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Hello all, I finished this in mid-summer and my understanding is that it's about to be published in this month's SAM. It's Revell's 1/48 F-84E, a kit that was never released in the UK and I had to source from the US in 2003. It's a very good kit for the time with decent detail and fit; this is built from the box with only seat belts added. The finish is kitchen foil (aside from some extremities and canopy, which are paint), the chequers are all masked and painted, and the few large decals are by Aeromaster. The stencils are from the kit and were disappointing due to the carrier film. Foil is a nightmare. This is the third aircraft I've tried it on, and I keep saying, 'never again'. I wish I kept to that Comments are welcome and there are tons more photos at https://jonbryon.com/revell-1-48-republic-f-84e-thunderjet/ Thanks for looking Jon

Chrome Sheet (Self-Adhesive) A.MIG-8248 AMMO of Mig Jiménez There’s nothing like actual metal to represent a metal finish on a surface, and modellers have been using tin foil glued onto their kits with foil adhesive on panels for years. This product from AMMO arrives in a resealable foil bag, and contains five sheets of self-adhesive chrome foil on a paper backing, at around A4 size (280 x 195mm). The foil is very thin, measuring 0.1mm when adhered to the backing paper, measuring less than half of that when removed from the paper. It was on removal of the paper that I noticed that the film feels almost like plastic, although it looks highly realistic on the paper. I cut an oversize section away in the usual manner to apply to a panel on a fuselage half that I had lying about, and applied it to the long straight edge, burnishing it down as I applied it to the surface. It is quite forgiving and can be repositioned if it wanders off from your intended destination, but when I tried to remove another piece later it felt more difficult, possibly due to the burnishing down, but it also may be the adhesive bond becoming stronger as time goes by. Burnishing over detail was difficult due to the foil flexing back, and there was an element of bounce-back in deeper curves that made it almost impossible get it to conform, so I had to use a cocktail stick to define the panel lines well-enough to cut the panel edges to shape. Small raised areas tended to trap air pockets because of this resistance, and smaller panel lines such as inspection hatches were almost impossible to find in order to define or cut around. It doesn’t conform to the surfaces like a true metal foil does, tending to crease or pucker rather than follow the contours, and it doesn’t have sufficient flexibility to conform to compound curves, although it will adapt to smooth curves in one direction. This makes it difficult to use in foiling a model aircraft, the surfaces of which are usually a mass of compound curves in all directions with only the occasional exception. I don’t remember seeing the F-117 Wobblin’ Goblin in chrome though, so that’s a shame. Scratching the foil creates a permanent mark that can’t be burnished or sanded out like traditional metal foils, so care must be taken when applying it. The instructions advise against using metal tools in application for this reason. Conclusion The applications for this type of foil are limited to flat, single direction or lightly curved surfaces that have few or no raised or recessed details within the area to be foiled. It must be applied to shiny, smooth surfaces, and even a tiny mote of dust between the foil and surface will blemish the surface unless you remove it and reapply. Large open areas will be the primary use for this type of foil, although if you’re more skilled than this modeller, you might be able to tease more uses out of it. Not really recommended for foiling complex curved, detailed surfaces. Review sample courtesy of

This is not the build I thought I was going on to next. Everything has kind of gone on hold for some reason, while I get my head around this quirky little kit. I have no idea why..... I just opened the box for a quick look.... ...... and I'm hooked! It's VERY simple, it's very blank, the instructions are Pants, and it's really quite small. Is it the challenge that draws you in??😞 So, I've got some progress before I ever had a chance to put the box away and carry on with what I'm supposed to be doing - a Frog Javelin in Nmf finish with foil!- and I'll do some catching up here. This is what the model is representing.... The overall plan is rattle can paint on top..... I have some primer and topcoat left from doing Red Arrows Hawks.... and sticky back Ali foil tape just about everywhere else. I removed the rudder pieces before assembly of the fuselage halves, and packed the nose area with plasticine to try and keep the tail up. A couple of threads mention the nose is a bit short, so I dabbed on some humbrol filler and shaped it as drying proceeded. Left overnight and then emery-boarded , I think I stayed true to the Viscount nose. Also the shape behind the cockpit going back onto the main fuselage needed rounding of the angles into a better semicircular arched shape. And I started sketching in some construction lines and datum lines on a totally blank fuselage. The instructions give absolutely no clue as to where anything lines up. Most of my information is derived from the Air Britain photo above. Anyway. .....

