Hírfolyam

Jan Peters
And me

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Welcome everyone. 🙂
Three Hayabusa in the making.
Hasegawa offers the camo patterns as decals but this time I will paint them all with the airbrush. (I must be nuts)
But I will be using the rest of the decals.
For Emma's plane I paint the camo scheme rather freestyle without any masks but try to achieve the same overall look. Lots of green on the surfaces and quite weathered.
The paint on Zara's aircraft will be best maintained and Reona's looks most beaten up, with already replaced panels that, as they are being replacements, look different from the rest of the aicraft. Still thinking about how to approach all three of them.
So while they are three times the same kit, each one of them requires a bit of different work and techniques.

Robert Podkoński
I am late a bit, but will follow with pleasure! This painted pattern looks fantastic already, Robin!

Robin (WhiteGlint)
A warm welcome, Robert. And thank you very much 🙂
Also welcome to everyone else in the audience but it's impossible to keep track of all names. Nice to have you all aboard.

It's the first time I try to spray such a pattern free handed and I must say it really does strain the eyes and my back. D: Luckily the third Hayabusa has not much green on it.
For Zara's plane I tried to cut some masks to get the exact pattern but that failed. The spaces between the dots are pretty narrow and the masking tape ripped apart in some areas. Application was also a real pain.
I will try it one more time with different masking tape.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Thank you Roland. 🙂
I use acrylics, though I have some lacquer for my JASDF F-2A but never tried them yet.

Michael Kohl
Very good looking camo.

Rui S
Interesting Camo 👍 I'm in 😎

Simon Nagorsnik
Oh yes man, that's a good looking camo!
I'm sure it'll go on just as well!

Jim J
Nice job on the camo. It's always nice when you get that camo on -- starts to breath life into the aircraft.

Neil
Agreed 👍 Robin, your paint job is epic! 👏

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Thank you, everyone. 🙂
Camouflage of the other two aircraft is almost done as well, which means that I may be able to start with decals this weekend. Should I not decide to paint paint everything else too.

Thanks again, Roland. Makes me a bit proud to hear that. 😎
True, it was not easy to spray it nicely and there are some camo dots that have a bit of paint splatter. It is a lot of try and error to find the "right" settings of air pressure, thinner, paint, retarder and the right setting for the needle stopper. Well, it's not perfect but looks good enough.

The flat green on the shiny reflective metal surface looks real nice in my opinion. I am happy I decided to paint it, even if it does not look exactly like on the reference pictures.
I really suck at replicating stuff precisely. 😄

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Main paintjobs are done.
The yellow on the front of the wings was a real pain masking...

I also had some overspray on Reona's plane near the engine cowling which I tried to fix but the silver colour looks really different as a fixing "second" coat.
As her plane will be weathered the most I might be able to get away with it somehow.
Also the coat of Vallejo silver was so smooth the masking tape didn't really adhere to the surface. I'm kinda proud of that. 😄

As I said the camo schemes are no 1:1 copy but to me they look good enough to get the inteded look.
What was also fun the most was Reona's aircraft as I masked some panels to give it the look like some panels where already replaced and later repainted.

The clear coat cured for some days so it's time to start with the decals.
The hours spraying the camo pattern saves me some time with the decals, I hope.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Decals applied. Now I need to think a bit more about the next steps. There is weathering to be done.

Simon Nagorsnik
Also a good progress at this front!
Still like your camo!

Robert Podkoński
Looking awesome already!

Motatim Stanislaw
Looks very interesting!

Guy Rump
Looking great 👍

Chan Li
Haha looks good and fun!
Do the kits contain the girls as well?

Jan Peters
👍🏻👍🏻 looks great Robin

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Thanks mates. 🙂
There come acrylic stands of the girls with each kit.
Planes are pretty much done. While applying the wash parts of the tails came off and I had to reattach them. I didn't even use white spirit, not sure what was the problem. Considering to try myself on the rigging.
I will upload some pictures soon, currently pondering if I should create a simple base that looks a bit like the interior/hangar of the Hagoromo airship/carrier that's used as mobile base for Kotobuko Squadron and others and for transport of goods.

Weathering these kind of planes is really hard, I think I need other brushes for that. It does not take much for it to look strange or bad.
Pics will follow soon. 🙂

Hans-Jürgen Haag
Grandiose Tarnung , schöne Kotibuki, gefallen mir 👍👍👍🥹

Guy Rump
Great builds 👍

Francois Colinet
Beautiful !

James C
Nice work so far on these builds. Those tight camo patterns can be very tricky to pull off, but looks like you've got it sorted. 👍

Jan Peters
Beautiful camouflage painting Robin 👍🏻👍🏻

Robin (WhiteGlint)
I realized I never uploaded images of the finished planes. I kind of forgot.
Now here they are. Thanks everyone!

Cheers mates!

Ben M
They look amazing, Robin. Thank you for sharing them. I love the variety.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
First time building a MG kit. And I decided to directly go for what is probably my favourite Mobile Suit, the Zaku II.
I decided to go for the one of Killy Garret from the Playstation game Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation Code Fairy. (Damn these long titles...)
It sports a different camo and some other equipment. In the reference image it holds the sword of a Gouf which I printed.

As with all other Bandait kits I built, it's a real pleasure and fun to put together.
The design of that inner frame with the armor you can easily attach and detach is very welcome and makes painitng a lot easier.

I also tried myself on some panel line scribing to make it look a bit more like the MS design of Origin which is used in the game.
That means more angles and panel lines.
Quite okay for a first try but still very rough.

Can't wait to get my hands on the PG Zaku and build that machine again.

Painting is done next step will be clear coating to protect the paint and decals.
After that I can work in a bit of weathering, chipping, dirt and scratches but just minimal.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
A bit of progress here. Painting done and sealed with clear coat. But It seems I was not very good at that. Due to some parts moving agains another I scratched down quite a lot of paint on the legs. MIght be able to hide it a bit or make it look like weathering.
Decals attached but I am not done yet. I managed to destroy the big "Principality of Zeon" decal for the shield and had to order a new one. Now I need to wait for it to arrive.
Once that is applied I can add a few more layers of Tamiya Clear or semi-gloss/satin and begin weathering.

Dash Rendar
Don't worry about scratches, you can easily patch those up, I think. Looking great so far!

Mark W
Very cool build. This is probably one of my favorite MGs, which is very impressive considering the age of the mold.
If mass production suits are your cup of tea the MG RX-79[G] is the suit that ties this one for my favorite to build.

Dave
I love it. Nice work. 👌

István Szücs
I'm watching, one of my favourite car!

Mark W
Thanks! Kei cars are an amazing thing. These over fenders were a universal free file, first for shows that it'll be a bit of a struggle to get fit. But a challenge isn't a bad thing.

Mark W
Well... First attempt at glueing the over fenders on was a failure.
BSI Super Gold+ was used, felt like it was good, then I set the body down and half of them just popped off. Sanding super glue off a kit body is for the birds. And if this fails 2 or 3 more times I won't have fenders to glue over fenders on to :/

Wondering if I should try a different super glue, a 5 minute epoxy, gorilla glue contact adhesive, or a NOT free file for over fenders? I am currently testing the BSI and contact adhesive on an old kit. I plan on filling the gaps with Tamiya putty tomorrow. But I'll be browsing other STLs until then.

Mark W
Would anybody share what grit sand paper they get up to on prep work before laying primer down?
I took this up to 1000# wet sanding but I'm not happy with it. I'm wondering if I need to go finer, or if I need to use hobby paper vs this wet paper from the auto parts store?

Mike Thomas
"Wondering if I should try a different super glue..."

