Jules: Thats where dear old dad's idea of 9:00pm whippings comes into play... put it in effect and I guarantee in 1 week they will all be in bed by 8:30pm.... I used to go to bed early hoping he didnt have the heart to wake me for the beating.. (worked like a charm)

Daniel - no didnt have a prob with the canopy at all... I left the smallest canopy off (rear gunners) on the dash-5 and dash-3, used the closed one on the dash-2 and all seemed to work fine! maybe post a pic of them sitting unglued???? we might figure something out....

Well i can see how that would work Tombut i think i'm too much of a softty to be whippin me kidsHmm those little buggers have me right where they want me eh.....

BTW Tom I hate to ask this but would you mind if i cahnged my build to a not so time consuming Tamiya 1/48 Zero........
I only ask because like the rest of you blokes i jumped into perhaps too many Gb's, it's all good at the start of the year when your thinking " hey i've got all year to finish these" but the reality is i havn't finished a kit in 3 months, not since the Hellcat, so i think i should stick with the Tam/Has single engine fighter shake 'n' bake kits.....

Jules - just to clear it up... Dad never gave me one of those 9 o' clock whippings, he just started asking mom where the belt was about 8:30 because at 9pm that was what was in line.. got me so nervous I didnt wanna chance it. (kidding, he never did this but it does sound like a good plan!)

As far as switchng builds... no! I am supreme dictator moderator of this build and I say no!!! Ok you can... I peeked in the box of mine and it looks like a straightforward build... it's nice to have that once in awhile.. detail is nice, but so if finishing a kit! check out www.j-aircraft.com for references .. everything about Japanese AC you could want to know there! Including some interesting conversations on what color the "white" AC really were... ash grey, grey or true white...

(Don't tell anyone but I haven't finished anything since the Martlet.. I'm real close in some cases but thats about it)

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Jules - MM does have some nice paints, and a great selection too! I use both those and the MM acrylics and love them both!!! Both seem rather consistent in the way the go on and the finish achieved...

Tom-Pulled this one from the BoB GB-what type of thinner do you use with the MM acrylics and what ratio paint/thinner? And what do you clean the AB with? Yes, the Paasche H arrived and hopefully I can carve out some time this weekend to practice.

Thanks

Bob - I use Tamiya thinner... it has a retarder of some type in it that slows drying time of the paint allowing a smoother finish and seems to make it easier to airbrush, you can get a big bottle of it from squadron.com or greatmodels for about $6.00 and like the needle lube it last forever (well about 6 months to a yr of moderate building) Mine is about 1/3 full still after I'd say 5 kits or more. (it's the 750 ml one)

I used to use the same Tamiya thinner to clean the AB but switched to windex. take your cup off (if you only have one) empty the excess paint back into the bottle, spray windex into it, run a qtip around the walls of the cup then pour out the windex ... use a paper towel to wipe out the excess.

Reload with windex, spray it through at about 40 to 50 psi, remember to backflush in there somewhere (at a lower PSI put a rag or something over the tip and gently push the trigger down, the air will bubble back into the cup bringing with it any more paint inside the body) finish spraying out the rest... when it comes out clear just put some distilled water (89 cents a gallon at the grocery store) in the cup and spray it through and you should be done!

about every 15 to 30 hours of spraying, or if you notice the spray pattern is getting erratic, soak the removable parts of the brush (unless there is a rubber o-ring in there, better check with another paasche H owner first) in lacquer thinner for about 15 min, use a qtip or a microbrush to remove any paint in there and you are ready to go till another tune up!

Good luck!!! Let us know how you like it, I think the next model you do with it will make you one happy man!!! And I'd stick to a plain color scheme the first time or two to get used to it. Something like Tweets maniacal squiggle schemes is something that needs more practice! (and a screw loose or two)

Thanks Tom I'll make a start on it straight away And thanks for the cool link

Bob Yeah mate everything that Tom said, I use Tamiya Thinners for every paint i use, Tamiya X20 for enamels and X20a for acrylics......
The mix ratio , well if if i were you i'd go for about a 60% paint to a 40% thinner ratio, i personally don't measure the ratio cause i've noticed that not all paint in the jars is the same consistency, my method is the run down method, basically i mix it up and stick a clean paintbrush in it and then push the paintbrush onto a smooth vertical surface, if the paint doesn't run down it's too thick and if it runs down like water it's too thin......
And BTW make sure you filter the paint with a ladies stocking to remove any airbrush clogging lumps

QUOTE: And BTW make sure you filter the paint with a ladies stocking to remove any airbrush clogging lumps

Bob - don't listen to Jules... he's a pervert... haha kidding, that is a good hint for ya... you might want to print what we said here in case one of your buddies comes over and sees a pair of stockings with the price tag still on them in your room... that way you can prove it's really for modeling...

Bob I use a Paasche VL airbrush. Pretty much the same as the H, but it's double action. There is a rubber washer in the valve assembly that can be harmed if you soak the thing in laquer thinner. I usually take the whole airbrush assembly apart and then soak it in lacquer thinner. Other than that, Tom's method will do the trick.

Tom That's a good idea mate. I'm gonna have to try windex for cleaning out my AB. Sounds better than giving my lungs a shot of laquer thinner every time I clean it out. You've just added 5 years to my life mate.....

And I think I've worked out the problem with the canopy. The bigger ones are not fitting properly over the smaller ones. It's like the small ones are too big to fit inside the bigger ones.

