Jay 1

I've got my beer, pretzels and a seat pulled up to watch your build, Sarge-- looking forward to watching her unfold! Like a few others, I'm a whaleboat fan too. Jay

Absolutely stunning carvings, Kay--sir, you are a true master! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work with us!! :) Jay

Looking forward to your build, Tim--I have the Bluejacket kit (want convert the hull to POB) so have a chair pulled up, a full bowl of popcorn, and am ready to watch your beautiful build unfold! Jay

Michael, she's looking great--really am enjoying watching this beauty unfold in your hands! Jay

Michael, try this link if you still didn't get the Essex on ME's site: http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=MS2041 Jay

Max, you may also want to consider the .35mm nozzle, cap, & needle. I generally have better results with these than the .5mm parts. Jay

She's looking great, Bob--beautiful work!

Wefalck, I'll use the source you suggest/use--it makes sense for bit sizes that are used a lot--much more economical! Jay

Frank and Harvey, I guess the 3 of us are the bad hand bandits! Seriously, Frank I hope your surgery heals quickly as well--thank you for taking the time to reply with your offhand! Wefalck, Frank, and Harvey, thank you for all this great information--very much appreciated! I'll be ordering Briney's book this evening. Your insights and knowledge have gotten me on the map. I did troll MSW for bits info., but didn't see a lot on the particulars about what's what when it comes to the bits. Wefalck, what you added about carbon bits is very helpful. Given the cost of good bits, I want to invest in the right ones for the work we do. Nope, won't be doing any serious mill work with my press--if I run into something that will be a serious mill job, I'll wait until I have the right tool to do it safely and right! Jay

Richard, thanks for the ME paint info. In general, I've found white acrylics are difficult--most brands I've shot tend to be thick and require a lot of thinner. I usually thin this color to a skim milk consistency and then shoot several coats until it looks right (I should be posting pics of the Flattie I shot this weekend hopefully sometime later this week--doing trim and touch up today and most of this week). I haven't heard of the Chinese gun before. Jay

Norman & Harvey, many thanks for taking time out to answer my questions--very much appreciated! Harvey, I especially appreciate your reply both for content and the effort it took you! I hope your hand surgery went well and that your healing is fast and complete!! I went through a right-hand surgery 4 months ago and totally can relate to how difficult doing somethings can be--like left handed typing or buttoning trousers or shirt buttons--while a hand is immobilized!! So thank you very much! Harvey my use will be pretty similar to yours, so your info. is a great starting point for purchases. I'll google Harvey retailers (plus see about getting a Harvey catalog). Jay

Max, instead of thinning with distiller water try using lacquer thinner. Tamiya makes a great thinner that works really well for their paint (normally I use regular hardware store thinner for most paints, but it didn't work well with Tamiya acrylics), so if there's a better hobby store near you, give Tamiya a try. I've read that ME paints don't shoot well when airbrushed, but the users may not have thinned well or it could have been what they thinned it with or it could be the paint. I'd suggest starting w/a 50-50 paint-thinner mix and see how that works. Some ppl use stuff like windex or etc. as thinners, but I genrally get good reults w/ laquer thinners. Also, play with your psi. You can then adjust both the mix and psi, based on your test sprays. I usually err on the side of being a little thin w/ my mixes (i.e., more thinner)--it's easier to deal with thin layers of paint--I just shoot a few more coats until I'm happy with how it's looking. . With acrylics, also open your air 1st--away from what you're shooting--then do the paint with your trigger--this helps minimize the initial splattering that acrylics tend to have in guns. While I'm new to model ships, I cut my airbrush teeth on plastic/wood airplanes--lots of lessons learned. One thing I am learning with ships & airbrushing is filler. Spots were I've used filler tend to show the filler. Minwax in particular, because it has a rather grainy texture, so wanted to throw that out as a watch for this thing. Jay

I'd like throw out a few questions I have about milling bits: 1) I'm looking for a US or Canadian vendor that sells milling bits that are reasonably priced and decent quality. Who do you recommend? Completely understand you get what you pay for, esp. when it comes to tools, so am looking for a decent balance between price and quality. 2) For our hobby, what size milling bits do you tend to use the most? Flat or round nose? 3) Which is the best way to go: 2- or 4-flute bits? 4) Is HSS the most versatile? I'm thinking at this point more of my milling will be with wood, but maybe some light metal work later on. 5) Would love to hear additional suggestions, recommendations, and ideas! Right now I'm looking at using the bits with my Proxxon drill press x-y table (will use collets when milling), but will eventually step up to a proper mill--most likely a Sherline. Thanks for your help and input! Jay

