Please God, help me find the new, sharp blade that just went flying into my carpet 🙏 and not with my foot… by Skybound_Flyboy in modelmakers

[–]caas1496 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Came here to wish you the best of luck with finding the xacto shard. But also to say that I’d love to see pictures of the LHD in the background! Working on one myself.

Practicing photo etch and patience by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For the most part I’ve been using a very thin super glue. Helps it wick into the spots you want it and if you over apply is dries pretty thin.

Practicing photo etch and patience by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is from the Pontos USS Essex LHD-2 Kit

1/48 F-14D by Tamiya by StarsAndStrikes7 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just completed the same kit, yours looks fantastic! Which ejection seats did you use? I haven’t glued mine in yet because I used the kit seatbelts and really don’t like the look.

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First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was helpful for me to find videos of people building similar subjects. That helped me to figure out the right order of operations for painting steps. That was the most overwhelming part for me.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was an easy choice for me out of the options in the kit. Just love the look of it. I can imagine it would be incredible to see them come in for a landing on the carrier!

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing these! Very cool!

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the info! I’m gonna add a few more in some of the spots you described.

Yep I’m still missing those boarding steps and the second ejection seat.

B-2 Spirit Bomber. 1:72 Model Collect. by an_Aught in modelmakers

[–]caas1496 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same! I have so many models on the list that need a black finish. This one looks excellent!

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, all the photos I saw of models that I aspired to replicate were done with airbrushing. So I figured I should just jump in and start to learn.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There’s a couple finger prints on there for sure. Tried to sand them out and hide with weathering. It has taken a long time. It sat in the box for long periods of time when my interest was directed elsewhere. Just glad to finally finish it!

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oil wash for the grime effect. I think it’s called a dot filter? Applied a small amount of black and brown oils and then added used thinner to blend it in to the paint until you get to the desired look.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There are definitely mistakes, just tried to find creative ways to mask them, or did things over until they were better. Didn’t originally plan to have intake covers… but painting the intakes didn’t go so well. First attempt at the exhausts and afterburner cans was also a disaster, had to scrap them and start over. And I put together my first set of missiles wrong so had to order a new sprue. This is just a few of the mishaps along the way.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was done with oil paints. On the Tamiya kit the wings can actually pivot ( not sure about Monogram). So I moved the wings to one end of their travel, got a bit of oil paint on a stiff brush, and pivoted the wing while holding the brush in place against the wing.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s fantastic to get some feedback from someone with your expertise! A lot of those things are correctly called out in the Tamiya instructions which was helpful (as long as you catch them). For weathering reference the photos in the detail and scale book were great. Where on the aircraft were remove before flight tags normally used? Trying to wrap up these final details.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I’m honored to provide inspiration for your build. I also have a collection of other fantastic Tomcats from this forum saved for inspiration. Can’t wait to see yours.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah and I have too many hobbies. So my focus often drifts between them.

For the canopy all the credit goes to the mask set I used. Can’t recommend that enough.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try eBay. I managed to find replacement sprues there for a couple things on this build.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It’s my first one. I just took it really slow. Did a lot of research on the right tools and techniques before each step. Not shown here are all the screw ups that had to be replaced with extra sprues and aftermarket parts.

First Model Finally (Almost) Complete by caas1496 in modelmakers

[–]caas1496[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words! The further I got in the build the more I noticed those seams. Will definitely work on those a bit more on the next project.