When I saw the review list and “Mr Paint Station” and “Gunze” I was thinking this could be cool. In reality it’s not exactly what the name implies. What Mr Paint Station is actually is a holding device for painting. What you get in cellophane bag are four 3” x 5” “boxes” that are built so that the corrugation is facing out. These open corrugations then allow you to place toothpicks or other thin holding clamps you may have, into them to hold parts while they dry or perhaps when you paint them.

The cellophane bag shows that Gunze may produce a set of holding sticks that are meant to insert into the corrugation, none are supplied in the Mr Paint Station package. Unfortunately I can’t read Japanese, so I don’t know what their actual product name is or how much they cost.

I love tools. I don’t think you can have too many. Occasionally I come across one that I say "how did I live without that?" That is what this tool is. More than a simple jig, this machined metal tool allows you to flat sand the bottom of the wheels evenly and consistently. Let’s face it a perfectly round wheel is not realistic nor are the flat wheels that are common on aftermarket wheels. That is where this tool comes in, the perfect balance of weight without being flat.

How do you use it? Simple get your tire from the kit, clean up the seam lines, set the angle, clamp the wheel between the flat spots on the tool and leave about 1/8 inch out the bottom. Then simply sand with 320 sandpaper while applying pressure to the base plate. It is that simple, but does it work?

• ALC 311Klear Kote Light Sheen 4oz/120ml
• ALC 312 Klear Kote Semi-Matte 4oz/120m
• ALC 313 Klear Kote Matte 4oz/120ml
• ALC 314 Klear Kote Flat 4oz/120ml
• ALC 408 Armoured Glass Tint 1oz/30ml
• ALC 600 Aqua Gloss Clear 4oz/120ml

As has been the case for as long as I have known him, Tony Hipp seems to be on an endless quest to develop and bring to market still more excellent products for the discriminating modeler. For years, we’ve searched for the ultimate natural metal finishes, and when Alclad first came on the market, every other product took a distant place far behind. Tony’s products, my estimation, have become the benchmark to which all standards are measured.

These new offerings are not aluminum paints, but will go a long way to make whatever your modeling project is more realistic.

I had the day off from work and had some time to spend with the Grex Tritium TG3 airbrush I recently purchased. The basic kit included the TG3 gravity-feed airbrush, three interchangeable paint cups - 2ml, 7ml, and 15ml, one needle and one crown cap. The caps are magnetized for easy on/off switch outs. The magnetic, spare needle crown cap sticks to the back of the rear handle cap - NICE feature. A tool/wrench is also included for switching out the caps and general disassembly. The total weight of the unit is 6.4oz.

The airbrush comes preset from Grex. To assist with consistent line widths, the Tritium has a Pre-set knob at the back of the airbrush. Turning it clock-wise limits the trigger and how much amount of paint sprayed. Completely turning it clock-wise will stop the trigger entirely and lock it shut. Turning it counter-clockwise, allows for more/unlimited paint and trigger extension. Turning in completely counter-clockwise allows unlimited trigger control.

ALC306 Bottle White Primer & Microfiller

ALC309 Bottle Black Primer & Microfiller

Never resting on his laurels (or whatever else he might call them), Tony Hipp, inventor of Alclad II, does it yet again. As I have stated in several “how to” articles on this product, I couldn’t stress enough the subject of surface preparation prior to applying the metal finishes. If any sanding scratches were present, they would require a base coat of a primer with filling capabilities, then sanding and polishing so that in the case of the “high shine colors”, a gloss black primer could be applied, followed by whatever finish coat was desired. These new offerings cut down on the workload substantially, in that these primers may be applied, sanded and polished to the desired sheen and followed by any of the Alclad II metal finish coats, thus eliminating one or two full steps and drying time.