Hi, Just a quick q. I was on ARC and saw this pic of a F-105 Thud.
http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/Gal3/2701-2800/Gal2732_F-105_Doll/gal2732.htm

and I was wondering does anybody know the best way to apply foil t the aircraft, if there is a best thicness, and how the hell do you prevent those joint lines appearing. I've tried it a couple of tmes and keep on having to reach for the paintbrush.
Any ideas/advice would be much appreciated.
Later

Noodles (boy, YOU should post in the 'Story Behind your Screenname' thread...)
If you PM our very own Mal Mayfield(Holdfast), I believe he experimented with this method a few months back. he may be able to answer your questions. If not, I know there have been several articles on this topic in FineScale Modeler, check their website for the Issue #'s.
If you do have success with this, I believe TreadHead (Gordon Rain) was trying to scare up some interest in this topic, kind of a "it worked for me" group build... Let us know what your results are, eh?
To attempt to address a few of your questions- the smoother the adhesive& the smoother the surface, the smoother your foil will betry spraying or rolling your adhesive for a more uniform coat.
Burnish the foil with a rounded toothpick & cotton swab (I believe one of our other Irish members calls them "ear buds"...but then again, he lives in Sweden now...) as you apply it to the plane, making sure the edge that is going to be underneath is as flush as possible. You can sand with 500-1000 grit Wetordry paperto blend this seam. Then apply the top sheet with as little overlap as possible, and when the adhesive is fully cured LIGHTLY sand as little as the edge as you can. If you go with the grain(yes, foil has a grain) you can blend this out with a small application of future or glosscote. Practice on a 500 lb bomb (modern, not WWII) and no surface of the A/C can stump you. Also, try to plan for overlaps in panel lines whenever possible...
For variation, try running the grain in different directions for different panels, and use both sides of the foil to represent aged panels.
I hope i haven't insulted you or spoken down to you. Let me know if any of it helps, and try to contact Mal& gordon. Best of luck!
RobH

Yes I have had some success with using kitchen foil. I have mainly been defeated by not being able to get a smooth coat of adhesive on it. The actual process is pretty easy. You will need to use Microscale Micro Metal Foil Adhesive and the cheapest, therefore thinnest, kitchen foil you can find. Follow the directions on the bottle of adhesive and give it a go. Having just re-read them I might try thinning the adhesive, to avoid the brush marks I get.
I have been experimenting on an Arii P-51, you need to have a flawless finish to the model. Although the instructions state that it works best on an unpainted surface, I primed my model, as usual, with white auto plastic primer. This showed up any imperfections, I then polished the surface. Here are a couple of pics, I had no problem foiling around the intake lip and I almost managed to foil the wheel bays. Couldn't quite get the foil to stretch that far, so removed it. I didn't worry about the edge of the foil, I just sanded it with 1000 grit emery, to thin it. My idea is to sand panels, in different directions, using 12000 grit emery, to replicate panels laid with the grain running in different directions. It works but is spoiled by the brush marks in the Adhesive.



Hope this helps
Mal

Mal- ever have any luck finding a roller? if so, did it help any? (D'oh, if it had you wouldn't have posted what you just did...anyway, any luck finding a roller?)

I'm afriad I've not been able to look for a roller, yet Robert. I haven't forgotten and when I do get hold of one I'll give it a go. Thinning the adhesive might do the trick, so I'm gonna give that a go, as well
Mal

Thanks for the signposts. Lets hope i can make the journey ..
The callsign has to do with a Korean friend of mine......

Holdfast. YOu might try to get one of those little emulsion rollers that you can pick up in a DIY store. They are a kida of foamy substance, and they might do the trick.

Dia dúit Noodles!
Here is another article by Neil Crawford on "internet modeller" that might be of help to you.
Building a P-38 the Hard Way!

Neil is from England but also lives in Sweden. I read the article as it was posted on IPMS Stockholm and the only additional info to the article on Internet modeller was if after sanding there was a small hole, a small piece of foil could be overlapped and sanded into position.