peteski

I once again invite everybody to join our annual model exhibition and contest. Lots of contest models, vendors and delicious food. Loads of fun and camaraderie! Staff photographer (me) will be taking photos of models for possible publication in Scale Auto Contest Annual (they choose the ones they will publish from the batch we send in). Show flier is available here and contest entry form here .

Well . . . Drivers have not been updated since Windows 7 (and that was a kludge), so while you can get them to work with current version of Windows, it can be a pain. Only 32 bit drivers too. Alps are also happiest running from a hardware on-motherboard parallel (LPT) port. Anything else can be a pain to set up. I have dedicated Win98SE machine where my Alps is attached and I run Corel Draw 10 on it to do my artwork. That is the easiest and most reliable setup, although Alps is also perfectly happy on XP. These printers are quite delicate and many (sold used) end up with damaged print head. Most ink cartridges are still relatively easy to find, but the prices are shooting through the roof. I have a nice stash of inks, so I'm set. Elephant Rocket is also producing some custom color inks, not ever offered by Alps (makes it easier to get some colors difficult to print on Alps otherwise). But don't think that once you have the printer, the decal printing is easy. There is quite a bit to learn on how to do it properly, and some ink overlays will not adhere to previous layers. But once you get the hang of it, and the printer cooperates, the results are stunning! I have owned my Alps printers for at least 15 years now, and I'm glad I got mine when I did. Here is a good primer and general reference on Alps decal printing. robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm (had a 404 error when trying to post this with the link above, so just add "http://" to the URL above and copy/paste into your browser)

I have another post which generates an error when posting. Dave Ambrose, if you like, I could send you that text to experiment with (I have not isolated the specific trigger words). I probably won't be able to PM that text to you (since PMs are probably filtered too), so I would need your email address.

I think that is an understatement. Decals printed on clear film using any CYMK color printer (ink jet or laser) do not work on dark surfaces. Period! Lets not dilute ourselves. No matter how many times you overprint, they will still be translucent and the dark model surface will basically hide them.CYMK printers rely on the background surface being white. The only color which is opaque in those printers is black (by definition).

Not every part you send to be metalized is a simple grille or bumper. Not everybody has the skill for resin casting.Some parts have complex shapes which would require multi-part molds (that makes it even more complicated). To get bubble free parts case you need vacuum and pressure pots. MAybe you have the ability and equipment to cast copies of complex parts, but I don't think that casing spares is a viable option for most people.

That wouldn't be optimal for me. I usually need some smaller parts plated (not just bumpers, grilles, and wheel covers). ChromeTech USA used to accept racked parts. I always sent them my racks (not individual parts). If KustomKrome uses his own larger racks, he could just rack my rack in his as one "large part".

Drafting tape? I like that. IIRC, is paper based, and probably thinner than electrical tape. If the adhesive is stable, it is all good.

Not being skeptical about quality (even if George mentions a disclaimer about possible problems at the plater). I'm not of FB but would like to know more details about what he accepts. I like to rack my own parts. Is that acceptable to him? What size rack? Which areas of the rack have to be left free of parts?

Electrical tape (even the more expensive 3M brand) will shrink in time and also the adhesive gets gooey and soft after few years. At least in my experience (in its as-intended electrical application). The tape is stretchy vinyl. The shrinkage might be due to the fact that the tape stretched when it is being pulled from the roll. It probably takes some time for it to relax and get back to its original size. But even then, the adhesive meltdown can be a problem when it is used on a model.

Ok, but either way, he might just get tired of casting all those parts - he's been doing this for decades. As far as the business being taken over, even if he finds someone, I'll be really surprised if they are as fastidious as Norm is. Which means the quality will suffer. Yes, I might sound negative, but IMO, I'm just being a realist. But on the bright side, 3D printing is really advancing, and there are plenty of computer whizzes who can whip out superb 3D designs with ease, so we might have a replacement for fine craftsmen casters like Don H. and Norm V.

70-something? Unfortunately, time marches on. I'm dreading the day Norm decides to retire - just like with Modelhaus, we will loose a superb craftsman, and all of his excellent resin castings.

As it has been discovered earlier, there is likely some combination of words in your detailed commentary that trips the forum's anti-hacking routine, causing the 404 error.

I don't believe you can just replace the black toner cartridge with a white one and magically be able to print out opaque color decals. It all depends in which order the colors get printed. There are color laser printers which can print white, but they also come with special drivers (RIP, or Raster Image Processor) which allows you some control of how images get printed.

To be honest, I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure it was not an automotive lacquer or enamel. So that leaves either some flavor of solvent-based Testors model paint, or possibly Accu-paint (model railroad paint). Does it matter? If it leaves a mess on my model (regardless of what paint I use), I will not use the product.

Happy Birthday?

Someone mentioned this "helpful" hint some years back. I tried and never again!!! When peeling the stuff off your model, it leaves tiny pieces of adhesive behind.

If the tolerances are close enough, that might be an option. Iit will likely work well for larger images, but if you have for example bunch of small yellow letters to be applied to a dark colored model, it will be quite a challenge to get them cut out accurately, then evenly apply them to the model, one by one.

It is not that easy. If someone did take over the business, they would also have to be as fastidious and quality oriented as Don was to produce those fine castings everybody is pining for. You could have some hack take the business over and make shoddy castings with bunch of pinholes and other flaws. Who would want to buy those. From what I see around me, fastidious people are hard to come by nowadays.

Standard printers use translucent Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow inks for printing color images. For true color rendition they rely on the inks being applied over white background (paper). Decals printed on clear film will be translucent when applied to a non-white surface. They will almost disappear on very dark surfaces. Of course, you can print on white decal film, but then you have to trim the images really carefully or the white film will show up on the model. Alps MD (MicroDry) series of printers can print white ink and they can print colors over the white ink areas. (in overlay mode). That is really the only printer that can truly print good opaque color decals. Of course it is out of production, and if you can find a used one, it will be very expensive. There are also some color laser printers available which can print white (the black toner is replaced with white), but they are also pricey.

I suspected as much, but it is still amazing feat of engineering to me. The liquid plastic feed rate has to be just right so the right amounts of the colored plastic do not overflow into where the other color will be injected.

I remember it well. I also remember that evening how quiet the sky was with no airplanes flying anywhere. It was eerie. As far as remembering goes, there are 18 year old young adults who weren't even born when 9/11 happened. They can't remember, but should be reminded.

Still irks me. Understanding what you are using and how it works makes for a better modeler. I'm just trying to teach. Same like when people call water-based paints "Acrylics", even though there are organic-solvent based acrylic lacquers and enamels.

From what I understand, the shutdown is temporary - they will be available once he reopens for business. I have seen several cottage-industries (usually 1-man operations) temporarily shutdown due to some reason. Personal issues, sickness, temporary unavailability of raw materials, etc. It happens. But obviously he can still put some of his spare time onto designing the artwork.

We live in very silly times.

Why people keep calling it wax?! Future (or whatever the latest iteration is called) is a floor finish. Waxes have no thickness - this is a clear coat which has some body to it. If you have something else you are using now to add a gloss to your models, it is also likely not a wax, but some sort of a clear coat.