David Hingtgen

Saw that before I think. Anyways, it's painted up as a USAF F-15. 18th fighter wing, based at Okinawa (certainly the most famous USAF squadron in Japan, since they're based there--Misawa would be second). Anyways, 18th FW is currently F-15C's, and has had F-15's for a LONG time, one of the very first and best F-15's wings there was. Kadena is the name of the base itself. They're "The Samurai" and have one of the few logos as cool as The Jolly Rogers. And their tail code is ZZ, as you can see. It'd be easy to make yourself, just snag some 18th FW decals and you're set. (I think I have some ZZ tailcodes myself, but no insignia). PS--that's lower-low-vis than even they themselves do. 18th FW has always been one of the most colorful of F-15 wings. PPS--"Shogun" is their newspaper, one of the best in the Air Force. Also, they publish it online, so I read it whenever I can. http://www-02.kadena.af.mil/18wg/staff/18w...news/shogun.htm

I'll just add that I think one of the most important steps is to PRESS the decal down to squeeze all the air bubbles out. Don't just soak up the excess water, that's not enough. I use paper towels+fingers (soaked in microset) to really rub them down. You practically want to burnish them into the surface (without damaging them, of course).

Hey, at least I posted after direct comments about a Baroness cosplayer. And at the very least, I posted pics of a hot chick, unlike 90% of cosplay threads which immediately degenerate into either really fat people dressed as sailor moon, guys dressed like Faye/Rei/Belldandy, or other unappealing things. Now if I had any Mylene cosplay pics I'd post them.

Yup, it rocks. The good thing is, they often show 2 or more eps back-to-back, so if you catch it, you can usually see several eps (including ones you missed earlier). I've seen about 5 eps myself. Try 9-11PM, later in the week (Thurs/Fri/Sat).

What I wouldn't give to be a Stormtrooper... (As you can see, there's multiple Baroness cosplayers that Hasbro uses) Some are hotter than others, but the hottest I posted first.

Last of the big, clear pics

Enjoy

Here you go.

I figured that'd get a response. I've got more pics of her. Will post later. (The fabric outfit is way better than the hard plastic chest-plate-armor thing)

I don't think that's THE Baroness chick. There's at least 2 "official" ones (the newer one is the hotter one though, by far). That just looks like a good cosplay. Totally different outfit:

Uh, no. Ent-B was brand-spanking-new when we saw it--Modified Excelsior class. Just like the Lakota. (Only 2 modified Excelsiors have ever been seen, and those are it).

Squadron putty is EVIL. Anything is better. Milliput and Tamiya are the usual recommendations, though I've also heard good things about 3M's Blue Glazing putty. I use superglue myself.

Hey, the Excelsior's still around. (As in, "now" as TNG/DS9/VOY goes--what, 2378 last time or something?) It's still an awesome-looking ship, just not nearly as fast or powerful as current stuff. We could still have an Excelsior show--just how it is *now*. Wouldn't that be cool? Probably on its 3rd reactor, 6th bridge, 4th set of torp tubes, etc. A bit old and patchy by now, but still a proud, well-taken-care-of ship.

Bright blue overall usually indicates training bombs (little bombs ballistically identical to big ones---the infamous 4-pound bomb) but I've also seen it used for what is basically a weight---a Sidewinder filled with cement. (Planes do NOT like asymmetrical loads---so if you have just one weapon on one side, you need to weight it down on the other--usually a fuel tank, but small things need a smaller weight). Finally, I've seen bright blue Sidewinders with olive drab/grey bits, that I haven't quite figured out. Usually see them at airshows! Maybe they're "extra-dummy" to protect civilians who might mess with them. (Seriously, I think they're acquisition rounds or something)

ST: Excelsior would have so rocked. Takei was VERY willing to do it, as was Grace Lee Whitney (Lt Rand--comm officer). It was further along than most proposed projects. Now it's too late, but 10 years ago--would have been WAY better than Voy. (And they still could have stuck Jeri Ryan in later)

I asked the same question about a month ago, and didn't follow anyone's advice, but several people mentioned the Paasche H series for a decent, cheap beginner's brush. http://www.dixieart.com/HSet.html Only $28 for everything you need, and is better than any Testors.

