peteski

Actually that XY table is not bad at all (for light jobs). It is quite precise.

I avoid using masking tape for any permanent projects because it (and its adhesive) is designed for temporary use. After few years the adhesive either dries up and turns into dust, or gets really gummy, and turns into sticky mess). The way it ages is probably dependent on the brand of the tape. Even the "good" 3M Scotch brand is like that. The cheap off-brands age quicker.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful, but if I go down that thread, and left-click on Ace's photo, still visible in one of his posts (which BTW, is hosted on Photobucket), I get an error like this: 502 ERROR The request could not be satisfied. CloudFront wasn't able to resolve the origin domain name. We can't connect to the server for this app or website at this time. There might be too much traffic or a configuration error. Try again later, or contact the app or website owner. If you provide content to customers through CloudFront, you can find steps to troubleshoot and help prevent this error by reviewing the CloudFront documentation. Generated by cloudfront (CloudFront) Request ID: 13lAIGY_dYunS3UzIPhhZimrGeRRYpO0kSvZnvLR3MY6qyHwPudfaw== The URL of the 502 error is: https://s1019.photobucket.com/user/fastoldcarz/media/Jag XK 120 for Bonneville/DSCN0256_zpsyapet6pv.jpg.html

I love the color! As for the exact year, many European makes did not really change from year to year. Some models lasted several years.

This has already been covered (since last night) in I was surprised that this death notice was not posted in this section.

Part of my point is that I think that even 8000 and 12000 numbers are exagerrated. If you had the ability to measure the grit on those sheets it would likely be lower than the stated numbers. What "grit" is a used dryer softener sheet? Some people use those for polishing paint jobs. Yet I don't polish or wax any of my models, so I should really just keep quiet. But I can't help rolling my eyes when I see those high numbers mentioned. Hey, but if others enjoy polishing their models, all the power to them. If I was forced to sand/polish, to me it would be a chore which would make me abandon the hobby.

These super-fine sanding/polishing grit battles are totally out of control. I honestly think that manufacturers just pull those high numbers out of a hat just to appease those addicted to sanding/polishing

Ian, this is true with any type of metalizing process (vacuum metalizing, Alclad II, Molotow, Alsa Chrome, etc.) when one expects to obtain a smooth reflective finish.

Just to clarify things, what we colloquially call "chroming" is actually a vacuum metalizing process using aluminum vapor. This is the process used almost exclusively by most plastic kit manufacturers. Most current kits still use the vacuum metalizing process for their "chrome" parts trees. The "real" chrome plating plastic is fairly complex process (using nasty chemicals). There are few companies that used that for their plastic kits (like Trumpeter), but those parts are very difficult to work with since the layer of chromium is much thicker than a typical vacuum metalization. Scraping it to get to bare plastic is difficult. Little Motor Kar Co. seems to be the only one still offering this service to modelers. For more info see:

Ah yes, mine has no figures - just the vehicle. It just now registered in my brain that 24041 included the figures. You didn't mention that in your initial post. How are those figures?

Nice! I built the Dodge Hemi kit few years ago (it was sold by itself). It was a fun build. I added several details to it. I don't recall mine having diecast parts. I think it was all plastic. It is featured on my club's website: http://classicplastic.org/pete-w-2.html

Interesting. My kit (with photoetched parts) has a part# 24040, and it has the model pictured on a solid white background. I wonder what is the difference between it and the 24041?

When I build model bikes I usually use various gauges of stranded insulated wire, not tubing. Things like brake, throttle, or clutch cables, oil lines, fuel lines. A wide variety of colors and sizes is readily available, and it retains shape better than hollow tubing. I do the research to find out the outside diameter of various cables and hoses on the 1:1 bike, then I divide it by the scale of the model. That gives me the OD of the insulated wire I'll need to represent those items in scale. That's what used on this Protar 1:9 Harley Springer Sometimes when I need a piece of hollow tubing, I simply strip a piece of wire insulation and use it as a hollow tube. As an example the short piece of rubber brake line between the metal fitting on the caliper and a metal brake line going up the fork. That way I can simply slide the hollow wire insulation over the metal "brake lines" (which are actually made from solid wire). The metal "crimp fittings" are pieces of hypodermic tubing slid over the insulation. This is IMEX 1:12 scale Harley Springer . On this one I also used stripped wire insulation for under-tank connecting hose, and the oil lines going to the oil cooler. In this smaller scale I used silver paint marker to simulate crimp fittings.

I have couple of LUXO Magnifier lamps. I got them from the company I worked for back in the early '90 when they were downsizing. They are about 40 years old now and still work perfectly well. They are all metal and very sturdy. They are old-school and use circular fluorescent lamp. I installed the newer3000K Kitchen and Bath bulb in them for better color rendition. Looking at their website, they now sell modern versions of my lamp: https://www.luxo-lighting.com/luxo-magnifiers I'm sure they are pricey, but as the saying goes: you get what you paid for. If you get one of those, it should last you lifetime. But I almost never use it as a magnifier. Instead my Optivisor (with a #7 lens plate) has become my to-go magnifier). I also have a high-intensity halogen lamp (on a long goose-neck). When working on miniature projects, you can never have enough strong lighting. Photo of the half of my workbench., One of the LUXO magnifiers is over the lathe (I painted that lamp black). The halogen lamp is bent around the drill press. You can see a small part of the other (gray) magnifier at the left edge of the photo. There also is another halogen lamp on the left bench (not visible).