I wonder if resin type has anything to do with the glue/adhesion? I used Elegoo Water Washable Resin and dollar store superglue on a few projects. Never had an issue with parts falling off. Also, I pretty well use God Hand sanding sponges exclusively.

Mark W
Thanks Mike. I am also using Elegoo Water Washable and I used is the BSI super glue gentle enough for painted and clear parts. I'll try a cheap bottle on a test kit next.
The auto part store sand paper does goes from paper to sponge at 2000 grit, so I'll try to take it a step finer before laying more primer. If that doesn't work I guess I'll buy something specialty.

yngvenett
I'm joining in on this

Mark W
I made the rookie mistake of thinking a Champaign Pearl color would spray like any other color...
My sad excuse for a desk lamp and my hubris proved that to be false. Worst job I've ever done at painting.
I tried some simple green to strip (to no avail) and ended up solving all of my problems with bigger problems. So now I'm sitting back in black primer with a few spots that I can't sand out without altering the shape of the body noticably.

Now I'm deciding if I'll pivot to a different color and live with some budget franchise body work finish, or if it's going to get the heavy weathering treatment.

Ben M
Perfect plastic putty can fix anything.

Dave
That a beautiful Color for that body style.

P Swizz
Do you mean panel lines, rivets and other surface details? It's always best to try and preserve as much as possible during filling/sanding, but you will inevitably end up losing detail. Then you can use various tools to put the details back in. Look around for scribing tools and riveting tools, there are various things out there. I personally use cmk razor saws for scribing panel lines back in, or the Tamiya scribing tool.

Ben M
Hi Chris, you can also use masking tape to minimize the area that gets affected by the file. This lets you file without damaging nearby detail.

Chris
You know I know it sounds like I am being really unhelpful by coming on here and asking for advice that some might say I could easily find help watching a video, however the problem with videos is that you don't always store it the correct way and then you have to focus on 2 things but having advice from other modellers is really helpful. As you might have seen I struggle alot in myself and mental health wise is why modelling is my saving grace, my Father who passed recently gave me the spirit that I needed back when doing modelling again at a time when I needed it the most! Some can say that there are a load of disadvantages such as it is a hobby which is old fashioned or it is not as exciting as playing a shoot em up game, hmmm? Think I would disagree on all levels, I don't see a problem with a hobby that some might call old fashioned because to my mind it ain't old fashioned to me! I love the idea of creating something with my heart and having my Father in the room with me when I do any form of modelling, that is just special to me!

Ben M
There's an endless amount of tips and tricks, I learn new things all the time. I'm glad the hobby brings up good memories for you, it does for me as well!

Dave
That's a great looking kit.👍

Skyhiker
I'm taking a seat for this one. Looks fun.

Ben M
The dry transfers (not decals) from 1976, what are the odds they work?

Ben M
Thanks, that's cool. I build lots of old Hawk, pyro etc stuff too

Robert Podkoński
Watching with interest!

Kesa Tiho
Makes my space loving brain tingle, following!

Mr D
You could get some decal paper and get a local print shop to do a high quality photo copy of your decals on to it.
Nice interesting model build.... looks forward to seeing it take shape 👍👍

Nicolas
Interesting. I'll follow.

Troy Campbell
Cool looking kit

Ben M
I'm not pleased by the little square feet on this one. I need to come up with some nice round dish-shaped pads like the Apollo lunar module has.

Thomas Espe
👀

Ben M
I printed some lunar lander feet and a bit of moon surface for a diorama. It'd been a year since I used my resin printer so it took some work to get it dialed in

Spanjaard
are you sure those are not normal water slide decals? I say so because they seem to have a carrier film, and when I check the produc page of the kit, it say that it contains water slide decals.... they certainly look quite yellowed (no wonder with their age) but that sometimes can be resolved placing then in a window to get the sun to white them a bit.

Ben M
Hi Spanjaard, I'll upload pics of the instructions on the back later.

gorby
Looks an interesting subject. 🙂

Ben M
Thanks... I've been 3d printing some stuff for it, will have more pics soon. I've gotten sidetracked as I tend to do. I think you call it "faffing"

Troy Campbell
Looking good ben
Unique subject

Mr D
The decal instructions remind me of those fake tattoos you got as a kid in the candy/sweets packs n some bubble gums.
very rarely did the paper pull away without taking a bit of the picture with it.
Could be similar stuff...???

Ben M
Not sure. i scanned them, and I learned how to make decals the other day for my Orion spaceplane which unaccountably HAD NO PAN AM DECALS WTF. 🙂 so I can make waterslides if I want

On this kit I decided the lander needed proper feet, so I had to get my old resin printer which I hadn't used in a year working again and then I printed feet, but then I figured it needed a moon surface so I found one and printed it but it was too small so then I decided to use it with an old build spaceship build I did a few years ago of a smaller spaceship, so now I'm going down that rabbit hole but as long as I had the printer working I decided to make tracks for another build of mine where a tank was missing the rubber band tracks so I worked on that, but hey, there was some empty space on the build plate so I decided to also print some parts for a KNIL armored car from the Netherlands East Indies... and parts for a Schnieder WWI French tank.

I have been spending a fair amount of modeling, but not very much time finishing things.

Oh and I printed a larger moon base yesterday and it's out in the sun hardening.

Spanjaard
definitively dry transfers, no doubt 🙂 no idea if putting them in the window will clear the yellow or finish ruining them.... and since they are quite simple (some would be better to just use masking), making new ones seems a really good idea.

Ben M
Yeah or I might just use spares from my decal box, or I could use my cricut to cut masks for things and paint them on or... who knows what trouble I will get into. This is why I never finish anything.

Spanjaard
i have a silhouette (quite similar to cricut) and i can tell you that you can make veeeery nice maks, with no trouble at all. the checkered decal may be a bit of a pain in any way you do it, but the rest should be a piece of cake. i can recommend inkscape, works like a charm 🙂

Spanjaard
for the US flags, the spares box will probably be an easier option, of course.

Spanjaard
by the way, is it possible to scan the original decals, conver the design to vectors, clean it up and make your own decals/mask with inkscape. the same design can be basically used for both

Ben M
What I've done is scan at a high resolution, clean it up in the gimp, and send it as PNG to the cricut software on my iphone. A PNG with transparent/non-transparent parts imports nicely. At a high enough resolution it doesn't matter that it's not vectors. But I can try inkscape, it sounds fun.

Spanjaard
in inkscape you can use the option to trace a bimap. it may take a couple of tries until you get it right, but then it is a vector ready to use for both decal or mask

Ben M
I updated the kit description. An ambitious person would upload pics of the decal sheet and the instructions as well. Too late for box contents. Perhaps I will be that ambitious person this evening, but perhaps not.

Michael Kohl
Following

DerMattes
Following! Very nice build, but accidents happen. Do you have spare decals?

Mike Volkov
Fortunately, there were leftover nationality insignias at home 😅

Nicolas
Great project. Good luck with replacing the decal.

Mr D
You get it sorted Mike, there is always something happening in this hobby 🫣,
I had a drill.bit snap of in the nose of my SU-30 and had to cut nose of n reshape 🤬.
Sometimes with decal malfunctions if you mix the right colour matches you can paint back in with fine brush, mask n spray back in.
The RAF circle on my Harrier broke-up and l had to do this... it's not easy to notice now.
Good luck Mike..... nice little project 😃👍

Dave Flitton
Following!

Mike Volkov
The project is finished. It was not an easy ride. 😅

Thomas Kolb
Lovely result, Mike. A super crisp model. It was well worth the trouble!

Michael Kohl
Very fine result. How did you fix the decals?

Neuling
Very beautiful work!