Had to make a start on this. It's been languishing on the shelf for, oooh.... about a week or so. It's a Revell rebox of the ICM mould, and it's the perfect move -on build for me after a couple of months doing the Red Arrows Hawks in 1/32 and 1/72. Don't want anything RED for a while. I want Nmf all the way, and I'm back in my comfort zone with a roll of sticy-back Ali builder's tape. Woo-hoo! The first thing to set about was the removal of the 5 aerials moulded onto the starboard fuselage half, They'd never survive the foil process. Careful excision now by cutting into the edge of the fuselage leaves a matching half-hole opposite the one in the port side, and enough length on the aerial to be glued back in when the time comes. I'm calling that "Plan A".😃 See? Each one carefully labeled and put away in the transparency bag for later. Infallible... It's an unusual sort of building sequence on this airframe. All the inside seating etc. including the cockpit seats, are built on top of the wing mouldings. So it's fairly plain sailing to get the fuselage halves joined up. But I want to get the foil on the sides and cut the window apertures before I add the glazing. But I need to join up the fuselage and sort the seams before I foil the top and bottom. So I'm just sorting out a sequence of action here . Later...

I built a single seater, F80 Shooting Star some years ago and really enjoyed the build, and the finished plane is one of my favourites. So then, I picked up the trainer version not so long ago, with a bit of a plan on my mind. Because I came across Tangmere museum back in the summer when I was out for a drive around with a map. Not enough time for a proper visit inside, but several Aircraft sitting outside and some being worked on in the hangers. And look what was in the middle of it... SO, gotta be worth having a go at this... Here's the F80 got out for reference and motivation Don't think I have ever had a real airframe for reference before. Think I need another visit and a "walk around" session.

After seeing how easily some people apply foil to their aircraft I decided it was time to join this Alumni and master this black art. So armed with a roil of cheap kitchen foil and some not-so-cheap Microscale metal foil adhesive I am embarking upon the Airfix P51-D Mustang (A01004A). I'm not added any aftermarket, so this will be built out of the box. I've started by painting the necessary areas with interior green. I'll let this dry off and then pick out some of the wall details before adding the instrument panel, seat and control stick.

This is it, the big push! I had to put this build on hold last spring, and got sidetracked by other builds, including another Voodoo in 1/72 , the revell kit - 1991it says on the instruction sheet. So, got the little one finished finally and put up a RFI thread to celebrate, and now going to crack on with this labour of love, hell or high water, etc... This is the state of play as I lift the lid A lot of the foil work has been done on the main airframe parts. A few areas need looking at again, and a couple of snags in assembly need sorting , but I'm not going to get bogged down in obsessive detail anxiety ( a recently discovered medical condition, call it ODA for short)! 😉 Some debate about metal finish v light grey paint finish, and how it applies with USAF and Canadian planes. I'm no expert, but it's clear that Kittyhawk are saying nmf for this USAF single seater ( and I would have done it anyway, cos I like the process and the look!)

I was happy with how things were going with this Italeri M110A2 kit in 1:35 scale after having painted it with Humbrol 155 (olive drab), that I ventured into adding some aluminum foil for some shiny parts. The initial result was really good. However I still had some sticky goo when I placed one part into the other and the foil bucked a little. Luckily, that part is hidden from view. (Next time, better let things dry properly first.) I think it was some super glue that got mixed with the paint and remained a little sticky for a while (unsure). I used regular aluminium foil for cooking. It had a slight texture to it, but I made sure the lines was aligned around the cylinder shape and not along side of it. The aluminium foil also had some existing subtle dents in it, something I had to carefully avoid when cutting out a patch from the whole piece off the roll. I used a pen to mark just how long the pieces had to be on the foil, and then I used a scalpel with a new blade and a ruler, and carefully cut out the shape. I had to make sure the foil was cut into a rectangular shape with straight corners. The foil shape covers around the cylinder shape, and then maybe 1mm extra, for it to overlap. Without messing with the glue yet, I carefully put the foil onto the actuator part and tried to have the foil bend as good as I could before proceeding with adding glue. I removed the foil again from the actuator part. I then appliced some super glue onto a yellow post-it note I had placed on the table, and I carefully rolled the piece of plastic onto the table so that the glue didn't simply blobbed onto the plastic. The rolling was distributing the superglue around the cylinder more evenly. I also made sure that the glue did not get onto the part of the actuator that was to be simply painted. I hid the seam on the underside, out of view. Taking great care to not end up having the seam on the top by mistake. I think the foil ended up being nicely fixed to the plastic. The 1mm of overlapping foil at the seam however was probably unglued, but it did not show. Edit: I am not 100% convinced that the actuators are hydraulic actuators. There aren't any hoses. Maybe it is some kind of pneumatic system. I kept painting the insides of the cylinders, to create a thin layer of paint, that made the actuator piece a perfect fit without there being a gap.

