Monthly Archives: November 2010

Monogram P-47 – Cockpit and Main Assembly

The molds for Monogram’s P-47D Thunderbolt date back to 1967, and it shows.

While the kit was considered world class when it was released, it can’t compare to the tooling, detail and fit of more modern kits.

Still, it’s far from bad, and though fit tolerances can be somewhat clumsy here and there, it’s altogether very competent. (more…)

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Monogram P-47 – A Series of Tubes

Monogram’s P-47D Thunderbolt isn’t a great kit. In fact, it doesn’t compare well at all to the newer offerings by Hasegawa and especially Tamiya. But it’s a competent, fast-building kit, with surprisingly solid detail.

Well, except for the blast tubes in the wings.

I’m trying to build this one mostly out-of-the-box, but I just couldn’t abide these sad excuses for blast tubes. (more…)

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Zvezda La-5 – The Wheels Come Off

Things have gone downhill with the Zvezda since the last post.

Adventures in Repainting

It began with the White Ensign AMT Black. It’s proven a very temperamental paint that either goes down somewhat translucent, or somewhat gritty. Well, I got the somewhat gritty version, so I went to do a wet polishing sand, hoping to remove the grit and maybe the marks left by the silly putty and tape.

The thing is, as you wet sand, you kick up a slurry of water and sanded paint. The AMT black basically just absorbed this slurry. I tried everything and couldn’t get it out. So I ended up going back and repainting the camoflage freehand.

(more…)

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No Perfect Paints

Since my return to modeling this summer, I’ve been experimenting with paints. A lot.

I used Testors Model Master enamels almost exclusively when I was growing up, but between the internet and, you know, being grown up, I have a lot more resources at my disposal to track down brands that aren’t available at the hobby superstores of the world.

These past few months, I’ve been looking for a paint that does all of the following well:

  1. Airbrushing – A paint that can’t airbrush well is a non-starter for me. Save on small parts, my brush painting skills are seriously lacking, so the ability to shoot the stuff through an airbrush is critical.
  2. Brushing – Touch-ups happen. Sometimes you just need to paint a small area, like a wheel or headrest.
  3. Drybrushing – Critical for weathering.
  4. Color Accuracy – Not as critically important, but paints that come within spitting distance of the real world colors are nice. Going hand in hand with this is color selection.
  5. Reduction – For post-shading or blending, it’s important that the paint be able to thin down very well.

So far, none of the paints I’ve tried really nail it for me. Since paint and paint selection seems a constant subject across modeling forums and sites, I figured I’d use this post to throw in my two cents. (more…)

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La-5 – Baby Steps into Scratchbuilding

As a kid, I never descended into the scrappy art of scratchbuilding. I was impatient enough as it was, and the idea of slowing down to play that game never entered my mind.

These days, I’m a bit older, a bit more patient, and far more in tune with my inner perfectionist. I still don’t go in for too much scratchbuilding, and honestly I’ll still spring for a photo etch or resin solution if it exists. But sometimes…it doesn’t.

Since my return to modeling, my scratchbuilding has consisted of seatbelts. I’ve been making them out of Tamiya tape, supplemented with buckles either snipped off of PE belts, or just fashioned from spare PE bits.

With the La-5, though, that’s starting to change. (more…)

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