peteski

That is a whole a lot of masking! Good job on preventing any paint bleed. I don't know if it is the way the photos show the paint, but it looks just like silver paint, not metallic "chrome". Maybe it looks better in person?

I don't remember seeing "regional boxes". All I see is: Priority Mail® Small Flat Rate Box 5-3/8" x 8-5/8" x 1-5/8" Priority Mail® Medium Flat Rate Box 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2 or 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" Priority Mail® Large Flat Rate Box 23-11/16" x 11-3/4" x 3" or 12 1/4" x 12 1/4" x 6" What size were those regional boxes?

That is a nice heavy duty cutter. They sure don't make them like this anymore. Cast (or forged) steel handle with replaceable blade. No wonder it can cut through thick plastic. I bet it would also cut aluminum sheets.

Your earlier response "And you have lenses for other projects." seemed to imply that the kit's lenses are not used, and could be saved for other projects.

In USA, it was considered a low-end commuter car, and was never very popular. As I recall, it actually had bad reputation for reliability and rusting. I don't think that even the Turbo version was sold in large numbers. From what I see in the photos, the 3D parts are just the reflectors -- it still uses the kit's clear lenses.

Ah, it was sold in USA as Renault LeCar. Looks like it will be a fun build. One thing that jumped at me is those kit tires. They look way too "sporty" (wide tread and low-profile) for this little inexpensive pedestrian car. Even the color drawings of the car in the instructions seem to show narrow tires.

Yes, it looks really good! Good photos too.

The bell looks like it actually works (when you pull on the handle). Very nice!

Funny thing is that there has been some mentions in this country of getting rid of currency, and only use other payment methods. Hopefully not in my lifetime.

My supermarket has a small display of Matchbox cars in one in one of the isles. I usually glance at it as I go by while grocery shopping. Few recent times there was a model that attracted my attention enough for me to buy it. Actually the nice pictures on the blister packs played some role in attracting me to those models. Well done Matchbox! These are not rare or anything like that, but I figured I'll post some photos for you all to see them. Porsche 914 (poor man's Porsche) is not often seen as a model. The Matchbox version looked really good. The nice paint job, the way the cab windows wrap around into the roof, and a sunroof all got my attention. The stuff in the bed also looks good, and the wheels are nicely done. Station wagons are not often rendered as models, especially Mercedes'. That's why this one went home with me.

I suspect that Daniel meant this: Any brick&mortar hobby shop should carry it, and it is also available from online hobby shops, eBay, amazon or directly from Microscale. As for creating your own waterslide decals, that is another can of worms.

Smallest available LEDs are SMD 0201 (that is 0.020" x 0.010")! You can buy those pre-wired on eBay. I plan to use those in some of N scale (1:160) model railroad projects. Next up are SMD 0402 LEDs (as you would expect, they are 0.040" x 0.020"). All LEDs are available in multiple colors of course.

Judging by all the views of this thread since 2019, nobody who viewed this thread knows Paul G. outside of the forum. And obviously Paul hasn't visited here since 2019. Does Paul's profile show what part of the country he is from? Maybe check obituaries from late 2019 or early 2020 looking for Paul G in the part of the country Paul was from. I know it sounds weird, but it is a good place to start.

Sorry to hear you dropped out of the model RR forums. Great weathering job on that loco.

I once restored old fractured decals by simply spraying couple of wet coats of lacquer thinner over the surface of the decal. I waited for the thinner to evaporate, then sprayed next coat. It remelted all the cracked pieces back into solid film. The decal was the one which is printed over a solid clear film (where each decal image has to be trimmed before application).

Have you checked his forum profile to see when was the last time he visited the forum (or last time he posted anything)?

I don't have any orange peel issues. I just apply the paint that is thin enough to self-level on the model, and I apply it in thick enough coats so it is able to self-level. Wet-coats are are the enemy of orange-peel. I don't have any formulas or procedures I follow - I just do it. I never have to sand or polish my paint jobs. The orange peel issue seems to be quite prevalent with automotive modelers striving for a glossy finish. I suspect that you all apply paint that is either too viscous, spray too far from the model, or spray on too little paint. Either of those things (or combination of multiple of those) can cause the paint not to be able to self-level on the model, resulting in rough finish (orange peel). I would say practice your spraying technique to see if you can get a nice shiny finish just by spraying paint.

That works for certain applications, but the light coming out of the end of a fiber is quite directional (like a focused beam out of a flashlight). LEDs (the small SMD type) have much wider viewing angle, more like a standard light bulb. And as you mentioned, fiber optics require a enclosed source of light (which can be an LED or an incandescent bulb). I've used both methods in some of my models.

Kevin, you look like you are fairly new, so maybe that is why you assign this question instead of noticing a long-running sticky thread in this forum about choosing compressors. There is lots of useful info and recommendation in there.

When it comes to mirrors, is there really such a visible difference to warrant scratchnuildigin when read-made ones are available? IMO, items such as mrrors don't have strictly predefined sizes (like wheels, tires or engines) to stand out they are tiny bit out of scale.

Thank you guys for clarifying the meaning of that nomenclature, and other assorted nuggets of useful info..

Normally I just hover my cursor over the user's name, and when the popup with the user's info shows up I just click on "Message" button to send a PM. But this time, instead of clicking on the "Message" button, I clicked on the member's name. That brought me to a page with a summary of that members info. There, on top there also is a "Message" (PM?) button, but lower, under the Activity tab there is a "Write public message on member's activity feed". That is probably the "public" message. I guess the messages listed under that tab are public. Up to this point I never looked at any of those.

Oh well, finally the one I knew and the quiz is closed. I didn't see any solutions in any messages. But when I PM'd Michael my answer I almost sent a public message (whatever that it) by accident. Maybe that is what Michael did with Pete J? I don't even know where I can read public messages.

Nice job on the kit, especially the detail painting.

If you can pick up some warm white LED Christmas tree lights after the holidays (50% off sale), they are a good source of standard 3mm or 5mm LEDs. The lens might be oddly shaped, but you can file it down until it is flat (the clear material is epoxy resin). Just don't file it down too close to the LED chip inside.