Egilman

Cavalry charge? I'm in.... (as long as you don't break out the cannons) {chuckle}

Hey brother, I think I've punished my self enough at 1/32nd scale.... {chuckle} 1/48th? although I've built many of them, I don't think I would put this much effort into them..... They can be built into beautiful models though, don't ever believe anyone saying they can't...

Very nice, the replicas are selling for crazy money now.... Back in the 80's I had an original unmodified Walker, Paid a pretty price for it... was paid an even prettier price when I sold it... It definitely was a "Horse Pistol" I sold off my collection many moons ago also... I would love to even be able to hold a Colt Navy today..... The only collectors piece I own today is a '40 Romanian Mauser (russian scrubbed of course) all matching serials except for the bolt.... The research says it was on the right flank (German left flank of the relief attack that failed) at Stalingrad... Picked up and rearsenaled by the Russians after the war. Not worth much, but it still shoots straight...... Anyway nice collection of models one day I may have the same thing if the Admiral allows it...

Beautiful models all of them, wonderful displays as well sir... One question, (off topic) is that a Walker Colt in the middle of that hand gun display? Beautiful example if it is and nice display as well... One heck of a man cave brother...

Nice work dennis. That is a bit of a size difference, 1/28th to 1/32nd, it's a visible difference.... I noticed that the upper wing is cut different also, is there a reason for that in the aircraft history or is it just manufacturers license?

I was going to find it one way or the other.... In the end, it was finding the actual build report that did it. I was very happy that he posted what he used to do it... This is the current state of the build.... Waiting on my care package for Microscale to arrive. I have the silver Rub-n-Buff and the pewter arrives today for the darker panels on the tail..... I also have bought a few more decals for her, mostly the myriad stenciling that is all over the bird... that from viewing Pauls examples are readily distinguishable on the silver, you can't read them of course but they are seeable... They add a lot to the overall look... So will be posting more shortly, after the supplies arrive and as soon as I can get the canopy masked and reinstalled. A light coat of primer and an application of polishing pads to smooth it all out and I should be on the road again....

+1 Very sound advise....

Actually, I don't want to go further into de-railing Grant's wonderful build thread..... I have discussed it in my Blue Jay Four thread and what it is and the reason why... it's a carnuba wax applied just like on a car... and I'll leave it at that my friend... will pick it up in the other thread if you need more explanation...

Impressive... Very impressive....

Well, something changed somewhere between the applications...... I've had that happen with rattlecan finishes, one application is beautiful high gloss, a few days later another application from the same can over the same paint goes flat.... It was a testors product and even they acknowledged the problem..... suggested using a new can, which in my case resolved the problem.... I tried the recalcitrant can on another project that was going to be flat eventually and again it came out flat.... well at least it confirmed what the Testors tech told me..... If you airbrushed the finish from the same bottle, I don't know what to tell you and haven't a clue what the problem might have been.... It's frustrating when that happens...

Nice, it's gonna be beautiful brother when your done....

Probably a bad batch of clear coat.... Can you polish it out and retry from a new bottle?

Good advice mike, I second the notion.... Me, I'm going to start out at 6k when I restart the zipper... the gloss black finish is kinda rough right now and I'll have to completely correct that before I start waxing it out... This has turned into one heck of a project....

{chuckle} I keep forgetting that some haven't got this far yet..... Isopropyl Alcohol, or more commonly Rubbing Alcohol....

Since you asked it won't be derailing your wonderful thread.... I did the fuselage BMF finish first, which meant I had to mask off the wings for painting white.... what you saw was the first attempt to reposition the tape..... It wasn't even pressed down hard along the seam yet..... It just came right off. Right down to the underlying black paint..... Since the BMF finish didn't work, and I didn't want to bin it, I had to find a way to get the finish off without destroying the plastic... (or the underlying details) My first choice is IPA... see if that affects the finish cause I know it doesn't affect plastic, of course I was told the liquitex varnish is indestructible... so my go to is IPA.... I was quite surprised when I saw that within seconds of wetting with IPA and light scrubbing with a toothbrush the Liquitex and BMF finish (two layers of each) came off all at once just started peeling right off... Liquitex if NOT indestructible..... I do not know what else will affect it but if IPA does, I'm sure there are other stronger cleaners and solvents that will as well..... Oh yeah, Super Clean has no problem stripping it as well... Liquitex varnish is not a good final seal coating/covering.....

