peteski

I would be careful with that. Naphtha will dissolve Testors enamels and other not-fully-cured enamels. It could affect some lacquers (again, if lacquers are not fully dried). Also if left on any paint surface for longer time, it might affect (dull) them. After all it Naphaha is an organic solvent used as thinner, but a quick light touch wipe should not hurt the lacquer's surface.

Mike, since you mentioned that you have been using the Scotch blue painter's tape problem-free for years, what has changed to cause the problem? Is the blue tape different somehow? Are you using different type of paints/primer? Are you spraying the paint different way than in the past? Are you applying the tape to the painted surface before it is fully dry? That would likely cause the tape adhesive to soften and leave adhesive residue. I like Tamiya masking tape (or Washi tape) but I have used Scotch brand blue tape in the past without problems.

I'm not into hot rods so I was unaware of those wheels in the '36 Ford kit. To me these wheels look like ones used in VW Beetles or early Porsches (which were somewhat related to Beetles). I did not realize that '36 Fords used similar bolt pattern/wheel design.

Excellent news for procrastinators like me who waited too long and the last remaining model parts plating service (LMKC) closed their doors. I wonder if Spotlight Hobbies purchased their vacuum metalizing equipment from LMKC's Dale, or they acquired their own (or maybe outsource the service like Chrome Tech USA did)?

The 63/37 solder is a standard eutectic solder which has been used for electronic component soldering for many decades (until the lead had to be eliminated from solder for environmental reasons). I still use it for all the electronic part soldering because it is eutectic, and has a relatively low melting point, but it is not a very strong solder. Silver bearing solder is much stronger. Flux is vital for good solder joints but rosin flux is not very aggressive. If it worked for Greg, that s great. For soldering harder to solder metals I use acid-based flux like Tix Flux which is based on Zinc Chloride. It makes soldering steel much easier. Of course the soldered areas have to be well cleaned first.

There are many different "experts" out there giving "advice", some of which might be more or less accurate. Often it's inaccurate even if the "expert" is meaning well. There are many different compressors out there. Some with storage tanks, others without. Also, how hot is the compressed air, and what is the recommended air temperature? One thing that is certain is that a moisture trap is absolutely required to remove moisture from the compressed air. But since the airbrush hose is connected *AFTER* the trap, that air is already dry (and cool), so why would additional cooling (to the room's ambient temperature) be even needed? Logically thinking, that curly hose cooling air thing makes no sense. Personally, I use a Badger airbrush and I prefer using the very thin black rubbery hose from Badger. It is more like thin tubing than a hose. The cheapest one they have. It is very flexible and light.

Seems that more and more drivers are either purposefully ignoring traffic rules or are just oblivious to them (or both).

There are some excellent words of wisdom in a a post on another forum I frequent. https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=58804.msg809939#msg809939 Actually skimming through the entire thread is also quite enlightening, and so are other threads in that section of the Railwire forum dedicated to 3D printing.

You might get better response in a dedicated thread about 3D printing (not in a thread asking if it is worth it).

Jürgen, the ability to edit your own post using the "..." (three dot) menu is time limited. After several days you can no longer edit your posts. Some time ago the time limit was something like 3 days but I think it was extended. If it is a very old thread you would have to ask admins to change it. Looks like you were able to change the title (subject line). If you didn't see it at first, you might have to do a full reload of the web page.

It is not their fault. The car's video system operating the 360 degree view cameras outside of the car is way out alignment. The driver clearly saw on the video screen that he was parked within the marked parking space.

Yes, it is surprising what sort of chemical interactions can happen with what we perceive as typical plastics and adhesives we use in out hobbies.

Also (what many clueless panicking drivers out there fail to realize), when your main hydraulic brakes fail you can put the car in Neutral and use the parking/emergency brake to slow it down or keep it from rolling. I guess in a real emergency while the car is still moving you could try to shift the automatic transmission in "park:", but that would likely not end well for the transmission (but might save a life). I mentioned that because your vehicle is like still old enough to be able to do do the things I mentioned above. New cars with electric parking brake and electronic pushbutton gear shifting will likely not let you do any of those things because it is all controlled by a computer which will decide that what you are trying to do is not safe for the car. We are losing control of out vehicles to their computer "brains". It is not a good thing.