Alex
Very nice, love the details! How did you attach the stems to the ship and the wooden platform? And what colours did you use?

I plan to do an Arleigh Burke too. Back in 1996 I visited one when I was in Australia (Fremantle)

James Ward
Hi Alex.
Thank you for the comment. Happy to give you a summary -

On colour: I use Vallejo acrylics for the most part, airbrushed with thinner and acrylic retarder to stop it drying in the tip of the brush. The colour used was 70.990 Light Grey (for the Haze Grey) and the radars were done in 70.989 Sky Grey. The deck is about four colours, and very deliberately not uniform to try and get some variation through it... I'd hesitate to say I used one, but it's sufficient to say at its lightest, it's about one shade darker than the 70.990 on the sides. You can see the variation most clearly around the location of the aft VLS array.

Lastly, the hull antifouling is 71.084 Fire Red.

When I build the hull, I always pre-drill a couple of 1.2mm pilot holes a pre-determined distance apart (in this case I believe it was 100mm), and then do exactly the same on the wooden base, at the same distance. It's then pretty easy to drill through the stems, and push a 1.2mm length of brass rod through them which then slot into the pre-drilled holes on the plinth.

The ship can then simply slot onto those brass rods, which keeps it stable. It's great for transporting them, too. I move a lot of models to and from IPMS shows in Sydney, and I've yet to see a breakage as a result of movement in the car. Wish I could say the same about the fingers of people at the shows, though!

Kesa Tiho
Stunning

Dave
Beautiful finish.

Rui S
Excllent work and collection 👍. Congratulations

Sebastian Meyner
Now that is a stunning collection mate! 👍

Marius
I like all of them, excellent!

Michael Kohl
A lot of good stuff. Fantastic Bugatti. I'd love to see more pics of that one. Actually all of them deserve more pics.

Alec K
Wow, admirable body of work! Each of those projects deserves a separate album. Thank you for sharing 👍

Treehugger
I like how photos zoom in and focus on details. I remember a photographer i a video said that one should frame the things that you love, this so that you don't end up with taking a photo of everything else around an object you wanted to take a photo of.

Pietro De Angelis
Outstanding works, stunning parade!

Spanjaard
impressive collection, as others said in the other album, each model deserves their own album.
one advantage of model per album, is that you can link each to a project, that can have the specific kits, which give them the tight visibility 🙂

Neil
Stunning collection of work! 👏👏

Neuling
As other mates said: each model deserves a separate album! What I see here is an array of first rate builds.

Gary Curling
WOW you know how to build and paint aircraft,the best i have seen.

Dave
Very nice collection you have there and paint work looks great.

gorby
Very nice work so far!

Ben M
👀

Robert Podkoński
Watching too.

Ben M
I see wires and lights…

Jim Hawksworth
Great Scott!! This is so awesome!

Michael Kohl
Following

George Williams
Wow, looks great.

Alexander Grivonev
Oh is it illuminated? Please make a photo in the dark!

Lorraine Lin
Hi Alexander, I added some LED lights, and a remote switch controller. Just uploaded 2 more photos.
Will work on the seats next step. Inspired by you porsche 992, will add some seat stitching detail

Spanjaard
wow, it looks truly amazing..... is it OOB or did you add lots of detailes (apart from the LEDs of course)? new Delorean seems to be better than previous Aoshima kit

Alexander Grivonev
Cool! Please be careful with the wiping, let the base seat color dry properly. Use Tamiya acrylics for base color (lacquers will probably work too) Also, do not use flat, at least semigloss or gloss for the base paint so the stitch paint will be easier to wipe off. Use waterbased paints for the stitches (Vallejo, etc) wipe of IMMEDIATELY with water and if necessary a bit of the same brands cleaner.

Lorraine Lin
Hi Spanjaard, Yes, the new model is quite good. Part II also released in last month. Part III will be in May 25.
Time machine from Back to th..rt II (Aoshima 064375, 1:24)

And OOD stands for? Sorry for my poor English.

Lorraine Lin
Thank you Alexander for the suggestions!

shadowlight
OOB stands for "out of box"

Lorraine Lin
Thank you shadowlight.
The lights are not included in the kit.

Starbase101
You underestimate yourself Lorraine. The model build looks as fantastic as the person doing the work.

CaptGPF
This I have got to see!

Spanjaard
thanks Lorraine! your english is good, no worries 🙂

Alexander Grivonev
That is so cool 👍 Could you probably explain in a few words how you did the illumination? Is it some kind of a kit, do I need an electronics degree for it or is it easily applicable? What kind of PCB is the one you are using? Anyhow hats off, that looks amazing!

Lorraine Lin
Thank you Alexander. These lights are not as complicated as they seem and don't require specialized electrical backgroud. I bought some LEDs with dimensions of 0.6mm x 0.3mm and in different colors, 3 volts. So, all that's needed is to connect a battery and a switch.

The PCB board is a multi-switcher, enabling me to control those lights with a remote controller. Additionally, I plan to use soft filaments for the flame part. Different colors and different lengths also available in the market.

[img1]

Alexander Grivonev
Could you perhaps provide the link to the PCB board article page where you bought itß

Dave
This is looking incredible. Love the lights. 👌

Lorraine Lin
@Alexander,
I bought my remote switch from a local store. But similar one available in amazon or ebay. Below one has 4 channels, DC 3 - 24 V voltage range, should be good.
amazon.com/dp/B09P89RF8R/

You could also search if this is available in your local store, key word is "RF433". If the LED light is too bright, you could connect some resistance in series. 10KΩ is ok for those LEDs.

Alexander Grivonev
Thanks a lot, that is really helpful 👍

CaptGPF
I'm looking forward to seeing how you use the soft filaments! You always cook up the most interesting builds!

Starbase101
🏆

CaptGPF
Whoa! How did you mold the flames?!

Alexander Grivonev
what do you mean decals for stitching 😄 now I am a little disappointed

Lorraine Lin
@CaptGPF, the flames are included in the kits. I just painted them and put the filaments inside.

@Alexander, I tried your suggestion, seems I overestimated my skill😜 The stitches are really difficult to be a straight line. Finally I brought a decal (dot line decal) for these stitches. Anyway, I'm still really grateful for your instruction. I need to practice more.

Dave
The led lights are taking this to a whole new level. I can see this dio is going look amazing.

Lorraine Lin
Thank you Dave. Watching the movie now😁

Sven Doe
absolute amazing! Great job... modeling and microelectronic ...

Do you jave some programming experiences? If yes ,i can recommend you the small microcontrollerboards with esp32 or esp82 chip. With some programcode, you can control your models over wifi from from a web-interface on your tablet, handy or pc 😉

Lorraine Lin
Thank you Sven, so nice of you. I don't have any programming experience, It would be cool if you can use a tablet to control all these lights😀

Stephan Fässler
Stunning detail work!

Sven Doe
You are Welcome, Lin. Nowadays it is not that difficult. If you want, take a look at adafruit.com. There have really good tutorials and a great knowledge area 😉
I look forward to further progress in your projects

Christian W
The lightning is amazing!

Alberto
Wow, that's fantastic work

gorby
My reaction was exactly the same as Alberto. 😮

Spanjaard
you did not have enough with a fabulous Delorean that now you are gonna recreate the complete street?? wow! amazing. and adding a very nice personal twist to it, great!!

Ben M
I love the art deco architecture!

Robert Podkoński
Awesome!

CaptGPF
Agree with everyone - you are definitely going for the gold on this one! especially the Lorraine's Records! LOL!

Starbase101
Somebody is definitely showing just how cool and talented they are!

