Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Shaorin]

Wrong. Half the schemes at that site have errors, but it seems the entire world references (and believes) them. (actually, that drawing's either very, very, very wrong, or it's not even supposed to be the standard F-14 low-vis scheme at all)

MATS is wrong too, despite being the end-all be-all Tomcat site. (they've got the pattern right, but the colors wrong)

all of that doesn't really matter much to me, actually. it certainly won't kill me if i find that i have gotten some things a little off.

i just want a nice looking F-14 to accompany my Valk collection,

and, after watching TOP GUN again for the first time in some years indeed, (still hear all that damned awesome music in my head!!)

not only did it get my fighter jock blood a pumping, but also turned me on to how good an F-14 actually looks

in a realitively plain, "Low-Vis" -ish color scheme.

as such, a close variation on the box photo is how i have decided to go with the 1/48 REVELL,

and i think it is really shaping up good so far, all considered.

i've got her all decaled, i just need to get off my ass and do some final touch-up,

and i'll be ready to show her off to you guys...

Edited March 27, 2012 by Shaorin

[MechTech]

^{More great stuff guys! I'll post some pictures when I can of my 30th anniversary tribute. It's a secret so far, but the detailed turbine I built is 7mm long}

^{The Daedalus is on hold for weather to stabilize and me to find the right color paint. I'm gonna need about a half gallon! I can't find the right color rattle can stuff which is what I'm going for. Airbrushing would take all day! You guys have any ideas, let me know! - MT}

[Ahab]

^{More great stuff guys! I'll post some pictures when I can of my 30th anniversary tribute. It's a secret so far, but the detailed turbine I built is 7mm long}

^{The Daedalus is on hold for weather to stabilize and me to find the right color paint. I'm gonna need about a half gallon! I can't find the right color rattle can stuff which is what I'm going for. Airbrushing would take all day! You guys have any ideas, let me know! - MT}

Try Montana Colors spray paints. They have a variety of high quality colors and sizes (up to 600ml cans).

[Maiden Japan]

Bludgeon custom upgrade kit finished

[Benson13]

That's awesome Maiden. I had to go back and compare the pics and I'm pretty blown away. I also picked up one of your custom 1/48 guns from AE for one of my Valks and it's by far my favorite accessory on the figure.

[neptunesurvey]

Been taking my time on this for the last few months. It will be part of a diorama that will be finished for Wonderfest in Louisville.

[505thAirborne]

Is that a Cats-Eye Neptune? Cockpits look very detailed!

[neptunesurvey]

Is that a Cats-Eye Neptune? Cockpits look very detailed!

Yes, it is a Cats-Eye. The only thing I have added to the cockpit is the photo-etch restraints.

Edited March 31, 2012 by neptunesurvey

[derex3592]

that's gonna be SUH-WEET!

[HWR MKII]

M-60A3 germany.

[PetarB]

Been taking my time on this for the last few months. It will be part of a diorama that will be finished for Wonderfest in Louisville.

WOW! Can't wait to see the rest. Looks like it's going to be a stunner. That cockpit's arrangement just screams out for some detailing, with the exposed areas.

[SpacePirateNeko]

actually finished about two weeks ago

Edited April 2, 2012 by SpacePirateNeko

[Reïvaj]

Wow, really nice work, SpacePirateNeko! Thanks for sharing!

[MechTech]

Thanks Ahab for the tip!

The Transformers custom came out great Maiden Japan!

Looking great Neptune! That cockpit will hopefully visible for the diorama!

And a little Sakura Wars love; looks good! My daughter will appreciate that, I'll have to show her. - MT

[Shaorin]

hey, a quick Q for the pros around here;

my favorite local hobby shop (and the only one in my area that i know of) that carries TAMIYA products

has had their TAMIYA COLOR rack about 1/2-3/4 empty for months and months now,

with all the most basic and commonly used colors long out of stock.

i asked the manager about this when i was just up there yesterday, and he claims

that TAMIYA is undergoing a catalog-wide re-design, and, as a result, their entire ACRYLIC PAINT line

is currently OOP. he also says that they are taking forever on this, and all this is why he has been

apparently dragging his feet on restocking his TAMIYA inventory.

i suppose this is reassuring, as i was beginning to believe that my HOBBY TOWN USA

had decided to discontinue stocking TAMIYA products, or something like that.

well, that's all fine and dandy, i suppose, so i went ahead and picked up the FLAT WHITE, GLOSS WHITE, and shade of YELLOW

that i felt best matched the JOLLY ROGERS scheme i am doing that 1/72 HASE F-14 in, as well as the GLOSS WHITE for the blouse

of that Minky Momo kit headed my way. all three of those colors i was forced to pick up in TESTORS "MODEL MASTER" ACRYLIC,

and therein lies the major issue;

THIS DAMNED PAINT SEEMS TO BE TOTAL CRAP!!

