peteski

Since discussion continues here Jeff, why couldn't you repair your favorite halogen lamp? I assume it was a 12 Volt type and the light bulb was replaceable. Other than that there is just some wiring, switch and a transformer. If you go the LED route, make sure that you like the color temperature (halogen is about 3000K) and that its CRI is hopefully in the 90s.

That explains the similarity to the early Beetles.

Are you measuring by volume or weight? What kind of quantities are we talking about? I used to get successful mix of resin even in quantities of like 20 drops of each part from an eye dropper. I cast some really small items! I used to use Alumilite (back when they only carried the fast setting tan resin) but I moved on to Smooth-On. Not because Alumilite is bad - I found Smooth-On had more varieties of resins with different setting times. I think Alumilite now also has a larger variety of resins available. Yes, thorough mixing is important, but if the resin is not mixed properly you will see swirls of sticky uncured liquid in the hardened resin. Catalyst is the coffee colored liquid which if sits for several minutes develops a clear oily layer on the top surface.

Couple of things to keep in mind reviving old enamel paints. 1. You can only bring back paint which is still thick liquid. If some of it turned into gel, no thinner will get it back into liquid again. It will just be a chunky mess. Enamels not only dry by solvent evaporation but there is also a chemical reaction that takes place which is not reversible 2. If you thin the paint successfully using anything other than the original solvent, the paint will likely not be stable and will go "bad" after some time period (even in a sealed bottle).

Several days ago I logged out and logged back in using my email address. I have the forum configured to stay logged in and I'm still logged in, so it was totally seamless for me.

I suspect that the bright pink plastic is a factor in why we don't see more of these built. One look at it and I see the danger that unless I paint it pink or black, the pink die will leach out of the plastic and ruin a paint job.

Yes, that one appears to have capabilities close to the old Alps MicroDry printer. The IColor™ 560 does it all. White overprint® for textile and apparel applications White underprint® for non-transfer applications Dye Sublimation applications Fluorescent colors and Clear Regular CMYK printing Gold and Silver color printing capabilities And an excerpt from the manual: The IColor 560 comes complete with a total of 5 toner cartridges for full color and black printing (CMYK), as well as our exclusive fluorescent white cartridge. Quickly swap the black for white when you want to add white as a spot color, or to print a white underprint or overprint in concert with the IColor ProRIP Essentials software. Black can then be produced using composite black (made from 100% CMY). You will also have the option to add fluorescent toner or dye sublimation toner upgrade kits, as well as the exclusive IColor security, clear, gold and silver toner options, at any time. Please note that vector and line art images, including text, are likely to produce the best results. However reading further in the manual the printer only has 4 slots for toner cartridges so unlike Alps, when white undercoat is needed, black is replaced with white cartridge resulting in a black made up from CYM colors (page 22 in the manual). It is also incapable of multi-pass printing which makes Alps unique. With Alps you can print standard colors, white and metallic while the paper remains in the printer for perfect registration. It is also a $4,000 dollar printer, and the consumables are likely quite pricey too. While it is likely a viable option for a small decal printing business, it is a bit too rich for most modelers. But as you mentioned, if you can find bunch of builders to make a group purchase, that might be something that would work.

Whatever . . . We all do things our own way. We're all individuals!

Mine is like that too (and has been for years). I wouldn't worry about it. They probably want things like your X, Fecesbook account, and other similar type of info for a complete profile. Unnecessary.

Back in the day I have bought few resin kits from him and also exchanged several pleasant emails. He is a super nice and highly skilled guy. He also send me bunch of free goodies from his collection of detail parts. Not sure what is his current status. I hope he is alive and well.

Exactly. Likely someone with limited knowledge of English and American business practices creates a template which is then sold to thousands of scammers to be used to be sent out to their SPAM mailing lists. Lots of stuff happens on the Dark Web.

That sounds like possibly a 1:64 scale model (That is roughly Hot Wheels scale). Smallest model I've built was 1:160 (shown sitting on a Quarter), but I also have a similar kit in 1:220 scale still to be built.

That looks very realistic for plastic representing aluminum parts, but I would never use that for depicting chrome. I also believe that model chrome should be as bright and reflective as it is on 1:1 vehicles. The "muted" or dull chrome some modelers use and prefer looks too dull to me.