Lorraine Lin
Thank you mates！May wealth come pouring in. May all your wishes come true. Happy Chinese New Year!
[img1]

Starbase101
Year of the Dragon did not bring any good luck to me. (still single 😥)

Lorraine Lin
@Starbase101
Then, may the Year of the Snake bring you the luck to say goodbye to singledom and meet the right one. Have a wonderful year!

gorby
Happy new year Lorraine.
Apparently I'm a rabbit. 🙂

Spanjaard
happy Chinesse new year!

Ben M
The sign looks great - where did you get the fonts?

Alexander Grivonev
electronics, programming, a laser cutter?...now you are showing off lady of 1000 talents...

Lorraine Lin
Hi Ben, the fonts called "bauhaus93", looks very similar to the movie one. I found this fonts in my laptop, not sure it coming with Windows or from other software.

@Alexander, I'm lucky to have found this community, where I can learn skills and get inspired.
Thank you all!

Dave
Lorraine the colours you used on the building exterior are beautiful.

Trez
Slow clap. It's a shame you can't build them

Bob Hall
So Trez……….. When your mother said you could be anything you wanted to be, you obviously picked disrespectful jerk I see. You need to rope it in cowboy or you're not going to be here for much longer ! YOU BEEN INFORMED ! ☝️

Trez
Not sure who you think you're talking to, Tonto. Best you get back in line boy before I start dishing out some respect makers! 😂
You are a little one sided wouldn't you say? Also I don't appreciate you bringing my family into your petty insults. Just watch yourself ok

Cortex
For real! How much is this in USD?

lhlcllllx97
The corresponding US dollar price should be $9.3, which is the pre-sale price on Taobao in China. Pre-sales start around May, and the non-pre-sale price is ￥128, about $17.5. It may be a little more expensive in the United States due to taxes.

Cortex
Unbelievable!
Such a dream price for class A model.

FernandoCouto
It rises to ￥128 now!

Treehugger
I wish I could find this on Temu today 😄, because Temu is imo 99 if not 100% bullshit when it comes to selling scale models. Overpriced, and old, uninteresting models. Some stuff sell at 3-4-5 times the selling price locally. I had to give up Ebay because of how sellers and ebay blamed eachother, unable to prevent double VAT payment. Amazon is typically just too expensive. My bank didn't allow me to buy from this one Hong Kong hobby store anymore. I did find an ok priced Border Models 1:35 Spifire on Temu recently, but I didn't like this particular Border Models kit. Most of this stuff are just kids toys, paper and thin metal models and some cast metal stuff. 99,9% uninteresting to me.

I forgot to add, so many scam sales on eBay (in the past some 2 years ago or so). I had some 10 orders that were apparently just bullshit. Luckily I got my money back, except for the currency conversion fees, that were lost. It is simply not possible to spot a scam seller on eBay now imo. 10 time in just a few months, postal service end up telling me, these kits (individually) were returned to seller. Everything else off eBay arrived normally. I used to warn eBay, by reporting obviosuly scam sales, but eBay turned off my reporting ability after a while it seemed.

I mention this now, because I do see now on eBay, they are selling several kits of this Tiger Model Tiger tank kit.

herbert otto gille
i bought this on temu for 28 euro and its a great beginners kit i bought it for the decal sheet but the build was surprisingly satisfying and yes mold on tools but with some in deep weathering etc you can give it more dimension to it

Treehugger
Nice deal. I gave them the finger the other day and closed my account, making sure to point out that their scale model kit sellers are apparent scammers, with some kits being sold at x4 x5 time the expected retail price.

Trez
I would stamp this kit into the ground and break it up over the builders head. 1/72 kits are better than this garbage

Cortex
@Trez What was wrong with the kit?

Trez
@Cortex - everything? It is NOT a 'class A' model. It is basically a 1/72 model tool expanded to 1/35. Border/Vespid/Flyhawk are better than this kit at 1/72
Molded on tools and very basic detail (No cupola detail and in TWO halves!) linked up road wheels. Fixed suspension - it all makes for an almost 'snap it' kit

herbert otto gille
@trez YOU ARE TALIKING pure bshit .... i built it as my 208th tiger 1 its a nice beginners kit and i bought it for the decals and it builds up very nice , and easy ...... so maybe you should go back to build lego or something like that

Trez
@herbert otter - I got those facts from the Modelling News webpage - it is a very simple build for simple beginners or children providing there is an adult present. I am pleased you found the decals easy to build but if I were you I would try to seek some assistance for your kits as they look like they have been made with plasticine and painted with crayons!

Bob Hall
WOW ! For someone that sports a Christian Cross Avater, sure are the judgmental type aren't ya, you must be Catholic ! Yep, definitely Catholic !

Daniel H
The guy is just stomping around all over the site being a complete jerk to people. Sad, really.

Bob Hall
Not the first one, Tim will nip it in the bud shortly, especially for a disrespectful Noob that's been here only 4 months. Hell go the way of the Dodo soon enough !

scalemates
My 9 year old requires less maintenance

Ryan G. F. Young
LOL

Trez
😂 at least I bring you all much cheer and laughter! I'm not Catholic but just your basic Christian Protestant.
Tbh I'm pleased to get at long last some real comments from real people - I'm overwhelmed really! I was beginning to think everyone was a bot!🤖
Now allow me if you 🙏
Let's roll it back a bit;
@Bob Hall - you say I'm Judgemental and yet…
@scalemates our friendly nameless one - who was it that made a move against me first? I gave up Lego over half a century ago.
I can take and I can give it - those are the two fundamental requisites for launching barbs at people.

I am a veteran of 22 years (demobbed in 2009 from Argentina) - I had a very varied career. Serving in a Divisional staff support, an accountant, a Defence Attaché support role, a vehicle mechanic and about 50% of my career as a paratrooper who spent over a 1000 days on active operational duty.
I was also a PTI and a boxing coach after I spent 3 years in the British Army Boxing Team - probably the best amateur boxing team in GB (if you can still call Britain Great that is)
Another ad hominem against me mention the fact that I have a reaction to meds. I do indeed take meds and have done for years - they are a great help. I turned to Jesus after having my second nervous breakdown whilst living in the mountains of Bulgaria.
I have been in many life and death situations but always walked away without a scratch.

I must say though that it really is great to be here! And my humble apologies if I have caused any offence - I know you wouldn't know it but it's always tongue in cheek with me

🫡 😊 👍

Guy Rump
Lovely job! 👍

Mr James
Oh yes indeed. Lovely mottling spray job and great scratches and wear around the frame.

Doubtingmango
Beautiful work!

Gary Victory
Very nice build and paint work Richard. Love the mottling. Top job Sir.

neo
NNNNNNICE!!!

Spanjaard
fully agree with Mr James and Gary Victory

RichardF
Thanks for all the comments - much appreciated!

J35J
Great work!👍🏻

John
Top notch construction and paint, love the mottle job. 👍

Trev
That looks great.

James C
Stunning looking build 👍

Rui S
A Beauty (y

Gary Curling
Outstanding

Finn
Looks interesting, will follow

SmallScaleIndustry .
I found some pictures about the original kv-1 which has the text as the kit's decal, but the original tank has this additional armor. Unfortunately, the kit does not contain this armor, so to save this good decal and visual source I decided to build my own.

Laliscale
Looks great!

Alec K
Nice start! Following.

Villiers de Vos
Very nice progress, especially the added armour details.

SmallScaleIndustry .
@Villers de Vos, Thank you. This is my first armor modification, I hope it will go as planned. 🙂

Guy Rump
Looking good. 👍

Mr James
What a great job. Nice weathering

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work.

