Pete J.

I am going to throw in my opinion on this one just for kicks. I did some drafting in college, back before CAD. Heck, the computer the university had filled the basement of one of the buildings and was run buy punch cards. As a draftsman we had to be able to work with scales of all kinds. Back then there were two basic groups of drawing we did. Architectural and engineering. Building aka architectural drawings were done in feet, inches and fractions of inches and engineering drawings (machinist) were feet and decimals(tenth to thousandths). In other words they were done this way because the one to ones were measured that way. You can still buy the triangular scale rulers that we used. They are called "engineers scale" and "architects scale". Google them if you want to see one. Because engineers scales are all divisible by 10, I can see those types of scales being easier to work with in countries the use a metric system. Since Tamiya is a Japanese based company and Japan uses the metric system, it makes sense that when they measure out a one to one in metric. Then scale it with a system that works well with that, thus 1:20. Now that actually make their other scales make less sense, unless it is just to follow the rest of the world. Go figure.

Anything Tamiya! They do great art work for their boxes. This is my favorite. When I visited the factory, Mr Sano honored me by pulling the original painting(yes they are paintings)out to show me. The original is about 3'X4' and is just stunning. All hand done.

Call the good folks at Coast Airbrush in Anaheim, Ca. 714 635-5557 and they should be able to hook you up(sorry for the pun). They are my go to source for all things airbrush. Good people, high level of knowledge.

Interestingly it works on their primer. If you scratch up a top coat of lacquer and leave it in a while, the primer will dissolve and you will get sheets of the top coat. Kind of weird!

Don't know why, but Super Clean doesn't work well on Tamiya lacquer. For that I use break fluid. I have been spraying automotive lacquers for years(maybe 20+) and Super Clean really works well on those. As to damage to the plastic, well, yes it will damage it over time. I have a body I use for demos and practicing and after about the 20th trip to the pond, it got brittle. Kind of like the Super Clean was taking the flex out of it, but if you are striping a part for the 20th time you need to get a different hobby.

You are one of the lucky ones. I have to disagree with your thoughts about pushing yourself. There is a lot in growing old that exercise will not or cannot cure. No exercise on the planet has ever been proven to counter cancer! I had my first round in my early twenties, likely due to a drug I was given as a child. I was in SEA at the time it occurred so it is also possible the agent orange was involved, at least that is what the VA concedes. But what does that have to do with getting older? Well, the proscribed treatment at the time was radiation therapy. My cardiologist now tells me that the scaring from radiation is likely the major cause of 4 heart attacks and a v-fib issue that resulted in a pace maker. In addition to the cancer in the 20's, I have also had prostate and thyroid cancer and some minor basal cell. None of this would have been effected with "pushing yourself". Sometimes the body is just like an engine. It wears out. For the majority of my life I was very fit and not afraid to exert myself physically, but at 68 things are catching up with me. I do exercise regularly, but the body just isn't as receptive to "pushing" as it once was. Hard as I may push, maintenance is the best I can hope for and my heart issues are a major limiting factor in the exercise I can do. Congratulations on the being lucky enough to have dodged some of the issues, but being critical of others who are not so lucky is inappropriate.

I have used an Optivisor for at least 20 years. The difference for me is that I have gone from 3 diopters to 5 and am now at 7 sometimes I break out the ten. I have also started using them over my bifocal reading glasses. When 10 doesn't work any more it will be time to quit, but not one minute before.

My club, San Diego Model Car Club(sorry, but yea that is a plug) has been doing monthly themes as long as I have been going and that is well over 20 years(this year was our 30th year as a club). In that time we have had a lot of different themes but some come to mind as "regulars". Here are some of them. Ford, Chevy/GM(not so often Chrysler but when it is, often it is "Hemi"), Competition often straight line and other on separate nights, Tamiya, anything but a car. Red White and blue(July), Santa's ride for December, anything but 1:24 or 1:25 scale. Hope this helps.

I am only saying this because it is true. I don't condone drug abuse, but I sure as heck understand it! What do I mean? Well, on rare occasions I have to take a course of Methaprednazone(AKA steroids) for joint or back inflammation. I start the course and within a few days I get out of bed and realize that nothing hurts anymore. You really don't know how much very low level chronic pain hampers you until you suddenly don't have it anymore. If I could I would be on the stuff full time, but know that that would kill me pretty quick. Don't and won't abuse drugs, but boy do I understand what drives some people to do it.

Well I suppose it depends on what finish you want but I always used alcad over a gloss finish not a flat one. This may give you a bit less shine and being a lacquer primer it should work with alcad.

