kurtvd19

Mick: At last night's meeting of the local Nautical Research & Model Ship Society of Chicago I showed your build log photos of the pink ivory "tiles" to the group and Marc gave a short presentation about the wood's properties - from a botanists perspective - it's availability - and cost! WOW really expensive here! Your photos really looked great projected onto the screen - seen much larger than life size. The group thought the finished hearth was magnificent and that the pink ivory was the perfect choice for the tiles. Take care, Kurt

Mick: I too love the hearth tiles. The little "C" clamps are beautiful. Kurt

Wacko: Or do you prefer WackoWolf? I wish I knew your name. The 350 is by far the easiest airbrush to clean up after it was left dirty. Simply unscrew the fluid cap and the needle from the body of the brush as these should be the only parts that have any paint in them. You can soak them in any solvent for a couple of hours and the dried paint should soften up so you can clean it out. There is a seal in the fluid cap that can be soaked for anything short of a full day w/o any adverse effects but as long as you are careful of the orifice in the fluid cap and the point on the needle you can't hardly hurt this workhorse. I got my first airbrush for Christmas in 1960 - a 350 and it's still going though in my Grandson's hands now. I have some newer 350's that I use for instructing and I always have to give them a thorough cleaning when the class is over. I just disassemble the cap and needle, drop them into some cleaner and rinse them off after an hour. Only part I have ever had to replace on a 350 is the fluid cap when somebody screwed it down too tight onto the needle and flared out the orifice quite nicely - but not if you ever want to use it for spraying again. For some reason they never do the same thing with any of the other brushes - probably because they look so much more delicate while the 350 looks like it's indestructible. Happy airbrushing, Kurt

Thanks Toni. Looking at the handle more carefully I will stick with the aluminum scalpel handle I have been using as it allows the entire length of the cutting edge of the blade to be used. Kurt

Can you show us a photo with one of the scalpel blades they call spear? Looks great but I am concerned about how much of the blade is exposed - doesn't lok like enough would be exposed. Thanks, Kurt

Mike: The kit designer said that the fix would be added to the instructions but I have not seen the revised instructions. Maybe they did it in house rather than sending it back to the designer who's explanation would have probably been clearer - just guessing though. Kurt

Mike: It's looking good. The lettering turned out real nice - I told you it could be done! Kurt

Mick: Thanks. I am sure it's nicer to work with than ivory! I will as Marcus Botanicus to enlighten the group at our next club meeting about this wood. Take care, Kurt

Mick: Looking real good. I like the tiles and agree that something had to keep them in place. They look great - please explain the pink ivory - I have never heard of it. As you said "painting with wood" I am assuming it's some sort of wood rather than actual Ivory (which is nasty stuff - I did a small Ivory Chinese Junk once - the smell when cutting the ivory was horrendous). Kurt

Mike: It's looking real good. Kurt

Adam: This is great news - another Galley Washington build log. I will be watching with anticipation. There should be more build logs of this project by now with plan set #68 having been mailed out on Friday. You will be one of the pioneers. Take care, Kurt

Mike: It looks real good. Your skill with the airbrush will improve the more you practice. I think you will like how you can apply paint yet still see the underlying wood grain for when that type of appearance is wanted. Take care, Kurt

Mick: Yes, we have a couple in the works. Next one out will be aimed at first time scratch builders but interesting enough for more advanced modelers too. Can't let the cat out of the bag yet, but I think this next one will be very popular. Kurt

Mick: Beautiful work. I think your build may be inspiring others as I just shipped out plan set #68. Sure wish some others would start build logs too. Keep up the good work, I truly enjoy your posts. Kurt

Chuck: The NRG dinners are NOT formal - that went out the window many years ago - and I am known (famously and infamously!) for wearing Hawaiian shirts to them. Kurt

Elijah: I announced at the meeting last night (the Nautical Research and Model Ship Society of Chicago - where Elijha's a member) that it was your birthday and the group in attendance asked me to relay their birthday wishes to you. So, Happy Birthday, slightly belated from the group. Being on vacation you missed Doc Brackett's presentation on his 12" = 1'0" kayak build - a very good presentation that showed some things that modelers can use in our builds. Take care, Kurt

