peteski

If you design something from scratch in a CAD program I see that as a scratchbuiling too. Then instead of shaping raw materials by hand, you have your printer produce the resulting parts. This especially comes in handy when you need multiples of the same part. How about resin casting? Would you also turn your nose up at that? I also don't understand what I see as snobism that scratchbuildng has to be all done by hand. If the end result is a model that has never been produced by any kit manufacturer, then to me that is good enough, even if some commercial parts were used to build it (or CAD and 3D printing was involved). I don't get hung up on the semantics of scratchbuilding, or kit-bashing. I guess I'm not a scratchbuilding snob or purist. As far as fun is concerned, the most fun is finishing the model.

I think zinc-chromate primer was used on WWII aluminum aircraft to prevent corrosion. For modeling application any automotive self-etching primer should adhere well to any metal (aluminum included). Tamiya also makes a metal primer (which is transparent!).

Many plastic-safe stripping solutions contain Lye (aka. caustic soda, Sodium Hydroxide). Among them are Castrol Super Clean (or other similar "purple pond" cleaning solutions), and the original formula Easy Off Oven Cleaner spray. Lye will attack and "eat" aluminum. When in doubt read the fuc . . . um, fine label. However if those wheels are all-metal, then any "regular" paint stripping solution designed for wood or metal will not affect aluminum. So any commercial paint strippers will work (to be sure check their label). Of course alcohol and acetone will also work without damaging metal. When in doubt, check the label. These types of questions about stripping solutions for plastic and metal come up so often here (and there is also a lengthy thread about them on this site) that I'm surprised that every member of the forum doesn't have this info memorized (I do). Just a bit tired of repeating it.

I have feeling that there are ways to allow post editing by members. Maybe something like assigning them (if they are member in good standing) a temporary moderator privileged. I recall recent thread where someone (that "Bill"?) asked to edit some older thread and few days later he indicated that he was successful in editing his thread.

Yes, that was another great one. I also liked For Better and For Worse. And Bizzaro is also one of the good ones.

Yes, Dilbert is a great comic strip, and since I work for a large computer company, the humor hits very close (sometimes too close) to home work! Speaking of good comics, I really miss the Far Side - another oldie but goodie.

Could this be simply a bag of American Satco tires? They sold multiple sets marked Pirelli, and some sets contained 4 identical tires. EDIT: never mind - those sets did not include poly-caps.

Hey, whatever works for you. Make sure not to lose the tiny cork washers, or you will have air leaking out of the couplings. I lost one of those washers and made a replacement from thin slice of cork. That much futzing I was willing to do.

My local hardware store had several gallon cans of 99% IPA (IsoPropyl Alcohol, and India Pale Ale ) in stock. I was surprised myself, but since I have couple of gallons in my stash, I didn't buy another one.

OK, so I went to Badger's website and at http://badgerairbrush.com/Acessories_4.asp found the following: Transparent Vinyl Air Hose Flexible clear air hose enables the airbrush user to detect any moisture or impurities in the air line, thus preventing any related mishaps or work disruption. Swivel connection for airbrush at one end and varying air source connection at opposite end. Recommended for use up to 50 P.S.I. Available in 10ft.(3.05m) length #50-2030, 6ft.(1.83m) length w/ in-line moisture trap(50-2014) #50-2026, 10ft.(3.05m) length w/ in-line moisture trap(50-2014) #50-2021, 8ft.(2.44m) length w/no fittings at either end (for use with 80-3 bakery compressor only) #50-1011. I highly suspect that it is the same clear vinyl that aquarium hoses are made of. I use their 50-001 hose. It costs 6 bucks. Why not just buy it, instead of futzing around with the aquarium hose, and trying to install the couplings on it? Just Google "Badger 50-001" and you find lots of sources for it.

Ah, a 4-minute epoxy! LOL! Just as I mentioned earlier for 5-minute stuff, it turns rubbery in 4-minutes, then "leave it a fair bit longer" to fully harden.