see, this "MODEL MASTER" stuff seems to have several things against it, so far,

that the TAMIYA COLOR, last i checked, EXCELS at.

for one, this TESTORS stuff is RUNNY AS ALL HELL.

i could brush on TAMIYA, and just about every color i have yet used had superb adhesion properties.

indeed, bare plastic model parts would seem to drink the TAMIYA up, and most anything

i've ever painted with it looked good with a single coat, near perfect/perfect with a second,

and only occasionally ever required a third.

this TESTORS S&*T is requiring COAT AFTER RUNNY-ASS COAT to achieve anything

like what i was almost effortlessly assured of with my TAMIYAs.

i think i'm going to have wait a good while, 'till my H.TOWN USA -Finally- gets TAMIYA back in,

because i think i'd best not risk those two kits of mine with this RUNNY-ASSED CRAP.

if anyone has any advice about what might be going on here, and a way that i might be able to fix it,

(besides replacing the bloody things with TAMIYA equvilants, which i oh-so-wish i could do right here and now)

then please feel free to offer advice...

Edited April 3, 2012 by Shaorin

[505thAirborne]

Not one store anywhere near me in KS carries Tamiya, only Testors or Model master which I'm never thrilled with. So I still do business with my Cali connection at Smith Bros Hobby center!

[Shaorin]

Not one store anywhere near me in KS carries Tamiya, only Testors or Model master which I'm never thrilled with. So I still do business with my Cali connection at Smith Bros Hobby center!

i can clearly see why. the stuff STINKS, both literally as well as figuratively.

i suppose that means that, if H.T. USA doesn't get stock back in within a reasonable modicum of time, (sometime this summer)

that i'd be just as well ordering up the TAMIYAs i need online?

(i had always thought it was impossible to sell/ship Flammable/Hazardous materials over the Net...)

Edited April 3, 2012 by Shaorin

[Kylwell]

Tamiya is being forced to relabel thanks to the state of California deciding that otherwise we might drink it or some such. Just a re-label which has been slow due to the way the bureaucracy works. It's on it's way back, basic colors are coming back in, which is good as I'd run out of flat black and flat white.

MM acryl doesn't brush as well as Tamiya. For hand work I use Vallejo.

You can get paints via UPS or Fedx, just not the US post office. They came down hard on any amounts of liquids. It used to be that model & art sized paint containers were exempt but not any more.

[RogueTrooper]

Almost finishes modeling the Real Grade Gundam as in appear outisde the Bandai HQ, amazing little model this.

[big F]

I have been buying mine via post for some years due to a lack of suppliers where I live.

It's not that there are none, it's just that the couple who do add about 50% on top of the RRP, thank fully one has gone out of business due to his over pricing of everything, and the other is an arts and crafts superstore, so I feel no loyalty to them but they have a very limited stock.

The thing is they just cant compete with the internet and the cheaper stores who do mail order.

[Shaorin]

Almost finishes modeling the Real Grade Gundam as in appear outisde the Bandai HQ, amazing little model this.

as sick to F&%in' death as i personally might be of the 'ol RX-78, that's QUITE gorgeous work! congrats!

anyway, i'll probably have to resort to UPSing my TAMIYA for the time being.

any recommedations for best sources?

( - EDIT - )

'kay, just ordered the five colors i need from here; http://www.megahobby.com/

came out to $24 and change. a little high, compared to what i would have had to pay for the same at my local H.T. USA,

but it's not like i have a great plethora of options open to me ATM, or anything at all like that.

at least i can now rest easy, knowing i that i did not end up testing that Gawdaful MODEL MASTER

on the 1/72 F-14 or that Minky Momo figure kit.

i wonder if i can get a refund, or at least some store credit for that M.MASTER crap?

Edited April 4, 2012 by Shaorin

[Reïvaj]

Almost finishes modeling the Real Grade Gundam as in appear outisde the Bandai HQ, amazing little model this.

Beautiful model, great pic!!! Thanks for sharing!

[Shaorin]

Almost finishes modeling the Real Grade Gundam as in appear outisde the Bandai HQ, amazing little model this.

so how big is this thing now, actually?

((EDIT))

i had just picked this up the other day for my 1/72 HASE F-14. $10.00 flat sure sounded quite peachy to me, no?

