LDO

LDO's Activity

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   LDO added a post in a topic My next modeling project... Maybe.    Monday at 4:29 AM

   Nice find. FWIW- I also think the colors are not so bad. Cool car all around.
   
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   LDO added a post in a topic Knock off kits..common?    7 September

   Lee also copied the IMEX 1958 Cadillacs. Someone gave me several of them. The only thing they are good for is chopping up into lead sleds. The body has an orange peel texture.
   
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   LDO added a post in a topic Flames    1 September

   He's also on Facebook. I've ordered from him. Had no problems.
   
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   LDO added a topic in Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials    25 August

   A simple height gauge/marker.

   I first saw a tool used for the same thing in a Fine Scale Modeler article about detailing a Lear Jet model. The tool was used to mark out the dark stripes on a light-colored aircraft. When viewed from the side, the strip was a straight line. Due to the compound curves of the aircraft, it looked much different from other angles. From below, the engine nacelles had an egg-shaped line painted on. That tool was purpose built. Mine was thrown together from what was at the modeling bench. Crude, but it does work.
    
   
    
   It is a Machinist's square with a couple of small clamps holding a sharpened pencil. If you get a machinist's square, make sure it has the thick bottom side. Some have a very thin cross-section that will not stand up by itself. The model is a Victorian spacecraft (from a role playing game). The front part is the wheelhouse. I made a mark at the upper limit of the port hole window, then ran the line around to the side, so I could make sure the window on the side is at the same level.
   This tool has many uses. It can mark out cut lines for chopping a top or sectioning a body. Make one horizontal line on a car body, then shim the front end a bit to mark out lines for a pie-cut section.Mark out the location of custom windows on both sides of a '70s custom van.
    
    
   

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   LDO added a post in a topic Caliper/micro-meter recommendations    20 August

   I have had an analog Mitutoyo since around 1990, when my (then) employer bought digital. It's a great caliper, but the crystal fell off. I found a place to repair it on Long Island. They mention that they do not repair any Chinese calipers. I found out why, for at least one brand. It was in the consignment section at the LHS. The rack does does come out. Forget repair, it can't even be taken apart for cleaning. I mail-ordered an ancient German caliper. It felt a little "gummy", so I took it apart and cleaned it. Now it works like new. Having said that, a cheap Chinese caliper should work just fine for building static display models. We're not building working engines.
   
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   LDO added a post in a topic Found a very (extreme?) rare modelkit, dare I say it?    19 August

   The small block Chevy comment was a joke.
   I would contact Norman Veber. He apparently is an avid collector and a great guy. He does a lot for the hobby.
   
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   LDO added a topic in Trading Post    18 August

   My fiberglass belly tank lakester body for large scale interesting trade

   It's about 18 inches long. Bottom is flat. I was expecting a P-38 tank, but this one is not made to those dimensions. Would still be a cool lakester, though. Can hold 1/8 or 1/6 scale engines. (but I don't know where to get 1/8 wheels and tires)
   Looking for a Big Deuce, Big T or other interesting big scale model. Would prefer to stick with 1/8. Thanks. 
    
   
    
   
    
   
   

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   LDO added a post in a topic Maj. Anthony Nelson's F 104 Starfighter    16 August

   I remember an episode in which Jeannie "blinked" an F-104 onto the street in front of their house.
   
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   LDO added a post in a topic Found a very (extreme?) rare modelkit, dare I say it?    15 August

   Put a small block Chevy in it.
   
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    LDO added a post in a topic Looking for info from The Complete Car Modeller by Wingrove    13 August

    Where did you get dimensions for the Vickers? I would love to get my hands on that info. I stumbled across a gun shop in Austin that has several real Vickers machine guns, but they are off-limits, at least until I can get approval from the store owner to go back and measure and take pictures.
    I ordered a pair of 3D printed MGs, but the finish is a bit rough. Being one piece, cleanup would be tough. I'd use it as a pattern to scratchbuild my own, but I'm not sure the dimensions are correct.
    My turret is 6 layers of .030" Evergreen styrene wrapped around a 3" PVC pipe coupling. The coupling was not a straight cylinder. It was slightly bowed out at the top and bottom. It took a couple of hours with files and sandpaper to make it straight. It is thick as heck, but for me it was a way to get the right O.D. in a (relatively) short amount of time/minimal cash outlay. (I'm a plumber. I had the PVC part in my van)
    
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    LDO added a post in a topic Looking for info from The Complete Car Modeller by Wingrove    12 August

    The book arrived in the mail. I plan to build my model as a curbside, but some chassis detail is visible without turning the car over. I do want the model to look accurate; not like a model of a replica (like the 2 replicas used in the movie Lawrence of Arabia)
    Richard- I will download and print off those drawings. Thank you. Would love to see your RRAC.
     
    
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    LDO added a post in a topic Building a bait launcher (for fishing)    6 August

    Got it finished today. Functional, anyway. Fired a few test shots with it. It fired well beyond a tree line that is 40 yards away. Possibly as much as 100 yards. I want to make some kind of mount for it. I held it by hand to fire it today.
    It's a pretty cool thing. I can't wait to go fishing with it.
     
    
    
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    LDO added a topic in The Off-Topic Lounge    6 August

    Building a bait launcher (for fishing)

    It's the same concept as a potato cannon/spud gun/whatever. I've never built a spud gun, but I hear that a lot use hair spray or even propane as a combustion source. Not very consistent and may make it a firearm in legal terms. This will use compressed air, with a gauge so I can get repeatable trajectory.
    
    It's not done yet. It needs the PVC barrel glued on. The green plastic thing is a sprinkler valve. It opens faster than a ball valve. It has been modified to open even faster. The barrel is 1 1/2" PVC. The bait will get a hook in it, then aattached to a 12" stainless leader. That will go into a 6" long piece of 1 1/2" pvc and have water poured in. That will get frozen. At the lake, the bait will be taken out of a cooler and allowed to thaw just enough to push the ice/bait plug out. The fishing line will be attached to the leader, then dropped down the barrel and launched farther than a rod and reel can cast it. I have seen YouTube videos of 200 yard launches in fresh water. Surf versions can go 350 yards or more.
    I want repeatable trajectories so it can launch for different people and their different rods. My nephew's Zebco only holds about 90 yards of line. We don't need to dial in a 200 yard launch for him.
    

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    LDO added a post in a topic Any consensus on a new photo sharing service?    6 August

    I've had a paid account with Fotki since 2000 or 2001. Never had the problems that I have seen with Photobucket.
    The days of free things like this are over. Fotki is a good host. Price is fair.
    
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    LDO added a post in a topic Did the 1/16 Bandai/Entex Jaguar XJ-S offer "Euro-spec" headlights?    29 July

    Eh. It's not so bad. Way back in the day...before internet...I never knew they had different lights back home. I thought the single lights were awkward looking the first time I saw them.