peteski

I never encountered plastic mixing balls. I only have seen glass or metal ones. Plastic is rather ligth, so I can see how those are not very effective. I also like to add more than one ball into my paint jars.

I also saved bunch of those (and ones from other spray cans), but they are rather large to throw into a little square Testors bottle (if they would even fit through the neck), and even IMO too large for 1/2 or 1 oz. bottles. Smaller beads also get into the corners better to get the settled pigment stirred. Those UFOs however look very useful.

Fine, you just found a great flocking material. Nothing I'll ever use (for the reasons I specified above. It is not about not knowing, it is about using the knowledge about some substance and determining whether I should utilize it for a certain purpose. I think that is called "analytical thinking". This thread asked for recommendation, and I threw in my five cents. I have seen too many nasty failures of using water-soluble material for permanent tasks. Maybe your paint sealed the baking soda well enough so that the moisture will not get to it, but there is no reason for me to take that chance on model I spent lots of time building. Thanks, but no thanks.

I got burned by using steel balls (ball bearings) in paints (even ones which are not water-based). The balls rusted, tinting and ruining the paint. I have found glass beads in a craft store. Very inexpensive. I now use those instead. No more rust. I guess lead buck shoot would probably be good to use too.

Baking powder (and baking soda) are both water soluble, and will absorb moisture from ambient air (especially in humid climates). I would never use either one on any of my model (in any form) They will liquefy and ruin your model. I don't know why people come up with these silly ideas! Stick with the things that work like flocking, or embossing powders.

The answer is: depends on what scale the model is (since people on the forum build models from 1:6 to 1:160 scale), and how accurate you want the size to be. You didn't mention scale. Either way, you first find out the diameter of the wire you want to represent (not the actual metal conductor, but the outside diameter of the insulation) then divide it by your model's scale. For example if the insulation diameter of the 1:1 scale wire is 1/16" (or 0.0625") and your model is 1:25 scale then the scale diameter will be 0.0625" / 25 = 0.0025". That is quite thin - about the same diameter as human hair. I seem to recall that there is a thread on this website that has reference sizes for wires of various diameters in various scales.

BSI SUPER-GOLD+ (odorless) CA glue does not cause fogging. (yes, it is slightly more expensive than standard CA). Using BSI accelerator to quickly set any CA also prevents fogging (since the glue has no time to start evaporating). If the clear window is first dipped in Future (or whatever the current name is for that stuff) and will minimize plain CA fogging. I use both myself.

Exactly! I often witness the same thing - those impatient people in the end often end up behind me or literally just few seconds ahead of me. Is that really worth it? I think it is some sort of a mental issue. They are not right in their heads.

That is one impressive and unique model Alex!

If you have (or willing to learn) the required CAD skills, considering where this hobby is currently, 3D printing the model is an excellent choice. You just shift where you hobby time will be utilized. From physical scratchbuilding (the old way) to "virtual scratchbuilding" on the computer.

If you never seen "Spaceballs" then you won't get the joke. This is not the exact the same RV, but close.

This is some very impressive modeling. I hope you will add "I ❤️ URANUS" bumper sticker when you finish it.

Yes I despise tailgaters (especially if I have slow traffic in front of me). Or even if I'm going 5-10 MPH over the speed limit. Selfish people (wich is very common nowadays). I have seen a car with a bumper sticker like this, and it made me smile. I contemplated getting one myself, but not only it is too nice, it will not stop those nasty tailgaters. I have also seen more R-rated bumper stickers, but I would probably get in trouble posting them here.

Well Steve, I'm going to call you out on this one. I remember the exchange we have about this quite well. I posted a link in the "freeze plug" thread which you paid no attention to. Below is your replay about links in general (nothing specific about links to photos). Please read that post and few subsequent posts to see proof that you don't pay much attention to links in posts. Please click on this link: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/165242-freeze-plugs/page/2/#comment-2470957

From my past experience, and from what he told me, Steve does not click on any links included in posts. If it is not in the post, he won't read it.

Nail polish is a fairly "hot" lacquer which could craze clear parts. But I guess it if is applied sparingly to the edge of the clear part, that won't be much of an issue.

Oh well, it went way over my head. I need to lighten up a bit and be less serious. Maybe if you put a smiley in your post I would have caught on.

Usually automatic spell checkers are to blame, but not in this case: Both spellings are correct. It is a human error. The one that I find silly is people using "Testers" instead of "Testors".

I have seen this exact discussion on this exact forum in the past. The opinions and comments have not changed since then.

Greg, in your last post you basically repeated most of your initial post. I'll also repeat again: if you don't want to use any sort of adhesive foil (which needs to be trimmed on the model), the only other alternative is some sort of liquid chrome solution. If you apply the liquid chrome freehand, you can easily stray off the molding, messing up the paint job. Plus freehand you will not get nice even edge like you do when trimming foil with a knife. So, you will likely have to mask then airbrush the chrome liquid. Masking requires the same trimming process as does BMF application. Also, if you don't burnish the masking tape well, the chrome liquid paint will seep under the tape, again ruining your paint. Most clear coats also dull the look of the liquid chrome solutions. I have never clear coated BMF (I apply it as a last step) and have not had a problem with it either peeling off or getting dull. As for the knife slipping, you can stick thin strips of masking tape against the trim on the model's body you want to chrome, then apply BMF, and use the edge of tape as your knife guide. the guide tape strip can be applied either over or under the BMF. This method has been nicely explained on this forum in the past. I think the "miracle" super-easy chrome trim you are looking for doesn't exist.

Why? It takes very little pressure to hold and twirl the 1/8" drill bit shaft between my fingers. You don't want to put too much pressure on the bit, ans it is quite fragile. Actually hard calloused skin would make the hand-drilling more difficult. My fingertips are quite soft. I do use pin vise for the larger drill sizes, and the same applies - delicate handling is in order.

Or maybe make it like the old balsa and tissue airplane models with ribs and tissue. But instead use styrene for both the skeleton and covering. That will make the shape of the models slightly faceted, but you can then apply some putty on the surface to make t smooth.

IMO, there is no substitute for BMF. Lots of us use it and our models survive (and look good). Using any sort of liquid solutions is not any easier. Freehand application does not give high quality results, and masking and spraying is as difficult as cutting BMF on your model's surface.

That was a clever dig! Funny (well, really not so funny) thing is that at the time residing in a southern Boston suburb, commuting north to work 5 days a week, I lived (survived?) through the "Big Dig". Was a sight to see (and experience) traveling on the elevated I-93 while the holes were dug under it and surrounding areas. But traveling through that area still stinks (I have since moved, and now avoid that area like a plague), and all you see is tunnel walls while going through Boston.

And that's the problem, more often than not.