Two 1/48 P-47's finished Testors vs. Revell

Nice job on both kits.  Did you use the Superscale decals for your twosome?  The Testors kit is, in reality,the old Hawk release from many years ago.  I built that one up a couple of times.  The Revell offering is the old Monogram kit from the early 70's and it builds up into a respectable likeness, but the Hasegawa and Tamiya kits do have superior fit and detailing.  Try one when you can afford it.  Hobby Lobby offers discount coupons periodically, up to 40% off (one there this week) for one item, and they also have sales on all plastic kits from 25-50% off.

Butz wrote:

wyoroy wrote: With practice your airbrushing skills will improve.  Daywalker can give you some great ideas on how to improve those skills.  IMHO he is one of the best on the forum.  Hey Roy,  Ok, so how much did Frank pay ya to say that.. LOL Flaps up, Mike Rangers Lead The Way

Frank said I could use his snow blower when he's done with it

wyoroy wrote:

With practice your airbrushing skills will improve.  Daywalker can give you some great ideas on how to improve those skills.  IMHO he is one of the best on the forum.

 Hey Roy,

 Ok, so how much did Frank pay ya to say that.. LOL

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way 

Revell makes kits that are affordable. I have a hard time shelling out $40-$50 for a model from Japan or Europe when I can get the same airplane for $10 from Revell. So they don't have perfectly fitting seams... big whoop. You're gonna have to putty anyway so I go with the lower cost in almost every case. But then again, it's the building that I like the best. Once done... the fun is done.

AND... about "solva-set" and similar products, remember this stuff actually disolves your decals and essentially makes them a puddle of 'paint' until dried. Be careful. As mentioned in other threads, sometimes it needs to be thinned with water, depending on how delicate the decals are. Some are thick and hardy while other are really thin and fragile.

I see revell a much better that testor, speaking of Revell and testor, some craft store (like Micheal's) will only sell Revell and Testor products, sure there Cheap but not always worth it.

Andrew, I have to agree you are getting better.  I have done what Butz said, it does work  With practice your airbrushing skills will improve.  Daywalker can give you some great ideas on how to improve those skills.  IMHO he is one of the best on the forum.

raptordriver wrote:

Butz wrote:  Hey Drew,  As I have mentioned before, you are getting better n better.. Both kits look good over all but I can see some of the fit issues as you mentioned w/ the Testor's kit.  As DB mentioned, I prefer the Revell Jug anyday..!!! One thing I did see on both your Testor and Rev build is a little silvering around the code letters.  To correct this, first off do you have either Solvaset or Micro Set? These are what helps set the decals down so they look like they were painted on..  Anyways, take a pin or needle(make sure they are not dull) From there and very gently pin prick the areas that you see the silvering. Do not go over the whole entrie surface area but in spots as you see fit.  Then take either one of the solutions as mentioned above and apply it lightly. By doing these two steps, it will help remove the silvering from under the decals. If need be repeat the steps as you see fit.  If you have any question, please fire away... I'm here fer ya..!! Other than that Drew, I am really pleased on how you are coming along!! By the way, I like the way you presented this thread..!! Nice touch Take care bud..!! Flaps up, Mike Rangers Lead The Way  Thanks ikey my question is can the decal be dry? when you poke it with the needle I havent really paid attention but I think slivering comes up when dry

Hey Drew,

 Opps I forgot about that part... It's extremely cold here so my brain must have been froozen or sumtin like that

 To answer your question, Yes, the decals will be dry when you do this method. Once you put on a flat coat and thats when the silvering shows..

 So even w/ the flat coat on, you can still do this. Hopefully this answered your question

Flaps up,

 Ikey

Rangers Lead The Way 

I've built both kits (Revell & Testors) and I'd say hands-down the Revell is far superior.  I never actually finished the Testors kit since I was so disgusted with it.  The fit was poor, and several of the pieces were mis-molded or incompletely molded.  Perhaps that was just a real lemon of a kit that happened to come off the Testors production line, but it sure steered me away from Testors kit offerings.

The Testors kit was not a total loss, however, as I kept it around for a test airbrushing subject.  Looks pretty funny now with all kinds of different paint schemes on it.

I built the Revell (actually Monogram at the time) kit a few times when I was younger.  The old Monogram/Revell kits do lack in Tamiya-esque detail but for the money they are excellent kits.  There are occasionally fit problems but nothing that can't be overcome.  And they typically built into nice display models.

As of now, I have 1 Revell kit in my stash, and both the Razorback and bubble-top Tamiya kits as well.  I'm really looking forward to building those Tamiya kits since I've heard nothing but praise for those kits.

THanks everyone. Rick I'd definetly try the Tamiya kit  it would probaly be perfect. I just got to save up for it.

Butz wrote:

Hey Drew,  As I have mentioned before, you are getting better n better.. Both kits look good over all but I can see some of the fit issues as you mentioned w/ the Testor's kit.  As DB mentioned, I prefer the Revell Jug anyday..!!! One thing I did see on both your Testor and Rev build is a little silvering around the code letters.  To correct this, first off do you have either Solvaset or Micro Set? These are what helps set the decals down so they look like they were painted on..  Anyways, take a pin or needle(make sure they are not dull) From there and very gently pin prick the areas that you see the silvering. Do not go over the whole entrie surface area but in spots as you see fit.  Then take either one of the solutions as mentioned above and apply it lightly. By doing these two steps, it will help remove the silvering from under the decals. If need be repeat the steps as you see fit.  If you have any question, please fire away... I'm here fer ya..!! Other than that Drew, I am really pleased on how you are coming along!! By the way, I like the way you presented this thread..!! Nice touch Take care bud..!! Flaps up, Mike Rangers Lead The Way

Thanks ikey my question is can the decal be dry? when you poke it with the needle I havent really paid attention but I think slivering comes up when dry

Pretty good builds Andrew, especially considering the age & quality of the old kits.  When you're ready, try the 1/48 Tamiya kit.

Regards,  Rick

Drew,

Great job on the models - and a great idea to post them together and compare the two kits.  What scale are they ?  1/48 ?

Chris

Nice work Andrew! Love theme builds like this. Great overall effect!

...and thanks for the mini-reviews 

 Hey Drew,

 As I have mentioned before, you are getting better n better.. Both kits look good over all but I can see some of the fit issues as you mentioned w/ the Testor's kit.

 As DB mentioned, I prefer the Revell Jug anyday..!!! One thing I did see on both your Testor and Rev build is a little silvering around the code letters.

 To correct this, first off do you have either Solvaset or Micro Set? These are what helps set the decals down so they look like they were painted on..

 Anyways, take a pin or needle(make sure they are not dull) From there and very gently pin prick the areas that you see the silvering. Do not go over the whole entrie surface area but in spots as you see fit.

 Then take either one of the solutions as mentioned above and apply it lightly. By doing these two steps, it will help remove the silvering from under the decals. If need be repeat the steps as you see fit.

 If you have any question, please fire away... I'm here fer ya..!!

Other than that Drew, I am really pleased on how you are coming along!! By the way, I like the way you presented this thread..!! Nice touch

Take care bud..!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way 

 Andrew, gota tell ya you have 2 nice builds there! I like the Rev. best. I think you did a better build there of the 2.Keep posting, and good luck!!