Pete J.

Ok, we are back to the parking thing again. Some person of who is extremely lacking in intellect and social respect parked over the line in my parking space and was so close to my car I couldn't squeeze between my car and theirs. I couldn't get into the drivers side. I had to get in the passenger side, put the car in neutral and push it out to get in the drivers side. My son was with me or I would have gotten a tire iron out and gone ballistic on their car.

I guess I grew up in a different generation where you weren't quite so protected, but gratuitous complements get to a point of being annoying. Someone puts a bucket of stuff on the table and everybody is falling all over each other complementing it denigrates the value of a heart felt complement. If you are just complementing someone because you think it is a polite thing is just wrong. If you want to pick something out(great wheels) and complement it that is fine, but there are too many times that every model put up here get 15 "great builds" deserved or not. Make your complements count! If you are going to say it is a great build tell the builder why. I guess you could call this reverse nit picking.

I bought a '72 new and traded it in for a new '74 911. I never had time to change the wheels out and so I always had the stock rims. By the way I really liked the car but it was is serious need of a 5 speed transmission. Always felt it was not a great cruiser. I drove it across the USA twice in the two years I owned it.(Air Force transfers)

Just a reminder, monkeys pick nits because it feels good to the other monkey and they are a source of protein. A nitpicker does not always wish you ill. :lol:

While on the subject of the needle, get your hands on some airbrush needle lubricant.http://www.coastairbrush.com/search.asp?pg=1&stext=airbrush+lube&sprice=&stype=&scat= This one happens to be Iwata from Coast airbrush but there are a number of lubes out their. Be sure you get the stuff made just for airbrushes. I am not sure what it is, but it won't contaminate the airbrush and fowl your paint. Just a bit on the needle before you reassemble it keeps the internal seal well lubricated and stops it from drying out. It is a cheap maintenance item.

If you are building a stock U.S. spec Z you are going to have to kit bash the Hasegawa kit and the Revell kit. The Revell kit has mag wheels only. You need to get the rims out of the Hasegawa kit. Kind of a lot to spend on a set of rims.

Casey could you give us a link to the post? I can't find anything that explains the issue.

Back at you harry. Another one for the old guys, As a river flow, surely to the sea, darling, so it goes. Some things were meant to be.

ABBA- Knowing you, knowing me.

One tip here before you get started: Learn how to assemble, disassemble and clean if before you blow paint through it. I don't see an instruction sheet, but you can get that of the internet easily enough. As it sits in the photo, the needle holder/barrel is out and has the needle in it with the tip exposed. This is not a good thing. Once the holder is in place you shouldn't have to remove it. Cleaning is very easy. First you run some thinner through it. That gets rid of most of the paint. Then you release the needle and pull it out the back. Wipe it with a rag with some thinner on it until all the paint is off. Then use a Qtip with thinner to clean out the area where the paint cup/bottle attaches. Then remove the tip in carefully clean that , then reassemble it and blow a bit more thinner through it. Do this every time you use it. One other piece of information. Because of the way the needle is out and exposed, I would bet the tip is damaged. It is easy to tell. Get a piece of paper towel and draw the needle through with the towel pinched between your fingers. If it snags on the paper towel, it is damaged. It that is the case, it is not unrepairable. Get some very fine sandpaper. 3000 or finer and lay it on a very flat surface, like a piece of glass. Then at a very low angle draw the needle across it until the snag is gone. Be very careful and treat the needle like you are polishing it, not grinding it. If the needle is damaged, the spray will be uneven and may spatter.

Harry- I guess it comes down to you putting an optional header on each thread. The poster would have the option of the header saying "I good with a constructive critique" or "I don't care about the critique, just tell me what a great modeler I am."

This is really not the place to get basics of airbrushing. You just can't put enough up in a post to get the idea across. I suggest that you go to YouTube and search for airbrush basics. There are a lot of starter and advance videos on airbrushing. This is really a visual activity and trying to put it in words is just not effective. Go to the videos. I think you will learn more and quickly have a good basis for working with your airbrush.

Remember, when all have had their say, the magic is in the magician, not in the wand. Each of us does things in a certain way because it works for us. Ultimately, you must find your own path.

Ok, this is a real bone of contention with builders and feelings are strong on both sides. I am a clear coater for several reasons. 1. I use a lot of automotive lacquers. These are typically two part systems with the base color coat going down flat and clear over the top. There are a number of lacquers that are intended to be used this way. Zero paints from HiroBoy is one of the model paint companies that does this. They must be clear coated. 2. I like my base coat of color to be as thin as possible to limit the coverage of surface detail. In order to polish it to a high gloss, you need clear or it is too easy to rub through the paint. Personal technique. Has nothing to do with "the way real cars are" 3. I like to clear over decals to hide the decal carrier film edge. This is were others will disagree with me saying "But real cars use vinyl stickers and they have an edge." True but we are talking about scale models here and we view them at scale distances. If you view a 1:24 scale model from a foot away, that is the same as seeing a real car at 24 feet away. At that distance you will have a tough time seeing that edge and except for a difference in sheen, you will also have a hard time telling if it is a decal or paint. 4. There are those who say "That is not how it is done on the real cars." True, but this is scale modeling. Very little that we do on these models is done the way they do it on the real cars. We are dealing with plastic. Real cars are mostly metal. Real cars startup and drive. Models don't. I don't care if it is done the same way as it is on real cars, if it looks the same, then that is what we are trying to achieve. By the way, that brings up an issue of terminology. We build models. These are representations of real object. Others (and they are rare) build miniatures. Miniatures are scaled down versions of real object that operate. Want to see some miniatures, got to this web site. http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/facility.htm While you are there check out Louis Chenot's Duesenberg SJ. That is a miniature, not a model even though they refer to is as such. 5. Last I clear coat because it offers some protection to the decals. I know others have 40 year old models with original decals that are in fine shape. My personal experience tells me they need protection. I have on occasion nicked a decal with a fingernail or a tool, ruining an almost finished model. These are all my personal opinions and the reasons I do what I do. Others do otherwise and they may disagree. All we can do is agree to disagree.

