The Never Ending Dakota

[hrtpaul]

That looks amazing Barney. Love your work. Adam not sure what Alclad you're using but all the ones I've used are tough as nails and I can't fault it at all. I mostly prime with Tamiya fine white primer then Alclad over the top. I only use MM gloss black if I want it shiny. I might try Barney's suggestion of decanted TS-14 next time though

[Adam the Akrodude]

I know this sounds a bit weird, but I want to replicate the effect of scuffs and scratches on polished aluminium. This shows up like dogs "tackle" on shiny aeroplanes. It's very easy to replicate on foil, but not so on Alclad as it's so fine. You just scrape off the ultra fine layer leaving black scratches - I've tried and failed attempting this on my 1/48 "Frightning".
I'll be foiling the 104 but using either the polishing paste or SnJ powder for the areas too tough to foil. There's a very recent Canadian F-104 over at LSP http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=58175

His foil is highly polished. My 104 will be a NASA F-104N, so it will be in a "well kept" state, but with plenty of scuffs and scratches on the metal. Desert air is dry, so there will not be any "tarnish" to the aluminium as such. I've wanted to foil a model for a long time - just to try this technique. On 1/72 and 1/48 I think Alclad is fine (for me). Capt Eric has performed a brilliant job using Alclad on his 1/32 Frightning, but he is a far superior craftsman with a airbrush than I with these sorts of finishes.

[DesTROYer]

Awesome work. I'm very impressed.