Olle F

I need a liquid material that can be brushed or poured to make some flexible rubber parts, and was wondering if there is any solvent that can be used to dissolve, for example, vinyl tires. I have been thinking about maybe using Plasti Dip, but haven't been able to find it in black, and I don't want to spend a lot of money on ordering a can when I basically just need a few drops. So has anyone tried to do this? I have tried what I have got in my arsenal (laquer thinner, acetone etc), but haven't had any luck so far.

I have polished the bare plastic on a couple of models with good results. I simply picked a matching color and brush painted the inside, and it gave the finish a much more "solid" look. I do that on light colored models even if I paint them, just to avoid this problem. I have some old kits that have yellowed in the box, while some others are as white as the day they were molded. Some others (mostly in colored styrene) have swirls and other inconsistencies in the material. I guess yellowing and other color issues are simply a matter of the quality of the styrene, so you never know.

I have several hobbies, so that's what I tell my wife too. It's kind of a family joke, but really and truly: If you look at what the most popular male "hobby" is in our neck of the woods, you'll see that it's actually not as dumb as it may sound. So she's more than happy with having me in the basement, building a model, tinkering with the Chevelle or cleaning a gun. I could definitely be doing something worse than that.

Yeah, that kit is out of proportion... kind of an "artist's rendition of a '69 Camaro". But I must say you did a good job on this model, seems like the graphics and the stance actually hide the design flaws in the kit. Looks good to me, but as Modellpularn said: Revell's kit is a safer bet.

I hate kits where the parts won't fit right, but you can always make them come together with some work. If the subject is right and the body is ok, it's usually doable. Instead, I would vote for all the models that are so grossly out of proportion that you just can't make them look like the real thing. Some of the models I hate with a vengeance are Monogram's '57 Chevy and '69 "Rampage" Camaro. They do resemble the real cars and (as far as I remember) the parts fit nicely, but that's about it. Unless you perform major surgery, they will look like Chinese toy cars. I never finished these models, just because I got so turned off by the looks. Another great disappointment (although probably a good kit if you're into this kind of models) was the submarine I bought when I was 11-12 years old. It was a big, expensive model, but when I opened the box I found about 10 parts... Two halves for the hull, propellers and rudders, that was about it. I slapped it together in about 15 minutes, took it to the pond and put it out of it's misery with a BB gun.

I'm not sure if it can be done, at least not if it's the same kind of paint. I would just mask and re-paint that area.

I use tackle boxes for (the few...) model parts I have organized. I have also got some of those nut and bolt organizers crispy is talking about above my work bench, but haven't started using them yet. I use tackle boxes for the 1:1 car stuff as well, like tools and parts for brakes, electrical, carburetors, interior/upholstery etc. They come in all sizes and shapes, so you can always find something that will work.

The old Elmer's glue trick works great too. Just find some paper that will work (napkins, paper towels, whatever), cut to size and soak it in a mix of water and Elmer's. Wrap it over the item you want to cover, fix some realistic wrinkles and let it dry. If you use the right mix of water and glue it will be stiff enough to handle, you can even "snap it off" if it's partially wrapped around something so most often you can remove it and paint it separately, and then glue it back to the model. You can simulate just about any fabric with this method. The pictures show some examples of what I did on a "junker" I built many years ago. I used the same method to make the rope around the bumper bracket out of cotton string. Just soaked it, shaped it, let it dry and painted it.

I can't remember exactly, but I was probably about 6 years old (which would be 1966). I started out building those little Airfix cars you could buy in bags back then, and I also built several WWII airplanes and battleships before I finally decided that 1:25 cars were my thing. Most of these early models fell victim to my BB gun later on. I thought it was very cool to re-enact Bonnie and Clyde's demise or see Tirpitz sink in the pond, but now I wish that I still had those first models I built.

I use a Badger 200 that I bought about 30 years ago. I have had to replace a few parts that either wore out or got damaged (tips, needles, air hoses etc), but it still works pretty much as well as the day I bought it. You just gotta love the fact that you still can get parts for it, and this is something I definitely would consider if I were in the market for a new one. I have tried a few double actions, but I'm too clumsy to use them so I'll probably stick with my trusty old 200 for another 30 years.