Daddyrabbit: I am in complete agreement with what you posted today. And you are correct that we would rather not have anybody suggesting purchasing illegally copied products. Your points are legitimate and the facts that you explained today and I agree that a cheap brush can have its place. The brushes I was referring to as illegal copies have been copied in total, including the patented air regulators and/or other key (and patented) pieces. And except for the quality of how they are actually made and assembled, are identical looking - but they sure don't perform the same. Some are so blatant in their copying they even put the company name and model of the legitimate brush on the copied brush. The only thing I would point out to a beginner is that some of these things are pure garbage and what you purchased from Harbor Freight might not be what somebody can buy there next week. What the guy buys next week might be an exact (illegal) copy and one that will never work right and an expert couldn't throw paint with it and the new guys gets discouraged and thinks he's the problem and gives up. Or it could just be a poorly designed and manufactured brush that looks just like a name brand - and the new guy can't tell the difference in the quality. For an inexperienced modeler I would recommend that a low end brush from a name brand will rarely be defective and will give the beginner a better chance at being successful. It's extremely rare for these to ever have a problem out of the box. Every Badger unit is tested before it leaves the factory and I am pretty sure that so are the Iwata & Pasche brushes. I will confirm about the Iwata tomorrow night when I see one of my counterparts from Iwata at our local IPMS chapter meeting. No need to introduce a problem other than the modeler's inexperience into the equation. I once went around and around with a modeler who attended one of my seminars who was having all sorts of problems. He told me he got one of the units I suggested and explained the problem. I walked him through the proper adjustment, he tried it again and called back with another issue. This went on and on and took up a lot of his time trying to get it to work. I asked him who he bought it from and as I was going to suggest that he might have the rare defective brush right out of the box and to return it to the store or to take it to Badger who would fix it while he waited (he was local and could drive there in 30 minutes). He told me where he got it and I knew immediately that it wasn't actually a Badger unit - but it said Badger on the side, etc. He took it back to the point of purchase and demanded his money back, got it and bought a name brand brush. He was ready to call it quits with trying to airbrush. Our IPMS chapter meetings are interesting when somebody asks a question about airbrushing. If it's about a Badger I answer the question. If it's about an Iwata, Steve answers the question. If it's about airbrushes in general or what's the best airbrush - both Steve and I answer in turn - if needed. It can sometimes get rather humorous as we both have identical starts to our reply about the best airbrush - "There is no best airbrush. The best airbrush for you isn't necessarily the best for the other guy and anybody's best airbrush is the one that feels right to them." We then ask what they want to paint and make suggestions from there. Take care, Kurt

Mike: Practice on something other than the Chaperon! It's not too difficult to use an airbrush, but you really need to practice on some scrap stock. Some old newspaper sprayed using just some water will teach you a bit about control and adjusting the brush for optimum spraying. The adjustments will be different between water and paint, but still will teach you control..The use some paint on similar (scrap) product before tackling the actual model parts. The wood that surrounded the kit/deck pieces is the same exact wood and can be used for testing. Good luck. Kurt

Thanks to Greg for the donation. Thanks to Jim for the rework. And thanks to Pete for the purchase - you will love it. Kurt

Mick: Very nice work and I just love the way it's turning out. Kurt

The subject of Chinese – or other – rip off’s of manufactured products is something MSW and the NRG do not condone. There will be a listing posted adding rip off copies of airbrushes to the list of banned items that are not allowed to be shown or discussed. The Chinese are so blatant in their copying of patented products that they have actually solicited Badger by sending samples of their copied Badger products asking for Badger to purchase from them due to price. It does no good to try to take them to court – something that somebody the size of GM can do but not the smaller companies like Badger. The quality of these rip offs is very poor at best. It doesn’t even take a real close examination to spot the differences. I have seen poor fits of soldered pieces that could not possible hold paint as well as regulator pieces without properly drilled vents. Pure garbage. The US courts take this kind of practice seriously. Back in the mid 1990’s Chandler and Thayer Airbrush copied a Badger airbrush patent. They failed to follow a cease and desist order and Badger finally took them to court. Badger won a three or four year court battle in 1999 and the damages against Chandler and Thayer were in excess of the worth of the Chandler and Thayer Company. Badger was given the keys to the business in the settlement. You can still buy a Chandler and Thayer airbrush, but it’s now made by Badger. This is serious stuff. Don’t fall victim to purchasing this garbage – support legitimate companies, workers and jobs. I have worked as a consultant with Badger Airbrush Co. since 1999. I developed their Modelflex Acrylic Marine Paints for them and regularly demonstrate and instruct the use of Badger airbrushes and paints to model clubs and conferences. I have first-hand knowledge of the Badger products and of the rip offs, and am not relying on rumors or a friend of a friend stories. Kurt

