peteski

The first post?! LOL, that was in July 2018!! In the meantime, after 50+ replies, the subject being discussed has changed quite a bit. Just look at the most recent 25 posts or so.

Um, as I see it it is neither the quality or quantity. It is the file size of the picture (image) file. And that is not even a problem because mods told us we have oodles of free space. But it is prudent not to overindulge by uploading huge photo files when they are viewed within the posts (not printed out poster-size). We might have lots of free space now, but it will eventually fill up. Makes sense upload smaller photos. Mine usually don't go over 1024 pixels across (often are 800 pixels across). Another forum I belong to automatically reduces size of huge photos being uploaded down to 1024 pixels across. That way nobody has to even think of needing to resize before uploading.

Cool! they are just about the right size for 1:24 model body, and at 3 bucks a pop are also affordable. Perfect for practicing spray painting!

As it has been mentioned, there are 2 reasons for testing paint. 1. for compatibility with the plastic model 2. to learn how to apply smooth finish. Number 1 has been covered. For number 2 one can use plastic bottles (in all sorts of shapes and sizes). Yes, I know that has been mentioned, but I'm just reiterating it. Speaking of this, I wonder where Alclad got those fluid-looking shapes they use in photos demonstrating their paints (on their website). Those would be ideal for practicing airbrushing model car bodies.

Another modeler here who just shoots paint and doesn't bother with sanding, polishing, rubbing-out, waxing . . . Nail polish over Tamiya Fine White primer and a Testors Wet Look clear. The finish is not flawless (but even polished out bodies usually have flaws - I don't believe that there is a such thing as a perfect flawless finish), but I just can't justify spending all that additional time and elbow grease to achieve almost-perfection, when I'm already close to it. I have sanded and polished out some major imperfections on couple of models, but I did not do the entire body (just the areas with the boogers). I have even glued a chip of paint that came off an A-pillar of one of my models, but unless I point it out, you won't find it (or at least judges never fund it). I agree with Michael that striving to achieve the best finish directly out of the airbrush or spray can should be the ultimate goal. But in the meantime I guess some sanding and polishing will have to be done

Meow Duke! I like the boat - a lot! Hey, even the trailer is cool.

Yes, *AFTER* they are applied to the model, Future (or PFM as the FineScale Modeler magazine calls it now) can be used as a clear coat to protect the decal. But I have not heard of anybody using Future to repair old cracked decals (still on the backing paper).

That's pretty clever! I suppose, instead of the drill bit spacer, you could use a short sacrificial piece of the tubing itself.

My eyes! Oh, my eyes! I cannot un-see that monstrosity! But it would be even worse if all the trim was gold-plated. ?

I don't find either version attractive, but yes, the original version is better. But for example I fins Lincoln Future quite nice looking.

I did some repeated testing earlier in this thread (where I found those 2 offending words) and I repeatedly got locked out (on multiple computers). The lockout seems to last few hours, then everything is back to normal. I suspect the lockout is based on the IP address of the hosts from where where the "malicious" posts originate. I suspect that this functionality is a poorly implemented "feature". Hmm . . . would that be a bug them? I also frequent another forum (which uses different forum software), and we have similar problem there too.

While I applaud all the individuals and companies involved for restoring this unique vehicle, I still think it's butt-ugly!

Thanks Matt! That is some eye-opening information. Yet another example how hackers makes our lives more difficult.

BMF might be "tedious", but it sure gives the model realism, and looks great!

The problem is that (as mentioned in this thread, and some other threads in this section of the forum) certain plain English words can falsely trigger the malicious attack filter. Couple of known words are s e l e c t followed by f r o m (without the spaces of course). The words do not have to be adjacent to trigger the filter. Did you possibly have those words in your lengthy post? There are likely undiscovered combinations of other words which will trigger the filter and the 404 error.

I hear you loud and clear! But if you ever have to upgrade your hardware (and want to access your Flicker account on the same PC which runs ArcSoft) you can take the PC with newwer OS (like Windows 7 or 10) and install Oracle VM Virtual Box free software. It makes it really easy to create a virtual machine running on your new PC and then install older OS in that virtual machine. At work we use Windows 10, but I installed the Virtual Box and then created a Windows XP virtual machine, so I can run both OSs together (and I can share files between them).

Nice model and the overall presentation!

I saw that on the news - cool! There are also 3D printed which can print buildings. Here is one example https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/02/technology/3d-printed-building-mit/index.html

Looks like you are in good hands, and that old PC will brought back to life again! I am my own "computer guy", and still have a PC running Windows 98SE (to run my Alps printer). It is probably the same age as yours (and yes, I replaced parts in it - even had to replace bunch of toasted electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard). Your "power unit" also gave me a chuckle. It sounded like some part in a spaceship (something that might be said in a Star Trek or Star Wars movie). Seems like you are describing a power supply.

Same problem exists on model railroad forums. Maybe we need to start using different terminology? Instead of model cars we need to use "automotive scale replicas"! ?

But these metal decals do have clear carrier film (just like regular decals do).

Bill, this is the same problem you (and me, and others) posted about on the first page of this thread. The problem is that certain combinations of words anywhere in the text of the post you are composing get misidentified as a malicious request to the forum's database, and it results in the 404 (page not found) error. If you keep on trying, the forum locks you out for few hours (probably based on your IP address). To quote Dave Ambrose from an earlier post: I'll be working on this in a couple of weeks. There is a filter in our web server that is supposed to filter out malicious requests. Welcome to the post modern Internet. It doesn't work nearly as well as we'd like with this forum software, but I can't just disable them without getting the main MCM site attacked. We've been there, done that, and no thank you very much. So, it appears that we are unfortunately are stuck with this until hopefully someone comes up with a fix or workaround. Dave said that he is workign with the forum's vendor to hopefully come up with a workable solution. More info about the problem (and couple of specific words which activate the filter and cause the 404 error:

Thanks for confirming what I suspected. As for the headlight trim, I guess you will let us all know how it worked. You'll be the first to try.

Thanks Bruce - living on the right coast (New England) I have never heard that. Another mystery solved.

I have that kit (unassembled). I was surprised not to find instructions on how to apply metal stickers (just decal instructions). I examined the metal sticker sheets carefully and they appear to be decals too. Even the numbers on the sheet have clear film under them. That is likely why there are no separate instructions for the metal stickers. So, I would say that you should cut out the metal sticker you want to apply, place it in water, just like regular decals. When it is ready, slide the metal sticker onto the model. If you are worried, do a test application using one of the numbers in a circle. But I'm pretty sure that these are waterslide metal stickers. This is the first time I have encounter those.