To get the most out of your airbrush, you'll need to at least be able to adjust the pressure, and it's also a bonus to have a tank. When you pick a size, keep in mind that compressors are the kind of tools that always make you wish that you bought a bigger one. Once you have one, you'll find a thousand uses for it so I would suggest that you buy the biggest unit you can afford (or fit in the space where you are going to keep it). Those dedicated airbrush units may be good for airbrushing, but that's pretty much all they can do.

I haven't seen Revell's '58 but I have built a couple of AMT's version, and I would think that it's hard to beat if you want a realistic and detailed model. Some things may need some tweaking (like making the doors fit correctly) but overall, it seems to have way more detail than the new Revell offering. I don't care much for the separate chrome trim either, it is easier to build that way but it gives the model a toy like appearance IMO. So if you disregard how easy it is to build and only look at what the finished model will look like: Which one is best?

Didn't work for me... And if the bodywork on a Lamborghini is that bad, I'm not buying one.

From what I have heard, the first thing the American Lambo dealers do when they get a new car off the boat is to send it out for a complete buff, touch-up and detail job, so I assume that they are not all that great from the factory. But can they really have wavy sheetmetal like that...? You might be right, but it looks more like sink marks to me.

I don't know if my model building skills are all that useful, but I do use my model building tools for many different things around the house, mostly when repairing small things. A few repairs I have made lately have been to my wife's jewelry, my son's toys, my father-in-law's chain saw, some trim work on my Chevelle etc. Those little knifes, tweezers and pliers sure come in handy sometimes, and keeping different kinds of glue in stock helps too.

The center section of the roof looks pretty wavy... You would think that the bodywork would be better on a megadollar car like that. I'd say model.

Have you got a link to that? It would be interesting to know who the builder is.

A rare car like a Mercer would never appear in a mundane setting like that. It's a model.

Is the roof line the same on a 2-door HT and a 2-door sedan?

Interesting, I have never seen a '57 Mopar with quad lights so I assumed that the fenders were just prepared for the change on the '58s. You learn something new every day.

To be nitpicky, I don't believe Crysler really had quad headlights until '58. They had a fender shape that allowed for it, but a '57 Chrysler has dual headlights in wide bezels, and what you see on a '57 Plymouth and Dodge is really a headlight/blinker combo. As far as I know, no domestic cars had quad headlights until '58.

Do you have a Hobby Lobby nearby? The store here in town carries a pretty large assortment of Testors enamels, acrylics and lacquers. They don't stock their complete line, but I believe that most of these paints come in bottles and many of them come in spray cans as well. You should also be able to order them from your LHS. I prefer enamels though, mostly because they are easier to find and easy to use (as I usually don't want to use primer). The drying time sure is an issue though, I'm kinda impatient too so I might just get me one of those dehydrators one day.

It seems like yellow paints in general won't cover well, and it has a tendency to pull away from edges like door seams, trim etc. I had a similar problem when painting an AMT '57 Chevy (to make it even worse, it was molded in brown plastic), and I solved it by priming with flat yellow enamel. The flat paint covered much better, and the yellow enamel top coat turned out great. I guess it can be difficult to find flat yellow paint in a rattle can though, so an airbrush is definitely a life saver in situations like that.

I love the "Christmas ornament look" of your model, it just right on an old Corvette like this. I have an MPC '57 Corvette on the shelf and have actually been thinking about building something similar as my next project.

I second what Raul and Bill said. IMO, washes are kind of a trial and error thing, you never know what it's gonna look like until it's done. That makes it important to use something that A: Does not attack the base paint and B: Can be easily washed off if you don't like the result. It's safe to use an acrylic wash on an enamel or laquer base, it's a reversible process that allows for screw-ups. I usually build up the wash in several applications. That way, I have better control of the way it's gonna look. Apply, let it dry, re-apply and repeat until it looks good, and if necessary I shoot a thin coat of clear on it to protect it. Another thing you may want to experiment with is to use other colors than black. For example, it can look better to use a dark red wash on a red engine block, dark grey on an aluminum intake manifold etc.