Did a little research to see who in Japan actually makes airbrushes and it is a really tangled web as is typical for the Japaneses market. It looks like up until a few years ago, BB Rich was the primary manufacture of almost all the airbrushes, including Tamiya, Gunze-Sangyo, Iwata etc. It seems like about 10 years ago, BB Rich was "restructured" into Olympos and yea, I've never heard of them either, but apparently at one time, they owned the "Micron" brand name which Iwata now uses. If you are at all familiar with Japaneses companies, it is a very tangled web of interconnections and convoluted supply channels, so a lot of product that looks the same actually is. Surprising to me was that Iwata's primary business is not airbrushes but commercial fluid application equipment. It is not at all surprising under these circumstances that they would have formed ties with outside sources for a lot of their airbrushing equipment.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I was just trolling on the internet and came across this turkey R8. Lets see other Turkeys that you can come up with.

For a first time user, I would strongly suggest an airbrush that comes with multiple sized tips and needles. You use different tips and needles to spray different types of paints and achieve different finishes. The finer the pigments in the paint, the smaller tip you can use. The courser pigments need a wider tip. Also bigger tips give a wider spray pattern. This is helpful when painting large pieces such a 1:12 scale car bodies, 1:32 scale aircraft and ships hulls. All of the major manufactures, Paasche, Iwata, and Badger either have kits with multiple tips or your can buy them separately. Personally, I have had a Badger 175 for probably 20 years. They offer a kit with all three tips included, hose, and bottles. The Badger does many things well, but over the years I have added other brushes for things I need to do that it doesn't do well. My Badger is a jack of all trades and a master of none, but for a first brush it is a good buy. I didn't have the time to look them up, but I am reasonably certain that Paasche and Iwata also have a similar kits. The other reason that I suggest these three manufactures are that they have been around a long time and as such, parts are readily available. It is not a matter of if you will drop and damage your airbrush but a matter of when. It does happen and having a ready source of parts can save you a lot of money and time. Good Luck and enjoy!

I use a little different method. The reason a rattle can rattles is because is has a couple of small glass marbles in it. When the rattle can is empty, I cut it open and keep the marbles. Then after I have opened the paint, I throw one or two in. They make great paint agitators in all kinds of bottles.

That is the Tamiya 1:12 scale 935 engine Trevor.

A little bit of both. Sometimes I leave parts and pieces out or don't bother painting them because they will never be seen. Other times I just go whole hog and build it in great detail. I suppose it depends on how much I like a subject. If I like it a lot, I enjoy the research and then try to get it dead nuts on. I it is something I like the look of but not that interested in what went into it, then I am less likely to do more than build a curb side plus. In short, it is all about what I am interested in versus what I am passionate about. Most often I find that I am passionate about things that fly and things that race. The first one is passionate the second one is not.

Tamiya has been updating the art work on the boxes and in some cases there are some small differences. Tamiya has been using Cartograph for their decals lately and so the newer kit will probably have a better quality decal. Also in some cases they have made additions to the box, such as metal transfers or a small photoetched fret. Most often if there is a change, they will highlight it on the box, such as the photo etched on the later Enzo box or a transparent under tray and carbon fiber decal on the first example, that didn't appear in the original issue. You may also find the Enzo molded in a different color plastic. They did a "Gallo Modena" yellow version. Same kit, different color plastic. By the way, the last I heard from Tamiya, the Enzo is the best selling kit they ever produced!

Mark- Good to see you last night! It has been a while since we were both at a club meeting. Don't know how I missed this one! I loved seeing your work on this and the other models you brought. Having gone through this post, I see a lot that I overlooked when I was looking at the real thing. This is a worthy addition to your other Caterhams. Thanks for sharing. Pete

Not trying to be rude here, but the two Peters agree. Scale is not that complex. If you can't do the math in your head, your smartphone has a calculator. It is a single operation. Of course you could use a metric measure. Working in tenths is much easier than fractions for most people.

Been doing this for years. How about an Alfa-Volvo mix, or maybe a Dodge Ram- Testarossa mashup!

l've seen people parting out kits before but this comes to $90 for what is essentially a $20 kit. Caveat emptor!

I have to agree with Bill. The split window design with the well integrated(tapered) grill has a very nice look to it. Too bad the lines were so hacked up. I never knew that the split window existed. Thanks Bill

Between this and the Zimmer, these are cars that are best forgotten. The 70's were a bad time for cars all around!

Peter, I have a lot of railroading friends and they use the darn equipment more than I do! Seems they always have a hub to true or a bearing to make, but I understand. Too many hobbies and too little space.

Are you a member of the blog or newsletter? Great stuff talked about there. You can never have all the accessories you need. They always come up with a widget or gadget that I just can't seem to live without. My other problem is that I am within 20 minutes of their factory and museum and I can drop in for advise, which is free but always seems to cost me a couple of hundred!