Richard, while some say that shooting with primer isn't necessary with acrylics, I'll usually shoot a coat or two before I paints with colors. It's been my experience that wood will absorb those primer coats and subsequent coats of color will then go on a bit nicer--however, I still test with brushes on scrap wood to get an idea of how things are looking. Usually, I'll lightly sand between coats with 400 or 600 grit, depending on how the primer or color coats are looking (I forgot to mention that I usually use fairly thin primer & color coats for my base). With an airbrush, you can usually shoot successive coats fairly quickly because the paints dry fast. However, when I shoot a final color coat, the paint is a bit thicker, I pre sand with finer paper---1000 or higher--and wait 8+ hours to a day between the last base coat I shot and this final coat. I then wait the same amount of time if this last coat needs sanding or if I'm going use a poly coat (btw, don't shoot polys or etc. with your gun--they can screw up you gun). If you use primer, go with a dark one if you're going to overcoat with a dark color & light primer for light colors (the last makes sense ). I use dark primers to get richer, deeper looking dark colors. Jay

Max I haven't shot any ME paints yet. Tamiya takes about a 50/50--I use their thinner--mix, with a higher psi. Watch your gun tip--acrylics tend to foul more than enamels as well; I periodically give it a wipe with a q-tip when I'm spraying and then a good cleaning when I'm done. If you have spare ME paint, your testing hopefully will work out the bugs before you do your ship. If you have to use more thinner, go for it. Try to shoot when it's a cool day (during summer I either shoot in the morning or late evening), because more thinner can sometimes cause paint to dry before it hits what you're attempting to paint, so distance from gun to object is important. Also, more thinner may mean you'll have to shoot several coats--but if the paint is shooting well, that's usually not a big bother, plus multiple coats often look better. Hope you didn't mind the earful, Max--guns are tricky at 1st, but once you get it down, hopefully you'll enjoy using them! Great price, Don--congrats! Sorry, I can't offer an opinion or help on the brand you won--never have used 'em. However, much of what I've mentioned to Max will apply. A clean gun is crucial, figuring out psi for different paints is trial & error--enamels usually shoot lower than acrylics; same goes with the thinning. Good luck and enjoy your new setups, fellas! Jay

Here's a link to a science forum that offers a slew of suggestions: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=5283.0 Jay

Looking forward to seeing it shot with paint, Michael--great color choice! Figured the rain was keeping you from working on Maria as well--am enjoying watching that gem unfold! Jay

Max, they're great--like everyone else has said, you got a great deal! One thing to keep in mind, be sure to clean it well--esp. the needle--after each time you use it. Also, shooting different types of paints (i.e., acrylics, enamels, and specialty paints--metallics, for instance) requires some trial and error. For example, with acrylics, I find that I need more thinner and a bit higher psi with the gun than with enamels. I recommend practicing on scrap wood and etc. before you do something that matters to you so that you can learn your particular gun and its idiosyncrasies. Now that I'm used to my Iwota, I totally love using it. Enjoy and have fun: Iwotas are awesome guns--congrats on a your great purchase! Jay

Paddy, S. Coleman's suggestions are spot on. I've painted over with acrylics, stuff where I've used Danish oil or oil-baed Minwax. If you can, don't stain that area but if it can't be avoided or etc., then make sure the oil-based finish has completely dried, then give the area that you're going to paint a light sanding with some fine grit sand paper. Jay

Happy Birthday--hope you have a great day! Jay

Not sure what I'll use yet, Joe. Will do some forum research to find out likes and dislikes, along with talk to a few folks. It'll be a while yet before I start going down the scratch road--still need a few big-ticket tools; also want to get more building skills under my belt using kits before I tackle a scratch project. At this point, I'm building and gathering resources and setting intentions for where I want to go . Jay

Tom, many thanks! I just scrolled through the lifting and lofting section and saved the practicum. Bodnar's instructions and images look great; between him and Chapelle, I think I'll grasp the drafting. Reading, seeing images, and doing will be how I'll "get" it. Once I fully understand the process, doing it in a software program should'nt be too brutal--then it'll just be learning software rather than both. Thanks for your help fellas--most appreciated! Jay

Thanks, Russ --will order it through ABEBooks tonight. Just purchased a hardback copy for $10--love ABE! Jay

Mark, duh!--I totally missed those resources; thanks for pointing them out and the link! Jay

I am looking for books or articles that clearly describe--and even better if there are accompanying good photos or drawings--how to lift from plans and then loft that info. into drawing, or other similar, software. I eventually want to go to the dark side and scratch build; right now I am thinking that I'd like to break into that area of model shipbuilding by starting with converting a couple of solid hull kits to POBs. Currently I have both volumes of Underhill's Plank on Frame books, but found him a bit difficult to follow due to the lack of photos/pics--I just learn better on some things when I have visuals and this is one of those areas for me. I just found and last night purchased reasonably priced copies of Hahn's Colonial Schooner & Ships of the American Revolution but have no idea yet of how in-depth they go into lifting and lofting. Also, given when both of these were written, I doubt these go into translating lifted data into software; however, I don't think that part of the process will be hard to figure out as long as I clearly understand the process of how to lift and loft. Since a lot of both new and used model shipbuilding books are available to me only through the Internet, it's a drag buying a book sight unseen and then discovering it doesn't contain the information I'm really after. To avoid some of that, I figured I throw my question/request out here on the forum and see what is recommended. Thanks for your time, help, and suggestions! Jay