Dick Montgomery
Reviews By Author
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Airbrush CleanerPublished:
I’ve got my spray booth set up, my paint mixed, and the compressor has been powered up and its ready to go. The paint cup is attached to the airbrush with anticipation of an enjoyable painting session. I pull the trigger…………and nothing. After fiddling with the pressure and air adjustments on the airbrush and compressor, I realize that my airbrush is jammed up with dried paint. There’s not anything to do but shut down the painting session and get the airbrush cleaned up. That is where Tamiya’s #87089 Airbrush Cleaner steps in. You’ll need a cleaner that can loosen and dissolve dried paint, and this product is very good at doing just that. You know the drill. Disassemble your airbrush and clean each part carefully and completely. I use a small wire brush dipped in some Airbrush… more |
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Diorama Texture Paint Soil EffectPublished:
Tamiya has made available a group of 4 texture paints and this review highlights one of those products, namely Tamiya’s “Soil Effect” texture paint.These paints are water-based and come in powder snow, snow, and “soil effect-dark earth”. Several other colors have been discontinued. An appropriate description of this paint, describing the texture would be, “ gritty toothpaste”, or “damp salt”. Straight from the bottle, the paint does not look like paint at all, but rather a paste consisting of fine grit. I chose to apply some of this paint to a diorama base for a dinosaur. The base was already covered with “ground”, “rocks” and “vegetation” but there were areas in which the material had worn off a bit, creating a perfect test bed. I applied the texture paint… more |
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Panel Line Accent ColorsPublished:
Tamiya offers a trio of “panel line accent colors”, Black (# 87131) Brown (#87132) and Gray (#87133). Two of these colors were provided to IPMS for review, those two colors being black and gray. All three colors are enamel based and that means that one will need to be aware that plastic and enamel have a love-hate relationship. While the accent paints will really pop out the detail on a model, if applied too generously it can damage the plastic. Tamiya understands this issue and provides reminders of this issue to the user. For test purposes I used the F-14 Tomcat that is currently sitting on my work bench. I picked an area that had not yet previously been highlighted or “accented” and then gave it a coat of Future to seal the acrylic and provide a barrier upon which the Tamiya… more |
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Lacquer ThinnerPublished:
Tamiya has long offered a wide range of acrylic paints and acrylic thinners. Recently I experimented with Tamiya’s Lacquer Thinner, item # 87077. As a rule, I tend to use the paint thinner produced by the same company that produced the paint being used. I found that the Tamiya lacquer thinner worked very well, indeed, although its use is different than the acrylic thinner I’m used to using. Do not let the fact that it is a Lacquer thinner dissuade you from using it with your standard Tamiya acrylics. It works just fine. The lacquer thinner is noticeably “stronger” than the acrylic thinner, both in how it interacts with Tamiya acrylics and how it smells. And it should be said here that if you can smell the paint you are airbrushing then you should wear a mask. Also,… more |
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Rorke’s Drift - A New PersepectivePublished:
Neil Thornton’s book takes a fresh look at one of the most famous battles in British history, that being the battle that took place at Rorke’s Drift on January 22-23, 1879. Author Thornton indicates, in the book’s title, that it presents a new perspective to a very well-known and documented engagement. Thornton puts forward a new narrative based upon a significant quantity of documentation, reasonable and logical conjecture upon some aspects of the defense of Rorke’s Drift, and in so doing, points to the conduct of John Chard VC, 5th Company Royal Engineers, as not only exemplary but one of the most important factors in the successful defense of the brief, but ferocious fighting between the Zulu army and the British Soldiers. Thornton sets the scene by… more |
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Aircraft Profile PostersPublished:
A new release from Casemate Publishing, this set of 16 full color posters is just what every aircraft modeler and enthusiast will want for the Hobby Cave, office, or wall. Each poster is 11in x 17in and features a different aircraft. Thirteen of the posters feature aircraft from World War II while the remaining three posters feature post war jets. Aircraft list:
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Spotlight On F4U Corsair in World War 2Published:
Available in the U.S. from "Casemate", in Australia from "Platypus Publications" and in the UK from "Mushroom Models Publications", this book is one of several excellent books in the "Spotlight On" series. All books in this series feature approximately 50 color profiles of the aircraft in question, showing the markings and camouflage patterns seen on the aircraft and in varied national markings. In this particular publication, illustrator Zbigniew Kolacha provides 50 color profiles of 44 F4U Corsairs. The introduction to the book, 2 pages, provides a short "biography" of this classic W.W.II aircraft. The remainder of the pages are given over to those 50 superior illustrations mentioned previously. Each profile is labeled with the BuNo, if known, the airframe numbers, Squadron… more |
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Classic Fighters Colouring BookPublished:
Mushroom Models Publications is now offering a coloring (or colouring) book featuring classic fighters. The book is a soft-cover book with 31 pages. Each fighter is covered in two pages. The first page has the usual data that aircraft fans will recognize. A chart showing the characteristics of the aircraft, performance numbers, and armament are provided in chart form. A description of the aircraft is also provided, usually covered in a couple of sentences. The second page features a large illustration of the fighter, with black outlines showing national markings, fuselage code numbers, and aircraft features such as landing gear, canopy framing, navigation light covers, and a spinning prop. The Classic Fighters featured are:
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Junkers Ju-87 StukaPublished:
This publication is the 2nd Edition of the book which was originally released in March, 2008 and out of print since 2011. You can view the book on Youtube. Authored by Matthew Willis and Robert Michulec, illustrated with color profiles by Simon Schatz, this edition covers all variants and versions of the Stuka from inception of the Stuka program through the last variant. The Big Yellow Series, of which this book is the latest release, is known for high quality color illustrations that feature camouflage and markings, walk-around color photographs, and black & white archive images. The book is chock-full of 1/72nd scale profile drawings and also some exceptional color profile… more |
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Cross & Cockade 2017 CalendarPublished:
It’s that time of year again. That time of year to think about purchasing your 2017 Cross & Cockade International Calendar. “But”, you say, “it is only June of 2016! What’s the hurry?” Well, first, you should realize that there may just be a limit to the print run for these calendars. I honestly don’t know if there is such a limit, but if there were you’d rather be on the “I got mine” side of that line. Secondly, “the profits from the sale of the 2017 Cross and Cockade International Calendar are once again going to assist in the upkeep of the British Air Services Memorial at the St-Omer airfield in northern France” according to Roger Tisdale of Cross & Cockade. There is always a need for support for this fund, so why wait until closer to the New Year to provide… more |