Crazy8

Thank you Jantrix and 62rebel for the additional help. I greatly appreciate it. Well maybe I will get some .020" Evergreen just to play with but I will also get some super glue and Methyl Ethyl Ketone and give that a shot. @Jantrix - I will try the gussest in combination with the suggested glue and see if I can create a nice strong joint. @62rebel - When I look for the Methyl Ethyl Ketone, should I be looking for it under a specifinc brand? I mean if I cant find the stuff at Lowes and need help what should I be asking the person to help me find? lol

Well channeling might be the way to go but I am wondering if maybe its to lat for me to do that now, effectively. I still feel like I may have destroyed the chassis even though I gave it another shot last night to get things to stick right and not break off. So here are the pics of my mess I created... This shows where it broke and an idea of what I have done. I essentially cut through the original chassis and beefing up that spot with extra material so that I could file the spot where the rear axle sits and make the chassis drop more. An idea of what the front is supposed to look like when its glued. How the rear should look when done and glued. The whole chassis alltogether. Close up of what I did and one of the issues with getting it to not break after glued. Maybe I should see if someone has a spare '32 chassis that they would donate or sell. Then I have the opporunity to do the work I did to it up to this point and not make these mistakes again and to take the channeling approach. My fear right now is even if I get these peices to stick, after painting, and after everything is complete, I will be afraid to even touch it in fear of these peices breaking off or something.

Oh ok. Thats what I was figuring it was but just wanted to make sure.

Any examples of this that you know of? I think I have seen what you're talking about.

Thank you very much for your gentle guidence and wisdom. So what exactly is "z-cutting"? I also know very little of real vehicles when it comes to rodding, and parts. Short of chaning oil, fuses, filters and maybe adding a little grease, im a car idiot. Over all my chassis is in ok condition.I will post a pic of my "destroyed" chassis just to show the ptoblems I am having after making the cuts I did, after I get off work tonight. Now im dropping it a bit so cutting the already tiny springs did not seem like it was going to get it as low as I would like

So I have been working on my '32 ford for a bit of time now and want to push myself a little bit further than I did on my first model (Ferrari California). I need to drop the stance on my '32 and after the things I have tried I am thinking structurally I might be better off building a chassis. The current one is now becoming a bit of a mess and hedache. Building a chassis is not anything I have done nor do I know how to do it, or do it correctly for that matter but I am also very interested in learning. Based on some chassis I have seen I dont want it to have sharp corners everywhere, rather Id like to bend the plastic to fallow the same curves as and look much like the chassis that came in the kit minus some of the needed mods. 1. Can I "curve" the plastic to fit the shape of the current chassis? Perhaps by means of low heat? 2. For areas that I will have to glue, what glue works best? Im quickly getting sick of testors red label stuff. 3. When I go to pick up plastic to build my chassis what thicknesses do I need and what shapes? (1/24 scale) 4. Are the #11 Exacto blade and a razor saw the only two tools that come into play with making these kinds of things? 5. Are there any tools that might help to make things easier when building custom chassis? Any help on this would be much appreciated.

Well either today or tomorrow will be the day that I get my new Iwata HP-C Plus airbrush. I can't wait to get it in my hands and start using it. I also have been flirting with the idea of trying to get back into my art work and seeing how the airbrush works for that. I used to be a pretty good drawer back in my day but eventually my skill plateaued and later diminished. I starting thinking that getting a camera and my phoshop skills may assist in putting the ideas I had in my head, down onto paper but thats even a big task. Anyway, Im looking forward to seeing what I can do with an airbrush in my hand and what kinds of models I can turn out.

Oh yeah I completely forogt about this. i will have to watch again.

Well the one compressor I am looking at (at menards) will max out at 100psi plus I can use it for other air tools. Maybe Doctor Cranky can lend some of his HOK knowledge on this topic becasue after looking for reducer I am filled with more questions. So I know that I use a reducer HOK (RU310) to thin it out but then to finish the "art" it seems I will also need the "Kosmic Kolor Urithane Klear (UC35)" and because of that I also need to mix it with "Exempt Catalyst (KU150)". Do I ned all of this if I plan to work with HOK paint? How does all of this get mixed? What order/process does this get applied? As you mentioned, what psi should HOK be applied? Can HOK be reduced and applied at a lower psi?

