peteski

Another one popped up in my automatic search. This one was in Switzerland, shrink-wrapped and sold very fast for $400 (and $41 shipping cost to USA)! https://www.ebay.com/itm/294280718299 Impressive what people will pay for this kit.

Well, I guess it is in USA only then. I wonder if those sedans are still made in USA, but only sold abroad? https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/18/discontinued-cars-trucks-ford-chevrolet-fiat-buick-cadillac-toyota/4298551002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/04/buick-regal-discontinued-gm-general-motors/2607182001/ https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/08/the-buick-regal-has-been-discontinued/

If for whatever reason IPA doesn't work, there are several other plastic safe strippers (there is an entire sticky thread about them). http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/83153-paint-strippers-what-to-use/ I also use Floquil/Testors Easy Lift Off (ELO), Scalecoat Wash Away Paint Remover, "Purple Power" or Easy-Off oven cleaner, and LA Awesome concentrated cleaner (last 3 are Lye-based. Keep those away from your skin).

Yes Pete, I also have a small arsenal of liquid cements. I use Weld-ON 4SC and also 3. 4SC actually mentions Polystyrene, while 4 does not. Both of these are based on Methylene Chloride (similar to the old Tenax cement), and they evaporate *VERY* fast. Sometimes it is too fast. That's where MEK-based cements come into play. When a longer open time is needed, I use MEK-based cements like Testors. They are both useful, in different ways.

LOL! I heard or read somewhere that Buick no longer manufactures passenger cars (coupes and sedans) . It is all SUVs and such. So any Buick model will have to depict cars of the past years. The other problem with Trumpeter car kits was that they used real chromium (or similar metal) on the "chromed" parts. It was a real pain to deal with. Unfortunately I have noticed other companies (probably in China) doing the same thing. I don't get it. Vacuum metalizing (the old tried and proven way to "chrome" plastic) seems like much simpler, cleaner (and probably less expensive) process.

What brand/type of paint did you use? Most 1-part lacquers can be removed with 91% IPA. Also, warming up the stripper will increase its potency. 80-90 deg. F that is. You being in Indiana, that is probably not a problem (hot summer). Also, 99% IPA is sold in hardware stores as a solvent in gallon cans (in the paint thinners section). It is usually called IPA99 or Isopropanol 99. If they don't have it, they should be able to order it for you. I get it at the local Ace Hardware. Not sure if large home improvement centers carry it.

Sorry, I have no idea why I wrote that. My brain must have been on "neutral". I corrected my earlier post (since that was what I really meant to write).

David, this might again be related to the latest forum upgrade (that changed something with how the forum handles the embedded codes for externally hosted photos (that many and many users already complained about). Any way you could find out why the handling of photo codes changed in that update, and if the original method could be re-enabled? I just looked through some of kpnuts posts and I think I see what he means. Yes, he uses external photo host. He seems to also have used the [img] tags around the URL, and the forum does not render those properly anymore. Here is one of those posts where photos are now displayed as links. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/161008-tamiya-112-porsche-910/?tab=comments#comment-2408274 If I copy the image url (without the tags of course) the photo is displayed properly. There really has to been some change to the way the forum software operates. I also find it hard to believe that the previous functionality (where the [img] tags were interpreted correctly) cannot be restored. Those tags are a standard syntax on many online forums (and most photo hosting sites provide that type of coding for posting their photos in forums).

Yeah, thanks Ray. That looks like a kitchen aluminum foil. It even has the sort of "brushed" finish that kitchen foil has, where the surface of BMF was was smoother. As for the marks left after burnishing, I suspect that is due to the adhesive layer being thicker than BMF, so it acts as a rubbery substrate under the foil. It will squish under the pressure of a toothpick, resulting in visible marks. Ed Mason, the inventor of BMF had a perfect solution that has not been duplicated by anybody else. Too bad that "the good stuff" seems to be discontinued.

Thanks for following up. The repair came out really well.

Like snake said, lacquer thinner might or might not work. It is a blend of several solvents. Different brands use different blends. Some do have some MEK in them, but not all. Some more recent lacquer thinners are probably rather "mild" (due to all the environmental concerns and restrictions). MEK by itself works ok as liquid cement for styrene, but the blends sold specifically as plastic cement work better than plain MEK. Tamiya liquid cements use acetone and other chemicals. For best results I would just use the ready-mixed cements from hobby manufacturers, but if you want to "go cheap" then MEK will likely work better than lacquer thinner. I find it amusing that generally speaking the automotive modelers have very tight pockets.

Well, if you first told him that you were big fan of him, and only after that you mentioned being a fan of his dad, I think that would have been ok.

In the past I was able to order parts (for any manufacturer they carried) through Hobby Link Japan (HLJ) . But that was several years ago, so I don't know of they still provide that service. I suppose you need to have n account set up on HLJ website.

I think Bob Black is a member here, but I don't remember his user name.

According to Steve's (VRM) member info, he visited the site on June 14, so he is still around.

Yeah, - same here. They were both beauties.

Turds. Yes, it is a safe word here.

Cool! Looks like one of those little tractors that pull the "train" of baggage carts on the tarmac.

Possibly -- I haven't seen any of those movies.

Some people eat roadkill (with or without flies on it). But seriously, there are so many germs, viruses and fungi all around us everywhere that a little fly shouldn't spoil your appetite. It is more psychological than anything else. Just like hair in the food - some people find it totally disgusting, others don't care.

This thread is fun to follow! Actually I enjoy following all of Jouko's builds. Motorcycles, cars . . . fun stuff! I liked this model so much that I bought one of the sedans from Ukraine, because I read somewhere that those has "chromed" parts. Well, it doesn't. Looks like I'm on my own making them look chromed.

Looks like a Fiat to me. Similar to the Multipla.

Thanks for finding out what the modeler in YouTube video used for chrome trim. I think that stuff was discussed on this forum. I'll have to see if I can give it a try. I can only hope that my model will come out as nice as yours. I don't think it will be anywhere near the one in that video, but it would be so very cool to open the rear doors.

Very, very, very nice model!

That looks like a cool project. I have no suggestions, but I have a question: Why are you using such a seemingly coarse sandpaper? Seems like that it will take some serious sanding later to get rid of those gouges.