Pete J.

As I said I have some and have used it on plastic. So far I haven't tried it on clear. As to the price, well, yes it is exorbitant but they do have "hobby size" kits that go for about $90 for two ounces of both the base and the chrome, which is several models worth. Why I have it, is that it is extremely durable when done right. I've masked over it and sprayed candy lacquers over it without damaging it. You can spray a coat of the base over the top of it to bury decals and it doesn't dull the chrome. By the way the base coat is water based.

That paint is Alsa easy chrome. https://alsacorp.com/easy-chrome/ I have some but it is god awful expensive. I don't know how it would work on clear plastic. You have to lay down a coat of their base(which is clear) or the chrome doesn't harden the way it should. I think I may try it the next time I get a spare windshield. Might be a fun look.

Didn't realize that! I was wondering why there were gaps in the photos. Never occured to me that it wasn't run annually.

Ok, well if you are going to do that then I am reprinting my decal badges to the 2020 date! I should be done by then.??

https://www.sherline.com/sherline-benchtop-precision-lathes/ Far and a way the best web site. Full on custom pulleys and other parts!?

For me it would have to be 1969. Not a lot of "new" models in that year but kind of the peak evolution of the muscle car era. With Z/28 and ZL1 Camaros, Boss and CJ mustangs, GTO Judges and W30 442s and the SS396's it was a great year for a lot of cars. The great cuda's would have to wait another year, but there was plenty of Mopar muscle around, even American Motors was in the mix with Javelins and AMX's. Just a year with a great assortment of cars available. There were certainly great cars before 1969 but that was about the peak. The number of great cars started to dwindle in 1970 and by 72 most were gone because of the unleaded fuel requirement that were imposed on new cars. At that time you just couldn't get the power out of unleaded fuel.

I don't think these guys invented the PE bender but they have been in business a very long time and their tools are absolutely top rate. You are going to have to pay up for their stuff but you get what you pay for. https://thesmallshop.com/ There are also a lot of others out there that are plastic. Not worth the money. Spend the money on machined aluminum. Oh, and how big do you need? Get the shortest one that will bend the longest piece you need. I would also buy a set of the short nosed Tamiya photo etch bending pliers. Handy for getting in places that you can't get with the large devises.

Ok, I know, I know. It is worth whatever anyone will pay for it, but this seems excessive. I have never seen one, so it might be as rare as the seller says, but $6,000 because it is molded in black instead of the usual white and a special box and decals? Also the description uses very broken english. I have to wonder if it is a scam. https://www.ebay.com/itm/183853201988?ul_noapp=true

I've made a bunch of purchases like this on eBay. I follow a very simple process. I decide what I am willing to pay. I wait until the last day and that is my one and only bid. If I get it for less(it does happen) great. If I get it for my max bid, I got it for what I was willing to pay. If I don't get it, there will almost always be another one out there soon. I don't worry about it! Getting tangled up in a bidding war pretty much assures that you are going to feel like you overbid in the end.

Found a couple of sites that you could get a 70 inch long one for about $85. At a buck an inch that doesn't seem to bad. I have a couple of 1:12 scale motorcycle chain kits and they are about that price per inch and have to be assembled one link and at a time.

Hey Mark, following this with great interest. These old 1:12 scale Tamiya kits were amazing for their time, but that was a long time ago, back in the day of hand cut molds. Back then getting two symmetric sides was a real challenge and close was pretty amazing. I know it is cost prohibitive but I really wish they would go back and rework some these molds. I ran into the same issues that you have here in the 935. Lots of plastic and putty just to close the body/chassis gaps. I discovered the asymmetry when made a replacement front windscreen. The kit part had a join line running down the middle of it. I made a pattern from card stock and cut a new one from thermoform plastic and when I put it in it would only go in one way. The window opening was really asymmetric left to right. It is fun to see your solutions. Are you planning on selling the 3D parts you are making?

If you get some I would like to know your reaction. There are plenty of aftermarket photo etched chains for motorcycle kits but most of them are 1:12 scale.

I'm always nervous about adding shims anywhere on a model. A good engineer friend of mine frequently reminds me that these seem to multiply. Change dimension A and now B,C and D are out of wack. It takes a skilled craftsman to manipulate these thing and your just the person to do it!

That me! One thing I learned though. Clean the pipettes before using! Cheap plastic pipettes are great but they can contain contaminants from the manufacturing process. I keep a small jar of acetone handy for the job. A couple of squirts of acetone will clean them right up and acetone evaporates so fast that you can use them immediately.

