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Everything posted by fseva
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The whole thing came out just wonderful!
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I'm thinking that this kit could have been so much better if Trumpeter had not tried to be so ambitious... not only did they try for steerable front wheels, but also a hinged trunk, both of which were so fiddly, I could not get them to work. They could easily have provided posable front tires/wheels (which would have worked for me right up until I broke a post by pressing down too hard on the front end). And with the extra cash, they could have added decals for the emblems... or improved the trunk lid hinging. And they surely should have chromed some of the raw plastic - like the rear view mirrors, wipers, etc.
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Well, some of the terrible things don't show up in the final photos... like the front suspension which was supposed to be steerable, which I could not get to work... even with everything in place and ready to go... the steering linkage was too short, and instead of it allowing free left-right movement, it locked up the steering with the wheels toed-in; then, there is the windshield that did not fit quite right in the frame - I did a lot of cutting and fitting to get it to look this good, and even then, there are noticeable gaps at the bottom next to the frame; and last but not least, a trunk lid that was supposed to be hinged, but I had no idea how to glue the small caps over the hinges and onto the frame without gluing them together... I left the trunk lid as the hood (removable if I wanted to display what was in there. I did not attempt to build the PE front hinges, either). I will say though, that this was my second build - with about 4 years worth of experience under my belt, it went much easier this time.
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Actually, the original antennas had to be removed because I broke one and decided to replace both, with a very fine diameter wire that I had in my tool drawer (I think I had been using it to stop up glue bottles with tiny needles).
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It's a shame that those eco-conscious hobbyists who want to use acrylics would have to resort to using a toxic primer! Personally, I would recommend they go with a paint that is already formulated for airbrushing... like Aztek Airbrushables.
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You'd be better off brushing it by hand. This was one of my most difficult tasks when I was working with acrylics. Some of them are so thick, and when you thinned them drastically, they either just beaded up or ran off the surface. If you still must use your airbrush, buy some "airbrush medium". This is a reducer for all acrylics, and it does a much better job than just water. My fav is by Liquitex. I have also used one by Jo Sonja, which is very good. Even then, there is no standard ratio for thinning. So, do some experimenting with different ratios until you come up with one that works in your airbrush. Then, apply light coats and let the surface dry. Or use a hair dryer to speed up the process, before recoating.
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Boy, I think this is the first Barracuda I've seen fully built! Cool!
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Dave intends to keep operating for another year and then retiring.
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I would never have known it was done in acrylics! Nice job!
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Mike told me that he did have plans to implement an online ordering system!
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Speaking of MCW paint - they now have a new owner - he is accepting email orders and payments by Paypal! Whoohoo! Send your orders to mcwfinishes@sssnet.com
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Every time you think a company should have done something to improve their products, the company gets sold and the new company says in essence... we can't afford to do anything new at this time (see Round2 for corroboration)!
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You should wait until it's just dry. I also recommend a really thin tape (Tamiya), because it leaves less of a buildup of paint at the separations.
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How do you stop metallic from running?
fseva replied to RT6PK's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
I searched for Arctic Blue and the only thing that came up is enamel... There could be a close match in the lacquer line, but it would surely be called something else. Isn't it also possible that Testors has changed the ingredients drastically over the past 30 years? -
How do you stop metallic from running?
fseva replied to RT6PK's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
Are you spraying a rattle can? How long did you shake it? Sounds like the metallic is separating from the carrier, or perhaps the binder has gone bad... Do you know how old the can is? Next time try it on some scrap plastic, or a plastic spoon. -
Looks great to me - I don't see anything wrong with the foiling!
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I think it turned out much better than "fairly well"! The black is absolutely gorgeous - you must have spent a lot of time polishing away all those "smudges"!
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He told me that he had been attempting to sell the paint side of the business - said the resin side was much better profit-wise. So, I think you can expect his kits to be around for a while. Sure wish he'd install an online ordering system, though...
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Yes, I remember this, but I thought that you said you had just started to try a new technique involving the use of separate headlight buckets instead of the need to BMF, and you stated the new technique as an alternate to BMFing raw concave plastic... could it have been someone else...
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Did I misunderstand your technique, Steve? I hollowed out the entire headlight except the frame surrounding it. Then I added buckets by pressing them into place from the outside (the inside would have been better but the hollowing-out process left an uneven surface on the reverse side. This is the technique you said you just started to use, after you had already devised a way to BMF the inside of the hollowed-out bucket... (???)
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Need some helping using airbrush
fseva replied to Nowak1981's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
It will not get worse... trust me... you've learned a lot and now all you have to do is remember to apply what you've learned the next time you paint. BTW, if by "went full blast", you are referring to using a rattle can, then all I can suggest is that you find a happy medium between light mist coats and wet coats. You should build up slowly with mist coats, and then go for a single wet coat that will remain very glossy after it has dried. This way, you won't get heavy build-ups of clear from staying too long in one place while spraying. Good to see that you invested in a .5mm needle/nozzle. However, remember that this is still going to apply much less paint in a single stroke than a ratlle can would. That's why rattle cans generally don't cause coarse dry finishes - because their nozzles are super-big and you really apply a lot of material with a single stroke. For this reason, I have stopped trying to airbrush Tamiya's primers - even with a .75mm setup, I can't seem to get enough material on before the dry coarse look strikes. -
Most of the time, there is a label that identifies the contents - it's either on top of the cap, or somewhere on the side. This label is affixed over the generic main label, and it allows Testors to use one wrap-label instead of hundreds of special printings.
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Light bulb for paint drying?
fseva replied to Bullitt's topic in Model Building Questions and Answers
I hear ya! I decided to spend the money and get a food dehydrator. It takes room air, filters it, warms it up (I'm using it set at 115 degrees right now) and then circulates that air down and out of the unit. My unit has several shelves that needed to be modified in order to get the height needed for models. The FD has been a godsend, and I use lacquer a lot, which dries pretty fast... but I love how I can come back after a couple of hours and start working with my model again.