Edited April 4, 2012 by Shaorin

[MechTech]

^{About paint. I have NEVER liked the Testor's stuff except for their paint markers (love the flat black). Their buffable metalizers are pretty good too. Other than that, I've stuck to Tamiya for the past 25 years or so. I used to co-manage a Hobby Shack (now Hobby People) and the stuff was staring me in the face everyday so I tried it out. Their spray paint is awesome too and worth the price (when you can get it). The bonus of water clean up for me menat my family no longer ragged on me about the smell of paint thinners, or the mess of trying ot get it off my hands with a scouring pad. Testor's has missed out big time in their formulations if you ask me.}

^{I was born in California and I'm ashamed of all the blasted beuracracy that goes on there. My drill press of all things has a big warning label on it that "Some chemicals are known to the state of California to produce cancer...yada yada yada." Really!? Are we that dumb? Good thing SOME San Franciscan's want to ban french fries from Happy meals. I wouldn't want my kids to get fat that one time a month we eat at Micky D's!}

^{(Steps down off soap box) Hey how about that RX-78!? Put a cloud background on it and would like the giant one! It looks great as does the decal job.}

^{Sharoin, $10 for that set is good (and so is the set)! I love their 1/72nd scale weapons too, I still have some. The gunpod decals are so 80's - MT}

[Shaorin]

^{Sharoin, $10 for that set is good (and so is the set)! I love their 1/72nd scale weapons too, I still have some. The gunpod decals are so 80's - MT}

you mean those two-tone blue GE decals?

[Benson13]

I hated the last paint I used. I'm gonna have to go down to the hobby store and see if they carry some of this Tamiya stuff you guys are talking about.

[Shaorin]

please do, for your sake, as well as your model's.

"TAMIYA COLOR" coats like a dream, dries lickety-split, and actually smells pleasent, to boot.

those guys really know their paint chemistry.

(did i mention their wonderful wide-mouthed jars?)

Edited April 4, 2012 by Shaorin

[derex3592]

OK---I'm gonna weigh in here and say I think the COMPLETE and TOTAL opposite!!! I freaking HATE Tamiya paints!!! I LOVE Model Master (enamels, but I've also just started using the acrylics as well) Tamiya is hard as hell to get where I live, it SUCKS ASS for brush painting (so do the MM acrylics)--you simply CAN NOT do it, and it's soooo FREAKING delicate once you do airbrush it, you can scratch it with your fingernail without even trying! Not to mention if you handle even 24 hours after painting your finger oils WILL leave some sort of worn off look. I will give you that the Tamiya stuff does airbrush beautifully, but I think the Model Master Acrylics do just as well. And Stink??? I don't know what you're sniffin Shaorin, but they smell THE SAME to me.

just my .02

Edited April 5, 2012 by derex3592

[anime52k8]

Everything you just said sounds entirely like a case of user error and nothing to do with the paint itself.

That said, I only use acylics for painting on vinyl and other materials that react badly to enamels/laquers. I've gone 100% to laquer paint for anything but brush painted details. I use Tamiya Spray laquers decanted and shot through an airbrush for must purposes and Alclad II for metal finishs.

[miriya]

Call me a wuss but I use tamiya sprays almost exclusively for my models and then gundam markers and tamiya weathering "makeup" finished with tamiya flat clear spray. Really sad how difficult it is to get the tamiya sprays right now though.

Edited April 5, 2012 by miriya

[PetarB]

Tamiya weathering sets are surprisingly fantastic. However I didn't use one set for around 18months, and it's no longer usable - it went all hard, or crumbled or something, I forget the outcome I just remember being annoyed. Still, recommended.

[Jefuemon]

99.9% Mr Color user, myself.

[Benson13]

So funny thing about everyone saying these Tamiya paints are getting scarce but I just found my local HT and they were loaded with the stuff. If you're looking for them I'd give your local store a call and see when their next shipment is.

[HWR MKII]

Tamiya paints are widely available again. Its just taking time for them to trickle back in.

As for brushing tamiya. Try cutting it with a little windex or other ammoniated window cleaner. Windex and tamiya are weird. I have had dried tamiya that wont be removed by anything come right off like tempra paint and water with windex. So if you screw up a tamiya acryl paint job dont worry . Rub it with windex and start over! I use mostly tamiya for my work unless i need a somewhat specific color. Tamiya color range is still quite limited in some areas.

My main gripe with Model Master acrylics is they are like spray on liquid latex. They can clog up an airbrush needle very fast. Also their colors seem to be a shade or 2 lighter than whats really needed. I do have a supply of MM acryl colors. Mostly RLM and WW2 colors for Ma.K builds and some other odds and ends.

MM Enamel is still a fine paint and has been for some time. However alot of the more modern painting and weathering process now use chemicals that will make enamels run like water and turn into a mess no matter how well you seal them.

[derex3592]

Tamiya weathering sets are surprisingly fantastic. However I didn't use one set for around 18months, and it's no longer usable - it went all hard, or crumbled or something, I forget the outcome I just remember being annoyed. Still, recommended.

I completely agree with this statement. The weathering kits are awesome, they just don't keep well over time. Tamiya Fine Surface Primer is also in my opinion the ONLY way to go. Expensive yes, but I'm sorry, that stuff is awesome! I really wish I could get the acrylic stuff to brush on better..but I just can't. Enamels for brush on. Acrylics for airbrushing...nice and easy clean up with Windex!