peteski

I'm glad you were successful. While 99% manufacturers use the standard vacuum metalizing (thin layer of aluminum) to simulate chrome, there are couple companies that actually electroplate their "chrome" parts. That result in relatively thick layer of metal on the parts which is pretty much impossible to remove chemically. Even scraping it with a knife is very difficult. One of those companies is Trumpeter, and I don't remember the other company. I think they make NASCAR or funny car kits. Salvinos?

That is a very good suggestion, but knowing that automotive modelers have notoriously tight pockets, I recall someone suggested using empty plastic soft drink bottles for practicing. Those are free (or 5 cents deposit in some states). That's better than two bucks-a-pop. Granted they don't have those nice curves the speed shapes have, but they are much, much cheaper. Actually there is some variety of sizes, and some do have more complex shape than just round.

There really is no need for keeping the unit warm. But whatever . . . .

Um, isn't that what the old-fashion carburetor is? Shouldn't it really be called "atomizer"? The next evolution step was to use fuel injectors in the intake plenum to atomize fuel. Nowadays more and more gasoline engines use direct fuel injection, where the injector is inside the cylinder head and under (very high pressure) atomizes the fuel fuel directly inside the combustion chamber.

I find that these UV-curable resins hardened do not harden enough (remain semi-flexible) to be used as fillers for plastic or resin car bodies. That is, when those resins are cured with portable battery-operated curing lights. But the resins become fully hardened when exposed to natural sunlight for several minutes.

Interesting idea, but unless you have water-based acrylic paints (which have "protect from freezing" warning on the label), regular "stinky" paints *DON'T FREEZE*, even in sub-zero temperatures. In your photos all I see is "stinky" paints. So yes, it is a clever place to store them, but no real need to protect them from freezing temps. The gas propellant in spray cans might be less effective (lower pressure) when the can is cold, but warming it back up before spraying session will restore the pressure.

Thanks for the info Mario. Yes, I do have one of the older MPC Eagle kits I bought probably 20 years ago (a re-pop of the '70s kit) and I also few years ago picked up the Deluxe Edition Eagle kits with resin parts in a flat box.

"Shipping Partner". That means USPS is using an outside contractor. That is one of the problems.

Yes, there are some useful "gems" among all the "rocks", but not very many.

There are lots of people in this world totally lacking critical thinking. I see so many crappy devices shown in TV ads (like the swamp cooler for example) which I can see right in that advert that it won't work. Yet all that "as seen on TV" BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH is still being made and sold. But wait, if you order in the next 20 minutes you get the second one for free (just pay the "fee"). Come on, I was not born yesterday, but enough people out there were "born yesterday" and they keep on buying enough of those things to keep those companies in business (at least for some time). Another one is the tiny heater unit that plugs into the outlet. It supposed to heat the entire room (consuming very little power). Wonders never cease.

Ok, hopefully stainless steel will be safe. As far splashing goes, it is not bubbles from heat - the ultrasonic cavitation effect can cause the fluid to bubble (at any temperature).

Very well done! The night photos are very impressive! I was also a big fan of the show back in the day (and now have full set of DVDs), but I only have the smaller scale kits. I also have the Moonbase Alpha kit. I build one as a kid, and picked it up again when it was reissued some years ago. Now just to find the time and space to build it.

Be careful. Lye is caustic and attacks metal! If the ultrasonic cleaner has a metal tub, it might not be compatible with Lye. Also the liquid might bubble and splash out of the tub.

It is not just the Testors Cement that stays soft and stays soft and shrinks for a long time. It also softens the plastic around it. I would remove the glue and the surrounding plastic, then use some non shrinking filler to patch the sunroof.

As I see it, the debris (like lint) in the charging port (connector) would not slow down the charging process. The connection is either made, or not made. The type of debris are non-conductive (insulators). The slow charging is more likely caused by the battery aging out, or defect in the charging circuitry inside the phone. But batteries usually last longer than a year. You mentioned that you tried new changing cord. Did you try the cable only, or also the charger "cube" that plugs into the AC outlet?

