and a Wash and Cure for the same price as a Mars 3 Pro. The Phrozen looks nice but that is pushing the budget even more and I find it hard to imagine that it is not that much better than the Anycubic Mono 4K to justify the extra £150.

Looking at first reason printer, budget of upto £300. At the lower end there is the Anycubic Mono 4K, at the top end there is the Elegoo Mars 3 Pro, and if I were to stretch the budget there is the Phozen Mini 4K. Rightly or wrongly I perceive an increase in quality, AnyCubic < Elegoo < Phrozen But at this entry level, is there any real difference. Interested to hear opinions from anyone who has tried one or more of these. Cheers, Nigel

Wow, that’s fantastic.

Thanks for the response, the mystery has now been solved thanks to the recent post by @Casey. That shows a real swatch of ‘Light Buff’ that looks yellow like the bombs in the photos and museums. My issue was not about the precise shade, I’m a ‘close enough’ sort of guy it was the fact that I was being shown conflicting information, one that that bombs were yellow and the other that they were a creamy brown colour. I wasn’t puzzled by the exact shade but by the fact that to my eyes they were two completely different colours, yellow and brown. The problem it seems is that the RGB representations do Light Buff are widely inaccurate.

Thanks, I find those colour swatches convincing - the 358 Light Buff looks a lot more yellow than the colour patches I had been seeing which were a lot more brown. As you show though, Humbrol 24 is pretty close, just needs a little toning down.

Thus artistic splats can be quite unrealistic. This is a tin top for linen Quite a bit different but I can see that it could be used. Mix it with some 24 and I think it will be pretty close to the photos. And could probably work as a scaled down colour on its own.

To be honest, the thread has grown legs. It started off with me simply asking “Airfix says Humbrol 24, were they really that yellow”. There were then several photos showing that they were indeed yellow, maybe a little lighter but pretty close to Humbrol 24 - and I’d have been happy with that. But then there was all the talk of them being Light Buff, which I don’t deny, but puzzled because it looks nothing like the colour in the photos. I carried on the discussion because I find the discrepancy intriguing and I like to understand things. So yes, I’m going to use Humbrol 24 (or similar) but I’ll probably tone it down and lighten it a little.

Firstly, I referred to trainer yellow purely because that is what Airfix tell you to use - Humbrol 24. But personally, I can see their reasoning. I don't deny that they were painted a paint called 'buff' but I do struggle with what my eyes tell me. Look at this Top left we have the Humbrol light buff, note that the tin lid is nothing like the artistic splash shown in one of the posts above Top right we have Humbrol trainer yellow Bottom left we have a swatch for BS381C 358 Bottom right we have a bomb from a museum in Finland Now I can sympathise with Airfix, because whilst none are a perfect match, to my eyes the Humbrol Trainer Yellow is closest by far. Cheers, Nigel

I agree with that ... All the photos are practically the same shade of yellow. Have they all been distorted in exactly the same way In the Wellington photo in particular the bombs are the same colour as the roundel ring. Pretty close in other photos too, like the Stirling. The photo taken at the Finland Museum isn't copies of copies of copies and yet it is the same yellow as in the archive pictures. And none of them look like the buff patches posted above.

I totally respect your knowledge and research and I'm confident that what you say is correct. So do you think those bombs in the photos are painted buff - do they look yellow to you - do you think that is a colour shift in the vintage photography (but what about the modern photos of the examples in Finland) or do you think that buff was actually more yellow than the colour swatches would suggest.

I agree they look more pale than the roundel, they also look quite Matt, faded out. But they still look yellow. To my eyes the bombs in the photos have all been yellow, different shades (or lustres) but definitely yellow. The buff looks more brown orange to me, not at all like the bombs in the photos.

Maybe it’s my eyes, my brain, or my screen, but the colour I am seeing is much closer to trainer yellow than the British Standard buff colour referenced above. Maybe I have ‘trainer yellow’ wrong but to me this colour is definitely yellow rather than buff. And I’m seeing the same yellow colour in all the photos in this thread.