Rui S
That's great work indeed 👍 Congratulations for the newborn Boy (now with two years?) and for the finished kit 😉 😄

SmallScaleIndustry .
Thank you! Actually It seems that I will have some sparetime when my son is sleeping. Time to clear the dusty boxes on the shelf. 🙂

Robin (WhiteGlint)
I've been working on Hasegawa's Vanship kit from the Anime Last Exile - Fam, the Silver Wing.
Inside the box are two models, one for the somewhat larger Vanship, which I painted in the version used by Tatiana and Alister, as well as the little Vespa of Fam and Giselle. Which is like mini version of a Vanship, how the aircraft in the world are called. Given the size of this thing, Vespa is a very fitting name., like a flying scooter. The Vanship has a size similar to a WW2 single engine fighter.

I am almost done wit the project, the red Vanship is missing a few final coats of gloss varnish, it's similar for the Vesper.
The decals were really troublesome, while some perfectly shaped to the body of the Vanship, they were also very very brittle. In contrast, the two decals at the silver Vespa's body just don't want to stick to the surface and need a bit more work.

As for the base I cut and glued a sheet of ABS to foam and painted it, so it gives a bit of an impression like it could be part of landing platform, of one of the large airships, shown in the anime.
I followed with generous amounts of acrylic wash and stippled it dry. Might try to fine tune the base as well a bit further.

Villiers de Vos
Highly unusual subject. Very nicely done

James C
Very nicely done mate 👍

Marcel Klemmer
Very nice👍

Robert Podkoński
Great job, Robin! (Thanks for the info - I have the same boxing in my stash 😉 )

Torsten
👀

Finn
Really cool!

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Some final images here as well. Getting a super clean and smooth finish is a lot harder than I thought but practice hopefully makes perfect.

While late from me: thanks for all the kind words mates!

Cheers

Rui S
A Beauty 👍

Rui S
Great work 👍

Rui S
I Like it. Very well done 👍

Woit
High quality miniature. I like weathering job especially.

Martin Weinpold
Nice!

Ben M
Yeah but... I mean I got a 1/24 scale M2 Light Tank "Mae West" for $14 + $5 shipping on ebay from them. Hard to find a kit of that subject at any price. I agree the detail is lacking, but what the heck, it's an opportunity. My only regret is they didn't have it in 1/16.

I haven't seen the figures, the 3d prints of the armor models are ok, but as you point out, rather basic.

My standards are low because I build a lot of those horrible old Lindberg kits 🙂

Ben M
I imagine the source is here: free3d.com/nl/3d-mod..light-tank-5948.html - but I wouldn't pay $199 to print it myself. The design says it's royalty free, so you could use it as SSMODEL does, and do it commercially without breaking the copyright.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Started work on my third MiG-21 kit in just two (?) years.
Another Eduard kit which was easy to build so far but I am not really sure about the loadout yet. There are more options available than the instructions provide and I am not sure how to attach the other pylons. I'd like to add two R-60 on the inner pylon per wing and maybe one radar guided on the outer pylons. But and I am not sure I have all necessary pylons and missiles either.
So I am gong to check instructions of the other kits of that family. With some luck I find what I need there. Same goes for the missiles themselves.

Other than that I plan to add the smaller of the two external fuel tanks on the centre pylon underneath the airframe.

To the background of the project: The mechs of the MuvLuv franchise are based on real world fighter jets.
So here I decided to build the jet the mech is based on and give it markings and camouflage like its sci-fi mecha counterpart. Like some kind of reversed what-iffery?

So far it was a very pleasant build and except for some details about the paintjob/markings I just need to figure out how to give it the loadout I want it to have.
I hope everything is already in the kit and that I do not need to buy any resin missiles or pylons. That way I just need to assemble the missing stuff, paint it and add it to the model. I might also missed to drill some holes for the pylons but I can still do that now, if I am careful.

Torsten
👀

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat 🙂

John
Hey Robin, cool project. I have the (non-profipack) version of this kit and I think the sprues are the same. I was just looking at them the other day and it does include the R-60 missiles because they are on the same sprue as the Atolls. The problem is the R-60 fins are on a different sprue that are NOT in the PF boxing. So, if you have some spares from your previous MiG-21 kits, you might find the fins there.

Jan Peters
Following this 👀

James C
👀👍

Sergej I
Watching 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Thanks for joining in mates. Much appreciated. 😄
@John: Thank you. The other MiGs were 1/72 so I am out of luck. Maybe I can cut the fins with PS.
And I miiiight have a set of Eduard R-60 resin missiles somewhere. I think I initially ordered that set for a Czech Hind I wanted to build.
Will search my stash for them. It should contain 4 missiles which would be perfect. And I think I found the steps for the pylons that can fit two R60 in the manuals of the PFM variant. Thanks SCM.

Neil
I'm in too!

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Welcome Neil!

Made a little bit of progress. I applied the first decals and stencils and I have quite some more to go.
I also found my R-60 missile set and I hope to work on it soon to have them assembled and painted before I apply the next clear coats to seal in the decals.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Added some streaking as next step of weathering. I don't want to overdo it so I hope it not too dirty.
After everything has dried again I will apply more varnish to protect it all.

I found the Eduard R-60 and tried to assembly them but, as expected, I failed. Some of the resin fins fell to the ground and disappeared, which really sucks.
I kept the launch rails but will order a set of 3d printed R-60 from Reskit. From how the instuctions look like I only need to glue the seeker head onto the missile while all fins are already attached.

My last try to get some R-60 for this project. If I fail again, I will probably keep the MiG without any missiles and pylons.

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Here are some images of the finished aircraft. In the end I did not install any R-60 but that's okay.
It's basically done now but I want to try myself at building a little scenic base with PAG concrete slabs.

Not sure when that will happen. I plan to build a 1/48 East German "Stasi" MiG-27 in a two-tone red camo based on the mech from the show to display along this one. Given the connection of the characers piloting them I kind of want to put them on the same apron, next to each other.

While I can basically begin working on it, I am still tinkering a bit with the custom decals I need to order for that one. My MiG-27 kit does not have the right decals, and I need to place the fictional stuff anyway.

This was definitely fun project and I look forward to work on more what-if, Ace Combat and other unusual aircraft and other topics.

Cheers!

Rui S
Looking good, Geoff.
I'm in😎

Geoff Pereira
Cheers Rui

Rui S
I realise now the real dimension of the buddy in photo 16. It's much bigger than thought😎
Looking forward to see this one completed😉

Eduardo Traverso
Did you finish it?

Kim Branders
I am in for the finnish. Top

Geoff Pereira
Thanks guys for wonderful comments.

Rui S
Great paintjob 👍 would be great to see it in a nice base 🤔

Johannes Schendlinger
Here are the first impressions of my current project. The F3H-2M Demon from Hobby Boss. I also install an Aries cockpit and Aries electronics bays.

Mr D
Very nice start to an interesting build 👍👍

Guido
Taking a seat.

Johannes Schendlinger
Thank you guys, nice to have you there.

Johannes Schendlinger
Happy new year mates!😊 Here are some new impressions of my build.

Robert Podkoński
Watching too.

Guido
Nice clean cut on the wings 👍🏻

Michael Kohl
Fine work so far.

Johannes Schendlinger
Welcome Robert, thanks for your interest.
Today I assembled the wings and the fuselage. The fit is mediocre, here some Acrylic Putty will help.

Maciej
Following. I have the same model in my stash so I'm very interested in your final result. So far it looks very nice 🙂

Johannes Schendlinger
Thank you Maciej, nice to have you there. It's fun to build, the kit is fine. However, there are some areas that require a bit more attention, which means the fit is worse than what I'm used to from Hobbyboss.

