Patrick Hagelstein Thanks for that ratio Michael!

JOHN THOMAS Thanks guy's. I like the flat base idea, I will test it out.

Michael Phillips Also, for my flat coat mixture, I create it in batches that I put in a cleaned out used 40mL Tamiya primer jar. Each time I put some in my airbrush before use I usually add about 25% Mr Color Levelling Thinner to the mix in the cup as well.

Ben M I love the sharing of techniques on this site, thank you everyone who takes the time to help others.

JOHN THOMAS Hey guy's, Michael and Ben Thanks again.

Gordon Sørensen Like Michael, I use for my canopies too.
If you dip before you paint the frames, it is easier to remove any paint that gets under the masks.
Just use a wide brush and use it as a clear coat for decalling, and to help as a decal settling agent.
You have enough there to last ages, John!

Tom Michael, do you have a mix ratio for semi gloss/satin?

Michael Phillips Tom, I have not yet attempted to do a satin or semi-gloss finish, but I would start with a 15:1 ratio then adjust from there. Maybe try on a scrap painted piece first to see how that looks. I'm guessing the sweet spot for a nice satin finish is going to be in the 12-15:1 range.

JOHN THOMAS Thanks Holger, I Got this kit when it first came out back in the 1980's and it sat on my shelf until now.

Cuajete Interesting. Following.

JOHN THOMAS Thanks Cuajete

JOHN THOMAS Some new photos up today

JOHN THOMAS More new photos up today

JOHN THOMAS Added some new photos today. Airframe is now complete. Some final sanding before painting.

Cuajete Well done so far, John!

JOHN THOMAS Cuajete, Thanks. I hope to start painting in the next few days.

JOHN THOMAS I am starting a four plane project of the pass four X-Planes. The YF-22, YF-23, X32 and the X35. All kits will be the Italeri kits in 1/72 scale dating back to 1994. I am the YF-22 and the YF-23 at the same time. All four projects will mostly be out of the box with a few added details.

JOHN THOMAS Added a few photos enjoy

Ekki I'm in.

JOHN THOMAS Ekki, thanks. I plan to start painting the next few days

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. I finally got some painting done. more photos up soon.

Greg Baker This is looking really good, John!

JOHN THOMAS Greg, Thanks

Maciej Bellos In it too.

JOHN THOMAS Maciej, Thanks

JOHN THOMAS The YF-23 Italeri kit in 1/72 scale dates to 1994. The project will be mostly out of the box with a few added detail added here and there.

Greg Baker Now that's something different from you! John... I'm not sure ai've ever seen you build a jet before... are you allowed to do that?

JOHN THOMAS Greg, It's been some years the last jet I built so It's time. I had the X-23 and the X-22, X-32 and a X-35 on my to do list for many years now, I got them when they first came out back in the mid 1990's so now I am going to build all four. The X-23 is all most done just some detail painting and decals. The X-22 needed a lot of work and is now been prep for painting

JOHN THOMAS A few new photos up today

Maciej Bellos How did I miss this?

Cuajete Following.

JOHN THOMAS Maciej and Cuajete Thanks. I am working on three projects at the same time, the YF-22, YF-23 and the F-19. I work a little on one then the others. As paint and glue dries I move to the others projects

Ekki Following,

JOHN THOMAS Ekki Thanks

JOHN THOMAS Katya, these are the two kits

Katya Hodgson Perfect! Those were the ones. ^~^

JOHN THOMAS Katya I am looking for a good mailing box for them. Hope to have them in the mail in a week or so.

Katya Hodgson Thanks so much again!

JOHN THOMAS Hey guy's I started a new project today. I will back date the Academy's A-37B back to an A-37A. I will be doing an A-37A of the 604th Air Commando Squadron, 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing based at Bien Hoa, Vietnam, during 1967- 1968.

JOHN THOMAS Hey Guys, I started a new project today the YF-22 by Italeri in 1/72 scale. I am just getting under way. The kit dates back to 1994. The kit is based on the Prototype Aircraft not the Production Aircraft in service today. I will now be working on both the YF-22 and the YF-23 at the same time. Like the YF-23 project this project well be mostly out of the box with a few added details.

JOHN THOMAS Lots of work on the interior had to be done to hide gaps, seams and the large opening into the model looking into the intakes. Will need to do some detail painting on the exhaust and cockpit parts before gluing fuselage together.

JOHN THOMAS A few new photos up today. working on intake and exhaust areas.

Maciej Bellos Following! One of those that built the kit a couple of years after the end of the ATF competition.

Cuajete Well done so far. Following.

JOHN THOMAS Thanks Maciej and Cuajete alot more work than I planed on, more photos to come.

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. I have finished work on the intakes and have the airframe together. I spent more time on the intakes than I wanted too but it had to be done. Starting prep work for painting. More soon.

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. I am done with the intakes and have mounted the twin tails and stabs. A little more gap work around the tails to fill. Started work on the small bits.