Stock up while you can! I had a 5 gallon bucket of 3661 that I bought in the 90's Over the years I have kept putting what I have left in smaller and smaller containers. I have one pint left and I really use it judiciously! Wish I had back all the stuff I blew through the gun just to clean it! Heck yes, I am a lacquer thinner horder. I figure what I have left will have to last me the rest of my life. Oh and Xylene is also no longer available here. Apparently here in California, stores that sell aircraft paint still have it and lacquer thinner at about $100 a gallon.

Well, I would agree with you except the Tamiya lacquers are not all that available in many places and they don't have the range of colors. The Next choice is decanting it from rattle cans so you can spray it through an air brush. Not something a lot of people are willing to do. So if someone whats to spray Tamiya colors, and want the easy way to do it, acrylics are the only option. As soon as Tamiya gets a full range of bottled lacquers and they are available in the US, I will be the first customer in line. Until then, I am stuck punching holes in rattle cans.

I should have been more specific. All lacquers thinners are not the same in their formulation and can vary greatly by where you buy them. Different states have different legal issues with VOC's and thus differant formulations for "lacquer thinner". Here in SoCal you can't buy automotive grade lacquer thinner any more without special licenses. But you can get furniture lacquer thinners for wood and the watered down stuff from the hardware store. You can also buy Tamiya "lacquer thinner" at the hobby store. Last year when I went to IPMS Nats in Phoenix, I stopped by an auto paint store and picked up two gallons of the real deal PPG automotive lacquer thinner and smuggled it over the border. The shop was rather busy with other California modeler doing the same thing. I discovered the 100% acetone thing when researching thinner for some old cans of DuPont Lucite Lacquer that I have stashed away. I then became very wary of all types of thinners and look at it carefully before I buy. I now have three gallons of auto lacquer thinner, reserved for thinning only. I also have a gallon of acetone for cleaning up and a gallon of mineral spirits for solvent based enamels not to mention a couple of quarts of 91% alcohol for acrylics. Having the correct thinner is critical to getting a great paint job. Just because a thinner doesn't cause the paint to curdle, it doesn't mean it will work to get a smooth finish.

An amazing craftsman. His books always inspired me to try new things and work on my skills with each new model. The world is just a little darker knowing he is no longer with us.

If you are using Kleen Strip lacquer thinner, I think you would be surprised if you read the MSDS(available online). Their lacquer thinner can be 100% acetone. Waste of money to spend the extra bucks. Acetone works as well and is cheaper.

Thanks Tom. This is an example of the advantage of using a resistance soldering unit and german silver(actually a nickel/copper alloy) wire. The wire needed to be heat treated to soften it enough to bend.

Sorry gang, but I got occupied with another project and this wound up on the back of the bench. I suspect I got a jump on next year. Took on too darned much as I am want to do!

I am that old guy in the corner chuckling! These scales have literally been around for centuries. I took drafting courses in college in the late 60's and buying one of each was required for the class. Here is the history and why they are what they are. . The one you are talking about here is an "engineers" scale. The measurements are inches divided in 1/10's. This gives you scales that are evenly divide in 1000 This is because engineers send plans to machinists scale plans and define the measurements in thousands of and inch. The other scale that you have is a "architects" scale. The main graduations on this are feet divided in 1/12. This is because architects design buildings and their plans are measured in feet and inches. This scale give you scales that easily divide in 12. It also looks like the one you have is a metric version for 1/10s. So, 1:24 and 1:12 scale would be found on an architect's scale because they are factors of 12 and 1:20 and 1:25 scale would be found on an engineers scale because they are factors of 1000. The odd fractions that you find on the ends of a architects scale are in feet to the inch. Thus number on the scale 1/4 represents 4 feet per inch or in modeling parlance 1/24(24 inches per inch). Most architects scales are designed for the main divisions to represent feet but have a small section on each end that are divided to show inches per inch. Oh and one last laugh. When queried about the scale the instructor just laughed and said "Well that is just to confuse the uninitiated!"

The diversity of US auto manufacturers who took North American models and built them in far flung places to the tastes of the local populations makes these quizzes very challenging. Most European companies that built in other places seem to have just used the same domestic models without the adornments that the US builders used.

Not a hint but quiz 427 should have been a Chevy. An L88 at best