peteski

Ah, they are always try to sneak in some undocumented "improvements"!

Actually most solid color (and even metallics) lacquer's and enamels dont' need a gloss coat, except maybe after decals are applied (to protect them). The problem is the spraying techniques used by many modelers leave the paint surface rough enough to need to use clear coats. The only paints that require gloss coats are the ones which specifically state that they do. Those are usually base-coat/top-coat metallic automotive lacquers and the paints sold as hobby paints that are simply small quantities of those automotive lacquers. Those are easily to recognize because the metallic base coat dries to an even dull satin finish. But most *GLOSS* hobby paints (such as Testors, Humbrol, Revell and others) should not require a gloss coat.

The post count badges (like rocket) are cute, but I'm not too crazy about the rounded up post count. I'm a visual kind of a guy and I liked seeing the actual post count displayed for each member's info (on the left of their post, under the avatar). Now we see "3k", 4k", etc. I know I can hover over that number and the actual count is displayed, but that requires me to do something extra I didn't have to do in the past. Why make things more complicated? Just show the actual number, like it was done in the past.

The ambient air's relative humidity (dew point) is very important factor while spray painting. The dew point value is the air temperature at which dew will form on any object that is at that temperature or lower. How many times you come out in the evening or night where you see your car (or other outdoor objects) covered with dew? How about when your cold beer, or soft drink glass/bottle/can gets covered with dew or "sweats"? That happens because those objects have temperature colder than the dew point of the ambient air. The water molecules that are in the ambient air, when in contact with the cold object turn into liquid water and form dew on those objects. That is as simple explanation as I can come up with. How does that apply to spray-painting (airbrush or aerosol cans)? When a compressed gas (propellant), depressurizes (leaves the nozzle), it cools. When you use a spray can, you can feel it getting cool during the painting session. This is due to the Joule Thompson Effect . When that cooled paint/propellant mixture hits the model's surface and its temperature is below the dew point, it will form dew on the surface of the paint, causing "blushing". It is as simple as that. EDIT: One more thing that I forgot to mention is the type of paint (or specifically the solvent or thinner) used also makes a difference. Evaporation of the solvent (once the paint is deposited on the model's surface) also causes cooling. The faster the evaporation, the more intense cooling takes place. Hot paints (usually lacquers) that dry fast, have fast evaporating solvents, and cause the most intense cooling. That evaporative cooling of the solvent adds to the moisture forming on the wet paint's surface. That is why moist (humid) ambient air is an enemy of glossy paint jobs.

Exactly what I suggested few replies earlier (for the same reasons).

All Tamiya kits are really, really good. All the pars fit correctly, and they are mostly accurate. Of course many are curbside-kits, but when it is a full detail kit, nice engines are included. Some engine features might be a but simplified, but the modeler can easily add some scratch built details.

True, but it wasn't when the model was finished, and few years ago the inspection stopped inspecting model cars .

The Monogram Ultimates 1:43 289 Cobra is a little gem, but it might not be your cup of tea.

This seems kind of boring. What is the goal here? At least the "Once upon ..." thread has a story line. How about it? Just posting a consecutive number seems like a waste of time. Go build some models guys!

Probably too expensive (that seems to be a deciding factor here).

I probably have around 100 bottles (purchased few years ago) and I never encountered that sleeve. All my bottles have wide open glass neck. The cap has a gasket and brush in it, so I can freely pour the polish out of the bottle. Can't you pry the sleeve out of the neck, so you can pour the paint out?

I know noting about how the forum software operates, but I'm starting to wonder if it is the forum's software (not the ads themselves) that allows or makes the ads so large?

You shouldn't have to resort to a strong solvent like lacquer thinner. Depending on what you used for the wash, you can probably use Windex (ammonia), 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, or Naphtha. None of these should attack the "chrome". Of course you have to do this not too long after the paint dried (but is still fresh).

Very impressive. You also just gave me a new trick to try: fix the cracks and scratches in grayscale mode, the re-color afterwards. Brilliant!

So, did you pick them up? Will you build them? I know, silly questions.

