peteski

David, Please re-read your earlier post, and my response to it. If you Consider Google as a reliable source of accurate info then we have nothing more to discuss. I provided a link to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and pointed you to one of several definitions of the word "like" and its usage. That should be more trustworthy than Google. While I don't like it (yes, I'm using the word "like"), the fact is that English language is evolving, and words can gain new meanings and usage. See definition #4 in the link I provided in my response to you. Now I'm wondering if you even bothered to look at that info. I'm not on FB and I dislike this whole "like" thing they have (and now we have it too too), so I don't think I need to be educated by you on how to *PROPERLY* use the word "like". As far as the trolling comment goes, IMO your "educational" post seemed like trolling.

I am highly offended by all of this!! Yes, I'm joking.

Thanks for the 1:1 info Will! Looks like the neither the belt or the photoetched hardware is perfectly to scale. Still, I think the slightly oversized belt would look quite acceptable (especially since its texture looks quite good) if the hardware (adjusters) was designed to correctly work with it.

Unfortunately David, in our ever-changing English language the word "like" has been hijacked by Facebook (and now more and more other social platforms) to have a different meaning than what you described above. Check out definition #4 in https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/like. I'm sure you are well aware of that fact, and you are just trolling here. EDIT: here we have a perfect example. Someone just tagged this post with a "confused" tag. What is confusing about the statement I made? If I knew the identity of the tagger, I could ask for the reason of his confusion, but as it is now, I'm confused too. Crazy stuff!

I placed an order with USCP for several items including these seat belts. Smooth and easy ordering on their website, PayPal transaction, items all well packaged. It took some time, but that is not unexpected, coming from Ukraine to USA. The seat belt material is the best I have seen. The weave is as close to scale as I have seen, and the material is very soft (not stiff like some other brands). But there is a problem. The belt slots in the photoetched hardware (like buckles) are too small. The belt material ends up folding over. It doesn't look good. I took measurements and the belt is 0.149" (3.78mm) wide. In 1:24 scale that scales out to the 1:1 belt being 3.58" wide. The slots in the hardware are 0.103" (2.62mm) wide. Scales out to 2.47" in 1:1 scale. I'm not familiar with 1:1 scale belt dimensions, so I don't know which (if any) of those are in-scale. Still, what is painfully clear is that the photoetched hardware cannot be used with the belt material. The belt cannot be trimmed to be narrower - it will unravel and fall apart. All the other products I have purchased from USCP (this is not my first order) were very well designed and flawless. I'm really puzzled as to why USCP did not make the photoetched hardware match the width of their belt material. I'll have to see if photoetched belt hardware from other companies might have wider belt slots in them. I would hate not to use that great looking belt!

@DoctorLarry Looking at Doctor Larry's profile, he is currently active on the forum, and posting messages in other sections of the forum. I wonder why he doesn't respond here (and for over a year)? Even if he no longer is selling those kits, it would be nice if he stated so here. That way people wouldn't have false hopes.

The paint interactions are a lot more complex than just the old "can't use lacquer over enamel" mantra. The type of a solvent (or how "hot" its) can also greatly affect compatibility of paint. Even what chemical is used as a sloven can be the difference in compatibility. But modelers are still stuck with the simplified thinking. You could have enamel top coat which contains a solvent that is "hot" and chemically incompatible with a lacquer base coat. The solvent from t he enamel top coat might get absorbed by the lacquer and expand it (like a dry sponge expands when it absorbs water), causing it bubble or wrinkle. Whenever playing around with different brand and types of paint, it always makes sense to test compatibility on some object (like plastic spoon) rather than on your precious model. And toss out that narrow "no lacquer over enamel" mentality.

Tim was also featured on few episodes of Dragnet. In one of them he was dressed as a superhero, and stealing movie posters.

I agree that if the paint has chunks in it (cannot be mixed into homogeneous liquid) then it is bad, ans should not be used. But having said that, I added a fine mesh screen to the end of my airbrush's siphon tube. That is to catch things like stray pieces of hair or other debris that ended up in the paint. It doesn't catch very many debris, but it is an easy insurance. The mesh was part of a privacy screen stuck on a front of a CRT-based computer monitor. It is a very fine black (nylon?) mesh. It is so fine that it sometimes blocks metallic particles in metallic paints, so for those paint jobs I have to remove the screen.

And anonymous "likes" allow the modelers not liking each-other to like each-other's models. Really? Is this what we really want? That is just so silly! One of the stupidest things I have seen implemented here.

Absolutely not! You are correct. What good is it to see bunch of anonymous tags on your posts? It makes no sense. I'm not on FB, but I've been told that there you can see who gave you those thumbs-up (or down). That makes more sense. Dave said earlier that the tags are anonymous to prevent friction between members. That makes no sense either. Why would someone who dislikes the person who posted the message (or entire thread) tag the post with one of the kudos tags? If tags were not available, that person would likely not post a "I like the model" post either. The whole thing (and the logic behind the anonymity) is totally wacko! Sounds like the technology to expose the info abotu the taggers is there - you should enable it. If it really starts causing issues - disable it. Period!

