peteski

I had the TV on myself at that time and instead of it, they showed the silly Land of the Giants. But if we all had DST year around . . .

This one immediately jumped out at me - just have to narrow down the year. And I'm not sure if I like or dislike its looks. I'm sort of at odds with myself.

"Kitten"? What a cute name! The car is also kind of cute. Meow!

I wish that Massachusetts (well, it has to be all the New England states) would adopt this too. The idea has been passed around for some time, but the politicians can't just agree to do it. It gets dark way too soon during the Winter. Then of course there are people against it - they don't want their kids "going to school in the dark". Really?! But even during standard time cycle, it is still dark in the morning, when kids go to school. I also don't get the big deal the news media makes about losing one hour once a year. Come on, is it that bad? It happens over the weekend, and if you dont' set your alarm clock to ake you up, you will simply sleep extra hour (your usual sleep pattern), and only lose one hour of wake time on Sunday. I have worked night shift for about 20 years and I have to shift my sleep schedule by several hours twice a week. About the same as having jet lag when flying between Europe and U.S. I deal with it, so I don't get this big hoopla about just one hour shift.

Looks great Mark! Following your other superb build threads (where you end up rebuilding most of the model's parts), I noticed that this one was build box-stock. Were you taking a break from your usual construction techniques, and build something simpler for a change?

Interesting. I did not know that. I'm in the New England area.

Very nice cabinet! You are a skilled woodworker! I have never seen or heard anybody using oak for fence material. Usually it is cedar. Oak would have made a really solid fence!

LOL! I must be Polish, because I don't fit that mold. I'm an equal opportunity modeler. I'm not tied to some narrow preference. I build passenger cars (foreign and domestic, trucks, bikes, any year, fantasy models, aircraft, even model trains). What I'm not into is military modelers in general (although I used to build them as a teen (aircraft and armor). But I often look at some military subjects and think I would enjoy building them. But I already have too many unbuild models stashed, so I control my urges. Although I do already have few military subjects (ships, aircraft) in my unbuilt models stash.

Ok, thanks for the explanation. I guess I'm out of ideas. I have seldom used chrome pen (about 2 or 3 years old) and the chrome paint is still as "chromy" as expected. At least it was couple of months ago. At this point the tip is clean and I don't want to try it until I need it again. Yes, because I seldom use it, and clean the tip after I'm done with the project.

That's exactly what I do at home. My XP and Win98SE are still alive and well, and running my old programs.

Yes, but if you look at the overall model kit offerings of U.S. manufactures, the ratio of foreign makes to domestic makes is fairly low. Anyways, no matter how much we discuss this, it will not change the fact that Tamiya's kits are well engineered and molded kits, suitable for best-out-of-the-box builds, and that chances of them producing a line of American muscle cars models is nil. At least that is my semi-educated opinion. And Pete J. summed it up pretty well (and based his opinion on some inside info).

Oh well . . . So how do you "decant" it from the pen? Or do you take the paint from the refill bottle? What did you thin it with?

I feel dizzy when someone calls a distrubutor "dizzy".

