Pete J.

Ok, sorry to hear that you used WD-40 and have to repaint parts. Like Bucky mentioned above, I use to use WD-40 for various things in the shop but it and paint really don't get along at all. Any tiny droplet of it on the surface is guaranteed to cause a fish-eye. I will get as far away from my models as possible if I have to use it. The stuff carries on the air currents like you wouldn't believe. I have never found any way to get it off except sanding down to bare plastic. If you find a way. Let me know. I'm all ears.

Ditto on the touch and flow! Been using them for too many years to count. Been doing the same thing as Bill and never had any issues. Only problem I have is that I seem to bend the needle, but that has never been a problem. Helps with getting into tight places. On occasion I have had a clog but managed to clear it with a piece of .010 stainless wire. I keep a piece around for just that reason.

Depending on how long you store the bottled paints, I would get them out every year of so and add some thinner to them. Oh and for the acrylics, use either the manufacturer thinner or 91% alcohol not water. Also add a beer in the operator while doing so to relieve the tedium. ?

I have been storing rattle cans upside down for years now. Here is my logic. Then the cans sit upright, the solids settle out and surround the dip tube( the tube that brings the paint to nozzle). Those solids will get more compact over time. They will also accumulate in the bottom of the tube. When you go to use them again, you can shake the cans for days and never clear those solids from the dip tube. First spray and they will likely clog the nozzle. Never had any problems with cans stored this way and I have Tamiya rattle cans that are well over 10 year old.

I like the idea of baking soda blasting. I have the Passhe blaster. I may try some baking soda in it next time. Thanks.

I was rereading these posts and found I had something else to add. This is taken from the web site of what, is in my opinion, is the greatest collection of miniatures in the world. The Joe Martin Craftsmanship museum. This quote really seems to sum up my feelings about model building. What is Craftsmanship? Joe Martin's main reason for establishing this foundation is to attempt to make the average citizen aware of the beauty of great craftsmanship. An object that exhibits outstanding craftsmanship has a quality to it that inspires beyond the object itself. For most trades, competent work is good enough. It’s simply a case where standards are met and doing the work any better would be a waste of time, effort and money. The type of craftsmen we honor here are the few who use the skills of the trades to produce a form of art. Their level of work rises beyond what is needed to complete the job with competence to a level of perfection that can be recognized by many but achieved by few. Often their work will be building exact scale models of something that interests them, and they do so simply for the love of doing it. Their satisfaction comes from attempting to achieve perfection. Auto modeler Michael Dunlap* sums up the mindset it takes to produce work of this quality as follows: If you interested, here is the website it came from. http://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/

I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Gould some time ago when he was moving out of SoCal. I marveled at the telescope that you see in his photo. When he describe what it actually did(it has a clockwork so that during long observations it automatically adjusts for the rotation of the earth) that I felt very , very humbled as a modeler. I agree with the intent of his essay but would contend that passion is not the right word. It is not passion that leads to craftsmanship. Following your passion will not lead to craftsmanship. If you are passionate about '32 Ford coupes, you may get to be very skilled at building them, but there will come a day when you have done as much as you can do and that is the end. No, following your passion will not make you a craftsman. My opinion is that you should forget you passion and follow your curiosity. Curiosity will lead you down many rabbit holes that will broaden you skill levels and give you the ability to think outside the box when figuring out how to do something. Along the path of curiosity somethings may, generate passion others will not, but every thing you learn along the way, will improve the next project. A craftsmen is a person who has access to a mental range of skills that allow them to do things in a way that others can't comprehend. I got back into modeling when I was 38 with a passion for '69 GTO's. I am now 70 and that passion died a long time ago, but I found I was curious about paint, which lead to airbrushing, and other forms of finish. I was building crude plastic parts and was curious about mills and lathes and working aluminum. I now have the ability to replace almost any part on any model. I became curious about using photo-etched and leaned how to solder really tiny parts with a resistance soldering unit. I am currently curious about using first surface mirrors and making aircraft (or rally cars) look like they are airborne without wires or other support, and became skilled at cutting models very precisely. So no, passion is not the road to craftsmanship, being curious about one thing that leads to the next and so on is what fires the craftsman. Some will call it always learning something new, but it is all about keeping your curiosity alive. I wish that I could say that I came to this conclusion on my own, but I didn't. I heard a TED talk(something I listen to on my morning walks) a while back and it just clicked. Here is that talk if you to are curious.

Boy was I off base. Because of the angle of the photo I could have sworn that it was a prototype based on a Renault 4CV! Spent all my time rooting around in European manufactures. Would never have guessed it origins . I got the rear engine but totally missed the front wheel drive. What a weird little car! Thanks for posting this.

Just finished the rears now I just have to make the fronts!

Been on my book shelf for years and I agree. Even if you don't take your building to his level, the tips and techniques you can pickup from these books is amazing!

The crazy rich buy all sorts of bits and bobbles that are beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals. They will spend $100,000 on faucet fixtures without batting an eyelash. $17,000 for a model of an ugly car that they might own is meaningless to them. All I can say is congratulations to the model building company for being able to sell it.

