Jim N

Why do you guys use heat and what does it accomplish? I hope this does not come across as being snarky. I have never heard of this technique and am curious.

Life always seems to get in the way of fun. Best of luck to you taking a summer class and studying for the CPA. You have a full plate.

Have you tried the decal setting solution without the heat? I have been using Micro Sol and Micro Set on Tamiya kits for years and the decals conform to the model fine. For what it's worth, here are a few examples.

Very nice! I built this one box stock a number of years ago, and it remains one of my favorite finished kits.

For years the readers of Scale Auto have been asking for more content or page count in the magazine. The editors informed the readers that they needed more advertising revenue to increase the content of the magazine. If ads like this help toward that end, what's the harm? If you don't like an ad or it does not apply to you, then don't read the page. It's that simple. For the medications and other products that are getting the snarky remarks in this thread, it's significant to remember one thing, they help people! It's wonderful that those of you who are in your 40's and older can claim to feel like you are in your 20's. Count your blessings. I know of a few people who are in their 40's and they feel like they are in their 60's or 70's. They drew the short straws when it came to how their health would hold up through the years.

Very nice! Great job with the paint and decals.

Personally, when I have tried to use a semi gloss or satin black paint, I have been very unhappy with the results. It seems that the paint is splotchy or does not apply evenly, so I get some areas with a higher level of gloss than others. To achieve a semi - gloss or a satin finish, I do the following. I use a flat black and then apply Testors Model Master Gloss for a semi - gloss and Model Master Semi - Gloss for a satin finish.

I used it to do the trim work on this model. No problems.

Looks spectacular! I really like what you did with the water. It looks like real river water.

Great job! I built one of these and did the street version. Yours looks much more aggressive. I like it a lot.

The single most important thing is to make sure the decals are going on a smooth gloss finish. Otherwise silvering can, and most likely, will occur. Applying gloss over the decals is a personal preference and can be highly controversial, as Jonathan mentions, the teams really don't gloss coat their cars. I use Future or whatever it is called these days to seal the decals. It is really inert, but I have had it wrinkle decals on an occasion or two.

Great job! Beautiful paint and decals.

Great job. It is amazing how simple these cars look when compared to the aerodynamic monstrosities they race today.

Great job. As far as the tripod look, you may have had slightly warped parts.

Great job! I remember my dad watching that show when I was little.

I have had the same thing happen to me. I can't explain why, but have never used that clear again. I use Future pretty much exclusively, but even that has messed up a paint job on an occasion or two. It may be nothing you did or didn't do. When I build, I fully expect that some paint jobs will get screwed up for a host of reasons, and in some instances, I will have no clue. To me, it's just the luck of the draw.

Thanks Bill. And by the way, the Vette looks gorgeous.

Great job! Really outstanding work.

I read Bill's post and was a little confused too, but I reread his first and I am fairly certain the sequence is this" BIN Zinsser Primer BIN Zinsser Primer Paint

I start with a white wheel. If it is molded in white plastic, that is where I start. If it is molded in another color, I paint it flat white. Then I paint the wheel with a flat black enamel. When the wheel is fully dry, I take an X-acto knife and using a very shallow angle, I scrape the black paint off until I get to the white. This takes some practice and don't scrape more than an 1/8" at a time. When the wheel is done, I use a red or yellow marker and color the stripe. I then use a semi - gloss clear and detail the wheel.

Looks great! One of my favorite paint schemes that he ran.

Top drawer work! All three look great.

She apparently has a gift that no one else has.

Looks very nice. Great job, particularly on the camo paint.

They had blank looks on their faces because it took so long to take the picture. No one could hold a smile that long.