Yeah over in my F-104 build thread... Kabuki tape peels it.... IPA takes it off... The entire fuselage was covered with it... IPA and a toothbrush. Liquitex High Gloss Varnish was described to me as an indestructible art work protectant... so much for claims I said...

Just don't try and mask it, it's what was suggested I use over Uschi's metal powders to seal them in... as long as it's down they were good but when masked they pulled right up using light tack frisket tape after four days.. I also found out it is not IPA proof... IPA will soften and remove it.....

Thorough research is always the best....

Oh yes, enough to know that the brothers here are masters and I'm just an apprentice.... They are an adventure.... and once your done, you will have increased your model skills at least twice over....

EXCELLENT! Hate to see a good modeler leave his talent in the closet.... I'm, in...

Ahhh, here we go, Another effected with the plastic mania.... Good Deal! Welcome to the club... the satisfaction of taking a poorly made/researched kit and turning it into a work of art is just as great as building a wood ship from kit/scratch, just using different materials and techniques....

Yep I can now report that it takes a clear coat, both Future and Testors ultra clear very very well without lifting and no noticeable darkening... I can also report that it masks better than paint... the Future was brushed on in a very thin coat so even with the pressure of brush stroking it didn't lift... (after about three hours curing time allowing the wax to completely harden) If you apply it with a brush you can clean the brush with paint thinner Testors regular thinner/brush cleaner takes it right out of your brush with no residue.... (don't get it on your freshly buffed finish on the model though) It's like this product was made for modeling BMF's on airplanes....

Well it's made by Amaco (American Art & Clay Company) Rub & Buff there is supposed to be 12 colors and you can buy direct... Michaels only carries gold leaf, silver leaf and antique gold... It's not that expensive and goes a long ways... Again, no affiliation with the product in any way.... EG

It was seeing Paul's work on that F-104C Craig that got me onto an accurate BMF... and I vowed I was going to duplicate it... His application is flawless in the pictures.... almost looks like a real aircraft, hard to tell the difference when compared to pics of the real thing... I haven't tried clear coating it yet but my first test will be Future, and then maybe Testors ultra gloss.... Paul didn't clear coat his, (you can tell by the noticeable decal edges in one of the pics) but other than that gorgeous work... Those pics have been my inspiration..... And I have an F-100 in the stash as well.... now that I know how to do an accurate BMF........

Ok, I did a quick and dirty test just to see if it's as advertised.... (I've seen so many products that aren't over the last two weeks) This is a pigment powder infused carnuba wax.... (the same stuff you wipe on and wipe off your car) The idea is to take a soft cloth, put a dab on the cloth and just polish the surface..... I'm using the old M-41 turret upper, figured I would polish the sides.... Remember wipe on polish in.... That took all of three minutes..... Other side.... That took two minutes... It is hard shelled and will not wash off when completely dried.... No fingerprints either.... It should handle decals without problem... So as a supreme test, I went and applied it to the unpainted insides of the turret, bare dirty green plastic.... It went down there just as easy as the outer surfaces did... A little goes a LOOOng way...... Polished metal finish in a few minutes... YES, It is this easy... (no it can't be that damned easy) YES, it is... All it took was five minutes, no muss, no fuss as easy as polishing your silverware.... The amazing thing is this product has been around for decades all those years of fretting over BMF's, paint formulations, powders and chrome, and this product, which makes it super easy, has never really been seen..... I only stumbled across the example pics in a generic web search for bare metal finishes.... Now I know what I'm doing..... Thank you all for following along.... EG I"ll do a more detailed test if anyone wishes it, but for me I'm done looking.... I've found it...