peteski

Totally different stuff. Ultra chrome is just thin aluminum foil. Yes, very shiny but also very stiff. Sort of like the failed Detail Master chrome foil. I think BMF started making Ultra Chrome after Detail Master came out with theirs. BMF regular chrome uses some sort of special alloy. It can be melted with a soldering iron, so it uses some soft low-melting-temperature metal alloy. While not as shiny, it is extremely malleable. This is the good stuff.

Thanks Steve. I now have some options while I contemplate putting my KISS van kit on eBay. Actually, I already have a spare original decal set. Stuff like this is what is so great about participating in an online forum - modelers out there have so much knowledge as to what parts came with what kits. Very useful stuff!

I have couple of variable speed Dremels (where I already modified the speed controller for even slower than factory speed). Not only it is still too fast, the unit is too heavy and bulky for precision hand drilling. I even have a Dremel flex-shaft hand-piece, but the cable is again too stiff and bulky. My drill will be made from a modified Dremel flex-shaft hand-piece. It uses ball bearings for the shaft so it is very stable. It will be cut short, and I'll mount a 12V coreless motor with a 16:1 gearhead on it. The power will be delivered by thin lightweight flexible cord. That gives me speed range from zero to about 700 RPMs with good amount of torque. The entire drill will be very lightweight and easy to hold between your fingers. It's diameter is less than a double of a hobby knife handle diameter. This tool will be totally different than my Dremels. Apples and oranges. And it is not a McGyver kludge - it will be a real solidly designed and made tool. Basically similar in size to dental drills (except low speed with good torque).

This is the regular "chrome", not the "ultra bright" stuff? I hope that they didn't change the formula - that would be unthinkable! The softness and pliability of the BMF foil is what makes it so good.

You can't go wrong with Tamiya (in any scale). Fujimi is also another one that makes good kits (in any scale). If course if you prefer American makes, they don't do those. If you want large, try some of the Tamiya 1:6 Motorcycles! There is also 1:12 scale (bikes and cars).

Are you sure that was at a Targè, not Walmart?

If his hobby was making McGyver-style hobby tools, then sure - have at it. But if cheap airbrushes are easily obtainable, I think it is silly to try to make a hand-made airbrush kludge. I"m not impressed. I do build my own custom tools if I need them for my hobbies, but only if I can't find one that already exists and can easily be bought. Right now I'm actually working on a handheld precision slow-speed power drill with foot-pedal-controlled variable speed for use with small Tungsten Carbide drill bits. I have also built all sorts of jigs and holding fixtures for certain tasks.

I also built that kit in my teen years (when it first came out). I still have some parts from it. I did manage to find another unbuilt one (yes, on eBay) about 10 years ago, and even then it was very pricey. IIRC I paid around $100 for it. They do show up, but also fetch high prices.

Why?

Philco? The same company that produced TVs for the consumer market?

Funny coincidence. There used to be SMP Industries. They produced a line of hobby paints (Accu-Paint) and a line of high quality decals for model railroad subjects.

Didn't you ask the same question (and got replies) in the General section of the forum? Widening your audience? I was never a single genera modeler. I like to build cars, planes, spaceships, motorcycles, trucks, even some fantasy stuff. When I was younger built few armor kits too. Whatever catches my eye. I'm also into N scale model trains (and that also consists of working on structure kits).

I think the only hope to find some definitive answers would be to find one of the early Testors employees (if they are even still alive). Chances of that happening are not very good.

I should have been clearer: The KISS van was painted using paint sprayed on the water surface. Not a thin solid film. Paint is still in its liquid form when the model body is dipped in it.

Interesting comparison, but I'm not sure if I agree. Pocher kits, while chock-full of details (in large 1:8 scale) they were terrible. Thick plastic, parts not fitting well, lots of screws, and lots of simple stamped metal pieces). Meng kit likely is a CAD-designed state-of-the-art modern injection molded plastic kit. I'm sure the parts fit better, and they have much finer details.

Neat discovery. Never seen either item. But the chart still doesn't explain what "pla" means. Some say that it means "for plastic", but the chart states that those enamels can be used on all sort of surfaces.

You're welcome. IMO, knowing about the chemicals and understanding the processes I use in my hobbies makes me a better modeler. I'm not an expert, but I try to educate myself as much as I can.

It is still in the planning stage. Even in N scale, he will have to do some serious selective compression as he plans to model the trackage going all the way to Boston. He has a kit of the Worcester station - that is also a very impressive structure.

Thanks Brian - nice trip down the memory lane. I live about 20 miles away from Framingham, so I was familiar with this plant. It used to generate quite a bit of railroad traffic (with many parts being delivered to the plant, and the finished cars being shipped by rail). Friend of mine is building a model train layout which will feature Framingham. While the entire plant is too large to model, he will likely include part of it to generate traffic on his model railroad, just like it did in the "real" world.

That reminds me of the basic geometry lessons in school (elementary?) . And we thought back then that we would never find real-life application for all those things we learned.

The model on the cover of AMT KISS van was painted using this techinque. The enclosed instructions provide a section on how to paint the model.

Gloss can also blush in high-humidity conditions. The paint is not the problem. The problem is due to combination of the solvent evaporation rate and the dew point of the ambient air. Evaporation of the volatile solvents from the freshly applied paint (as it dries) cause the model's surface (and the paint layer) to cool. If it cools below the dew point of the ambient air, the moisture in the air starts condensing on the paint's surface. That affects the further solvent evaporation, and the glossiness of the paints surface. The condensed moisture causes microscopically rough surface which is no longer glossy smooth. That is how blushing happens. Different paints use different solvents. Solvents which have the fastest evaporation rates will cause a stronger cooling effect than slower evaporating solvents. So some paints are less susceptible to blushing (again depending how high the dew point of the ambient air is).

Here are some Camaro bodies. Here is the original post where I used that photo: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/121020-the-124-scale-history-story/?tab=comments#comment-1757672

No, the manufacturers don't think modelers are stupid. Often times manufacturer designs semi-generic parts to use in multiple models. Sometimes they just use totally wrong parts from one model on another (because producing another new steel molds with more accurate part would be too expensive). A lot of times they also "cut corners" to save on cost. Then there are limitations of the plastic molding process. Some parts are simplified or body shapes inaccurate because it would be impossible to mold their shape 100% accurate. Also remember that many of the model kits produced today were not designed for discriminating adult modeler - they were made for kids to build and play with. Accuracy was not all that important. Also, 20 or 30 years ago, there was no Internet to do your research. You looked at books for photo references, or went to car shows to take photos of the 1:1 cars. But the more recently produced models are designed on a computer, often using CAD drawings supplied by manufacturers for reference, so they are usually (but not always) much more accurate than old kits. But the limitations I mentioned above still apply. What is helping in obtaining better accuracy is using media other than just injection-molded polystyrene. Some kits include resin-cast parts (which can often have better and more accurate details). 3D printing is also entering the hobby kit market, allowing for better accuracy.