Juergen Klinglhuber
Looks promising - need to follow too. 👍

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

yngvenett
I'm definitely following this! The idea of using drilling holes in small parts and inserting the needles is brilliant. Wish I saw this 2 weeks ago 😳

Martin Oostrom
New lessons to be learned

Robert Podkoński
Taking a first row seat on this talent show!

Alexander Grivonev
Welcome guys, yes holding spoilers is sometimes a real pain in the a**, I've learned this the hard way

Rui S
I'm in 😎

Mike Bird
This kit is on my Christmas list! Watching along!

Dominik Weitzer
i will take a seat! awesome kit.

MS K
😎🍿

Martin Oostrom
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mark W
Weirdly the X series acrylic paint is compatible with Tamiya's Lacquer Thinner, and it then acts a lot like lacquer. I have switched to buying lacquers only but still have some X series acrylics that I will ONLY put through an airbrush once thinned with their lacquer thinner.

Alexander Grivonev
Interesting, will try this out 👍

Martin Oostrom
I understand that the LP's are basically the rattle can lacquers in a jar. For 5 times the price.

Emanuele Matteucci
Top idea to use the official Porsche config on the website! Tank you i'll configure one to better see all the details for the model. Double fun!

Alexander Grivonev
I can also recommend walkaround videos like these

Youtube Video
Youtube Video

great source for all kinds of detail inside, outside and from below

Mark W
@Alexander I'm still new to polishing paint, especially metallics, but my 1st gen Civic build was sprayed with X-34 thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. Main reason I've switched to this is using acrylic thinner constantly clogged my AB tip with the weather here.
Honda Civic GL (SB-1) | Album by Marktastrophe (1:24)

@Martin it's wild how prices change per locale, a jar of LP is a little less than half the price of a rattle can here and covers 3-5 times as much sprayed through an airbrush. (The low end of coverage is yellows and reds, of course.)

Dominik Weitzer
great work so far!

bughunter
I really like your careful work and painting 👍
@Martin Tamiya follow simply the trend to lacquer paints, after Mr. Paint and and other started this trend. Ok, there is a smell but I really like the fast drying times and they are much more forgiving for airbrushing. When the Mr.Paint colors were new and people asked about them, my answer was always "It's like Alclad in color" 😉

Ben M
The use of pins is a great idea. I've used this technique when I planned to pin the parts later, like on a resin kit, but hadn't considered it in other contexts before.

Alexander Grivonev
Lacquer or organic solvent paints are superior almost in every way to waterbased colors, some people might even prefer the smell 😄 I am just bewildered there is a trend towards something clearly not "environmentally friendly" in our supposedly eco friendly, green and polar bear loving world. Not that I am complaining...

Martin Oostrom
I decant the Tamiya rattle cans and get +/- 75ml out of them. For approximately €8. The 10ml LP's are €5 each. If the paint indeed is the same , that's a huge difference.
And I mostly airbrush with lacquers. Much more forgiving in my hands than acrylics. I donated most of my acrylics to Spanjaard. The only ones I kept are for detail brush painting.

Alexander Grivonev
5€ for 10ml LP?? I sourced them for 2,69 a jar. I have to admit, I have never used decanted paint. Tried decanting once but was repelled by the messiness and did not end up using the paint. I think I still would prefer getting the jars. And if you consider you add up to 2/3 of thinner to the jar to make it airbrush ready the price difference isn't that great anymore...

bughunter
@Martin To avoid to confuse people: the new lacquers are still acrylics! They are in solvent based thinner, in opposite to the water based acrylics. See for example a MrPaint label: "Acrylic lacquer based paint".
For completeness, enamels are another (oil based) paint class.
Sorry Alexander for hijacking your thread!

Mark W
@Martin that could be the difference, I have never decanted a rattle can either. A 10ml jar is less than €5 here where a rattle can is around €12.50. I also average a 1:1 paint to thinner ratio so the thinner goes quite far.
(Currency conversions courtesy of Google)

Alexander Grivonev
@bughunter: I did not want to open the pandora's box either because it is an insanely broad topic but hey who does not like a healthy discussion! I get the feeling the word "acrylic" has become somewhat of a marketing term because it sounds cool and modern. So the consumer will think, "hey I have heard this before, this must be good".

It is basically the umbrella term for the "sticky stuff" in your paint. Paint consists in very broad terms from 3 parts: 1."colored stuff", the pigment 2."sticky stuff", the binder which binds the pigments 3. "runny stuff", the solvent which makes the paint more liquidy for easier application.

The "sticky stuff" is the aforementioned acryl, again a broad term for a myriad of different compounds. There are other categories of sticky stuff: oils, resins like polyurethane and many many more. In the earlier days the painters used compounds found in nature like shellac, tree resin or even eggs. When you paint an object, the solvent evaporates and the sticky stuff with the bound pigments inside remains on the object becoming hard and dry leaving you with an object in your desired color.

Depending on the chemical properties of the "sticky stuff" it can be soluble by different solvents like organic solvents or waterbased ones. Again in very broad terms the organic solvents are the "smelly" ones. But there are also overlappings like alcohol based paints which also can be diluted with water (Tamiya X and XF and alike)

Alexander Grivonev
It is an insanely broad topic, I would say just stick to what you are most comfortable with and enjoy the process!

Martin Oostrom
Or learn something new by following Mr Shiny 😉
And I thin my decanted cans with 20-30 Mr SLT as well. To each his own, like Alexander says.

Alexander Grivonev
I am making progress guys, just the uploading is lagging behind. More pictures in the following days 👍

Mike Bird
Looking forward to the pictures! Santa was good to me and I'm now the proud owner of this kit!

Bozzer
Just to throw my English spanner in the works, if you guys can get hold of some Winsor and Newton Galleria retarder, you should find that works too? Obviously testing, before you commit to the model, but it's an artists go-to, and you just need a tiny drop. Lasts for years, and for the money, it'll probably outlive each of us? Give it a Google and see if it's available in your area?

Michael Kohl
Joining the crowd and start with two cents of mine: I never got along with Tamiya paints. Exasperated I switched to Mr. Hobbcolor then. Improved my results further since using Mr. Color Levelling Thinner and closed the circle with Tamiya and Mr. Hobbycolor paints using the same thinner and about 10% retarder. Now I can use up my paints.

Michael Kohl
By the way: nice explanation of yours, Alexander.

Bozzer
Apparently, all retarder contains glycerine. I'm no scientist, so don't hang me if I'm wrong! However, I did manage to dig this out, from years ago, and if anyone would like to look at the following link, then please do so.
My belief is, that sharing information, expands the knowledge of the hive?
Obviously, it's not my thread, so please feel free to PM/DM me with your experiences?
Alexander, thank you for your patience 🙂

Alexander Grivonev
Guys, thanks for your input and feel free to share your thoughts 👍

When using a brush for paint application I personally almost exclusively use Vallejo Model Color nowadays (similar paints from other brand as well, in the 17ml droplet flask). You apply a couple of droplets of your desired paints onto a wet palette an off you go, you can mix the paint on the go while you are working, it dries really fast, the droplet flask is very convenient. Great stuff. Almost never used Tamiya Acrylics with a brush with the seldom exception here and there. The glossy ones for example for springs, used a couple of times already.

Vice versa I for the love of me cannot stand airbrushing the Vallejo/MiG waterbased acrylics. I tried, i did not like the result. Something about airbrushing these paints just rubs me the wrong way...The way they clog the airbrush and the way they can be treated afterwards goes against my moideling habits. I know some modelers swear by them, I am not one of them.