Daddyrabbit 1954: The Harbor Freight knock off is an illegal copy of the Iwata. The Chinese companies rip off the legitimate manufacturers here knowing that they can't be sued - due to Chinese government condoning the practice and making it impossible to stop them. They have copied Iwata, Badger, Pasche with impunity. Harbor freight only sells them so they can't be held responsible. I don't know about the other manufacturer's but Badger will fix any of their brushes for the mailing costs back to you (except for bent needles). The Chinese knock off breaks (and they will) - buy another - no service - ever. And if you hold a rip off up next to a legitimate brush you will see that the Chinese quality is pure garbage in comparison. This is the same thing as the Knock off kits that are banned on MSW. Kurt

Roger is right that the air supply is as important as the airbrush. Dry air at a constant pressure is the main thing. An in-line water/moisture trap is needed with all compressors as well as a good pressure regulator. Both are built into the compressors from the home improvement or auto parts stores. For some reason the airbrush people look at these as an add-on. A combo pressure regulator is about $25. Kurt

Mike: One thing I didn't mention was the cleaning of the airbrush. Regardless of brand or type they are not as hard to clean as many think. There are great videos of how to clean them on YouTube. Just don't delay the cleaning and you will not have issues. Kurt

Mike: I use Badger Airbrushes and have quite a collection of them - an even dozen at this point. What I will say about airbrushes is based on my use of Badgers – but will apply to any name brand airbrush. I found early on that the brush must fit the user. I can not use the fat barreled airbrushes, like the Badger 175 (left below) or Pasche VL. They just don’t feel right – but some swear by them – though I use a fat barreled pen for writing. To each his own. The simplest airbrush I would recommend for the beginner who plans to airbrush occasionally would be a Badger 350 (middle below). I learned to airbrush with the original model of this airbrush – the Bink’s Wren – when I got one for Christmas when I was in 8th grade. It’s the only one I had until many years later. I painted cars, planes, sweatshirts, T shirts, and boats with it – winning several gold medals. It can produce very good paint jobs. I was told by the judges at the WI Maritime Museum’s competition (long before I became the contest director there) that one of my tugboat models (it won a gold, modeler’s choice and best Great Lakes awards) missed winning best of show because “No tugboat ever had that good a paint job”. I know that other modelers who have won gold medals at this contest have used this or a very similar airbrush. The 350 is an external mix, single action airbrush. The paint and air mix outside the airbrush on the way to the painted surface (much like an aerosol spray can) and the surface produced while not the absolute smoothest that an airbrush can deliver, I think it is perfectly adequate for wooden models. The 350 will handle all the paints we usually use on models. For the best possible finish then an internal mix airbrush is needed. The paint and air mix inside the airbrush and exit the nozzle very finely atomized. There are single action and double action internal mix airbrushes with the single action being the easiest to use. A good basic internal mix airbrush would be a Badger 200 series (right below) with a medium needle and spray regulator. Medium needles are identified by two fine grooves at the blunt end of the needed and the medium regulators have a stamped IL or are blank (all other sizes have stamped id’s – only the medium would be blank). The medium needle/regulator will handle all of the model stains and paints including acrylics we usually use. There are numerous videos on the net to show how airbrushes are used. Price might be the determining factor for many modelers. The following link shows many brands. Some I am very familiar with some I am not, but this place doesn’t sell junk. I am sure you can find a supplier on your side of the water who handles most of these brands. http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/airbrushes1.html I Hope this helped a bit. Kurt