BlackMike Models

1 more sleeps peeps! Hope to see some of you there, please do come over and say hello if you are in town. Duncan B

Only a few days to go now. The van is getting packed today so if there is anything in particular that anyone who's going would like to see on the BlackMike Models Stand (or Sovereign Hobbies Stand for that matter) now would be the time to say. Looking forward to hopefully seeing some of our northern BxMers there. Duncan B

The Raiden must either be in great demand or very scarce as I didn't get as many as I had ordered so they sold out straight away. I will get more in when I can. It's the He219 Uhu that I have my eye on. Duncan B

The latest release in Zoukei Mura's range of 1/48 scale McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms has landed in stock at BlackMike Models. This release is of the ultimate US Navy version of the venerable Phantom, namely the F-4S variant. This was an improved and upgrade which added slatted wings to the proven F-4J model. For more details follow the link: https://www.blackmikemodels.co.uk/products/zoukei-mura-sws4805-1-48-mcdonnell-douglas-f-4s-phantom-ii Duncan B

Same here, first thought when seeing one of these is always The Great Escape!! My thoughts exactly, it must have been a virtual suicide mission, think DH Chipmunk versus T-72!! Duncan B

I cheated, it's reverse mottling as I'm still playing with the Mission Models paints. I like the actual colours though, they look spot on to me. Duncan B

A little progress to show on my Meng Kids He177. I'm slowly getting the hang of the Mission Models Acrylics. Duncan B

My Xtracolors enamels took literally weeks to dry which was a real put off. Duncan B

I never thought I'd find paint better than Mr Color but Mr Paint (I can't help but think that he chose that name to cause maximum confusion amongst us Modellers) really are better. I splashed out and bought the complete range of MRP Luftwaffe colours when they came out and have not looked back since then. I would happily stock them in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the restrictive post issues with lacquers. Paul, get yourself a couple of colours and have a go, I will put money down on you being instantly converted. Duncan B

I've never been keen on Vallejo other than to use as brush paints for small items but some folk swear by them. The AK Interactive paints are better but I couldn't see any advantage over Mr Color so again only use them for brush painting small parts. I'm not so keen on Mr Hobby as I don't find them as hard wearing as the lacquer versions. Mr Paint lacquer paints are superb and have taken over from Mr Color as my go to RLM paints now, I might have to try Mr P's new water based paints at some point to see how they compare. I still have all the Italian and Luftwaffe colours in Polyscale and still think they had some of the best colour matched acrylics going at the time, such a shame they are no longer available. Paint, who'd have thought it could be so complicated? duncan B

All my best work (oh listen to Van Gogh here!) has been done with Mr Color. Like you I know my mix. I will get the Mission Models paints to mottle (I actually had them working pretty much straight away then changed the mix as I thought I could get it better and mucked everything up!), it's just a matter of getting the mix and settings right but not being a regular user of water based acrylics means I don't have any baseline settings to start from. When I first started building Luftwaffe stuff I used enamels and had great results with them, very forgiving, but I wasn't keen on the smell or the drying times. I still have a large stock of them though (why do we never throw away our old paint collections?). Duncan B

Stalled!! Well almost, I did spray the RLM02 on the undercarriage legs yesterday but that's been about it. I am a little apprehensive of doing the mottling on the G5 without having seen a picture or decent profile but have, so far, only seen 1 photo taken from in front of it. As an aside I have been playing with the new Mission Models Acrylics in the last few weeks, still not getting the hang of spraying mottles with them yet (I have the same problem with all the other water based acrylics like AK and Vallejo) but for solid cover they spray beautifully without any fuss. Colour match for the RLM colours seems to be very good, I particularly like the RLM74,75 and 76. Duncan B

I like it a lot. Big brut of a thing isn't it. Duncan B

Trumpeter's new 1/35 scale 2K11A with SA-4 Ganef SAM is in stock at BlackMike Models NOW, more details here: https://www.blackmikemodels.co.uk/products/trumpeter-09523-1-35-soviet-2k11a-tel-with-9m8m-krug-a-missile-sa-4-ganef?variant=632576770076 Duncan B

I've just listed a 'paint set' consisting of the Mission Models RLM74, RLM75, RLM76 paints and 2oz/60ml bottle of Thinner/Reducer (which is also the airbrush cleaner) for £24.95 + P&P. I have put this 'set' together to encourage folk to take the plunge and try this new brand of paints out. Currently this deal is only available on my eBay Shop. The complete range of Mission Models Aircraft Colours and primers etc can also be bought individually from the BlackMike Models Website. The link to my eBay Shop is here: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/blackmikemodels/ Duncan B