So where were we? Paint retarder, so far I am d'accord with the Tamiya branded one and since I use it very seldomly it will be probably enough for a lifetime. So I am not seeing myself purchasing a bottle of Winsor and Newton anytime soon, but hey who knows, never say never!

Alexander
Awesome work as always, taking a seat for the remainder of the project! 👍

MS K
Suede of interior is very nice. genius!!!

Pepe
Nice

Alexander Grivonev
Thx guys and welcome!

bughunter
Picture 91 - I would say: Bingo 👍

Mark W
This is a mad amount of interior detail. It's very impressive.

bughunter
That is a very kinky, ähhh creative show here!

Alexander
Agreed, very much like the creativity of trying stuff like this. Definitely an interesting pattern. 👍
Would it be possible to try sewing yourself a fabric for the desired effect?

bughunter
With thin parts it is may be possible to wound a thread or wire around it as mask.

Bozzer
I once saw a guy stretch a fishnet stocking over a motorcycle petrol tank and spray over it. The result was a perfect, snakeskin effect. Man, that was the coolest thing I ever saw! I think it was on Orange County Choppers, but I can't swear to it. I definitely admire your attempt to deliver the right impression. Creativity is what makes us stand out 100%

Paul Shearer
Haha just sneak in while she's not home. You definitely proved the concept just need to fiddle with the medium

Alexander Grivonev
Hey gents, Happy New Year!

Here is the video in question btw

Youtube Video

Kenneth
Amazing 😳 This could make me having a go at building car kits instead of only aircraft.

bughunter
Is dry fitting necessary after all?
The bad fit of the mask and the missing B-pillar looks like they pressed this project out of the door for Xmas business? May be also Tamiya needs money in this though times, but it is bad if that kills quality.

Byron
once again I'm blown away by your level of detail and ideas to create stuff out of thin air... honestly mindblowing. Thanks so much, I'm always learning something new when looking at your posts

Martin Oostrom
Not to rain on this parade, but according to the instructions, mask C goes on part D5, not D6. Could it be that even Alexander the Great is capable of a mistake? Now my entire universe shall collapse!

Alexander Grivonev
Martin, you are absolutely correct and I have made an embarrassing mistake🙂

Alexander Grivonev
Tamiya, I take everything back! Okay not everything, the missing B pillar is still not cool...

Adam Gudynowski
Great work so far!

Martin Oostrom
I only knew where to look, as I have made the same mistake more than once!

bughunter
Martin, that is the "experience of an engineer": you recognise that you have made the same mistake before. 🙂

Martin Oostrom
So that's what my engineer degree is for!
Still another masterpiece in the making Alexander

Spanjaard
masterpiece indeed

Bozzer
Yeah, that's cool.
Forgive me, I've just drooled all over my phone screen?
I'll be back, when the trauma team have evaluated me!
WOW!!!

Lorraine Lin
The details of the seats look awesome!

Robert Podkoński
I agree - the seat is a masterpiece in itself!

Alexander Grivonev
Thx guys, I am very happy with the seats too!

yngvenett
#141-146 adding details to the details. The level of skills makes this project really fun to follow

Alexander
Yes, I agree. Very inspiring and a good reference for similar builds.

Peter Hardy
The carpet texture process was fascinating Alex. CF has got the better of me but think I will have another try! Thanks mate! When will you start a You Tube channel???

Alexander Grivonev
Thx guys, you are too kind. Peter, CF is not that scary, really. Once you`ve got the hang of it it is actually a really relaxing and enjoyable process, you should give it a try 👍

Concerning Youtube, I have thought about it and calculated it through. It will require an insane amount of dedication and time. Time which I will have to chop off from modeling and invest in filming, editing, uploading etc etc. Besides by now there are tons of modeling channels with maybe a couple of hundreds or few thousands of subs. It is very difficult to stick out and those who do have started their channels 10+years ago. Honestly, I think the golden days of Youtube are over anyway.

bughunter
Yes Alexander, and it is not only a big effort for you - it steals a lot of time from all the viewers! I prefer a build report with good pictures over the tons of videos.

George Williams
Watching a video of someone opening a box is a waste of time.

Peter Hardy
George, I understand your point and yes watching an 'unboxing' would I think be a little pointless but there are those out there that like them. In my case, when I took up the hobby I lived in a small mining town in Central Queensland Australia. No mentors, no clubs and the only modellers I met were on Scalemates. I now count quite a few as good friends, sometimes advisors and full time cheer squad members when I learn something new or build something they recognise as a step up for me. The camaraderie on Scalemates is wonderful and I will be eternally grateful to Tim for this site. All that said, a large part of my learning comes from You Tube. As I said I lived in a small, dusty little town 3 hours from the closest hobby shop, any other modeller or club. You Tube was a life saver for me. Yesterday I learned that a Tamiya Extra Thin cement bottle brush can be extended (and designed to do so) to reach the bottom of the bottle. The sort of stuff you learn from a bloke in the club in London, Berlin, New York or Pretoria. A lot of us don't have access to that wealth of experience for a question we didn't know to ask. It may not be applicable to you in your situation but it has a purpose for me.

Alexander Grivonev
I don't watch "unboxing" videos either but Youtube is an incredible useful tool if you use it wisely and purposefully. It is a gold mine of useful information and I've learned an incredible amount from it and am very thankful to the content creators. Personally I wouldn's start a channel though because of the mentioned reasons

George Williams
I live in a "small" city in north east China, I say small but it has a population of approx one million. You Tube, along with most western social media, is not available in China. There is a web site called bilibili.com that seems to get some You Tube material, a lot of it is Japanese. However, modelling is very much a minority interest here, so the internet is my only companion. I like this site and iModeler.com.

Peter Hardy
The mirrors look unbelievably good Alex! I wallow in jealousy!!

Lorraine Lin
The Mirrors !!!
[img1]

bughunter
The polished result looks fantastic, the mirror too! I'm sure this little bubble will not be visible at the end ...

Lorraine Lin
Stuttgart factory needs your help!

Alexander Grivonev
Nah, Stuttgart will be fine but Shizuoka might need a few tips😄

yngvenett
Whatever you did with the armrest on the door panel (the gray stuff that looks like fabric) looks amazing!

Alexander Grivonev
Hey yngvenett, the same I did with the center console (pic 90) and dashboard underside (pic 175). Underneath it is the same dark grey paint like the rest of the part. Additionally I applied a mixture of XF-86 and X-21 (10:3 ratio) If you spray it fairly dry you get this fuzzy effect

Alexander Grivonev
My dear mates, the build is progressing rathier quickly since I have a few days off right now. Looks like I might finish until the end of the week 👍

Bozzer
This level of detail, is worthy of an award.
You've removed the bar, and created a whole new game!
Excellent work on the whole project, Alexander 👍

Peter Hardy
Why do I always feel inadequate when poking through Alex' genius!

Spanjaard
hard to get anything better than this.... but I am sure Alexander will just exactly do that in the next build 😉

Mike Thomas
Unbelievable stuff, Alexander! I was confused for a minute when I clicked on pics of the real car vs pics of your model, especially the interior. Great work, sir!

Marcel
That interior looks fantastic. Perhaps you can chop the roof off and turn it into a convertible so it stays visible. 😉

Michael Kohl
Impressive indeed

Bozzer
@Marcel. If he chops anything off this, I'll personally fly to his part of the world, and apply a high voltage, to his genitals! This is where we're all lucky, because Alexander knows that it's there, and we've seen it being created. Once the lid is on, it'll all be hidden, like a great king's tomb 😉

Evan
That's excellent work Alexander! Since such a knowledgeable bunch of modellers hung out here right now, can someone explain to me why my clear coating results have a satin finish at best? I usually airbrush on top of Vallejo air colors, and only with the alclad's clear could I achieve some shining results but that has been discontinued as far I know.

