Martsmodels

Hi - I'm relatively new to airbrushing and started about 2 years ago with a single action Badger 150 which I found was either on or off and I couldn't get on with it at all. For a while I thought there must be something wrong with me then I bought myself a Badger 360 dual action which solved all the problems - very easy to use and has the advantage of beibg able to use either the gravity feed cup or a bottle by swivelling the head around. Thoroughly recommended and not too expensive either. Good luck - Martin Here's a good review http://www.modelersguild.com/e-magazine/reviews/tools/168-badger-360-dual-action-airbrush

This old girl was the love of my life for 13 years and a daily driver - she is a 74 V8 genuine factory car, not a conversion. More or less 100 percent reliable, except for the odd hiccup, with more than 355,000 miles on the clock! She started to cost more and more to get through the annual test so had to go to let someone else pick up the bills and was replaced by this which is now my daily driver .....late 88 Lux. It took me a year to find one in this condition and I decided on the 8 valve option for reliability although there really isn't that much in it in terms of performance - it's the handling that IMO makes these cars so nice - like driving a big go-kart.......I love it!! Cheers - Martin

Hi - my last completed model this year was this 1/16 MPC Corvette inspired by one which I saw at a meet whilst on holiday in the U.S. Paint is Hiroboy's Zero Porsche Slate Gray and Polar Silver and was the first time I'd tried it. I also used their two pack clear for the first time and am quite pleased with the result but I struggled with it a bit and guess it could be better. Dash instrument bezels are from turned alloy tube and the lights, front and rear, operate by lifting the stalk on the steering column which turns a cam behind the dash to close the switch. Overall not a bad kit if you ignore some minor fit problems that you would expect from one of this age. Hope you like. Martin

For really tight areas and small parts such as on the engine or suspension there is a technique called planishing. This involves rubbing the part with another metal object of a harder metal than the casting. I find that an old scriber fitted to a knife handle is ideal - failing this an old piece of steel rod or even an old HSS drill bit, turned around, will do the trick. Whatever you use grind the end first so that it is rounded but not too pointed and make sure that the surface is smooth and polished. The white metal casting is softer and you will find that by rubbing with your planishing tool it will come up to a very nice shine. Hope this helps Martin