Jules I use a similar method to your run down method. I add a bit of thinner, then I stick a toothpick in it. If the paint covers the toothpick well, but looks thin enough (it usually drips off the end easier), then I know I've got it right. Not very precise, but it works well for me.

Daniel - that windex seems to cut through acrylic paint like nobodies business!!! I heard it from another member here... I forget who, but I am a firm believer in it for using with acryl now!!!! not near tha smell of even Tamiya acrylic thinner!!! I have several metal color cups so I just take the old one off, empty and fill it with windex to soak... get the new one and fill it with windex as well, dip a qtip in it to clean out the paint pickup tube... then that one cup usually cleans it right out!!!

being as you dont work I guess I can't sue you for the next 5 yrs salary since you admitted I saved that on your lifespan... so lets just consider it a freebie! good luck to you too! it might not clean 100% as good as lacquer thinner, but smells a LOT better (relatively) and wont cause you to grow warts on your head in 10 yrs!

Thanks for all the info guys-hope to get some practice in this weekend.

My SBD is finished!!!!! It's too late tonight to start taking photos, so I'll get the camera out in the morning and start snapping away. I'll post them tomorrow.

cool Pingy!!! Looking forward to it!!!

BUMP (in safety yellow, no less....)

haha cool Bob... I guess I was being a little reckless with my red up there earlier... someone might have become enraged by it!!

It took me all day, but I finally got around to posting some pics. Paint is mostly Gunze, the top-side colour is a custom mix (or home brew if you like ). I built the thing pretty much out of the box except the engine wiring and the little PE gun sight on top of the MG. The decals were the ones that came with the kit, I just deleted the red dots and rudder stripes. I figured there had to be a S-12 that fought at midway (either from VS-5, VS-6 or VS-3). Most of the weathering was done with pastels, the salt effect didn't really turn out too visible. The only place it can still be seen is on the upper flaps and elevators. Enough talking, here's the pics:







Hope you like it. I'll have to build another one of these kits one day, they are very nice.
I'm gonna enter it in a comp tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. Might pick up a cheap kit or two as well.

Looks great Daniel. Good luck in the comp. Keep us posted.

Great looking SBD Daniel...is it any wonder why it's my favorite bird and my favorite kit

Looks excellent Daniel!!! I am planning on picking my remaining kit out of the closet at some point this yr and doing another one... will try the salt thing myself... thing is I like the way you did it too... over the flaps and elevators where more fading might occur.. I might try it on the upper cowl as well to simulate sun/salt fading and paint corrosion... thats what those flaps remind me of...

Thanks fellas;

I entered it in the comp this morning, I'll find out how I went tomorrow. I bought a Tamiya A6M-3 Zero for only $10, so I might be able to build it for this GB as well. I'll do some research and see if I can come up with a scheme.

Daniel looks awesome buddy You should stick it on a carrier deck dio cause it would look very realistic

Thanks mate; I'll have to have a go at that diorama building one day. Even just a carrier deck would look good. I'll see what I can come up with.

Agreed on the carrier deck... the next one I build (if it turns out good) I want to scratch a carrier deck and place it on it... the ones I have seen ready made look 2D and plastic... I'll check the model railroad store out for parts...

Yeah, I might have a go at that one day. Mybe making a frame work out of styrene, and then making the deck planking out of strip styrene. It would be fun to paint and weather though wouldn't it?

thats kind of what I was thinking... use wood, but strip styrene for the metal edges of areas on the deck etc... stain the wood and use something like burnt metal from MM with a rust drybrush to give it detail on the metal pieces...

Boys doesn't Verlinden or some other mob make them

Oh Yeah BTW

....KREMPS....BUMP.....

not sure Jules.. I'll have to check into that... but thats too easy.. you know we have to go about things the hard way!!!

Oh.. and careful of using Kremps name in vain...

For those who want to know (?!!!)..... I got second place for my SBD in the comp today. I'm happy with that because the thing that beat it was very nice.

Tom I'm pretty sure verlinden do make carrier deck bases, and I think eduard do or did make them.

cool Daniel! That SBD was a good looking plane and a sure winner!!! Congrats!!!!

ok long overdue, I started my Zero today... so far I think it will be done tomorrow... this is the old Tamiya kit with little or no detail (it was $14.00 US for a 1/48 Tamiya kit.. that'll show you how detailed it is!) but all the same I think I needed something simple like this... I whould be able to close the fuselage tonight.. I did read of a wing root fit problem so that my be a stumbling block but we'll see.... the trick will be to blend the right color for the body... kind of an "ash grey" one guy did it wil Floquil concrete, a dab of black and a smaller dab of brown... unfortunately I don't have Floquil concrete....

this is the color I am shooting for:

http://hsfeatures.com/a6m2tb_1.htm

ok it's a bit slow round here... got the fuselage closed and wings on the Zero... only thing left to do is the small bits, paint and weather along with decal and I am done! This could easily be a good kit for a Mad Zero day GB, or something... it could be finished by most people with a little perseverance (hmm another GB?) .. the Wildcat could also be done in one day (without PE etc..)if you modeled HARD to do it... a Mad PTO day GB?????

ok this just hit me... who has a WebCam? that would be an interesting idea... a mad (whatever) day build... only we'd have our webcams on to check progress of each other during the day.... sounds a bit interesting... (I'd have to mute the volume to keep yall from hearing me cuss the wife about not letting those dogs out so much because they run away haha)

just point the webcam at the desk and if you are working on it we see it... if you are away it's still there so we still see the progress...

I dunno... it's crazy...