A new 'work in progress', this is the ancient Revell 1/32nd Lockheed F-104G Starfighter. This kit has been around since the 80's I am sure and gets reissued every now and then, usually with a bright and interesting colour scheme. It is an easy simple build, is cheap (this cost me a total of £6.90 on eBay) and best of all has raised panel lines I started this build about 18 months ago, it was going to be in Canadian markings but I lost interest and moved on to yet another Phantom so it has languished in a box since then. I am taking a break from an HB F-111A so this is a nice one to pick up and play with again. I want to return to using metal foil to try to continue to learn from the Revell 1/48th F-89C Scorpion which I completed a couple of years ago. This is the state of the build as of last weekend: The idea - at this stage - is that she will be completed as this: She is F-104G 63-13269 which 'starred' in the film 'The Right Stuff'. I have wanted to build this for years and she will be a good opportunity to try out applying metal foil to achieve a polished metal finish as well as differently shaded panels. These are the raw materials: Both sheets are ordinary confectionary foil, most likely chocolate bars from Lidl. The sheet on the left has been pressed and cleaned with white spirit, the sheet on the right has been likewise cleaned then polished with Brasso, then cleaned with white spirit, this has given it a slightly darker and more blue appearance. Some of the tools and discards of the foiling process: The foil is applied with Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. I use cheap disposable knives from B&Q to cut the foil because they go blunt very quickly! This is where I started, I had already constructed the fuselage and sanded the joins then applied Halfords grey primer which seems to help give the foil better contact. You cannot expect to apply foil to every surface because it will cope with some curves but if over-applied it will wrinkle which will spoil the smooth metal effect. I therefore airbrushed some areas with Humbrol Metalcote 27002 'Polished Aluminium, for example the tail fin leading edges, the ventral strake and the grilles around the undercarriage doors, also the inside of the doors. I have also applied Humbrol 85 Satin Black to the air intakes and the nose area. The dielectric panel behind the cockpit is yellow mixed with a drop of olive green. And then start applying foil! I started with the least visible panels underneath, if I make mistakes I want them to be here: Fortunately the technique quickly comes back to me and I develop the confidence to start foiling the more visible panels on the upper fuselage. The result to far is not perfect but the different metal hues are clearly visible. This is achieved by cutting panels from the two foil sheets, also placing some panels at right angles which also gives a slightly different effect. I wanted the airbrake to stand out so I used a piece of kitchen foil for this area. Kitchen foil is thicker and a slightly different hue so I hope this has the desired effect. You are looking at an afternoon's work here: I am encouraged so far... Going to keep at it. One good thing about the Revell kit is that it does have the 'short' tail fin for the F-104C so I can keep my options open. Also, if it is not good enough for my preferred option I can make her into an early silver Luftwaffe F-104G. Will post more when I get to the air intakes. Michael

this is the Hasegawa 1/48 kit. A nice kit but no ordinance except tip tanks, which is a cheap shot. extras include Aires burner, wheel bays (plus a bit of extra plumbing), and pit (bit of a waste but never mind) , metal pitot, eduard aim 9b's, and resin tanks and pylons and pilot. most of this is foiled but the back bit and tanks are Alclads, the rest Xtracrylic. homebrew tail art decal. I have never done an in-flight model so thought I would go the whole hog and try one with gear in transit too, which hasn't come out too bad. This meant having to open up the suction doors as well which I didn't enjoy and are only a qualified success. I tried to shop out the stand (home made too) as it is distracting, as is the background I'm afraid. DSC02493 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02486 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02491 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02552 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02544 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02500 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02480 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02515 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02499 by omgpainful, on Flickr DSC02563 by omgpainful, on Flickr All pics are live I think which will go to my Flikr where there are other pics of other bits and bobs plus the WIP pics too. Right clicking the pic in flikr gives the option to view full size if you wish. Have noticed the ifr probe needs re-seating (its not glued ) which will be done.