Maybe it just needs thinning a bit? Isopropryl alcohol (91% or stronger) might do the trick. But first (if you haven't done it yet), clean the tip (nib). Pull the fiber tip out of your pen and place it in a small container filled with lacquer thinner. I have small glass cups dentists used to use for mixing filling material. It is perfect for this task. The lacquer thinner will soak into the tip and dissolve the clear binder and silver flakes. Swish the tip for a while so the thinner gets all the way through the tip. Pull the tip out of the thinner and wrap it into a sliver of a paper towel to soak the thinner from the tip into the paper towel. Then empty the cup of contaminated thinner, and fill it again with fresh thinner anr repeat the process. Repeat this rinsing process until the lacquer thinner has very little silver flakes in it. Then if you have an airbrush or source of compressed air (even one of those "dust-off" aerosol cans), blow the tip dry while holding it in a paper towel. Then also drop some thinner into the tip opening and drain it. Do this few times again, to dissolve any of the remaining paint in there. Finally, reinsert the tip, shake the pen well, then prime the tip by pressing it down for few pumps, until it gets wet with paint. At this point it should work well. If not, then thinning the chrome paint might be needed. IN that case I would try the following: Remove the tip and using a pipette, fill the tip opening with 91% or stronger isopropyl alcohol. 99% would be even better. Since the bottom of the hole is sealed with spring-loaded valve, the alcohol will not enter the paint chamber. So take a piece of brass rod (or similar item) with a blunt tip, put it in the tip hole and press down on the valve. You might have to do this few times for the alcohol to drain into the paint chamber. One load of alcohol will probably be enough to thin the contents. Shake vigorously. Then clean the tip again and see if the pen works any better. I have not thinned Molotow pen contents yet, but I have done this successfully on similarly constructed paint pens.

I don't have any inside info, but I'm sure that even in U.S. they sell a good number of their exotic European-prototype sports car, and Japanese prototype car models. I'm also sure they sell lots of the military subject models worldwide. But as far as producing '60s and '70s muscle cars go, think about it this way: How many Japanese prototype models are made by American model companies (Revell, Mongram, AMT, MPC, or whatever current reincarnation of those companies)? So, just like you wouldn't expect American companies suddenly start producing models of Japanese cars, it is very doubtful Tamiya will ever make models of American muscle cars. Right?

You have to remember that they are a Japanese company. The customer base they cater to is quite large there, and Japanese modelers have different automobile taste than Americans.

I doubt that will ever come true.

I think that to Snake the price of those kits is even bigger obstacle than the subject matter. I do see his point (and as it has been mentioned here many times, automotive modelers generally have very tight wallets), but as the proverbial saying goes, "you get what you paid for". Yes, Tamiya kits are more expensive than domestic kits, but you are also paying for the quality of molding and engineering. And that is the answer to the initial question of this thread: Those pricier Tamiya kits are IMO best built-right-from-the-box.

I was thinking of more mainline trains (like 100+ car trains pulled by multiple locomotives across the country). Either way you proved that fully automated vehicles even when traveling on a fixed path are still not really safe (accidents you mentioned).

Yes, there are plenty unkitted muscle cars from that era, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any of them. It is not Tamiya's "thing". They are Japanese company after all, so Japanese and European prototypes (many sprots cars) are their "thing". They are also mostly into modern vehicles. If you would like to compare Tamiya's quality to any of the typical American prototype cars from other manufacturers, I recommend going out of your comfort zone and building one of their models.

I'm not sure it is a good comparison. Railroads (since their inception) had to stay on track. And they do, unless something really drastic and catastrophic happens. And even now railroad trains are still "driven" and dispatched by human beings. They are not self-driving, but are self-steering by default.

I'm familiar with many brands of kits, and none compare to Tamiya's engineering and fit. Those kits are amusingly well designed. Yes, I'm a big Tamiya fan-boy, but if you ever have a chance to build one you will see fist-hand what I mean.

I can't believe we are going through this again. Good things come to those who wait, and wait, and wait. Be patient.

AFAIK, deleting entire posts, regardless of how much time elapsed since it was posted, has been disabled for quite some time (like years). In the recent past you were able to edit (but not delete) your posts, but that has also changed (as clearly shown in this thread). But if you don't like what you posted, you can still edit your post and just delete the contents and subject line and replace them both with something like "moderators, please delete".

Thanks guys for satisfying my curiosity. So this is basically like a box truck (hauling smaller loads), but set up for long distance hauls (and often equipped with a temperature controlled cargo area). The sleeper section appears much larger than most long-distance fleet vehicles (as opposed to privately owned tractors with extra-large sleeper units). The driver or drivers probably appreciate the extra-roomy living quarters. Nice!