News Feed

Dave Burgess
Bird #2 in the Thunderbirds series. I'm having *REAL* fun with these decal sheets. Most of the kits (T-33, F-100D, F-105, F-4, T38) were produced by Hasegawa in the mid-'70s to mid '80s, and the decal sheets have deteriorated badly. They've dried out, and become VERY brittle. I've had to buy decal sheets on EBay, and they too are in rough shape. I ended up by brush painting Testors gloss lacquer over the decals to keep them from shattering when they're dipped in water. I first tried airbrushing the lacquer on, but I found I needed a thicker coat. I'm working through the kits now, and dealing with the decal issues as I come across them.

Dave Burgess
Minor error n this one. Didn't realize, until it was too late, that the tail surfaces had to be painted white before the red scallops & stars were applied. One of the problems with the various decal mfgs. Some of the sheets also provide the white, others don't By the time I realized, I'd already applied a bunch of decals, and was beyond the turning point. I addressed this problem on the F-100 and F-105, but I'll just have to live with my mistake on the T-33.

Dave Burgess
Another problem cropped up during the build. The kit-provided decal sheet was incomplete. They provided no decals for the drop tanks, instead indicating they had to be painted, but no stencil for that. Having built his one before, I knew the first one I built DID provide decals, so I found Microscale sheet #72-133 on EBay and purchased it. I had perviously purchase this sheet about 3 decades ago, and built all 3 versions (T-Birds, Blue Angels and Golden Knights). Unfortunately this decal sheet also suffered from deterioration, forcing me to touch up a couple of the red scallops. I've now purchased THREE Microscale T-Birds decal sheets in the past 6 weeks (T-33, T-38 F-100) that have splintered when wet. After the first one, I started carefully testing unused decals on the sheet, before applying them. The best fix I found was to brush paint over the decals with Testors clear lacquer (a spray coat was too thin).

Ben M
My solution has been to scan the old sheets and if they shatter/are too much of a hassle, I print new ones via sts decals. I recently purchased some decal paper for my printer and next time I'll try making my own. I have cut out simple ones from scans with my cricut to make masks to paint the markings, another option.

Jv
Fantastic work
Sure to follow

Michael Kohl
Me too

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work so far.

Marek Zadnik
Thanks to all

Michael Kohl
I can hear that engine roar and guzzle fuel, lots of fuel. 🙂

Landlubber Mike
Those aftermarket rockers look really nice. I might have to get one for my kit.

Villiers de Vos
The detail on the engine is phenomenal.

Treehugger
Any relation to the movie Where Eagles Dare? 🙂

Steve
I think this is so cool!

Villiers de Vos
A very interesting subject.

Mr James
Looking forward to seeing this

Tim
Great film

David Taylor
Broadsword calling Danny boy springs to mind.

Villiers de Vos
Nice work.

Edgars Bizūns
Cant wait to see what wonders of weathering will you apply to this!

Bruce Huxtable
Watching with interest, Zsolt.

Spanjaard
Me too 🙂

Simon Nagorsnik
Yeah! Shermans are awesome! 😂

Zsolt Czegle
Welcome mates on the aboard!

The assembly phase is done, still some stowage are waiting to be mounted....

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work so far.

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Villiers!

Zsolt Czegle
It's primed in black.

Richard Berrie
Love the scale. So cute!

Michael Kohl
Someones productive... 🙂

Zsolt Czegle
Danke Tom und Michael!

Zsolt Czegle
Let's start with the colors......

Łukasz Gliński
I see you went for the classical topic this time 👍

Zsolt Czegle
Yes I did Łukasz. Now this is going to be a simple project without any complications

Łukasz Gliński
I say the same starting my projects 😄

Zsolt Czegle
The decals are applied and pinwash done.

Mr James
Great paint and shading work. Very well done

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work.

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Mr. James and Villiers!

Bruce Huxtable
Subtle work, Zsolt. Superb at this scale. Learning lots from your builds 👍🙂

Pepe
😲😲😲😍😍😍

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Bruce and Pepe!

Zsolt Czegle
I started to paint the details : tools, stowage, tow cable, wheels...

gorby
Oh nice work so far Zsolt! The stowage looks great.

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Gorby!

Zsolt Czegle
Despite the hot weather, I'm back at the workbench: I made some streaking effects with weathering pencils.

Finn
Awesome

Guy Rump
Once again, an excellent result! 👍

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Finn and Guy Rump!

It's still 90% completed. I hope I can finish next week.

Chris Derksen
That thing is better than my 35th Shermans. Well done!

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Chris!

Simon Nagorsnik
A lovely Sherman 😁
The color combination goes hand in hand and looks very harmonious.
Another master piece!

Rui S
Well done 👍

Pietro De Angelis
Beautiful job, congrats!

gorby
Wow! Another mini masterpiece Zsolt. Fantastic weathering.

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Mates for your kind words. I really appreciate it! 👍

Zsolt Czegle
I say now, it's completed!

gorby
Fantastic result Zsolt!
Another award winner no doubt.

Erik Torp
Outstanding!

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Gorby and Erik!

Łukasz Gliński
Brilliant job Sir 👍 (well above the "ok level" 😉 )

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you Łukasz!

Elshan Mammadov
Superb work at this scale!

Neuling
I agree with Elshan.

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you mates!

CaptGPF
❤️❤️❤️ - especially at this insane scale!

Zsolt Czegle
Thank you CaptGPF!

TH SCALE MODELS (Thomas Haberl)
Somehow missed that you also received some awards on Nitra Model Show. Congrats! Gratuliere recht herzlich! See you in a few weeks then 👍👏

Neuling
Congrats! 👍

Pietro De Angelis
Deserved prizes,
congrats again!

Villiers de Vos
Congratulations Zsolt. Well deserved.

Rui S
Great paintjob 👍

Neuling
Yes!

John Hughes
I've had my eye on a few of these eary war Gecko British tanks, but never got around to getting one as the company is a bit of an unknown to me. Have you found it a good kit to build? The results are certainly impressive!

David Taylor
Same here I'm waiting on a Scimitar MK2.How did it build.

Simon Nagorsnik
Fine work!
Well done counter scheme👍

gvizbi
Thank you, guys.

This was my first Gecko kit, and I can say that I am absolutely impressed! One of the best kits I have ever built. Dragon's kits are the most similar, but the instructions are much better (no errors at least) and maybe a bit better engineering. The only issue with this kit was the exhaust, which was unnecessarily complex (it took me 25% of the time to assemble the damn exhaust 🙂
Also, I see that some reviews are complaining about the tracks, but except for being a bit time-consuming, I didn't have any issues with them. And they look fantastic.

Overall, strongly recommended. At least this kit 🙂

David Taylor
Just got my Scimitar 2 looks well detailed and thought out.If it turns out as good as your cruiser I will be chuffed.

gvizbi
Thank you David.

F Matthews
Looks fantastic! Like you, I found the tracks to be fine. A lot of work, sure, but they look great and are workable. I've built three full sets (A10 and two A9s) and still here. Your camo looks perfect.