It's not the plastic, it is how you treat it. Just about any clear plastic sheet good will work, but give it a quick dip and dry in "Future" floor wax, or maybe it is now Pledge with future shine or some other odd name. At any rate there are a hundred threads about using this produce, but here is a good one. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8964&hl=future&page=1. A quick dip in this stuff and it really makes the plastic clear and gives it that very slight blue tint that real glass has. By the way a bottle of the stuff will last forever. I thin mine 50/50 with 90% isopropyl alcohol. I got my last bottle of pledge at Home depot and the alcohol at CVS pharmacy. Good luck!

I am a lover of all things Egg! Ok, having said that it is appropriate that my first completion for the year is an eggplane. This is a special edition of the Hasegawa V-22 Osprey eggplane. It is the Air Force edition which is a CV-22B. Hasegawa actually put in an extra piece as well as different decals to represent the Air Force Special Operation Wing aircraft. These are goofy looking little models, but are just a hoot to build. They always make me smile!

There is a lot to be said for the unfinished kit. Why they happen is often a mystery. I currently have three kits in process. They will all get done eventually. They always do. I am by nature a slow builder, often prodded on by a contest to finish something but always good to have something on the bench. I can's say 100% get done as long as there are unfinished, but there is really only on that has been in that state for a long time. I started it in my Mom's hospital room, before she passed, and it is really hard to get back to. The rest get done.

I am going with model on this one but not for the usual reasons. I just think it is very difficult to get that low of a shot on the real deal. Looks to me like it was taken on a table with the camera slightly below the edge.

All the above are correct. Because of your individual painting techniques, only you can create a good table of drying times. Get a notebook and each time you paint record these items. Brand and type of paint, what you thinned it with and what paint to thinner ratio you used, temperature and humidity. If you use an airbrush, pressure and needle. Then make notes about how many layers and type(wet coats, mist coats etc.) and time between coats. Last, how long before you could safely mask the paint. Some general rules: Hotter temperatures and lower humidity will cause paint to cure quicker. Two thin layers with 5 minutes between coats will cure four times quicker that a single coat of the same thickness. Thinned paint will cure quicker than a thicker paint. Paint sprayed at a higher pressure will cure quicker that lower pressure but is also more susceptible to orange peel. Paint cured in a food dehydrator will cure twice as quickly as paint dried at room temperature. These are general rules of thumb, but they can help understand why paint is reacting in a given way.

I am going to be so sad when you declare this model built. I have really enjoyed watching you build this from the beginning. Each piece has been an education. Thanks again for sharing it with us Randy.

yea, me too on the sweatbands

I have both and I finally threw the desk clamp style away. I kept banging into it with the handles of tool at the most inopportune moments. Paint brushes are the worst. Optivisor has its share of problems, but I have adapted. For lighting I use their LED light. It is very bright and works well.

Makes a mess. Think of putting some liquid in the airbrush bottle and then using your compressor to blow air into the bottle. What happens? Got to have some method of slowing the air an paint down. Lots of different choices.

July 4, 1971. I was in summer school trying to get through Statistics so I could graduate. Dumb struck to wake up that morning with snow on the ground. Most times I tell that story, most just shake their head in disbelieve. Glad to have someone who can confirm it. When it comes to crazy weather extremes it is hard to beat Laramie. By the way, the son of the Ford dealer was a fraternity brother of mine. Speaking of frats, my old frat house was torn down alone with the AKL house sometime after I graduated. Yes, lots of changes, but a trip through google earth shows there are still a lot of the old land marks. By the way, my father was also a graduate of U of Wyo.

Walk in the park Kazanski! Do it all the time. Here are the rules 1. Be sure you get enough paint on to polish. Thin spots will show up more quickly than when you are doing it by hand. 2. Tape off the edges and do them by hand after you have done the large areas. 3. Same thing with raised detail like scripts and door handles. 4. Get variable speed battery powered tool. Too much power can be a problem. 5. Pay attention to the rotation of the tool near edges. I have had them grab an edge and scrape up the paint with the chuck. 6. Use plenty of water to keep things cool. 7. Use the cotton polishing wheel and fluff it up with the point of an Xacto blade. 8. A light touch it best. 9. Practice, practice, practice!