Joe Hegedus

Define "vintage". I still use the Paasche "H" that I bought in 1987 as my main go-to airbrush but is that really vintage since it is still available, albeit with slight design changes (the screw knob to limit the air button depression has been deleted in the newer ones), and have a Binks Wren that my dad bought c. 1980ish that still works fine. I don't use that one because replacement tips/cones seem to be quite expensive (way more than I think is reasonable at the places I've found them online) and I don't want to risk damaging the one that is in the brush. Plus, I don't need to use it for

Check in daily, but usually don't post much anymore.

I built the Academy P-8 recently. The nose strut is 2 parts, the trunnion that fits in the wheel well and the oleo/axles that are attached to the trunnion. It should be possible to assemble the trunion to the well and install that in the fuselage, and then add the lower strut later (I didn't do this, I assembled the nose gear per the instructions as it is all the same gray as the exterior of the airplane). And yes, the decals are very thin and the wing walks in particular are prone to folding over on themselves. But overall it's a lovely little kit.

Going by the images, I’d guess the first one (with the sway braces close together near the front of the pylon) has a bomb rack installed for carriage/release of individual stores, while the second is intended to have a MER attached for multiple bomb carriage.

I don't have an answer to your query, but there are small tank compressors that have the same footprint as your basic piston compressor. They have a small tank that is about the same size as the compressor, and are arranged so that the compressor sits on top of the tank. The one I'm using (a Master brand compressor bought off of Amazon a couple years ago) sits about 12" tall.

Cool! Just ordered; that Pax jet is a must-have.

Like Steve said, "die-cast" are typically metal for at least all the major components; some use plastic for smaller detail parts. The ones I have are mostly metal, with plastic for smaller details.

The term "die-cast" is, when referring to scale models, typically used to mean models purchased that are already finished and assembled, ready for display with minimal assembly required. As you note there are several brands and the quality can vary widely, from a passing resemblance to the subject that are pretty much toys, to high-quality display pieces. The main market seems to be, as far as I know, collectors who are only interested in displaying the finished item, although I admit to owning a few.

Can’t help you with your request, but I’m pretty sure the F-16 does not employ the GBu-16; that’s pretty much a USN/USMC-only weapon. GBU-12 on a high-speed TER is more appropriate for an F-16.

BuNo 160264 (Last Skyhawk) in NATC markings.

But changing the outer mold line of the rack may have a detrimental effect on store separation characteristics. It’s a different shape to the front end, with a resulting change to the flow field around the rack. Although, since APKWS requires a “smart” launcher (MIL-STD-160 compatible), and the normal BRU-42 TER is not a 1760 rack, there would have had to have been some work done to make the interface work (I suspect that they got some BRU-70 ITERs that are 1760 compatible, but have the same OML as a BRU-42). Are High-Speed TERs 1760 compatible? I don’t think so (but I don’t k

When new, the paint would be gloss (typical for USN trainers), but weathering would probably reduce the sheen. I don't know if I'd go full flat on the finish, but probably semi-gloss if the plane has been used for a while. Actually, if it were me, I'd go full gloss because I like "new" airplanes in general.

International Orange. I like to use normal Testors square bottle orange for that color, as in scale International orange looks too red to me.

Yeah, the orange flight clearance stickers were prominent.

Darn near almost 20 years ago at this point. I had a flight in a Super Hornet back in 2005 that was configured as a 5-wet tanker and at least 2 of the tanks were unpainted (black carbon fiber) FPU-12s.