Peter, The closest I have found to bright lines and much easier to straighten and bend is silver solder. It is used by jeweler and nut cases like me for soldering photo etched part. Although it is true silver bearing, it doesn't seem to tarnish. It also comes in a wide variety of diameters, some very small. Worth a look. https://www.amazon.com/No-Clean-Silver-Solder-SAC305-031-Inch/dp/B00WDEDFJY/ref=pd_lpo_469_img_1/142-8830657-9846356?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00WDEDFJY&pd_rd_r=a81b6c52-8193-4300-ab37-d7e839a36126&pd_rd_w=qEewz&pd_rd_wg=QMdWQ&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=QV9PZKEA3ST5T9GJF720&psc=1&refRID=QV9PZKEA3ST5T9GJF720

Here is another source for out of the box thinking. This is lead wire used for tying fishing lures. I bought this assortment some time ago and it is a lifetime supply in a wide variety of sizes. https://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Lead-Wire-Assortment/744541.uts?slotId=1

Richard, if you are using Photoshop for this, I would suggest using 2017 version of Sketchup Make. https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-versions. It is free and easy to learn. There are some idiosyncrasies to using it, because it is designed to be used architectural CAD program and at sizes under an inch there are some issues. The work around for parts smaller than an inch, is to design them in foot increments in decimals and treat a foot like and inch. Once you get use to that, it is really simple. I especially like it for laying out round object like bolt patterns on rims. If you try it and have questions, please feel free to contact me. I'm not an expert, but I play one on TV?. Seriously, I am self taught but willing to share what I know. Before I started using this, I did it the old fashion way with pencil and paper and an old set of drafting tools I had left from college. This just works quicker and is more accurate for layout. As to IPMS, I watched their discussion with interest and it got very heated at times. If I were to summarize what I saw it would be that the scratch building category was all about manual manipulation of raw materials to build a model. The key word is manual. I can understand that to some degree. I have recently seen some amazing 3D printed wire wheels and appreciate all that went into them, but once the file is done, you can print an infinite number of them that are all the same. Quite a differant set of skills from the person who machines four hubs and rims manually on a lathe and then hand threads them with small wires. To me it is obvious who is a "craftsman", though others would disagree. That is what brought up my question about CAM mills and lathes. Apparently, that is not the same as 3D printing in the opinion of the people who made the decision at IPMS, though the distinctions are in a very gray area.

I agree! Once I build a 40 Ford coupe that I chopped the top, narrowed the entire body(took a strip out of the middle) shortened the nose dramatically and gave it a mid-engine flat head V-8 and centered the driving controls and seat on the center line of the car. I short, I messed with about everything. To highlight those changes I took a standard body, glued it up and painted it in gray primer. I placed it on the table with an explanation that it was there to highlight what I started with. I don't know how many people came up afterwards and commented that it was great to have the primered piece there for reference. It did win a couple of awards and I suspect it would have done nothing if I hadn't given people a reference.

I think I have the make, just having trouble finding the model!

This discussion has been ongoing at IPMS for some time and here is the rule that resulted. "Scratch-Built models may incorporate parts from other kits, but these should be generally unrelated to their original identity, except for minor parts such as wheels, guns, etc. Computer-design/programming and 3D-machine printing are not considered as "scratch-building" for defining Scratch-Built entries in our national contests. Models determined to be scratch-built must be entered in the proper scratch-built category." Please hold your comments about IPMS. I didn't post it because I felt IPMS is the ultimate authority on the subject but just to add to the converstion. Personally I find it interesting that IPMS excludes 3D printing but says nothing about CAD/CAM machining. In my opinion the skill set to machine aluminum with CAD/CAD machines is very similar to 3D printing we are just working with a differant material. Why exclude one and not the other? To me this just creates more questions.

?"Probable Rip Off" I have never heard that before and I love it! In my opinion Pro means you get paid for it. Now if I were to do this(I've done commissions before but never sold on any auction web site) I would be inclined to use "national award winning" and list the awards. That would say more about your skills than just Pro built. Seeing that still wouldn't guarantee a quality job, but at least it would be more meaningful.

Because Renshape comes in blocks much thicker that styrene and can either be carved or machined. It is great for making body bucks and other large three dimensional shapes. It is a substitute for wood that is easier to carve.

....and be prepared for sticker shock. It ain't cheap

My first time with a new camera. Could have done better with the Telephoto but not bad for the first try. This is the hospital that my wife worked at for 30+ years. I've also spent way to much time here as a patient!

Ok, I was way off. I think is definitely has the looks of the Alfa double bubble. I spent all my time rutting through Italian cars. Should have know it is French. It kind of has the lines of a Citroën DS if you squint just right and have a few glasses of burgundy under your belt. ?

Damm is right! Suicide doors and smokin like a two stroke! Do you have a website dedicated to orphaned cars?

No reverse. Strictly a one way machine, though I don't know if it would have to be. The motor on the current models is a DC motor so I suppose you could rig up a wiring harness to reverse the direction. The cross slide is also designed to run on the "back side" of the piece with the tool upside down. When I think about it, a reverse would be handy.

Tim, thanks for the offer. I appreciate it when modelers help each other. I was hoping to find them for a 1:12 project I have in the wings. Looks like I have to keep looking. Thanks again, that was very kind of you.?