First one for the new year

Work has been progressing on the Hasegawa 1/48 F-104C, so much so it's not far away from the painting stage. I did mean to post some WIP pictures but completely forgot so here's where it is so far;

 Yes that is my bench and yes it's a mess :o)
Also while I was in the mood I managed to get some paint on the underside of the Hasegawa 1/48 Ju-87B that was started last year. This was more to see if I could spray anything without buggering it up and I'm very pleased to say it was successful. I sprayed around all the panel lines with Tamiya XF-63 German Grey then used Mr Hobby Aqueous colour for the undersurface blue (RLM 65) and it went on beautifully;

Hopefully I'll get it masked off tomorrow for the two-tone green upper surface colours then get the decals on. The decal sheet I have for it features a winter white scheme with a shark mouth on the nose so I'm looking forward to weathering it.

2012

2012....not a very productive year really mainly due to problems spraying paint and varnish (cold, damp and compressor problems), having said that I did do 21 kit reviews for Model Military Int'l plus two full articles so at least my loft is well insulated :o)
On this blog there are projects that I started this year but never finished due the issues detailed above; The Tristar Storch needs a complete repaint and the dihedral (or lack of) fixing, plus there are two visible sink marks on the top of the wings so that's been moved to the Shelf of Doom; The 1/48 Hasegawa P-51D has been sanded back to try and remove the gritty look and that has been fairly successful, the only thing that spoils it is the star and bar decal has a triangular looking divot in it where the Johnsons Kleer melted when I tried to steam the decal on....bugger. A least it will be finished and sit on the shelf; The Hasegawa Ju87B is ongoing and up to the painting stage so maybe that will get finished in the new year and finally the AFV Club 1/35 Sturmtiger which HAS had the base coat put on but little else due to lack of interest.  Sue me! :o)
2013 looks to be another great year for modellers with LOADS of new stuff coming out but technically speaking I really should'nt buy anymore kits ...YEAH RIGHT! LOL!!!! Revell are doing their 1/32 BAe Hawk in RAF camo, Meng have released the Me 410, Airfix have an 1/48 Gloster Javelin in the pipeline.....lots of shiny things :o)
Have a great Christmas people and here's to 2013!

Hasegawa 1/48 F-104C Starfighter

I got this kit at the Telford 2012 show for a good price and although I do have other things on the go I have made a start with the sole intention of building it straight from the box, that is until I started reading the superb new Daco book 'Uncovering the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter'. So I've added a bit of detail to the cockpit using Eduard etch and some homemade bits;

The version I want to build is an F-104C that flew in the Vietnam war circa 1966 and the plastic lumps on the cockpit coaming panel are meant to represent the RHAW (Radar Homing And Warning) gear that was fitted to the Starfighters during the conflict. I've made an attempt to depict the de-mister tubes that fit on the inside of the canopy using 15 amp fuse wire and styrene sheet, some tube and wiring was added to the rear of the cockpit tub and all that was used of the kit seat was the base and headrest. So much for an out-of-the-box build :o)

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Thank you all very much for taking an interest in my blog :o)

Compressor is fixed

With thanks to the lovely people at Airbrushes.com I have fixed my compressor. The problem was indeed a faulty Auto Pressure Stop Sensor and a replacement arrived a day after I ordered a new one. Outstanding! I now have air :o)
The next job is to fit an external air tank so that as well as having a resevoir of air it reduces wear and tear on the compressor too.

Paint spraying woes part 2

You may remember (or not) my problems with spraying paint and matt varnishes due to the cold and damp in the house, due to the burst water pipe under the house WELL just to add insult to injury my compressor has just died.
I think the problem is with the Air Pressure Auto Stop switch as I removed it and it was full of white calcium deposits but until I get a replacement part I'm pretty much screwed for now.

Scale Model World, Telford 10/11 Nov 2012

Well that was a great show! I've been going for a few years now but this years show was bigger than ever and accompanied with good friends made it very memorable. For me the highlight of the show was the Royal Navy Lynx HMA 8 (Serial Number ZD265) and being able to photograph it VERY close up. I was displaying some models on the 580 Modellers table and the weekend was made more enjoyable sharing it with this great bunch of guys.
There was a LOT to see and as usual missed loads of great models as I was either shopping or yapping :o) Thankfully there are many pics on various web sites of the show.
Great to see newcomers to the hobby Meng Models this year as the stuff they are doing so far is fantastic and for their wish list I've asked for an M60A1/A3 in 1/35 and a OV-10 Bronco in 1/48, nice pen to fill in the card with too and the rather fancy red and black shopping bag.
Apparently next years show will be celebrating 50 years of the IPMS so I can't WAIT to see what they pull off for that one :o)
Great weekend, great company, great to see old friends and great to make new ones.