Straycatt

Kit arrived today, and I was pleasantly suprised to find that teh gear were white metal instead of resin.... Relatively clean casting, with the only obvious flaw up to this point the difference in size between the legs, and some warping to the fast pack attachment point. -Adam

Got mine today... (It has apparently been here since saturday, but no-one told me....) Nice clean casting with minimal bubbles... And those that I have identified are in easily fixable places.... On the matter of the misalligned thruster port.... From looking at mine, the issue appears to be that the two sides of the nosecone are not *perfectly* symmetrical... But the misalignmet is minimal. -Adam

I got my hands on the same kit, and was considering re-mastering/re-casting it... Nice to see the kit, as is, looks halfway decent.... -ADam

Went ahead and pulled the trigger on this one and ordered it last night...... and apparently got the last one.... -Adam

Thanks for the opinions......... For the cost, I might just have to do it..... Now, Coby... Quit hanging around here and go finish that glorius Big G so that I won't have teh funds to consider getting a 1/48 valk... -Adam

Never ordered from them, and I am curious if thier version of this 'grail' kit is worth the money..... -Adam

Speaking as a former Prowler ECM Tech, it is kinda neat to see a hybrid like this. But it makes me cringe to see someone combining a ECM reciever setup with a AWACS setup... The two systems wouldn't get along very well..... Other than that, it is a great build... COurse, what happens if the pilot decides to eject the fast pack... Is the 3rd seater up the creek??? -Adam

How difficult is it to get a replacement DYRL Hikaru pilot???

I've always used Solvaset... Never liked Microsol..... -Adam

Just a quick question.... Wasn't Hikaru's bird numbered 011 not 001???? Nevermind.... 001 is correct... Great build BTW... Cant wait to see it finished..... Am I correct in that you used the heatshield with the raised Skull rather than using a decal??? -Adam

I just bought an Out 8 copy through a Barnes & Noble used book bookseller.... Nearly mint condition, minus the poster (which is okay as a friend got one of these back in 89 or 90 with two posters) for around $34.00....... SO how do I tell if mine is a bootleg??? -Adam

Actually it was a she, and she contracted an age specific type of cancer 20yrs before she should have ever been at risk. As for the cause, like me she is a miniature painter and would reshape the bristles of her brushes by placing the brush in her mouth, sometimes referred to as brush licking. While the ingestion of paint through brush licking hasn't been conclusively proven as the cause, the paints are the only things that raised red flags when subjected to chemical testing... -Adam

Oh, and one word of caution on the acrylics... A miniature painting friend of mind found out the hard way that the non-toxic label on acrylics may not be accurate. At least one acrylic paint company uses carcinogenic 'hard metals' to create the colors...... -Adam

Payment sent... Elint, you could always buy one and then have one of us build it.... -Adam

That does in fact look like a FLIR setup.... -Adam

And while I am new to the forums, I am not new to acrylics..... The quality of the brush painting is going to depend on the quality of the paints, but it is possible to paint large models in acrylics without an airbrush. It requires a good primer coat, and thinned paints applied in multiple coats. I will try and throw up some examples of stuff I have done (although they will be OT models...) You will not have the workability that you did with the humbrols, but depending on the brand of acrylics you go with, you should have decent coverage. I personally use GW acrylics, and have friends who swear by both Vallejo and Reaper master series. I have also used Tamiya and model master. The tamiya does not apply well with a brush (the thinning agent is too effective IMO and attacks the previous coat) and I the model master acrylics didn't really leave an impression one way or the other. So, yes, you can brush paint with the acrylics, but it will take significantly longer to achieve a solid smooth color coat than if you use an airbrush. -Adam

I am new to the boards here, but I am interested. -Adam