peteski

This really should be addressed by the moderators. After the Photobucket debacles, they opened up the forum for photo uploads, but then killed any hopes of fixing dead photo links on older (but very useful) threads. If moderators remain silent here, maybe the best option is to contact them via a PM and request temporary editing privileged. There just has to be a solution to this. I know the mods are busy, but fixing the broken photo links is important too. Just maybe wait until this major forum reshuffle is completed - mods are still working on that.

Thanks! I agree. And I love the very subtle hint of fins on both, the front and the back of the car. The long-hood/short-deck proportions are also very elegant, sleek and pleasing to the eye (at least to my eye). That car also had many advanced design features for the '80s. Front wheel drive, (but Eldos had that layout for decades), torsion bars front suspension (coils in the rear). 4-wheel independent suspension, stabilizer bars both front and rear, 4-whel disk brakes, 15" wheels, Digital Fuel Injection (throttle body, but still). Then many convenience features like driver's memory seat and fiber-optic based lamp monitoring system (that has been around for few years too), and digital dashboard readouts. It is a fun car to drive (while it is not a '70s big boat), it still has a very smooth and cushy ride, while it also handles corners quite well.

Maybe because I was a fan of RATT in the '80s, I like that one, while the clogging one just seems stupid to me. We're all individuals . . .

Yes, I suspect that German environmental protection laws are stricter in Germany than in USA (especially in the last 3 years). You are correct. Ethylene Glycol based brake fluid is used by some modelers to strip paint (not "chrome" plating) from plastic car bodies. So it is more of a paint stripper than "chrome" stripper. It will eventually affect "chrome", but the sodium hydroxide solutions are much better for "chrome" stripping. And going the other way, sodium hydroxide also works for stripping paint from plastic model cars. There is another sticky thread dedicated to paint stripping. So while both ethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide are good for stripping paint from plastic items, I prefer sodium hydroxide for stripping "chrome".

Your attention to even the smallest details is amazing Hermann! Once the model is finished and properly photographed, it would almost certainly pass for the 1:1 truck. The only thing that looks like a model part is the tires. They they just look like model tires to me. I think that the soft rubber tires used in Revell Can-Do truck (and probably other models) would look more realistic.

No, that's a TV commercial. That one's kinda cute. I'm talking about the radio version of a different TV commercial. I think that the "rat problem" commercial is even more clever and funnier.

I give the '80s a "Second look" . My "collectible" is an '85 Caddy Eldorado Biarritz. To me it is a great looking car, and when I attend car shows or cruise nights, my car is usually the only one of its kinds. To me it is a good thing - I like to be unique. It also evokes lots of positive comments from the spectators or other owners. To be honest, when I check out other cars at the shows, I much prefer to check out some odd Pacer or a Gremlin than just another dime-a-dozen '57 Chevy, or a '60s corvette. I would love to see a Chevette or an AMC Matador (stock of course) at a car show. Heck, even a dodge Omni. The Pro Street stuff is "meh" to me. Or how much fun would be to see the 1st generation Chrysler Minivan at a car show? Those things started a huge automotive revolution. I also appreciate other classic cars (especially from the first half of the 20th Century), so I'm not stuck in the '80s either. As far as models go, I doubt that model kit companies will ever produce a wide range of models from the '80s. I think the entire plastic model kit hobby is slowing down (but not yet dying) due to many causes (virtual reality on computers, and many modelers/collectors getting into assembled model cars in 1:18 and 1:43 scale). I have a sizable collection of preassembled 1:43 kits myself. Most are of cars which I don't think will ever be produced as plastic kits.

Brake fluid (ethylene glycol based) is not very good for removing "chrome" (actually thin layer of aluminum and a clear coat) from plastic. This liquid cannot be dumped into a sink - has to be disposed of properly. Maybe your local car mechanic can recycle it. But I would not use it for "chrome" stripping. Sodium hydroxide (Lye) is much better for the job. Purple Stuff, LA Awesome and Easy-Off oven cleaner are Lye based. Lye is also main ingredient in drain pipe clog removers. Those are all household chemicals and should be safe to dump in a drain (might even clean your pipes). I see that you are in Germany. I'm surprised that you can find some of those chemicals in your country. Germany might also have stricter laws for chemical disposal than USA.

