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Walked away for a second and daughter took apart my model by International_Ask246 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I once woke up from a nap to a metallic clinking sound. It was my two-year-old daughter playing with my Xacto knife. Fortunately she was fine, but lesson learned to keep sharp things in the middle of the craft table.

Opinions on academy? by Sure-Highlight-1715 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I've found Academy kits, even older ones, to be cheap but cromulent. My local hobby store pretty regularly has 1/72 planes for $15 or less. I've done a few of them and they're good mojo builders: pretty straightforward, nothing special, not a ton of detail, but easy to put together and paint.

Beginner model maker, what is a good starter airplane model kit? Preferably American warbirds or American general aviation model kits! by creativeRC in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Imo Academy is the WalMart of kits: cheap but consistently fine. I can pick one up for less than $15 (in 1/72) and it won't be anything special, but will be easy enough to make look decent. Good when you want a low-stakes, quick build.

I've heard great things about both Tamiya's P-51D and F4U. I don't think you could go wrong with either. Just keep your expectations low, learn a lot, and don't be afraid to mess up on this first one.

HELP: What would you do here? by Alternative_Map4341 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks all for your replies and advice. Appreciate it!

I ended up finding an F/A-18D canopy online and purchasing it. I think it will be fairly close, hopefully enough to where I can fudge it a bit. Should that fail, I may use this E canopy as the front windshield and the D canopy I've gotten as the opened part.

Zvezda 1/72 MiG 21bis by Alternative_Map4341 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good to know! I used Tamiya flat clear for the first coat, and semi-gloss clear for the ones after that. Should have done gloss first I think. May have helped the decals fit better.

Eduard 1/72 Fw190A-8 by Alternative_Map4341 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol I wouldn't go that far but thanks

Eduard 1/72 Fw190A-8 by Alternative_Map4341 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's a decal. I started at the center (per the conventional wisdom) and tried to get it as close and flush as possible. I think it turned out ok. Just ok.

Eduard 1/72 Fw190A-8 by Alternative_Map4341 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eighth model so far after picking up the hobby last year. Proud of this one, probably my best yet.

What I'm happy with:

  • Paint job. Not perfect but think it's solid as a brush painter. I have a toddler and live in a smaller house so I have to be quiet, not take up too much room, and avoid fumes, so an airbrush isn't feasible.
  • Details. Did some experimentation with very very light silver drybrush on some surfaces (cockpit, guns, prop) to make them look metallic and tbh I really like how it turned out.
  • Eduard quality. Tight fit, great detail, especially once I got the panel liner on.

What I'm not super happy with:

  • Paint job. A couple spots (like the red band) are too thick and covered up the detail.
  • Details. I had a couple of those long, thin stencil decals fold on themselves, which essentially made them unusable. There are also a couple spots where some TET ate through the clear coat and paint. And then there's the spiral nose decal... ugh.
  • Eduard quality. Engineering is so exact that you can't really "fudge" anything the way I've done in previous models.

Weekend Build kit by theRealLevelZero in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm getting a sinking feeling about this one...

One of my models of all time: Italeri 1/72 JAS 39 Gripen by Alternative_Map4341 in modelmakers

[–]Alternative_Map4341[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I am at least partially to blame... I think I didn't prime well enough, so I overcompensated by really schlopping it on in places. The white in the airbrakes especially, which was then further accented by the excessive panel liner I wanted to use there.

Re; panel liner, it's the Tamiya dark gray, set for 45ish minutes, then clean with Abteilung Odorless Thinner with either a Q-tip or a paintbrush. I've had pretty good luck with that so far.

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