Unfortunately this tells the story: https://www.debenllc.com/Jordan-Highway-Miniatures_c_15.html I also have some of those exquisite little gems. Too bad they are no longer being manufactured. But there is always eBay.

That looks great Scotty! I'm curious about how much of the retouching was using some automatic PS features, and how much was done manually?

I'm not a fan of the big-gaping-mouth grille that has been plopped on Lexus cars for few years now. Some other makes also use similar treatment. I hope it this trend will pass soon. As far as Ftraven goes, he only made 3 posts so far, and none are model car related. But I guess this section is for models and real cars, so he hasn't broken any rules.

A pink primer would make the red top coat "pop". White primer would also result in a bright red top coat. But if price is a decoding factor . . . Gray primer will make the red a bit duller looking. If you are using plastic compatible red paint, like others have said, paint it over the bare orange plastic. That will give the red nice bright look. I often skip the primer when I paint my models (with plastic compatible paints, like Testors).

JB Weld (the one that takes long time to set) will most certainly work well, but you will have to wait overnight for to to set. To improve adhesion I would roughen the rod's surface with sandpaper, and make absolutely sure that the glued areas are clean and free of any oils (including oils from your skin). I usually clean the parts to be glued with a degreaser such as 99% or 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, Naphtha, Lacquer Thinner, or Acetone. Either of those will remove any oil residues. Other (faster setting) epoxies and even CA glue will also work, but the bond won't be a strong.

Do you mean Snake45, or is there another Snake on this forum? Snake 45 is currently active.

Looking at the write-up, it looks like Charlie uses the "squish method" on 2-part molds. Charlie, I am comfortable with making simple 1-piece open molds and castings, but I have couple of questions about the tire mold above. 1. How exactly do you get such a clean separation line for the mold halves. The explanation you wrote is still not clear to me, and that is the trickiest and most important part of mold making. Some people partially embed the master in clay to make the first half of the mold, then remove the clay and pour the second half. TO me that method seems really messy. It seems that you figured out how to do this without the clay. I would really like to understand that process. 2. When you pour the resin in the deep part of that tire master, how to you make sure that air bubbles do not forum inside all the deep patterns of the tread? To me it seems that small bubbles of air would accumulate in all those tiny cavities.

Or if you will be handling the model a lot (or like smooth shiny models) then apply clear after decals (to seal and protect them). To be honest, since model decals have clear film, usually extending beyond the images, that does not look like 1:1 vinyl stickers (since those do not have out-of-scale clear film). Well, you could carefully trim the clear decal film from around the images, but that is a but of extra work. It is really up to what look you prefer.

Color laser printers (just like Alps) are CYMK printers. Some less expensive color laser printers which can print white toner simply replace the black toner with white. They become CYM+White. They are capable of underlying the white toner under color toners, just like Alps can (to print opaque images which can be applied to dark colored models). They can also print opaque white images. But since there is no black toner, to print black they use a mix of CYM toners. That results in a black that is not true black. It is very dark, but not a crisp black color. There are also better grade (expensive) color laser printers which use 5 toners (CYMK and white). Those can print colors, true black and white (as underlay or standalone). But they still don't come close to Alps capabilities of overlaying inks, and printing metallic and foil colors. No other (consumer grade) printer is capable of that. The other problem with color laser printers is that their color printing uses halftones which will show up as dots in the color areas. Wit Alps you can produce many solid (not halftoned) colors by using the overlay function. The other thing is that the edges of objects printed using laser printer are fuzzy. That is because the toner dots don't have sharp defined edges. It is just inherent to the printing technology. Alps is a thermal transfer printer and the printed dots have very sharp edge. Even thought Alps is a 600dpi printer, the printouts look sharper and crisper than laser or ink jet printers which have higher resolutions. On the Alps group, every once in a while someone brings up laser printers which can print white as a possible replacement for Alps, but after discussing the capability of those printers we always arrive at the same conclusion: Alps is still the best consumer grade printer for hobbyists to print decals. Alps printers are unfortunately in the end of life stage, but enjoy your Alps while you still can.

Very, very nice!! It must have taken a long time to put it all together.