Scale aviation modeller international

Pacific Monograph

A

t the US Nationals we

met up with Pacific

Monograph, we first

featured this manufacturer

a few months ago when they

introduced a range of square

acrylic pieces that can be used to

easily produce wing tip lights.

Now they have released a new

tool to produce Navigation lights

in all scales. The main component

is a thick etched brass sheet with

52 navigation light shapes which

you will use as a female mould

to produce your lights. Also

included are a selection of clear

and coloured plastic plugs which

you heat over an electric hob or

soldering iron before pushing the

softened plastic through the brass

mould to produce your navigation

lights. Once the supplied pegs

have been used up the clear

runners from your latest kit or

clear plastic from a toothbrush

handle can be substituted.

After removing the plastic

from mould, the completed

light can be carefully removed

from the plastic nub with a

razor saw or scalpel blade to

produce a perfect navigation

light. The shaped moulds can

also be used to produce rivets,

dome lights and nacelle rocker

arm bulges in all major scales.

PMAVI-002 Navigation Lights Template

To o l

CONCLUSION

This a simple and easy idea that once

purchased will last you a lifetime of

modelling and as an added bonus

it can also be used as a scribing

guide while the round corners can

be used to scrap out plastic or

putty from inside the fuselage.

This tool is available to order

from http://www.pacmonoshop.

com and we thank them for

supplying the review sample.

Sharpenair

I

have lost count of the number

of times I have had to purchase

new needles for my Iwata

and Badger airbrushes as I have

damaged the either by dropping

them or bent the tips extracting

/inserting them into the brush

head. The normal tell tale that

something is wrong with needle

si a poor spray pattern and if

you run the tip of the needlae

against your thumb you will feel

the hook in the end of the needle

catching against you skin.

But now I have a new tool that

quickly and simply re sharpens the

needle perfectly every single time.

The Sharpenair is a small

block with four holes into

which you insert your damaged

needle. Each hole has a sanding

stones positioned at the end

and these are positioned at

various angles to unbend and

restore the tip of your needle.

You work from right to left

staring with hole one which has

the most abrasive stone (600 Grit),

just insert your needle and rotate it

clockwise with mild pressure 10 to

15 times. Then move onto hole two

with it’s (1200 Grit) and repeat the

process. (Unless you are repairing

a 5mm needle.) In my case just

these two stages sorted out the

hook in my needle. If your needle

is more damaged you may move

onto holes 3 and 4 repeating the

process as these stones will reshape

the cone of the brush. Finally you

have a 3000 grit-polishing pad

to remove all but the smallest

imperfection from your needle.

If the after many years of

repairs the stones do start fade

you can open the Sharpenair

casing and reverse the stone

to reveal an all-new surface.

And in the unlikely event both

sides get worn replacement

stones are also available.

This is such a simple idea and

in just one session I returned three

old airbrushes back to service. And

just one more repair and I will have

recovered the cost of the Sharpenair

by not having to buy a new needle.

CONCLUSION

If you want to maintain the good

spraying qualities of your airbrush

or like me suffer from terminal

carelessness with airbrush needles

the Sharpenair is the answer of a

long held prayer and the money

saved on purchasing at least two

new needles each year can now be

redirected to increasing my kit stash.

Sharpenair have posted a number

of videos on their You Tube channel

showing the tool refurbishing needles

from Devilbiss, Iwata and Paasche

which are well worth a look.

My thanks to the Airbrush

company who supplied our

sample of this product which can

be purchased from their website

at http://www.airbrushes.com

G-Factor

I

t has been a few years

since G Factor have

visited the US Nationals

and I had forgotten how

beautiful these jeweller’s

brass legs are. They

combine strength with

a level of detail that is

just not possible using

white metal. A closer

look at the brass legs will

reveal hydraulic lines

and even the securing

clips are all represented, and

the only clean up required is

to remove the casting stub

from the top of the leg before

applying a coat of primer

followed by painting with

your favourite paint brand.

The example we were

supplied with to review was

launched at the show and

supplies the complicated

main legs of the Sukhoi Su-33

Fullback bomber version of

the Su-27 Flanker family.

1/48 SCALE

SUKHOI SU-34 FULLBACK MAIN

UNDERCARRIAGE LEGS

Product No: GFG48035

Designed for: Kittyhawk

CONCLUSION

G-Factor is one of those

companies that is the result

of a skilled modeller decided

to share his work with others,

when first launched you could

only order these items from

the manufacturer but now

they are available from a

number of suppliers around

the world including Sprue

Brothers and Hannants.

My thanks to G-Factor

for supplying us with the

review samples and I hope

it is not another five years

before we meet up again.

ACCESSORIES

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