Nathan, When you apply brakes hard enough to stop a car weighting thousands of pounds, the pressure in rake lines is hundreds of psi. That is why the are made of steel. Electrical tape is totally useless. If the brake pedal is not depressed, there is no pressure in the line, so I suppose electrical tape would slow down the leak. I do suspect that the brake fluid, in short order, will attack (soften or dissolve) electrical tape's adhesive. It was a smart move to have the it towed to the shop.

High humidity means high dew point where water from the ambient air starts condensing. Spraying paint (and the propellant) cools down the paint. The cool paint causes the water droplets (dew) to occur either in the paint stream, or on the cool paint which settled on the model surface. That water affects the paint's finish (like blushing). Very low humidity (especially if the air ambient air is warm) will accelerate the solvent evaporation from the liquid paint, That could cause the paint to dry too quickly resulting in orange peel or similarly non-glossy surface. But if the paint is applied to the model in heavy enough coat to look wet, so it looks glossy when wet, but dries to flat finish, that doesn't add up. If the solvent was evaporating too quickly, the wet paint would not look glossy at any time during the painting process.

Obviously some ingredient in the Zap glue reacts with the polystyrene. What it is causing it? I have no idea. You live in Europe. Many of forum members live in USA. The brand of polystyrene might also be in play here. What brand are you using? I know that the Zap kicker has acetone and it will affect polystyrene and paint. I switched to BSI industries accelerator because it does not affect polystyrene or even paint. Actually, I have not used the Zap brand CAs for many years. All I now use is BSI CA glue.

Yum - SPAM! I have been eating SPAM Lite for some years now. Many Americans turn their noses up at SPAM, but it is a very well liked meat product in Hawaii and many other Asian countries. I like it!

Bill, is this the first time you have tried Tamiya paints? Spray cans, or decanted shot through an airbrush? Or are they the acrylic paints in the glass bottles? Which specific paints are you using? What is your painting technique? I recommend experimenting (test-painting) plastic spoons. That way you won't have to strip paint from your models.

No preference. Cars, trucks, motorcycles (in multiple scales), SciFi, aircraft, even model railroad items. Whatever I find interesting. I enjoy all sorts of miniature models. If some of the models I built happens to depict something that directly ties to me or my family, that's an extra perk.

Charlie, both choppers use single edge razors. I wonder why you "downgraded" to the original Chopper. I should also mention that Northwest Short Line also makes a true sander to square off cuts made on the chopper or razor saw. https://nwsl.com/collections/true-sander They also offer a variety of other useful modeling tools. check out their website. They are a small company which changed hands some time ago and the new owners are still redoing the website, so some of it is unfinished. But they have been around for decades and are solid company. https://nwsl.com/

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, 3D printer is *NOT* just another modeling tool to improve your modeling - it is a complete new hobby in itself. Lots of new skills to learn (even if you use existing files and just want to print the parts). Depending on the printing technology chosen it can also be messy and require a lot of experimentation to achieve successful prints.

The problem is that in order for less flex in the blade, it needs to be thicker. And that again causes a problem in thicker material with deflection on both sides of the cut. It would not result in a flat cut perpendicular to the sides. As the blade enters the material being cut, the blade has to displace the material from the space where the blade is plunging in. That is why with thicker materials you need some cutting tool which removes (rather than pushes away) the material taken up by the blade. Razor saw does that.

It is not meant for thick materials. Even the choppers using thicker blades will not give you a square cut. The wedge-shape blade will create a sloping cut, and any type of guillotine type chopper will also crush the materials which chopper crushes. You need to use right tool for the job. For those you need to use a miter box with a razor saw. I have Zona brand miter box and razor saws.

Back in the '70s I don't recall any cans showing "best by" or "expiration" dates on them. Back in those day food was good until the can was opened and consumed. Seriously, if the can is hermetically sealed, it will not spoil, even many years after it was canned. It might not taste as flavorful as when it was not as old, but it will not make you sick. If it smells ok, it's still good.

Special blades? No repeatability? Most model railroaders who are into scratchbuilding (including me) for decades have been using the Northwest Short Line "the Chopper". There are multiple versions available. See https://nwsl.com/products/the-chopper I used to use the original Chopper but several years ago I upgraded to the Chopper II. Yours seems to use a rather thick box-cutter type blade. All choppers use SERBs (Single Edge Razor Blades), which are much thinner than box-cutter blades (give you more controllable cut), and are available everywhere. I highly recommend the Chopper.