While LEDs are different animal from light bulbs, they are not rocket science. Nowadays small enough lead-less SMD (Surface Mount Device) LEDs exist to even install in model truck's small marker lights. That is an old photo. Now there is an even smaller LED available: 0201 size (half of the 0402). LEDs emit light at fairly wide angle (somewhat like light bulbs), so the light is visible from wide angle. Fiber Optics emit light in a narrow angle (best viewed head-on), so they are no ideal for the task at hand. But there could be some application for them on your model. You can also use LED to feed light into fiber optic (instead of the old fashion light bulbs). Light bulbs also need lots of power, and they get warm or hot (sometimes enough to melt plastic). LEDs run cool. There was a similar recent discussion on the forum. There is some info about those resistors: Going back to small SMD LEDs, you do need a steady hand and precision soldering iron (and small gauge wire) to solder leads to them. However many small SMD LEDs are available on eBay with wire leads already installed for you. Here is a listing for pre-wired white LEDs (other colors are also available). https://www.ebay.com/itm/252440293369 If you are curious, there is a lot of information about LEDs on the Internet. Here is some basic stuff: https://byjus.com/physics/light-emitting-diode/ If you haven't figured out by now, I'm a huge fan of LEDs (and have been for over 40 years). I have a background in electronics, so that makes things easier for me. I get my LEDs mostly from electronic parts suppliers such as Digikey or Mouser Electronics, but eBay is also a good source for a variety of inexpensive LEDs in all sizes. Once you learn the nomenclature (like the sizes), it is easy to find things. Here is a model I built over 20 years ago illuminated mostly with LEDs. Unlike today, back then finding small SMD LEDs was difficult. Also white LEDs were pretty much non-existent, so the headlights and fog lights were illuminated using micro-bulbs from Miniatronics. And I used fiber optics threaded through hypodermic tubing for illuminating the tips of the clearance poles. I also have the light bars flashing, so I designed and build my own circuitry for them, but for just having plain lighting, the wiring will be much less complicated. There is some info in the thread I linked to above about buying some ready-made LED circuits which contain LED flashers

Since it is a CAD file, it should be trivial to reduce it to the exact size you need, then print that one. Your SLA printer should have high enough resolution capable of producing that hood ornament in 1:24 or 1:25 scale

It could also be due to some people just trying to create confusion on purpose, or they are just giving one of the available "likes" strictly as a joke. In either case, being able to see who left those "likes" would be a great deterrent for any mischievous deeds.

I agree that there are many people out there to whom a car is just an appliance. I don't see anything to be disappointed (in humanity) that some older lady didn't know the make of her car. At least she knew it was a Prius, and what color it was. That is all she needs to find the car in the supermarket parking lot. I see this as perfectly normal, especially for an older lady. Plus, if she just said that she is picking up her silver Prius, you would have never found out that she wasn't sure it if was a Toyota. And just to add this: If you only knew how little many people around you know (about many very common subjects, like math, grammar, or geography), you would be really disappointed in humanity!

I had a similar accident last year, and the driver was very nice lady which also admitted responsibility. She pulled out of her driveway, right in front of me (she didn't look of the road was clear). It was her fault and she was very apologetic. At that point my car was less than a year old and under 20k miles. It was about $2k worth of damage to the nose of my car. Yes, there are still nice honest people out there (but not many). Kurt's car probably has about $2k worth of damage too, and that pearl white paint will be a pain to match (my car was solid white and if you look carefully, it isn't a perfect match either).

That is one impressive, and nicely weathered model. Excellent photography too!

IMO, this thread is much more fun than those super lengthy "Once Upon a Time", and now "Numbers" and "Letters" threads in the Off Topic section. At least here we are discussing something real and meaningful.

Sure, but we can also have written interaction about other things. This section is not about models (neither is the Off Topic section), and we are still discussing the forum's functionality (presenting our views on the subject of the newly introduced features). Do we have to be?

We have beaten this subject to death, and the "likes" are apparently here to stay. At this point I continue to post here strictly for amusement. Fun, fun fun!

While I am enjoying all the cool car photos from car shows or cruises, isn't the purpose of this thread to show what you saw on the road? Sort of like the "Car Spotter" column in the Collectible Automobile Magazine. They want candid shots of vintage cars. They specifically state that "no photos from car shows".

LOL, yes I have done all those things, but they are also followed (or preceded) by a verbal response (especially when flipping a bird). As far as giving someone thumbs-up on their cool ride (when we pass on the street), that is a non-verbal communication only because I can't easily give them my verbal kudos. If we were in a situation where I could speak to them, I would most certainly give them a verbal response.

That makes perfect sense to me (and I do that too), but more and more members are accessing the forum on their portable mouse-less "smart" (and I use that term very loosely) devices. It seems that many features that are available on a PC with a mouse are not available on those touch-screen devices. Maybe they can't just select/click? I don't know.

What's wrong with that car? It think it looks pretty sharp. I even had a tethered remote control model of it when I was a kid.

Yes, as Joe mentioned, this post is deja-vou all over again. But the model is very impressive.