Yeah I was kinf of figuring there might be issues like that. Well this may allow me to really be creative. I dont need to bend it much at all but I do think that it might be more than what it will let me do. I have a couple ideas how I can still pull off the look im going for so we will see how that pans out. thank you for the advice and the warnings.

So I have a chrome piece that I would like to bend a little to make it into a custom piece. Is there a way to do this "safely" without damage to the chrome finish or to the part itself? maybe I will need to make a part myself out of something to substitute it. Any thoughts?

I actually expected a bit more feedback on this after 40+ views. Anyway I have been doing some thinking and I think I may be leaning towards the Iwata HP-C Plus 4004 airbrush. With my 2nd project on the bench im thinking Im going to get the HOK paints from TCP Global and get the "HOK (BC) Top 8 Kit" in 4oz bottles. Are there any other "chemicals" or anything I need when working with the HOK paints? Im thinking of using the ever so popular Dupont clear that a lot of you like to use. Should I be using HOK clear? Im also going to be using either Model Masters or Tamiya primer. Any help on these questions would be greatly appreciated.

Well in a week or two I may be purchasing my first airbrush. So of course I have a few questions. First off I want to thank the Doctor (Cranky) for showing me the Iwata line of airbrushes. Im thinking that is what I will go with. I dont want to spend more than $180 so this is what I have come up with. Iwata HP-C Plus 4004 $179.96 Iwata Eclipse HP-SBS 4206 $164.95 Iwata Eclipse HP-CS 4207 $125.97 So here are my thoughts. Iwata HP-C Plus 4004: I love this one for the huge cup on it and that I can put as much or as little as I need. I also like the fact that it actually says that there is a range of stippling effects that can be done. Iwata Eclipse HP-SBS 4206: This one I know I will be a huge fan of having the option to use a cup or a jar. I do have other things I would paint that are "bigger" and would be nice to be able to use a jar. At the same time its noce to not have that extra bulk in the way when working on models and when you only need a little amount of paint for them. I also like that the cup can be tilted if ever needed. The 4206 does come with the bigger 1/4oz cup as apposed to the 1/8oz. Iwata Eclipse HP-CS 4207: With this one, the price is great and I get a larger 1/3oz cup which also has a lid for it like the HP-C. Im sure I could pick anyone of these three and be completely happy. Im a big fan of features, functionality, and flexability. The HP-SBS fits the bil but one thing I am wondering is, am I able to get a cup for it that is larger than 1/4oz? Maybe there is a 1/3oz available for that model? If there is not a larger cup available for the 4206 that might be the deciding factor on me not getting that one....MAYBE. So now that would leave me with the HP-CS and the HP-C Plus. Maybe with this its just a matter of price? Do all airbrushes stipple? Is stippling an actual feature or just something that is possible after removing the crown? Any help on helping me decide on one of these fine airbrushes would be much appreciated. Maybe I just need to look for what features i would like more than others or the cost am most happy with? Thanks for the help.

@Joker - I did exactly that a couple weeks ago when the fam decided to go to the Mall of America. There was a $ store in there and I figured I would see if I could find anything usefull for my building. Well I found a box of 1000, I think, toothpicks and I found some super small screw drivers. I think there was one more thing but I dont recall what it was. Thank you all for the added info. I have been off to a great start and have even finished one model now. looking forward to doing more. Right now I am starting a '32 ford rod I am even pushing myself further on than ever before so we will see how that goes. thanks agin.

Well I have polished my car and have finished a few of my touchups and I think this has come to completion. I will be taking out the nice camera and taking some better pictures for all of you to enjoy. Thank you all for your comments on this first build after 20+ years of dormancy in the hobby. I will try to get some pics up tonight sometime.