JOHN THOMAS Wow, Clifford that really cool that you worked on that Aircraft.

Clifford Keesler Thanks John. I am glad that a few have survived and are in musuems and not all blown up. I think there is another one on Display a Holliman AFB, that I also worked on. We converted 188 A's and B's to target drones.

JOHN THOMAS My album for T.C. Bradley

Spanjaard wow, missed this album before, amazing stuff to see! thanks for sharing.

Glenn . Great photos of some big firecrackers John

JOHN THOMAS Thanks, Glenn and Spanjaard

Marcel Klemmer These picutures are always worth to be looked at.

JOHN THOMAS Marcel, Thanks

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. I did lots of sanding and gap hiding and more sanding the pass few day on this aircraft. Also have the tails glued on using super glue. Preping for paint now.

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. started work on the small bits and have the first coat of paint on the aircraft.

JOHN THOMAS A few new photos up today. Still more painting to do. More photos soon.

Cuajete Looking good so far.

Daniel Klink Very Good job John! Nothing to see from the Gaps and Trenches before.. And the fine and sharp bodyline has been perfectly reworked where the Fuselage halves joint.. Respect

JOHN THOMAS Daniel, Thanks The Fuselage and wings are split top and bottom and the joins are on the under side at the control surfaces, they are a bit wide but not to bad and I left them. There is no real fuselage joint. The body blends into the wings.

Daniel Klink Hi John, i know i meant Pic 42.. That looks terrible before you got hand on it.

JOHN THOMAS Daniel, I see the chin line was not to great of a fit on each side of the nose. I used Prefect Plastic Putty on the gap and it worked really nice.

JOHN THOMAS Cuajete, Thanks

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. I started the weathering with a Brown Clay wash, after drying two light coats of Future clear coat to get ready for decals. I like to do my panel line wash and some weathering before decals.

Greg Baker It's looking really good John. How did you find the Future? I laughed when I saw your pic with the caption "light coat of Future" and the ENTIRE bottle on the workbench...

JOHN THOMAS Hey Greg, I had better luck airbrushing the Future This time around. I am going to let it cure for 48 hours before starting any decals. One more day of drying to go. BTW, the Future bottle in the photos must be 3 or 4 years old that how long I have I waited between tries so far so good and it's a brand new bottle just opened.

JOHN THOMAS Hey guys, new photos up today. I have finished decaling and starting working on the small bits and detail painting. The Hasegawa Decals were thin and went down well with setting solutions. I did have one problem with the Parrot Head decal it tore in seversl places but I was able to get them back together. Now working on the wheel, prop and landing gear.

Greg Baker Those decals look murder to put on. I'd never be able to recover from several tears... it'd just end up as a ball of plastic film. ;P

I'm intrigued by the canvas in the wheel wells. Was that common? It's the first time I've seen it.

JOHN THOMAS Greg, the canvas was common on P-40's of all versions. They had snaps and could be removed in the field. The canvas was used to keep dirt and mud out of the wheel wells. When the tear of the Parrot Head decal first happen I though it was over. I had only one decal of the head so I had to fix it. But after trying to place them back together I was able to save the decal. I had to paint a few spots on the head to hide some small gaps. If you look close you can see them. I was able to hide a few tears under the exhaust stains.

JOHN THOMAS New photos up today. I have the P-40N up on it's landing gear. Most all small bits are done. Just need to paint the canopies and glue them on.

Greg Baker I'm with Bryn on this one. I actually use Future (aka Pledge Floor Gloss) for all my clear coats. Perhaps there are better ones, but the fact that you can airbrush it right out of the bottle, it's a no-fumes acrylic, it self levels and, if all else fails, you wipe it off with a bit of Windex (or some other amonia-based glass cleaner), I've never found the need to stray any further. It also doesn't hurt that one bottle ($5) bottle is basically a life-time supply... or that your models smell likes spring cleaning afterwards.

Greg Baker I always assume everyone knows about Future, as it seems to have been around since... long in the past. But if you're not familiar this article and the associated links should tell you everything you need to know - finescale.com/how-to/tips/20..-future-gloss-has-a-new-name

JOHN THOMAS Bryn and Greg, Thanks. I have used Future in the pass but did have some issues with decals setting solutions eating into the Future. That was some time ago and may be it's time to try Future again. I need to solve my clear coating problems before I can continue working. I will have to do some testing on water based or Acrylic clear coats on some old models, Thanks everyone.

Bryn Crandell I think the big key with using PFC is to ensure the paints and decal setting solution have completely off gased(cured). Some modelers actually use PFC to set decals. Haven't tried that yet. I use Micro Scale Set and Sol for decals.

Greg Baker I've never had that problem, however I only ever use Tamiya's Mark Fit. Although, given that most of my builds are WHIF I don't use many decals at all... so truth be told, I'm not even 100% sure what the Mark Fit (or Micro Scale Set/Sol) are supposed to do?