Alexander Grivonev
Marcel, I thought about your offer but Mr. Bozzer's strenuous appeal made me reconsider

Alexander Grivonev
Hey Evan, it is a broad topic but you can roughly boil it down to three things: 1. Surface preparation 2. Clear coat used 3. Thickness of the layer/ number of layers

I will use the terms paint/clear/clear coat/varnish interchangeably

1. If your surface is smooth, the applied varnish will also appear smooth and glossy, no brainer. This also applies to the paint you apply the gloss coat OVER, if it is flat (matte) or rough in texture etc the gloss coat will appear similar.

2. You can roughly divide clear in two categories: one component (1K) and two component (2K). Without going too deep into the chemistry the layer of 1K clears shrinks down considerably while it is drying, the solvent which is the bulk of the paint evaporates, leaving you with a thin layer of dry clear coat. 2K clears cure/dry by chemical reaction between the two components, while just a small portion of solvent evaporates leaving you with a thicker (glossier) layer. 2K paints are still a niche in scale modeling but if you want to achieve a nice car body finish there is almost no way around it

3. The more layers you apply, the better the result becomes. Also a no brainer. If you use 1K paints you need many more layers than with 2K paints. If I am saying more layers I mean the following: you apply 1-2 layers in one go, let it dry, carefully sand the surface with very fine paper (2000 or finer, just to get rid of the dust particles), apply 1-2 coats, let it dry.....repeat until you are satisfied. With 2K you will need less layers and less repeats.

Alexander Grivonev
This is the gist of it from my personal experience, everyone welcome to add their two cents.

Lorraine Lin
I want to click 👍 for every picture!
[img1]

Evan
Thanks Alexander, I had a feeling that there is no lazy way around it, so lots of (smooth) layers is the answer to a shiny result. I will commit and put the effort on my next project.

Martin Oostrom
What also helps with solvent based clears, is using Mr Self Levelling Thinner instead of regular thinners. That stuff is worth its weight in gold.
It slows the drying time a bit, so the clear can level off a bit more. Flip side, if applied too thick a coat, runners are a possibility.

Mike Bird
What a tease! Looking forward to seeing those "many parts" go together!

Alexander Grivonev
What a beautiful sunny day it was today...

Alexander Grivonev
Thanks a lot at all dear mates, at those who have followed this report and gave a thumbs up or two. I hope I did not bore you too much with my long winded explanations. Maybe you could even pick up some inspiration here and there. Another nice project, another lovely result, tried new techniques, learned something new. Stay healthy, stay positive, see you at the next project!

Spanjaard
congratulations on a fantastic job!!

Mike Bird
Congratulations, this was an incredibly enjoyable build to follow and the end result is fantastic!

yngvenett
Congratulations! It was a fantastic journey and I am very glad that you added lots of information during this building process. I took screenshots and actually bookmarked it because of some of your teaching skills. The finished car looks great, both on the inside and outside.

Alexander
Congrats! As said by many others, inspiring build and the result does not disappoint! A very good job also for the nice presentation with the mirror, looks like something actual marketing of the real car would do too! 👍👍👍

Bozzer
She's a beauty mate! Your tutorial was informative and very professional. I particularly liked the chopstick sander. Definitely something worth remembering! The outcome certainly paid off!
I'm also glad to see, that you kept the roof? Your soprano skills are saved for another time!
Well done mate, put her in a case, and grab yourself a beer, you earned it 👍

MS K
Nice car. 👏👏👏

Michael Kohl
The daylight shots wonderfully add to the overall impression of a superb build.

Kenneth
Fantastic 👍👍👍

Peter Hardy
"I may even pick up an inspiration here and there". Understatement of the year! Alex G, you just drawing breath I use as an inspiration!!! Again, Peter Hardy is dumbfounded by your level!

Robert Podkoński
Looks better than a real car. Awesome photos!

Emanuele Matteucci
Jesus Christ on a motorbike...

Marcel
It's almost like you photographed the real thing. Outstanding work. And don't let Bozzer intimidate you. I'm sure he means well, but a convertible definitely would be an interesting option given your highly detailed interior work. 🙂 For this kit it would even save you the hassle with that b-pillar. Maybe Tamiya is working on that version and is that why they didn't bother with that pillar!

Dennis
Wow. Just wow. Fantastic result as always mate. Thanks for sharing the Mr. Shiny full experience 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿🥳🥳🥳

Also reminds me that I miss my beloved hobby really bad. But in the moment there is no chance because there is no bench nor mancave 😞

Alexander Grivonev
Hey Dennis, kitchen table, basic set of tools, off you go! I was in a similar situation 5 years ago while moving places and had no bench for like half a year, everything was stashed away in a storage facility. That did not stop me from realizing a few projects including a BMW Z3 and the green Opel GT. All fun and relaxing OOB builds. Unless you are homeless of course 😄

Bozzer
@Dennis. I know some guys, who model from the back of their semi? (Obviously not while driving)
It's possible to do it anywhere, as long as you have the time. Don't dishearten buddy, you don't need all the fancy stuff, to have a good time? Please remember, it's a hobby, and it's fun! Just glue and paint, are enough to make a convincing model? You could always paint it white and hide it in the snow? 😉

Bozzer
Note to self:
Don't spray grey primer on a truck, in a cardboard box, in the kitchen, because it's warmer than any other room in the house!
Two days later and I was still cleaning up the residue of the overspray and whatever else hit the fan!
I'd rather clean up the mould lines on an old Italeri kit, than do that crap again!!!

Peter Hardy
Note to self. If I am as silly as Bozzer do not admit it publicly. Keep it to yourself.

Tim
Fun

entophile
It will be a fun build. I want to experiment a bit with washes on this one, and try more streaking effects 🙂.

Hans-Jürgen Haag
👀👍

Landlubber Mike
Looking great! I have the 1/350 Hasegawa kit of the Yahagi. Very cool subject.

Kesa Tiho
FINALLY!!! THE GODS HAVE BLESSED US!!!

Jennifer Franklin
Oh, very nice, those pieces will fit!!!

Jakko ‌
"Removing seams from roadwheels the Jakko way." Thanks for the shout-out 🙂

Though TBH, I find it takes about as long as clamping the wheel in a vice and scraping the seam down — the lathe is less effort but not really a timesaver, IMHO. Could be that's down to my lack of lathing skills, though.

Ben M
It took a long time but it's fun. Not every day I get to use a lathe.

Lorraine Lin
Wow! Tanks and cafe girls😁

[img1]

Ben M
As the kit is missing many parts, l will try 3d printing / scratchbuilding the missing parts. My resin printer isn't a very good one so it can be hard to get things to print correctly.

Jakko ‌
Quick tip: you don't need to take photos of your screen — press ⇧⌘4 instead 🙂

Ben M
There is a lot of work to do to remove the supports. I did a quick and dirty pass on one side and it fits perfectly!

I scaled running gear and tracks from a 1:56 stl by 175% to get to 1:32 and it fits properly.

Ben M
I got the tracks from here: cults3d.com/en/3d-mo..early-prod-july-1941

Jennifer Franklin
Very neat, love the 3D printing.

Ben M
Jakko: Youtube Video

🙂 🙂 🙂

Neuling
Good work in every aspect!

tankred
Thank you Neuling

Rui S
Very nice indeed 👍

Rui S
Shiny 👍

Bob Hall
WOW ! That is clean, great job !

Pepe
Nice job

George Williams
Excellent work on display.

Guido
Great result and nicely detailed 👏🏻

Rui S
A Beauty 👍