Alps MicroDry printers are ancient and their inks are getting harder to find and pricey, but they are still the best ones for home printing of decals with white undercoat and also for printing standalone white and metallic inks. Yes there are color laser printers available which can print white either as standalone color oor as an undercoat), but they (and their supplies) are expensive and those still don't have nearly the flexibility of what Alps printers can do. Some of those white-capable laser printers use CYMW (cyan, yellow, magenta, white) printing where the black toner is replaced with white. Since there is no black toner, black color is made from 100% density of the CYM toners, resulting in black which is sort of dark muddy brown. The "good" (read: very expensive) laser printers actually use 5 toners (CYMKW). Those give the best quality printouts.

I would suggest not coming up with new scale conventions but sticking with the well established nomenclature already in use. Still 143 doesn't seem to make sense. 143:1 scale would mean that the model is 143 times LARGER than the original 1:1 subject. That would be huge! And 1:143 model would be tiny (a passenger car would be less than 1" long). The one hundred you added to 43 is awkward. But judging by your response you do understand the model scales. Some early plastic model kits were not made to specific scale or even mention the scale on the box or in the instructions. Some were made to "box scale" where the model would be made in a scale which would fit in standard size model kit box.

What kind of scale ratio is 143:1 or 142:1? Do you simply mean 1:43 or 1/43 where the model is forty three times smaller than the actual object? When you mentioned 1/25 scale you used proper nomenclature. 1:42 is not a scale I have heard of (but it might have been used by some older manufacturer). Also for automotive subjects 1:32 is a popular scale. This one looks more like 1:32 model.

No need for a chemistry degree, but knowing at least the basics of the chemicals you use makes you a better informed and overall better modeler. This is especially important with paints, but understanding adhesives is also very helpful.

Very interesting. It looks very familiar but it obviously is not.

Subaru? Interesting . . . To me that car has more of a European flavor than Japanese.

Keep your water in cool dark place. No UV rays! Unicycle on a rail trail seems reasonable. But one on a 2-lane town street with no sidewalk and with snow bank ending right at the edge of the travel lane (no shoulder) seems a but risky thing to do (even on a standard 2-wheel bike). Speed limit is 35 MPH but we all know that nobody travels under 40. Luckily I passed them on a straight part of the road with no oncoming traffic, but the road does does have low visibility curves. While it cracked me up, it also seems very irresponsible.

Yes, Spotlight Hobbies is offering "chrome plating" of plastic model parts, similar to what others offered in the past. That's a winner for me. If you still want DIY paint solution, then the winner will be what works best for you. As you mentioned, there are lots of opinions and lots of varying results, depending on the individual reviewing it.

The clear film of old decals can shatter into small pieces. Coating the decal sheet with Microscale Liquid Decal Film will add another layer of clear which should keep the old decal together. That is the same clear film Microscale uses for their decals so yes, it will be flexible and respond to decal setting solutions. Some people just spray the sheet with any sort of a clear coat, but I prefer to use the product specifically made for the task. I have also revived cracked decal film sheets by airbrushing a couple of wet coats of lacquer thinner (not wet enough to run of course). Wait for the lacquer thinner to evaporate between each coat. The lacquer thinner remelts the shattered film so it basically becomes like it was originally. But use this method at your own risk.

Read the quote below.

What a coincidence Kurt! But the situation is not that grim. We have discussed food packaging's "best by" dates, and those are really just a suggestion of a date where the food will be as flavorful as the day it was packed. If the can is sealed, the contents will still be good for some years to come. It's not like it instantly spoils or becomes poisonous the day after the "best by" date. I have eaten food from long "expired" cans, and it was still quite tasty (and I'm still around to tell about it). As for what cracked me up, just when I thought I saw it all, I have encountered a bicyclist on a busy street today. The temps here are quite cold and there are snow banks at the sides of the road. This time of the year there aren't many bicyclists riding around on the streets. As I was approaching I saw their both of their arms flailing in the air as if they were riding with their hands off the handle bar. I thought that it was a silly thing to do since they were riding very close to the snow bank on the side of the road. As I got closer I saw the reason for their flailing arms - that person was riding a large unicycle!! Those have no handle bars! They were using their arms for balance. I made sure to stay as far away from them as I passed. It was a rather large unicycle with a good size wheel with a fat tire (like ones on mountain bikes). The tire was also rather low in air. They were traveling at a pretty good clip. I will likely never see anything like that for the rest of my life.

LOL! No, you're not alone. It is the way the produce companies package the greens. They do the same with cauliflower and probably other veggies which have similar shape. Only way to deal with this is very sharp pointy knife. Even if you found the tape's end the adhesive is so aggressive that it will most likely rip the plastic bag instead of coming off. Ask me how I know.