JOHN THOMAS Bryn, Thanks again. I need to revisit the Future and decal setting solution and do more testing.

JOHN THOMAS Hey Greg, Micro Sol/Set and others decal setting solutions are used to apply decals. They help them stick and conform to the model shapes. The solution is a mild acid much like vinegar. I will try to do some sanding over the weekend on the F-8. I only have one sheet of decals of markings for VMF-333, F-8 so I must be sure the Future clear coat and decal setting solutions will work.

Ekki Following.

JOHN THOMAS I guest the more mats the better. I am looking for a larger mat to increase my work area.

John Hoffmann I know this thread is older, but it made me smile. I have a corner desk and 3 or 4 tables in my basement hobby space, and my cutting mat is something like 30" x 36" but I still almost always end up doing all the work on about a 16" x 16" area at the front of the mat. All other flat surfaces are just places to place things I was just using, will get to soon, or might need again on one of the several ongoing projects.

JOHN THOMAS Hey John, you are right about the cutting mat. I cleaned my work area a few weeks ago and added a Fold Up Spray booth and move some of my plastic storage bins around. I still need to do something about all my kits to make some more room. I have a 1/32 scale A-4E/F I need room to work on it.

JOHN THOMAS I have cleaned up my modeling room some and moved things around and added a fold up spray booth. I will take some new photos and post them in a few days.

Siegfried Mühlnikel That looks somehow familiar.

Timothy Heimer Please don't clean it up! I have seen posts to where they are so organized it makes me sick! Hate to say it John but...I thought my area was bad! LOL

JOHN THOMAS Hey Siegfried and Timothy, I did a little cleaning to make room for a new fold up spray booth and moved some plastic storage bins around. I added some new photos of today's 2018 work bench. I also show my new 1/32 scale A-4, will it fit, stay tuned.

JOHN THOMAS BTW guy's, my modeling room is just 7 feet x 7 feet or around 35 square feet

JOHN THOMAS Hi all, first project completed for 2018. It was a little fight with some minor problems but I got thru to the end.

Spanjaard nice job

JOHN THOMAS Spanjaard, thanks

JOHN THOMAS Just added a few new photos. The A-4 won a Bronze metal at IPMS Three Rivers Contest last weekend

Konrad Limmer Congrats John for both the very nice scooter and the contest price

JOHN THOMAS Thanks Konrad

Ekki Lovely work! Well done.

JOHN THOMAS Ekki, Thanks again

JOHN THOMAS My second project done for 2018. This project was started back in early 2017 and then sat for many, many weeks. In early 2018 I started back to work on it to finish it and now it's done.

JOHN THOMAS Just added a few new photos. The A-1 won a Bronze metal at the IPMS Three Rivers Contest last weekend.

Ekki Great Work!

JOHN THOMAS Ekki, Thanks

JOHN THOMAS Hi all, I just finished installing a new fold up Spray booth in my work area. For years I just sprayed into a cardboard box and wore a dust mask. Not the best way to paint but I made it work. My work bench is in my basement. I have two windows for light but they do not opening. I do have the basement door to the outside that I do open in the summer but it's to dam cold in the winter to open the door. I stop using Enamels and Lacquers years ago. I spray Model Master Acrylics. So this year I used part of my Tax Return Money and got this fold up spray booth at my local hobby shop. The set up was easy and fast. I also got an 9 inch under the counter light that I mounted on the inside of the spray booth. I have not mounted any vent hose to the booth to vent to the outside, it would just be to hard to do. So I will let the filter do all the work. I did stuff the vent hose adaptor that came with the booth full of furance filter material to help clean the exhaust. So far so good the few time now I have used it.

Cortex Thanks for pics and feedback, congratulations for your new spray booth : )

Alexander G. Great, congratulations! What did you pay for this thing?

Olly If you have no hose to the outside, please be careful and wear your mask.

Alexander G. Or add activated carbon filters!

JOHN THOMAS Cortex, Thanks

JOHN THOMAS Alexander, I paid 130 Dollars US at my local hobby store. I have seen them cheaper online for around 80 Dollars US but you have to pay for shipping. So paying more and no shipping I thinks it's a fair price and I can add the hose in the future for little cost. The carbon filter is a good idea, I will have to look into it, thanks.

JOHN THOMAS Olly, Will do, thanks

JOHN THOMAS I needed to make some bases for a contest I was entering. I like to give some context to the models that I build, so I did a little demo on how I make simple wood bases.

Patrick Hagelstein Wow! Those look really cool! And by the looks of it, they seem simple to produce. I like it!

JOHN THOMAS Yes Patrick, the bases took less than a day to make and you can make as many as you like. The photo coping of the Verlinden's cards makes it a very simple way to make a base. I do think they also make them in 1:48 scale. I have not done any Snow, Dirt, sand or Mud but will add them whem I need them

Gursel Kona Nice and simple. I like it.

JOHN THOMAS Gursel, Thanks