Yes, very bad idea! Friend of mine used PVC pipes to distribute compressed air in his house and garage. It was ok for few months (yes, months), but then . . . BOOM! one pipe exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. Luckily no bodily damage. And the damage did not occur at a joint, but in a middle of the pipe. Yes, you can see printing on PVC pipes stating that they can hold up to 250 psi, but PVC is not a material to withstand constant pressure for extended time. Not worth the risk. Trust us. Or keep your tank and wrap it with one of those blast absorbing blankets they use on the funny car superchargers.

Judging from these responses Marko is a well-seasoned plastic model builder (and painter). And here I was trying to show him some basics. Since he was a bit apprehensive of painting, I was trying to give him some ideas and encourage him. Seems like he doesn't need any help - he could probably teach me a thing or two.

It is not that shiny. Solder is rather dull looking. On the other hand, silver plated copper wire has a very bright coloring.

Solder is perfect for this application. It is available in several diameters, and it is easily shaped. It also looks like galvanized steel. Not the stuff plumbers use (too thick) Electronic solder. I have some as fine as 0.015". Copper wire is also good. Look for tinned version (so it has a silver finish). Then there are all sorts of craft wires available in the bead section of arts/crafts stores.

Yes, it is best to paint all the model parts that are not plastic on 1:1 car. I airbrush most of the parts in my models, and yes, the small parts need to be mounted on something for painting. I find multiple ways of holding the small pats for painting. Here is a recent thread showing one way to hold small parts. As fro airbrush cleaning, I keep hearing people gripe how they hate cleaning their airbrush. I only fully disassemble and clean my airbrush probably one time a year. But I give it a good cleaning for every color change (and when I put it away). But the way I do it only takes about 1 minute to clean. Easy and painless. I described my method on another forum, but I should really take a video of how easy my cleaning method is. Click on this text to see how I clean my airbrush. I also suspect that since you likely already use an airbrush for your helmet and motorcycle painting, you have a quick and easy way to clean it.

Welcome to the forum Marko. Nice collection of models! Those Tamiya 1:6 Harleay Fat Boy kits are rare nowadays and can fetch $500-$600US! And you have 2 of them. They are great kits with metal frame (which is much better than plastic for such large models). So you do custom helmet painting, but are afraid of painting 1:24 scale models because they are small? You shouldn't worry abut that - your models are large! Here are some small (N scale or 1:160) models: These are small models, but still got painted. If you think about it, motorcycle helmets and fuel tanks are not all that larger than typical models. If you are worried, buy some inexpensive model kits and practice painting on them, or even practice on some plastic soft drink bottles

Judging criteria at my club's contests does include the degree of difficulty. Scratchbuild model (with documentation) woudl have have high score in that category (and it counts towards the total number of points given to the model). But if that model's assembly was sloppy, and paint job was terrible then points in those categories would have low score, so the model would likely not place in the top.

If you look at the member's info (on the left side of each post), if they are a moderator, there is a Moderator word in there.

That makes no sense (as far as banning or restricting a member goes). Banning on all the forums I ever participated on is done per member's account (not per ISP). There must be something else going on. If an ISP was banned from accessing the forum, that could include multiple members (if they were also using that ISP). And since you are still positing messages to this forum (from a different device connected through a different provider?), you don't seem to be banned.

So you are saying that there is an epic overuse of the word "epic"?

LOL! That's right - forgot about that one. And Yanks chuckle when we hear that you guys go to smoke a fag.

Wouldn't that film be too thin for scale tail light lenses? BTW, commenting on the initial post of this thread, "spruce" is a type of a tree. Probably another auto-correct error. Those plastic frames parts are attached to are actually called "runners", but most modelers do call them "sprue".

I was just having some fun. Some years ago there was an American candy company named "Fanny Farmer". That name must have been quite surprising to the Brits.

Poor thing! Looks like someone kicked-in its face!

Since it was a female driver, wouldn't she be a "fanny", not a "dick"?

Testors (actually RPM) is probably doing this so modelers will stop buying the products, so they can say that they are discontinuing all the hobby paint lines due to lack of sales. Conspiracy? Maybe . . . But on a serious note, this stinks! Not the first time that the "new and improved" product is actually crappier than the original product.

Tamiya Clear metal primer is in a spray can. At least that is how I bought mine several years ago. I had no idea it came in non-spray packaging. I haven't tried mine yet. Well, at least not for its intended purpose. I put together an etched model airplane (nickel-silver) and sprayed the clear primer on it to protect it from tarnishing.