I've gotta stop taking photographs while the sun's setting--HARSH contrast and shadows. Anyways, here's a nice overall shot. This'll be the last pic for a while, the next thing will be the finished camoflaged hull. (I don't even have the red bottom done yet as you can see) (Then I have the remaining 150 guns or so to do). Yup, final armament will be 9 16in guns, 20 5in guns, 76 40mm guns, and 52 20mm guns. (Iowa class reigned supreme against ANYTHING for anti-aircraft) As you can imagine, I've spent many hours sanding gun barrels... PS--bought more 5L 1943 light grey today.

It's about 3 VF-1J's long.

Standard aircraft load was 3 Vought OS2U's, but one VF-11 seems to fit.

Very interesting. (My uncle was the missile man on several SSBN's) Anyways, pics for scale: (I aligned the highest point on the ship with the VF-11---it's impossible to keep the whole thing in focus when you've got this perspective) Final model will be several inches taller with the antennas and radar masts installed up top.

Hey, just do M7 Milia. She's just as hot (if not hotter) but has much shorter hair.

Well I checked some of the other lines, and Testors makes 20400 in their MM II selection--that'll help a lot. Anyways---the newer "other" Testors lines have a LOT of yellows/browns. Even if they don't have the exact number, there's sure to be something close. Here's the color charts for Testors: http://www.testors.com/tes_cds/color_chart...M_(Acrylic).pdf Acrylics, all of them. Has 30277, which I can't imagine would be far off from 30279. (close numbers are generally close---the higher the number, the lighter the color--30100 would be a very dark brown, 30400 lighter, 30600 very light brown--so 30277 would be SLIGHTLY darker than 30279) I can explain the whole numbering system if you want, just ask. http://www.testors.com/tes_cds/color_chart.../1700_MM_FS.pdf Military enamels, main line (30219 in here) http://www.testors.com/tes_cds/color_chart...%20(Enamel).pdf Military enamels, secondary line. (20400 is in here as well as LOTS of sand colors--especially German ones for Africa, and modern US/UK Gulf colors) There's almost as many colors in the acrylic line as the two enamels, but not quite. You can look through these and see what's available. PS--the 36270 for the F-16? That's because it's an F-16, not because of the scheme. Like 99% of F-16's have 36270 noses--it's inherent to the plane, they'd paint it to match the rest of the plane if they could. So don't worry about it on a valk or something. PPS--don't trust the colors on the PDF charts at all. Way off. Just use them as a rough guide (mainly just to get the numbers). Most colors are really lighter than shown, and most greys are "blue-er" though some are browner. The images on the site with the schemes looked to have much more accurate colors.

Nifty! Thanks---that's exactly what my problem was--capillary action drawing glue out of the tube. Have to buy one of those, and soon!

Ok, I'm building what will be my last 1/700 ship (when you think to yourself "these tweezers are way too big" you know it's time to work in a bigger scale) and am encountering problems gluing. Namely, the contact surface is as small, if not smaller, than the applicator tip of my glue. (Standard Testor's black-container model master stuff with the needle applicator). Normally, for itty-bitty parts I use a shaved-down toothpick to transfer glue from the applicator to the part, but is there a better/easier way? I was wondering about using like a 10/0 or 25/0 brush to apply. Anyone tried that? And does brushing glue work with any thickness glue, or does it need to be stuff like Tenax 7R? PS--any suggestions on tweezers for affixing small parts? (Too many have pointy tips, or tips with no grip at all--I currently use ones from a microscope kit, with rounded tips but ridges inside---they're like very thin needle-nose pliers, and have worked well for most things, even other 1/700 ships--but I'm going to need even smaller ones in a similar style for this, and my Iowa's 20mm gun shields)

Hey, I just got great results with my $18 one from Wal-Mart. If you just want to spray large areas, go for it. It won't do fine panel lines or 5-color-freehand-feathered-edge-camouflage, but it'll lay down paint smoothly. (Main advantage is that this has no nozzle, it's merely a modified plastic bottle cap--hey, it works, and there's only one piece to clean with no disassembly) Man, I've got to be the only guy who spent more on photoetched brass radars for my ship, than on the airbrush it'll be painted with!