Feels like progress. The kit decals, from the '80's were toasted, dried and cracked. So I figured I could scan them, edit out the cracks and print them on decal paper, and just put them on like nothing ever happened.
FAIL
I did something wrong, and the colors floated when I dipped them in water. Was sure I sprayed them with the fixative. Well now I gotta mask and paint the rudder.

There's the trashed decal along with some of the masking.
The masking mostly worked. First time I've done anything that complex. Just a little bit of touch up.

I am not much of a figure painter, but after way too long.. I'm moving forwards.

The boys in the band


And in place


still have to blend that dashboard.

Some more progress on my ME 262s - one is for this campaign. I went with a late war color scheme. I am not making a specific machine, so just keeping the late war style.
Next are the decals. I will come up with some colorful scheme.

More to follow soon

HI All,

Loving the Falcon, and like the swallows... Looking forward to seeing them done.

For me, progress has been slow, but steady. Got the canopy's masked, so next is the .50 calibre gun replacement, and then some painting. Standard OD over NG. Though, I have a good collection of decals, thinking something from China in 44-45. Comments/thoughts are welcome!

A special wish to all the fathers out there! Happy Father's day!

John

Summer teacher life is a little more conducive to building.




This is the mid-tone grey over the NATO Black 'panel lines', to be mostly covered with a lighter grey once the construction of the fuselage is complete.




Moving forward.
Mike

Conan, what is best in life?


Nearly empty FM Falcon sprues...


Though that J sprue with all the piping is a slap in the face at the end of an otherwise pleasurable and pleasant build.

All the piping that runs out of the 'wells' on the upper and lower hull are poorly done in comparison to the rest of the kit parts. These plumbing bits are butt joints , rounded end to rounded end.
Meaning they will take putty and blending, and one more step of cleanup.

Mike,

Love the work so far, and the Conan thing was great! I'm following with great interest!!!

Nice progress, Mike. Sure it will look stunning when finished.

I was adding decals to the Me 262, but the decals were too old and started breaking apart while at the same time not being transparent on the clear areas.

I salvaged some of them, but will have to scavenge the spares box for the rest.
Used a little artistic license and added a snake from a late war FW190.

More to follow

Hello all,

After my cat (see image below) somehow transformed in some form of an air-to-surface missile and destroyed the MiG on the ground (for me it was beyond repair), I would like to switch from a Flogger to a Crusader, which sits on a shelf for some time.
Is that possible?



Happy modelling

- Alex

Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1D Corsair

So I managed to break my own rules when I began to decal her. I have a routine I follow superstitiously when applying decals that might make some MLB players seem tame.

1. Buff the paint out with an old tee shirt to smooth surface imperfections before applying a gloss coat.

2. Distilled or RO water only to soak them.

3. Heat the water to a nice warm temperature and keep it there with a candle/soup warmer.

4. Go slowly and be patient. Save stencils for last in case you need to fix something.

Yeah, I threw that out the window right off the bat when I skipped buffing the paint and settled on lukewarm water. Basically I hadn't built a model in about 2 years and was in a hurry to finish one.

Big mistake. The decals were a somewhat older Aeromaster set but were still in great condition. They managed to fight me quite a bit which I chalk up to 100% user error.

The end result 24hrs later was a lot of dreaded silvering over my nice dark GSB paint. Ugh. I tried poking little holes and applied the whole arsenal to see if they wouldn't snug down. Micro Sol, Tamiya's Mark Fit Strong, even Walther's Solvaset which practically melts everything it touches. No luck. Well, it cleared up about 50% of the trouble but the rest was seriously stubborn.



I handled the port side insignia so much it ended up tearing and I had to try and piece it back together.



The cowling, landing gear, and wings all settled down nicely and cleared up under a second coat of Future, but not so for the fuselage. In the end I have decided I'm going to start over completely and try a set of masks instead. I'll scrub the paint job off this weekend with laquer thinner and then repaint her. I could just strip the bad spots but I don't have any way to source the correct numbers to match so I may as well go the whole distance.

