Subject: SMML11/12/97VOL026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX 1: Mr Arizona 2: Arizona 5 in guns/Yamato ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Greg Subject: Mr Arizona Hi Guys, I had a nice chat with Mr Arizona, Loren Perry last night, about P/E techniques, and Whats new @ GMM - Here's what he had to say! SMML >> A lot of people (Including me) seem to be having trouble knowing when the right time to fit a P/E part is? << L.P. Lately, I've found it to be easier to pre-paint (airbrush) all the railing in one step, before it's even cut from the main sheet. When dry, I cut the rails from the sheet and shape them for installation. After it's glued in place, I touch up any scrapes with a small brush. I've found that the scrapes are very, very minimal and touching up goes quickly. This is the method I've settled on. To hide the shiny glue stains later, airbrush a light coat of Testors Dullcote (clear, flat varnish) over the entire model. The shiny glue completely disappears. SMML >> If you paint the hull, fit the decks, and then fit the rails, you would have to touch up paint work, which gives a not so even finish (There's nothing worse than that white C.A. residue -what is that anyways?) << L.P. CA glue will sometimes cause a white powdery deposit to form in nearby areas, especially on transparent plastic - the airplane modelers have found this out the hard way. Exactly what this white powder is I really don't know. But it can be avoided. My favorite brand of CA glue is Pacer's Zap. It doesn't cause this white deposit on painted parts as long as it isn't used heavily. It seems that overly generous CA glue deposits are more prone to cause this problem than glue applied sparingly. Also, if the glue is applied in an enclosed part of the model, the deposits will form. For your information, acetone removes the deposits, but of course acetone also destroys paint and attacks styrene plastic. SMML >> Masts & Antenna's? << L.P. I prefer to build the ship up to, but not including the masts and antennas. Then I apply the railing. When I'm done, the masts and antennas go on. Be sure to pre-fit the masts early on to ensure they'll go in place without a struggle later. Once you've formulated a logical sequence of assembly, the construction of a ship model with PE parts goes much more easily and with fewer problems. SMML >> I personally, have found in a couple of cases that I am unsure of the appropriate time to ad P/E. << L.P. Try to think like a chess player and plan your next three moves in advance. Look several assembly steps into the future and you'll probably see the answer. SMML >> Another question, how did you paint the scarfs on the figures on your 1/426 Arizona? - thats microscopic!!!! << L.P. I used the smallest hobby paint brush I could find, kept the tip shaped into a very sharp point, and painted the neckerchiefs by hand while wearing a magnifying visor (Opti-Visor). The paint was thinned-down black hobby paint (Floquil Black.) SMML >> What are the new P/E Sets you were working on are? << L.P. The five new sets for classic Revell kits in odd scales that appear in the current GMM catalog. They're almost ready. Initial test pieces looked very good, but all five needed minor adjustments to make the fit correct. This has been done and revised test pieces are en route now for evaluation. Instruction sheet artwork design is about half finished (2-1/2 instructions are done at this point.) In about a week, the upgraded 1/600 Merchant Ship set will be available. Price will remain unchanged. Also, the all-new 1/450 Merchant Ship set will be ready at the same time. This one fits the Otaki QE2 and the ocean liner kits being released by Glencoe (United States, France, Norway, and N.S. Savannah. Price: $36.00 USD) SMML > Thanks, Greg << L.P. Best Wishes! Loren/GMM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: TANewell Subject: Arizona 5 in guns/Yamato I've finally finished my Arizona, although I'll probably get it down and fiddle with it from time to time...still haven't decided whether or not to include the figures that came with the P/E fret. I have some concerns with the accuracy of my paint job, which I'll write about when I get more time. As for the 5 in. guns barrels, I used the ones from the kit, but as I have said before, the mold alignment was very bad on my particular kit and by the time I had filed off the offset on the barrels and returned them to a round shape, they were quite a bit thinner than they were before. I took a very small drill bit (80 gauge?) and drilled a hole in the end of the barrels and they looked much closer to scale than they did originally and I was able to retain the taper on the barrels. I have been thinking about buying the Nichimo 1/200 scale Yamato for some time now. I placed an inquiry about it on rec.models.scale a few months back and the general consensus was that while it is impressive size-wise, detail is rather sparse and it takes a lot of extra work to bring it up to the level of a Tamiya 1/350 model. I still have not seen the actual kit yet, either unbuilt or finished. At this point, I am just on the lookout for the best price that I can find, and if I find a deal, I'll probably get it. List price in the U.S. seems to be about $325, and Hobby Link Japan lists it for 24000 yen, which is usually about $195. The best price that I've found so far is from a place called Hobbylinc, they had it on sale about a month ago for $140... Tim Newell ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume