Wild Weasel 2023

Needed to warm up the moulds in warm water to get them to release, but they came apart quickly and cleanly.
Don’t think it’s turned out too bad. A little soft on detail maybe but it’ll work as a replacement. Just needs some careful cleaning up.


This stuff seems to work as advertised. I think for quick one off casting you can’t go wrong it.

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Oh and nearly forgot, got some masks for it.

This is a brand new set only just released. If masks have been made for a long OOP kit, it makes me wonder if Dead Design know something we don’t? Are Revell about to reissue this one? We’ll have to see.

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Took a lot of care but got the part cleaned up today. It’s not perfect, it’s a little chunkier and lacks the finesse of the original but it should work. Once it’s finished and on the shelf I’ll barely give that part a second look.

Still not got any paint on, so I’m going to have to face up to the reality that I’m not going to make my own extended finish time. Rather than rush, I’m going to take the time as and when I get it.
Next week I’ll go back through the page and make a list of everyone who finished and send that off to admins along with the medal.

Congratulations on everyone who finished.

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Stephen, looks good. I will definitely use that method next time I need to recreate a part.

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It’s not without a few problems. I think each half went off centre a little along one side. Although that was more my fault than the material. And you do have to keep it warm and work quite quickly while making the mould. I can see it giving a longer time in a warm room or in the summer.
That aside, I think it can work quite well for making quick moulds and casts. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work with pourable resin either.

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Thanks for the insights, Stephen!

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I’ve tried it a second time with a new pack of white fine Milliput. I tried another method I saw on YouTube of smearing the putty into both halves and squeezing it together. With luck I should have a better copy this time.

Tonight I’m going to go through the campaign and list finishers and then email that over to admins. Can anyone remind me as to who I need to contact?

Message to Staff Jim

Once you have sorted the names just copy and paste them into a message
as they appear in here so; - do not add the @

SGTJKJ
phantom_phanatic
B-17-peter
etc etc etc

and a copy & paste of the award :+1:

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Cool thanks.

Congratulations to:

@Johnnych01
@bwilt
@B-17-peter

Have I missed anyone? Got a feeling I have.

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Nope, just checked. Only us 3 for completed builds.

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Thanks. I think a few of us started but didn’t complete, myself included.
I’ll message Staff Jim with the medal.

Thanks to everyone who joined. Looking forward to seeing the last few .

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Award received. Thanks for running Stephen and it was a good one … shame a few more didnt cross the line in time :+1:

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You’re welcome.
Thanks for taking part.

Had a spare few minutes to apply the Dead Design canopy masks today. This is the first for the frame sealant. They fit fairly well but did need a bit of adjusting to follow the moulded on lines.

Hopefully tomorrow I can at least get some primer down.

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2nd attempt at moulding the missing part.

The details aren’t showing up very well in the photo, but this is a lot better than the first. Happy with this so I’ll use this part.

And looking in my references and photos online, it does appear 63-8301 was one of the Thunderchiefs that had it’s frame seals over-painted. Seems to have been common when they were resprayed in SEAC, but there are some exceptions. Saves me a job and second round of masking.

Unfortunately wasn’t able to take it outside to spray some primer. The wind picked up and we had a few spots of rain, not great for painting.

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Afraid this is going to be back on hold for a couple of weeks while we have some work done on the house. Loft reinsulated and boarded and then new windows and doors. Going to be a couple of weeks before work starts, so I might catch a few moments, but I have had to pack away and move a lot of stuff in preparation. I don’t want some clumsy builder accidentally or deliberately damaging anything.
On the plus side we will be left with a lot more storage space and I’ll get my work room/office/man cave back.
And while packing some boxes I found a half finished Airfix Valiant I started before we moved into the house. Must get it finished. Anyway, while I was looking at where I’d left off I noticed that the 1000lb bombs looked a bit, well odd. Not like the usual RAF 1000lb’er. And then it dawned on me, they looked like a CBU-24. So, out with the references to check. And not only are they more than passable, but they scale out perfectly too. And I have 21 of the things!



I mention this as the CBU-24 was a common secondary of USAF Weasels during Vietnam and after. Seen plenty of photos of F-4G’s still carrying them in Desert Storm. So if you have an Airfix Valiant, raid it for those bombs!

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Hi Stephen,

I know the issue of contractors, they can really mess up things, and they don’t seem to understand the hobby! I’d love to see the Valiant get done, you should share it over on the Hangar Queen campaign. I’m sure I don’t speak alone in wanting to see it get done.

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Yeah there’s been a lot of waiting for something to happen. Luckily we heard today that the windows are going in from Monday and the loft later in the week.
We had asked for it to be the other way around so we could get stuff back in the loft to make way for the windows, but it is what it is.
So now I’ll be spending all weekend getting stuff back up there.
I’ve found a few other things, so I might have a busy year ahead of me.
The good news though is that once a couple of rooms are cleared, I’ve got my modelling room back. So I’ll be more productive. Only downside to that is that I do plan on getting a second desk in there for my computer collection. Once the old Mega Drive and Amiga’s back up and running, they might prove to be another distraction!

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Managed some work on the F-105 the last couple of days. Mostly masking and prepping for paint, but did get the pylons assembled.
The sway braces are very delicate and almost broke one. Luckily they provide lots of spares.

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