Sean's Custom Model Tools

The Arma P-51B/C Mustang – Painting

/ Matt Dyer / Leave a comment

I selected the color scheme depicted on the kit box top – “Ding Hoa!” The main colors will be Olive Drab and Neutral Grey, both of which will be Hataka Orange Line (Lacquer) colors. Hataka lacquers airbrush like a dream when thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner. The thinner prevents paint drying on the airbrush tip and allows the application of the paint wet and not drying before it touches the model (a problem with some paints).

The white stripes were applied first with Stynylrez white primer. I find that stripes like this are best applied first as this minimizes the amount of masking one has to do. If I paint the stripes last, I find myself doing a lot of masking to protect the rest of the model finish from overspray.

Lastly, I like to paint canopies separate from the model. It is easy enough to fill the cockpit with damp tissue or some other filler to protect it. No matter how hard I try, somehow on some models some overspray gets on the inside of the canopy. It is like a dust setttling and sticking there. I find doing them separately yields a much clearer canopy, at least it does for me.

The grandchildren are arriving next week, and my hobby room is needed for an adult guest room, so I may not be able to complete this project until they depart.

I was thinking of starting a recently acquired Tamiya Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXc in 1/32scale. However, I would first like to add an aircraft from the Korean War, i.e., the Forgotten War, and a Hobby Boss F-80C Shoting Star I have will fill the bill nicely.

It is high time to start adding some Korean War aircraft, and I was able to purchase from Sprue Brothers the excellent 2022 IPMS Convention decal sheet “MIG Kills of the Forgotten War”. If you have any interest in the Korean War, grab these before they are gone. You get two F-86 one F-80, one Twin Mustang and two F9F Panthers, and they are presented in 1/48 scale and 1/72 scale. To top it off, they are printed by Cartograph.

The clip holder above from Sean’s Custom Model Tools has become an indispensable tool on my workbench. It is so handy mounting smaller pieces on sticks and keeping them out of the way yet handy to be worked on and painted. The CCI 22LR plastic cartridge box is a good size to apply some tape to and mount flat parts to be painted.

3D Printed Tools

/ Matt Dyer / Leave a comment

I ran across some very nice 3D tools at Sean’s Custom Model Tools in Canada.

Sprue/Runner Rack

A very simple design with some rubber bumpers on the bottom to steady it. Two different widths of grooves assure that the sprues will fit. This replaces an old file organizer I had been using, with which the sprues tended to flop around and it could not accomodate sprues with wider parts on them. Here you can set them as needed.
Here I have placed the sprues from a Takom 1/35 scale Stug. kit. There is plenty of room and I could space them so they did not interfere with each other. They are held upright and slide in and out easily.
This is a welcome addition to my workbench, and I highly recommend it.

Paint Stick/Clip Holder

This 3D printed honeycomb is 4″ by 6″. It comes in multiple colors.
Here it is loaded with various parts from my ongoing Monogram A-26B project. Over the years, I have made several blocks from corrugated cardboard, wood with holes drilled and/or foam blocks. Cardboard and foam are light, so if the stick drags on the block when pulled out, the entire block tends to come with it. You end up waving the whole thing around while you try to put the airbrush down and deal with it. Wood can be better, but you cannot have anywhere near the number of holes these 3D items have for infinite adaptability, i.e., you can place the items the exact distance apart you need to make the most use of the space available.
Finally, I found that the cocktail sticks and miscellaneous small rods with alligator clips I favor stand up straight and come out of the holes easily. I bought two because I generally have two projects going at the same time.

Both of these items are making very useful additions to my workbench. I recommend them. These are only two of the interesting itrems Shawn carries, so check them out.

By the way, I do not know Shawn and would not recognize him if I ran into him on the street. From time to time as my blog grows, I will recommend this or that because I find it useful and a quality product.

If I come across something that is crap, I won’t mention it. I want to be positive. I hate those YouTube videos titled “Brand X is JUNK!!!!!!!”. If you watch one, you’ll see that half the time the knucklehead who produced the video (with its heavy metal soundtrack) simply did not understand how to use the product or was not using it for its intended purpose. ‘Nuf said.