Pete J.

pm'd

Been using ALSA for a long time now. Their latest iteration is Easy Chrome. I have found that for it to work right, you must use there clear base coat. It seems that some chemical reaction occurs between the base coat and the chrome. When done right. it is extremely durable. You don't need the top coat unless you are going to try to bury decals. Per ounce cost is not really that expensive. 6 oz. will give you a lot of coverage!

Now that it is done, I can see the family resemblance to to Ace/Cobra.

Love your work. Beautiful finish. Always preferred the Spyder. Hiding all that great interior work just seemed wrong to me.

I haven't seen this thread in a while. Amazing as always! Just stunned by your work!

I agree with you. One other thing that I discovered several years ago is that the rims are slightly conical. I discovered this when I chucked one up in my lathe to trim the lip. That slight cone shape can make the tires not fit flat on the ground. The tires are snug enough fit to work well with the rims squared up.

Just a personal preference. I don't like paying Amazon a cut. For many years now(at least 15) I have dealt directly with the manufacture, Micro Surface. They have a very comprehensive catalogue and will sell directly to anyone. I buy their sanding sticks in packs of 50 but you can buy just a few. I just buy a lot just to reduce the shipping cost. They have a huge variety of products from cloth to sponges in abrasives down to 12000. Get what you want, not what someone packaged for you. By the way, they started out selling abrasives to polish aircraft canopies. Here's the direct link. https://micro-surface.com/

I got tired of it also, but I took a different solution. I bought 3 more pin vices when I found them on closeout at Tamiya. You would be surprised how handy it is to have an extra or two around.

Here is another piece of the puzzle. You will need some precision measuring tools like calipers and micrometers. You can buy the inexpensive stuff, but it is iffy. Starrett, Lufkin, and Sumitomo make the best tools. What I do is look on eBay for used Starrett tool. If they are broken, that is ok. Starrett tool has a "rebuilding service" to completely refurbish any of there tools. You can buy them cheap on line and send them in to Starrett and they will send you back a tool in perfect working order for a reasonable cost. That is how I collected all of my fine measuring equipment.

I will vote for the Sherline. Why? Because I live about 20 minutes from the Factory and If I need something, there is no waiting(except for the paycheck to come in). Now that I have cleared that up, I have been using a Sherline for better than 10 years love the precision I can get. The latest accessory I added was a digital read out system. That relieves the brain of some of the effort of machining, ( did turn the wheel 5 times or 6?) I have both a mill and lathe and have it setup so I can swap the head out and use it on both. That was a dollar saver for me. You can get these machines fully set up to be computer driven. Having said that, I started with a basic lathe and learned how to cut my own tools and how to do basic machining on different metals. All good skills to develop. They also offer a Hand book that will teach you all the stuff you need to know and aren't aware that you need. Great customer service as well. You can call their customer service line and talk to a machinist if you have questions or problems.

I've always found this question perplexing. The answer is so dependent on the individuals situation. You really have to be much more specific about where and how you are going to use it. Also other uses you may have for it. Example. I have a 10 gallon craftsman professional pancake compressor that puts out 150 psi. I also have a single car garage that is my hobby space and I have plumbed it in under the length of my bench(10' long) so I can run different tools. It is relatively loud. You can actually talk over it but it is disruptive. However it is perfect for my needs. I can fill the tank once and paint for hours without running out of air, so it is mostly silent when I use it that way. I also have a secondary regulator with an water trap, that is very precise at low pressures. It is also perfect for my nail gun, tire filler, and blowing off saw dust. It didn't cost any more than a good airbrush compressor. So my point is you can have different answers besides a single purpose airbrush compressor.

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Personally, I prefer to express it as a ratio "x:y" That keeps it straight in my head. By the way, these ratios convert to metric with no conversion. 1:25 is one centimeter on the model equals 25 centimeters on the one-to-one

Great idea! I never thought of that. I have a Sherline lathe and cut a jig as a guide. I tried blue and red gel pens over white with no sucess. The markers would have worked much better. By the way, I had several club member ask me to make them a jig. I will pass the magic marker idea on to them. Thanks Bill!

Ok, I know I've been away a while but I can't figure out how to send a pm anymore. Help!

I was unable to make GSL due to health issues. Some friends have told me that the models on the tables are just mind blowing. I would appreciate some one posting some good photos!

Peter, I believe that perfection is attainable, in effort, not results. The craftsman who has put forward their best effort has attained perfection for the day, even though their outcome may not be. Yes, the end product is a sliding scale, but best effort never changes even though the skill level does. Each of us has their own perfect experience. If you sit down to have some fun building a model and you do that to the best of your effort, what is sitting on the table in the end is irrelevant. You maximized your fun. Perfect! We are often so blinded by concern over what others think of our end product that we fail to contemplate what we did. For me personally, perfection is using a new technique or process on each model. Others may not like the outcome but that is focusing on someone else judging your end result. Focus on your internal voices. How do you feel about effort? This goes along with the old saying, it is the journey and not the destination. If your destination is perfection, no, you will never get there, but you can have a hell of a journey and have a thousand perfect moments. on the way.

We hear a lot about the "perfect" model being unobtainable. I heard a quote tonight that really resonates with me. It came from the show Craftsman's Legacy. "Perfection is doing the best you can do today" I think this really sums up the reasons and technique that everyone builds model. Comments?

I agree, except for the handle. Too skinny and it seems to roll from side to side. I use a larger pin vise. Seems to give me better control.

For sections crossing the boundaries of material types I recommend a good set of photo etched saws and a straightedge to get the groove started then scribe from there. I have been using Hasegawas saws for a long time. They have several different types that vary in thickness and tpi. Very adaptable. This is the fine set and yes they have teeth. You just have to look very closely. http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/hsite/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/tp4pk_th.gif

I agree with the Tamiya scribing tool. That tool is too big and clunky, but don't mistake the Tamiya engraving tools for the same thing. Entirely different tool! They offer blades from .5 mm down to .1 mm. I use them with a pin vise

In answer to your question, no, there is no "easy" way to do this. Rescribbing or for that matter, scribing new panel lines takes time, patience and a steady hand. I have several tools all of which work well in a given situation. I love the Tamiya engraving tools, but they are darned expensive .Expensive is an understatement each blade retails for about $35. The advantage it that they are very sharp and cut a square bottom slot. They also come in a variety of widths from .5mm down to .1mm. They can be had for as little at $17 from overseas suppliers. If you get these, forget the tamiya handle and use a good pinvise. The knurling on the pin vise makes for a better grip. Patients and practice. Only way to get them done. https://www.tamiyausa.com/search/?q=engraving

I'd like to see what a modern computer looks like after 2000 years immersed in salt water. My guess is this looks pretty good my comparison. Here is a series of a forensic machinist recreating the antikythera using ancient tools and techniques from the time. Super interesting watch(8 episodes). If you haven't the time, then it is best if you don't go down that rabbit hole.

David, I took my first course in computers at the University if Wyoming in 1967. They had a Philco 2000 and punch cards were required. Hated proofing cards. The 0 and O were about as similar as they are here. All programs were run over night. One morning I went by to pickup my printout and found a brown bag with my name on it, sitting on the shelf. Inside was a mess of folded and shredded punch cards. Apparently the card reader had a nervous breakdown. A months worth of work in the trash! Later we got punch tape. I thought that was great because you didn't have to carry around boxes of cards!