I'm getting tired of your comments! Nobody's forcing you to follow any recommendation from those "experts" who know more than you. feel free to wonder around naked, unmasked and lick door knobs. After all, this is all a big conspiracy to control all the "sheeple" who blindly believe that there is a deadly virus pandemic. Right? Group hug everyone - French kisses too. Back to the regularly scheduled humor - I just needed to get this off my chest. Maybe I'm going stir-crazy here.

While not as hard as JB Weld (which takes 12 hours to harden!!), I only had some rubbery 5-minute epoxy when the mixing ratio was not correct (not enough hardener). Other than that. 5-minute epoxy gets fully hard after about 12 hours. Hard enough to crack when a thin layer is left on a mixing palette and flexed. The 5-minute rating is for it to solidify enough to keep the glued parts together. You could even add a touch more hardener than resin for an even more brittle mixture (after fully hardened of course). As for super glue, there are multiple viscosities available, with different working times. The extra thin sets very quickly, but the normal thickens and gap filling will allow ample time for re-positioning. Of course when happy with alignment, a dab of accelerator (BSI brand of course), sets it in few seconds. I'm a huge super glue addict and would probably quit the hobby if I had to go back to the orange tube cement, or even liquid cement for model kits. SUPER GLUE RULES!!! DUCO cement is useless to use as a filler - it is very similar to the old style Testors orange tube glue.

I actually prefer the thin (some might call "flimsy") black rubber/vinyl hose to the thick hose with braided sheath. To me the thick hose is too stiff and heavy. But I have a "real" compressor and a pressure regulator with oil/moisture trap, and I rarely go over 25 psi wen airbrushing. Works for me.

It is a lacquer, so lacquer thinner.

I never thin more paint than what I need for the airbrushing session.

This is very simple grade-school level math. If the pipe diameter in 1:1 is 5" then divide it by 24 or 25 (depending on the scale of your model). So, 5 / 25 = 0.2" in 1:25 scale. Or 5 / 24 = 0.208" in 1:24 scale. There probably isn't a 0.2" diameter tubing available, so pick the next closest size.

Not sure what the temperatures are right now where you live, but I like to mention that all stripping solutions work better when they are warm. For example it might take the stripper few days to soften paint at 50 deg. F, but it will work much faster if the liquid is warm (like 80-90 deg. F). But you don't want it too hot either.

You're welcome. If I understand you want to apply 2 layers of primer? My recommendation is to use as few of paint layers as possible. Each layer builds up paint thickens on the model. You want your paint to stay as thin as possible. Whenever I can, I don't even use primer (when I use plastic safe model paints).

Lacquer thinner evaporates fairly quick. If you want something closer to the original Testors thinner (which dries slower), mineral spirits or paint thinner from a hardware store should work just fine.

Practice your paint techniques on plastic spoons and empty soda bottles before laying down a coat of paint on your expensive model. That way you will not have to strip it - just toss the mistakes out and try again. And a friendly comment: The primer coat you applied seems a bit on the heavy side. Once you add paint coat, and clear, the model will look like it was dipped in honey (most of the surface detail will be lost). I know you are just starting the hobby, that is why I am suggesting practicing on some disposable items.

Not sure if it will help you, but I suppose it is worth a try. Some people even apply liquid Future right before applying the decal (so Future acts like glue). What "Future"? There is only one, but its name keeps changing. There is a very long sticky thread with all you want to know about this stuff on this site. And then there is also http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html - highly recommended reading. Also, a peeve of mine: This stuff is not a floor polish - it is a floor finish (acrylic clear coat).

It is always good to practice your airbrushing techniques, and paint/thinner ratios by painting plastic spoons or soft drink bottles. That way you don't have to worry about messing up your model. Once you figure out the thinning ratio, the air pressure, and nozzle opening on spoons or bottles, then you can paint your model.

And of course the scanned paint chip looks nothing like the color on that car. If Steve didn't mention the name I wouldn't have easily guessed that it was that dark-silver-looking color paint chip. The paint chip looks more like pewter than green.

LOL Noel, neither "T Cut" nor "Hoover" are used on this side of the big pond, but there are plenty of similar examples in USA. I have never heard of "T Cut", but I'm familiar with Hoover vacuum cleaners. In U.S. we do use a term "Hoovered up", meaning "gobbled up fast", but I guess this would be a subject for another thread.