Similar design, but not identical. I don't recall where I bought it. It was likely one of the online cooking gadgets catalog, and I ordered it by mail (pre-Internet times). There is no brand name on it. I also cut out the trays from all the intermediate sections to clear enough room for car and truck bodies. It is sitting on the shelf, with a cooking thermometer stuck in one of the vent slots.

EBay has recently totally revamped their listing categories, and search terms. It is seriously broken. Here is what one of a members of a model train board wrote abotu the "new eBay" (from the N scale model trains perspective, but not only): The good, the bad, the ugly: a comprehensive analysis of eBay's N Scale category changes. Of the hundreds of watches that I have created over the span of many years, only those that were directly related to the former N Scale category have been impacted by eBay's October 12th site changes. My heavily filtered main N Scale category search is now toast. Item searches that were filtered to only show N Scale products are now showing listings in all scales. Excluded sellers and selling locations can still be filtered. You can no longer filter out unwanted brands or keywords. You can no longer make the seller ids, feedback, or listing dates visible in the search page results. You can no longer save searches. As searches can no longer be saved, new listings related to your saved searches will no longer appear on your personalized eBay home page saved searches feed. You can longer select how many items are seen on each page of results. Your page results no longer indicate which items are promoted listings, which with eBay's newly launched PPC (i.e., Pay Per Click) advertising model means sellers are going to be paying for numerous buyer clicks on listings that do not end up in a sale. Bluntly put, while eBay's minimalist approach might be advantageous for smartphone users, the new categorizations and changes in search filtering were likely made to improve site profitability from a rapidly diminishing group of sellers. After more than two decades on eBay, I ended my sales on the site earlier this year because of the increased costs and risks that came along with the venue's managed payments mandate. In addition, along with huge increases in seller pricing and shipping costs, a rapidly diminishing selection of products and US based sellers has made eBay a last stop destination for the majority of my purchases.

Not really. Dehydrators are specifically design for low-temperature drying (dehydrating or removing moisture) of food -- never cooking. I have a very simple one. It has a 40W heating element on the bottom, and it uses adjustable vents to control the air flow (and temperature). No thermostat, no electrical adjustments. I bought it about 35 years ago, and over those years I probably have several hundred hours of use. Still works well, and the temperature (I have a cooking thermometer in it to monitor temperature) has never gone over 120 degrees (because I adjusted the vents for that temperature). I usually use it around 110 degrees (again by adjusting the air flow vents). Basically this is what could be achieved by sticking a 40W light bulb in a cardboard box with some holes cut in it for ventilation and air flow. Can't get any simpler.

True, full strength Lye solution is a very caustic chemical. Just as it will eat all the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH in the sewer pipes, it will happily eat human skin and eyes. Be very careful with Lye. If you use it, follow the instructions on the container how to properly mix it with water.

Most kit manufacturers use Vacuum Metalizing process, using aluminum. For some more details go to https://www.vacuum-metalizing.com/what-is-vacuum-metalizing/

The "chrome" in model kits is actually very thin layer of aluminum. If you want to have some fun, drop a tiny piece of standard aluminum foil in the lye solution.

Could those spots be remains of the clear undercoat? Either way, I don't think the lye cause that. Whatever it is, I don't think I would worry about it.

$6 is *ABOVE* your pay grade? How much does a vial of flocking material cost? Flock you, you flocking flock! (Sorry I just had to write that).

Hobby Emporium and Spare Time Hobby Shop (in Marlboro) are the last 2 remaining "real" brick&mortar, and well stocked hobby shops in Eastern Mass. Hobby Emporium has a huge selection of paints and adhesives, and lots of kits. They also have good selection of model train items (lots of N scale).

You sure have quite an imagination Craig.