peteski

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.

Can't you just trim the pointy ends from those rectangular mirrors you have? Assuming those are already "chromed", then just touch up the cut area with some silver paint.

I suggest posting your failed prints in the 3D printing sticky thread in the General part of the forum. You will likely get some opinions and suggestions from members familiar with 3D printing.

Yes, over the years there were several threads dedicated to the multiple brands of "chrome" paints. Mark, since the inquiry is specifically about AK Super Chrome, mentioning that fact (instead of just generic "Chrome Paint") in the subject line would have been helpful to all now and later. The most recent lengthy thread is about Revell paint (but others are mentioned too) and comparisons to others are there too. And if you follow directions in https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/79627-how-do-i-search-for-answers-already-posted-here/ you should be able to locate some of the other related threads, some of which might actually answer your question.

I can relate . . . I don't call l that being grumpy old man. I call that "life experience".

And IIRC, made you miss the Classic Plastic Model Club exhibition last month.

Not all that long ago (at least in my "years") most food packaging did not have any human-readable date codes and we survived. You might be onto something with your conspirative (is that a word?) explanation. Sort of like we are conditioned that we must take shower every day (that is not the case in many other countries, and BO is not an issue there either). Amuricans are conditioned to do what they are told in ads or word of mouth without really thinking about why. Most semi-perishable foods (vacuum-sealed bags or jars/cans have a "best by" date, not "throw out by" date. It is the date manufacturer determined that the food will still retain 100% of its original flavor. It remains edible and non-sickness-inducing for log time after "best by" date. It just might not have the "like fresh" flavor. Canned goods, even meats can still edible for decades. If that SPAM is still tightly sealed, it will still be edible.

Those pads come in different "grits". Besides green there are also gray and brown colored versions. Those are not as aggressive. An Air Eraser (miniature blasting gun) with any type of abrasive media (like baking soda or aluminum oxide) will work well too.

12 AWG stranded might work, but there are likely different types (more or less flexible) of wire which have higher or lower number of strands, so each strand's gauge (diameter can vary). Looking at https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/wire-gauge-chart.html solid 24 AWG wire (the conductor) is 0.0201" diameter, and 26 AWG is 0.0159" diameter. Copper wire can also be purchased pre-tinned, so the surface will already have silver color finish. Also, bus wire is bare soft copper (uninsulated) wire, usually tin plated. That would work well. Or, a bare copper wire can be tin plated using electroless tin plating kit. I used such kit to produce a satin silver finish on some copper and brass rods.

Scratchbuilt? Wow! It's frickin' awesome Bart!

It is (or was). For some fun trivia see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acme_Corporation

Yes, the modern TV have a setting which controls how the programs from various video sources appear on the screen. On many TVs the default setting is for the TV to fit the program being displayed to the aspect ratio of the screen. The will cause the old programs to be stretched to fit the wide screen of the modern TVs. On mine the optimal setting is "use original aspect ratio". But it doesn't work 100% of the time.

It affects the CA still in the bottle. It you are in a humid environment and you leave the bottle open (even if it is just a small opening at the top of the applicator cap, the moist air will enter the bottle and slowly begins to thicken the liquid. This process takes quite some time (again depends on how humid the air is and how long the bottle is left uncapped). The humid air will not affect the actual bond in any meaningful way when you glue parts together. If anything it might help to set it faster, but not in any measurable way (not like if you apply CA accelerator to the fresh joint). That's been my experience. CA can also leach out of the plastic bottle and frost its outside surface. I guess the polyethylene the bottles are made of is not 100% impervious to CA.

No battle. That's why I stated "So I guess the definition of what "works good" is can vary from modeler to modeler. " We both presented our experiences. What is still "good" for me is not the same as "good" for you.

Highly unlikely. There is not enough interest in motorcycle models (as compared to automotive subjects) to warrant producing a new set of expensive molds.

Yes, that is true. Some formulations of polystyrene seem to be affected more than others.

Yes, the last package was shipped at the same time but missed the boat. It will arrive on the next boat.

Yes, both Castrol Super Clean (CSC) and Purple Power use purple color containers. Purple Power is simply a knockoff of CSC, so they try to make it look like the "real" stuff. Just like the packaging and names of generic (or store brand) foot items often look similar to the brand name packaging and names.

What do you consider as "working better"? As I mentioned, if I bought the extra thin CA and it thickens up due to its age (and being exposed to humidity), I can't really use it for applications which specifically require extra thin CA. I still use it when the task calls for a "regular" viscosity CA. It still bonds well (as a "regular" viscosity CA). If it keeps getting even thicker, I just throw it away. I don't hold it to the time when it becomes stringy. So I guess the definition of what "works good" is can vary from modeler to modeler.

I should have also mentioned this in my earlier post: As CA ages (moisture exposure), CA glue doesn't specifically lose its adhesive power. It just gets thicker and thicker. So if you bought the extra-thin CA, it will eventually change its viscosity to "regular", then "gap-filling", then thicker and thicker. I don't really think its thickening reduces its adhesive properties. Still, if you bought the extra-thin CA, you bought it for a specific tasks for which gap-filling CA would not really work well. Yes, the setting time also gets longer the thicker the CA becomes, but that is also true with the thicker versions right from the factory. Example, while using accelerator factory fresh extra-thin CA will set in just couple of seconds, but a factory fresh gap-filling CA will need 15-20 seconds to fully set.

Thanks John. Interesting mixture of ingredients. Some of which seem like they would belong in paints or decal setting solutions, and MEK isn't listed there (unless they use an alternate chemical name I'm not familiar with). I'm not chemist but I always like to keep myself educated on the hobby chemicals I use.

There are alternatives. I'm also into N-scale model railroading. You might have a local NTRAK or T-Trak modular clubs in your area you could join. Then you build a module (2' X 4' for NTRAK or much smaller module for T-Trak) or more than one, and participate in their larger layouts. That way you just own a small piece of a layout to build and maintain. My NTRAK club assembles our layout during model train shows for a day or two of fun. We run trains and interact with the show's spectators. I also have few friends who have full size N scale home layouts. We operate them regularly and I participate in their construction and maintenance. That accounts for many fun hobby hours. Actually, I have too many hobbies!

I'm glad it worked out. I have never used that brand/type of liquid cement. Any chance that it lists its ingredients (in English)?

That's a good news, but it isn't really "chrome", but it looks like chrome. Well, I sure hope that their "chroming" service doesn't actually use electroplating thicker coat of metallic chrome or similar metal, like what Trumpeter did on few of their car kits. That stuff was almost impossible to scrape off for gluing, and it didn't really look all that good. Colloquially known as "chrome" in modeling circles, the metallic coating used for plastic model kits is not Chromium, and I hope Spotlight's service offers the same type of vacuum metalization as what is used for most model kits.