I found a set of VF-84 masks from Montex designed for the Academy A/C/D multi-version kit. They should work nicely, especially since I still have all of the stencil decals.



I am not exactly thrilled with the risks of ruining the interior or other detailing I want to keep, but I have always wanted to try paint masks for a scheme. This one is at least simple and straightforward.

More to come...

Alex any and all hangar queens are welcome I have several that all fit into this campaign, still have to figure out which one though. You can finish as many as you like that's the aim of the campaign!

Hello,

Here is my submission for this campaign



I started this model for the hot 50's campaign but unfortunately I couldn't finish it.

Some hours of works after a coat of Future/Klir:

Alex,

You don't have to ask permission to join this campaign! As Chris says, any and all unfinished birds are welcome. Being a dog person, I know that cats are insidious creatures! Sorry that you lost your build.

Know that I have found this site to be one that is positive and welcoming. If you have questions, by all means post them. Somebody here will be able to help you figure it out. I've found that your modeling skills improve, and you get a build off the shelf of doom! Plus! At the end of the year you get a cool little ribbon on your account. Just remember that the goal here is to finish past projects.

John

I will enter with this MiG-15 from Monogram, in 1/48.

Tough luck on the air to surface CAT missile, Alex. Hope for better luck on the next kit.

I finished up my Me 262. I added some late war Fw 190 decals to it. Took some artistic liberty there, but like the look of it.

Looking forward to see more of everybody else's builds.

Looking quite cool, Jesper! Your artistic liberty didn't hurt at all

Well, this is my holdover from the Learning to fly campaign. Its an old frog kit. It had a lot of seems and sinkholes to fill in and sand. Its ready to prime now.

Hi all,

Franck, I like the paint job so far, keep it up! Byron, welcome aboard. Jesper, a nice finish, I like the stands that you used.

Time for an update! I've been working on two queens this year. The P-26 is moving along at an accelerated pace as it's destined for Melbourne and needs to be done by the 16th!



The P-40 on the other hand is going at a slower pace, still I did get it decaled, now to fight with the gun replacements.



Keep having fun out there!

John

Hi all,

The P-26 is done in my book. Hobby Craft did a great job on the molding for this one! The fit is almost perfect, my only issue was the little exhaust pipes. I messed up by not putting them on before painting the beautiful engine. Unfortunately, their decals are less than banner, or worthless.

I really like the kit, and decided to get some aftermarket stuff to enhance it. I used Airscale instrument decals, though upon completion, one is hard pressed to see the result. I used Mark's Models and Toys decal set 4804, for this build. I must say they are the second best set of decals that I've used. They are printed by Cartograf, so the quality is there! I also used the PE set offered by Mark's Model and Toys. These are pretty good, my only issue was the second cross section for the undercarriage, my fault I'm sure.

All in all, a most pleasurable build, if you're looking for a break from the mainstream, and love a kit that fits well, this one is for you. I highly recommend it!!

I present, the P-26A "Peashooter" 33-124 of the 94th Pursuit squadron, based in Selfridge Field, Michigan, USA, circa 1934.







Hope you enjoy, and keep having a fun time!

John

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Don't know about that but I calling this one OVER. It wasn't the Hanger Queen I started with but it finished now.



Now I'm off to master the gallery, wish me luck.

OK, got the pics into the gallery. Am I really only the 3rd person to finish one of these this year?

Hey Mark,

Yep, you are number 3! Congrats!!

Though, most won't show till mid November!! Still would love to see what you can do with the F8F!

Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1D Corsair

Lots of cotton balls and quite a bit of lacquer thinner later...



...primed and ready for repainting.

Hey All!

Cheering you all on! Mark, I know you've got a few more in there! Mike, looking forward to seeing the Falcon done!

Paul, good strip, and re-prime. I'm cheering you on that this time it goes great!