That's fine. The package arrived yesterday. It is just that this was my first order from a new company, and I was surprised how it was handled. Now I have to find something to strip. It will likely be a model train shell since that is what I'm working on nowadays. The product comes with 2 pages of info. One is safety instructions, and the other is usage instructions. That page only has a single sentence about using it for stripping models. The rest is about procedure for stripping paint from wooden surfaces like furniture (since this is the product's main use). Like HPIGuy mentioned in his video, this stuff has a very mild odor, but to me it smells a bit like pine, rather than like than alcohol. If it contains alcohol, it is likely not very much, since it is not flammable (and alcohol is). I'm surprised that the the label on the bottle does not have any details about the manufacturers (except for "A product of StripWell"). Usually product labels contain either address, phone number, a company's website. Not that it is a problem - just making an observation. The package included spray pump and a siphon tube (since the product is meant to be sprayed over larger surfaces). The bottles are sealed, In my bottles, after the factory seal was removed, the screw-on cap does not provide tight seal. I found replacement screw-on caps with gaskets which sealed the bottle properly. Again, not a big problem since most of us will pour the contents of the bottle into some larger container for stripping car bodies. Once I find something to strip I'll give it a try and report back. I have experimented with more than half a dozen of plastic safe strippers (including some home-brewed stuff) and I would welcome a universal stripper which works well on all finishes, and which is safe for polystyrene, ABS, and hopefully for polyurethane resins.

This forum seems to work quite well, and it generates a lot of traffic. Other than in this thread, where else you have seen grammar being nitpicked? Most of the posts on the forums here are actually quite useful and informative. If you think things are so bad here, when not leave? You also seemed to be judging me. So how many of my over 6,000 posts have you read, to know just what kind of modeler, or a person I am? You must have lots of spare time to be able to go through people's posting history? You seem to be the one with "bunker mentality" (whatever that means).

@W Humble Wick, I seem some confusion in how you are being addressed on the forum. Your first name is James, but you like to be addressed as Wick. Yet, nowhere in your profile I see "Wick" mentioned, although you sometimes you sign your posts as "Wick". If I may suggest, why not edit your profile, and add a signature? Just Wick" should be enough. That way "Wick" will be automatically added on the bottom of your every post. To edit your profile (assuming you are using a PC, not a tablet or phone), right-click on the little arrow to the right of your forum name (upper right hand side of the Web page), then in select "Account Settings" from the menu that pops up. On the next screen select "Signature" on the left hand side. Then type in what you want to appear in your signature, and click on 'Save".

@Michael Bentt You seem to have pretty "big mouth" for someone with 27 posts under your belt. That is not very nice. You not have much future on this forum. (No this is not a threat - just an observation)

Luke has a point. When using a metallic "chrome" paint for obtaining a mirror-like finish, the metallic "chrome" paint has to be applied over a glass-smooth surface. Think about it. Take a real glass mirror for example. A thin layer of silver is applied onto a glass-smooth piece of glass. The reflected light does not get scattered. But if a textured (or matte-finish) glass was coated with silver, it would still look silver, but the reflected light would get scattered - no longer producing undistorted reflection like a smooth glass mirror would. it woudl look duller. If a shiny-surface bare plastic (like a surface of a plastic spoon) is used as a base for the "chrome" paint, it will result in a mirror-like finish. Molotow is alcohol based. Alcohol is a mild solvent which does not attach polystyrene. I suspect that if Alclad II Chrome was applied over bare plastic, its stronger solvent could slightly craze plastic, resulting in a duller "chrome" look. Of course that also depends on the actual formulation of the plastic. As for using actual model parts, the same still applies. If the bare plastic part is polished to a glass-like smoothness (or first sprayed with a high-gloss clear) then Molotow will also produce the chrome-like finish. But if the part is not glass smooth, then the Molotow will dry to a duller finish.

Well then, don't email me one day after the ordering telling me the order has been shipped, and print the postage label, then have the item sit at their location. That is totally misleading! If they just sent a quick email stating that there will be a delay ( would understand and wait patiently). Or even put a blurb on the website stating that the orders might be delayed due to (fill in the blank). I'm giving them time, but I'm just disappointed in the way they conduct their business. I just checked, and the package was finally shipped today at 3:08pm.

Well, the product videos look impressive, but the shipping process is not so hot. I placed my order on June 23rd, and next day (June 24th) I received an email stating "product has been shipped", along with the USPS tracking number. I keep checking the tracking info every day, and as of now (June 29th) the tracking info still shows "June 24, 2022 at 1:03pm Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item". Not cool. EBay sellers sometimes do this too. I live in adjacent state, so when the package actually gets shipped, I should get it in couple of days. But so far it has been sitting unsent for 5 days.

Ah, the famous auto-correct feature which "thinks" it knows better than you what you are typing. Some of those "corrections" can be quite comical.

It takes a lot of (electrical) energy for the electrolysis process that produces hydrogen. We are again back to the energy problem with electric cars. Unless someone came out with a process which produces hydrogen without using much energy?

I don't know which kit provided the engine, but this sure is one cute little car. Looks a bit like the original Mini Cooper.

That is a cool project! There are few full size vans around here painted like the Mystery Machine. One that I see at car shows has a drastically shortened wheelbase. It looks real funny. Another one is just pained like the Mystery Machine - it belongs to a local "escapology" business.